Progress and Change in Al Anbar Province, Iraq

During their previous deployments most Soldiers saw a blistering operational tempo as U.S. forces tried to be everywhere in order to stay ahead of the insurgent forces.

As the time on their 15-month deployment begin to dwindle down, the Soldiers of the 937th Engineer Company (Clearance) have a chance to reflect on the changes they have seen in Al Anbar province between this deployment and their previous trips to the region. The core of the company was deployed to Al Anbar previously on a15-month deployment as part of the 16th Engineer Battalion from Giessen, Germany in 2006. About 60 of the company's 190 Soldiers have seen service in Al Anbar in the previous six years. As part of the "surge" forces these Soldiers from the 16th Engineer Battalion saw heavy fighting and a province in shambles.

Sgt. Steven Wagner of Pittsburgh, Pa. recalls conducting on average "two to three [route clearance] missions a day" throughout the city of Ramadi during his last deployment in 2006. Reassigned to the same area with the 937th Engineer Company (Clearance), Sgt. Steven Wagner's platoon operates on a more sustainable mission cycle. Staff Sgt. Mylin White of Middleton, Idaho remembers his route clearance platoon doing ten-day extended mission rotations through the Ramadi-Fallujah corridor. During those ten-day operations the average mission length was "12 hours due to frequent additions to the original mission." As the number of improvised explosive devices has decreased across the province the company has worked in more maintenance time, both for vehicles and personnel, and has allowed Soldiers to spend time focusing on personal education goals to ensure the entire deployment isn't lost time for them.

A large reason for the fast-paced nature of these earlier deployments was that the insurgency was at its strongest during these previous deployments. Al-Qaida in Iraq still had a firm hold on Al Anbar province and many had written the province off as a lost cause. For the Soldiers who did route clearance missions during 2006 finding the insurgents' IEDs was not terribly difficult. Patrols wouldn't have to venture too far from the entrance to their camps before finding the first device. Sgt. James Rooney remembered a particularly harrowing day where his route clearance patrol found "at least six IEDs" in and around the city of Ramadi. Sgt. Santiago Ruiz of Las Vegas, NV recalls that during his last trip to Al Anbar the patrols he was on would find an average of "two to three IEDs" a mission. Sgt. 1st Class David Goldie of Fayetteville, N.C. did dismounted patrols throughout the city of Ramadi in 2006 and remembers the southeastern area of the city was "out of control" with "daily firefights and IED attacks on most of the major streets" as the norm.

With these dark days now in the past the 937th Engineer Company finds the average route clearance mission a much quieter affair. The fact that the company has cleared over 62,000 miles with only a handful of IED finds and attacks speaks volumes to how far the insurgency's grasp over Al Anbar province and its citizens has weakened over the past two years.

Life "outside the wire" isn't the only aspect that has improved for Soldiers deployed in Al Anbar province in the past five years. The author remembers when habitants of Camp Ramadi, or Junction City depending on the time frame when you deployed, didn't have a barber shop or centralized laundry facility. Everyone was forced into cutting their own hair and washing clothes by hand or in unit-provided machines. Now Camp Ramadi sports many of the same creature comforts as home with a Green Bean Coffee shop, Subway sandwich shop, and local-ran shops.

With the military adage of "always improving your position" firmly in mind each of the remaining military camps in Al Anbar have seen upgrades in Soldier recreation areas as well from theaters to video game rooms to fully-stocked gyms. Soldier living quarters have also improved over the past years as well. Staff Sgt. Mylin White spent most of his last deployment to Al Anbar living in a temporary tent that housed his entire platoon. Now, for the most part, Soldiers are living in with roommates in sub-divided trailers. Each containerize housing unit or CHU allows Soldiers a little more privacy than what they had when they were previously deployed.

With the decrease in violence has come an increase in both the friendliness of the Iraqis living in Al Anbar and their willingness to try and rebuild their shattered province. Sgt. 1st Class Goldie remembers conducting foot patrols and only seeing "a few shops open and only for limited times of the day. The locals stayed off the streets unless absolutely necessary due to the level of violence." Now when his route clearance patrols move through the city of Ramadi they see "people going about normal life.

There are kids on their way to school or playing soccer in the fields. Shops are open well after dark. There are recreational areas where people freely congregate without the fear of attack." Sgt. Steven Wagner has noticed "more waves from people as we drive by" compared to his last deployment to Ramadi in 2006. Sgt. Santiago Ruiz has been impressed with how much better Al Anbar province appears during this deployment. He has been amazed at how the Iraqis are now "cleaning their highways of trash (removing potential hiding spots for IEDs), improving roads, and trying to make the country look better."

As Sgt. James Rooney sees it,the Iraqis have turned away from the insurgency because "they feel there is a future for their country with all of the new jobs and construction." As Al Anbar continues to improve there is a gathering hope from the Soldiers in the 937th Engineer Company (Clearance) that this is their last trip to the province.