Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Sunday, May 15, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH Iraq

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq — It is 7 a.m., and rush hour is in full swing outside the main gate for the base that houses most of the Tennessee-based 278 th Regimental Combat Team.

Hundreds of Iraqis are lining up in the still cool dawn, hoping to get a crack at one of the labor jobs on base where the pay ranges from $7 to $10 for one day. Those lucky enough to have steady employment here pick up photo identification badges after being searched. The prospective workers are herded into a fenced area by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and told to wait for a call that may never come.

Sgt. William James, 29, of Sevierville, Tenn., relies on every one of what he calls his 15-word Arabic vocabulary to direct traffic and keep the lines moving. Before his shift is done, nearly 500 Iraqis will have come and gone — each one needing work, but each one a potential danger for the U.S. soldiers. "I stop the guys who may have bombs strapped to them," said Spc. Von Reagan, 21, of Gatlinburg, Tenn., who counts among his memorized Arabic phrases, ‘Stop, or I will shoot.’"

It’s another typical day of guard duty for the regiment’s Pigeon Ford, Tenn.-based Howitzer Battery.

"If anything happens, it will happen here first," said Spc. William Bafford, 33, of Sparta, Te nn., who also works the morning gate shift. "All the weight is on us to protect this FOB (Forward Operating Base)." FEELING SAFE

Those manning the gates and towers call it a thankless task because the people who sleep soundly each night inside the fences only notice who is guarding the camp when something goes wrong.

"They risk their lives every single day every time they search a vehicle or pat down an Iraqi. And it happens a thousand times a day," said Sgt. Fred Mize, 27, of Strawberry Plains, Tenn.

Capt. Brad Steverson, the commander of the battery, said the goal is to create an environment where soldiers can relax after returning from stressful patrols. Nearly 10,000 U.S. soldiers, Iraqi army troops and civilians call the base home.

"You see people walking around here with no body armor on, and they are not too worried because we make them feel secure," Capt. Steverson said. "We are like the offensive line for a football team. We get no credit, yet we do all the blocking."

The feeling of safety is not really what many members of the 278th expected.

Spc. Jonathan Harrison, 20, of Spencer, Tenn., said he was surprised and a little disappointed when he learned the battery was assigned to guard duty, especially after the unit spent last summer training for combat at Camp Shelby, Miss.

The frustration is widespread among the soldiers.

"Nobody wants to be forted up," said Staff Sgt. Bob Price, 36, of Kingsport, Tenn. "We are combat soldiers."

Sgt. Mize said many guard soldiers volunteer to go out on missions on their days off to see a little bit more of Iraq and to give the front-line soldiers a rest. But the lack of action so far on the camp’s perimeter defenses doesn’t mean the danger isn’t always imminent, Staff Sgt. Price said. Security has been beefed up several times after military intelligence officials reported insurgents planned to attack the base. "Our job is to just wait to get attacked," Capt. Steverson said. "That’s the toughest part. Other guys go out and look for it. We just wait for it."

Staff Sgt. Price said base guards have come under fire a few times in Iraqi versions of drive-by shootings where insurgents take potshots as their car passes the road leading to the main gate. A quick reaction force patrols the base’s perimeter in Humvees and responds to threats. The base has never been mortared, Staff Sgt. Price said.

Car bombs are the biggest threat, according to Staff Sgt. Price. A series of concrete barriers is laid across the road leading to the gate, forcing any vehicle to follow a slow serpentine path to the entrance.

DANGERS FROM WITHIN

Despite being stuck on base, the Howitzer Battery soldiers interact more with local Iraqis than patrol units, Capt. Steverson said. About 2,000 Iraqis work here, and the gate guards must inspect every one each day. These civilians work in the barbershop, the laundry or the mess hall. They also work as janitors, trash collectors or store clerks.

Lots of Iraqi soldiers come and go here as well.

The Kirkush Military Training Base, where several Iraqi army companies train, surrounds Camp Caldwell on three sides.

As in everywhere else during this troop rotation, 278 th soldiers are working to put an Iraqi face on all activities. Iraqi soldiers have begun doing most of the gate searches while a U.S. guard keeps a close watch.

The soldiers have arrested hundreds of Iraqis for bringing contraband into the base or trying to steal items from the base. Grenades, film, maps, batteries, electronic equipment, fuel, food, address books, U.S. Army uniforms, boots, gloves and money are just some of the items 278 th soldiers have found among departing Iraqis. Soldiers said some Iraqis steal to clothe and feed their families or to sell the items on the black market. Insurgents pay top dollar for any bomb-making material such as wiring or for intelligence information and photos of U.S.-led coalition forces.

The most worrisome theft found by the gate guards was that of several computer discs containing classified information on the capabilities of U.S. military equipment.

"There is always pressure," said Staff Sgt. Kerry Marchal, 40, of Gatlinburg, Tenn. "You can always overlook that itty-bitty thing they may be hiding in their shoe which could end up being used in a bomb."

Some Iraqis also smuggle banned items such as alcohol and pornography onto the base to sell to Americans, officials said. Drugs, such as Valium, are among the more common items confiscated from Iraqis entering Camp Caldwell. One man stuffed Valium pills inside cigarettes behind the filters.

IRAQI ARMY DESERTERS

The camp gates are where many Iraqi army soldiers from the training base desert, officials said. Sometimes alone and other times in groups, these Iraqi troops drop their uniforms to the ground to reveal civilian clothes underneath as they walk to the main highway for a taxi.

While some soldiers manning the gates interact with Iraqis all day, other 278 th soldiers live a relatively quiet existence scanning with high-powered binoculars the vast desert horizon from the base’s numerous towers.

"We watch Iraq one meter at a time," said Staff Sgt. Rodney Davis, 36, of Loudon, Tenn. "It’s a boring job, but as my wife keeps telling me, boring is great because it means I am not getting shot at." Staff Sgt. Davis said the two most important items for a tower guard are sunglasses and a full pot of coffee.

Usually keeping shepherds and their flocks away from the base’s perimeter kill zone, set at 1,000 meters, is the most action afforded a tower guard. Signs in Arabic warn desert stragglers when they are about to enter this buffer zone. Staff Sgt. Price said enlisted officers supervising the towers spend a good deal of time making sure the Iraqi soldiers in some towers stay awake.

"Some spend more time looking into the fort making sure nobody is checking up on them than they look outside," he said. But with nearly two miles of open desert stretched before the towers, guards say any attack would be a suicide mission.

There is, however, one pest with which the guards wage a daily battle: an army of flies.

"I have between 500 to 800 confirmed kills with the flyswatter," said Spc. James Barker, of Loudon, Tenn.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

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