Border POETs hold the line

Photo By Samantha Treadway | RABIYAH, Iraq (Oct. 23, 2006) - A member of the 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment patrols along the Iraqi border Oct 23, as part of a presence patrol. Photo by Staff Sgt. Samantha M. Stryker, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.  

RABIYA, IRAQ

10.23.2006

Story by Staff Sgt. Samantha Treadway 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

Staff Sgt. Samantha M. Stryker
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

RABIYAH, Iraq (Oct. 23, 2006) - The United States and Iraq face similar problems controlling their borders. However, Iraq is not just focusing on narcotics, undocumented immigrants and stolen vehicles crossing its borders. Iraqi Border Patrolmen must try to stop a network of terror entering the country.

Not only can insurgents potentially cross unguarded or poorly equipped borders, they can smuggle in weapons and bomb-making materials to use against coalition forces, support sectarian violence and instill fear into the Iraqi people, said Army Maj. William Tomlin, with border transition team "Thundercats."

To combat the problem, American service members, Iraqi customs agents and Iraqi Border Police formed port-of-entry teams (POET) to operate at key border crossings. One such team operates at Rabiyah, a small town on the border with Syria.

The Rabiyah POET is made up of personnel from the Army, Marines and Navy. The members come from a variety of military occupational specialties, including military intelligence, maintenance, supply, fire support and medical fields.

The POETs are modeled after Border Transition Teams and are similar to other units acting as advisors to Iraqi forces. Both types of units train border police, but POETs also train customs agents to operate at a designated border crossing.

There are thousands of military advisors in Iraq training, organizing and accompanying Iraqi units as they work to stabilize the country. The mission of the teams reflects the Bush administration's and Pentagon's vision of its long-term role in Iraq, where U.S. teams act as advisors for local forces who will be doing the actual fighting.

Another major concern is the large amounts of money and commodities such as food and petroleum products that are taken illegally back and forth across borders, which undercut legal imports into Iraq and have destabilized local economies, according to Capt. James McMillian, the team's intelligence officer.

The role of the Rabiyah POET is to train and mentor Iraq's 240th Customs and Security Battalion. The battalion's responsibilities include security at the border crossing, searching vehicles and verifying truck cargo inventories.

"It is important they understand the security concepts," said McMillian. "This is the main point of entry on the Syrian and Iraq border; this is where a lot of money travels in and out of both countries.

"This border entry is very important to Iraq because this is where the oil supplies come through, not only oil but benzene and other petroleum products they need," he said.

The most rewarding part of working with the Iraqi customs agents is their willingness to learn and accept changes for the better, said McMillian.

Unlike the 20-day training cycle for the BTTs, the POETs train a new small group of Iraqi border agents every day. In the three months they have worked there, each POET member has taught his job specialty to the IBP and customs agents in Rabiyah.

When the POETs were first created, a U.S. Border Patrol officer and two U.S. Customs agents came to Iraq to share similar experiences and learn about the uniqueness of each country and their neighbors.

But security is not the only concern at the entryway. Medical training and support is just as important.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Defino Vega, a hospital corpsman, is here as part of the team to teach the IBP combat lifesaving techniques. He teaches a three-day first aid class to the border police and then another class rotates in.

"They have no medical care here at the point of entry," Vega said. "I am here to help them treat even a small cut that could get infected and cause serious illness. But with the possibility of an IED or VBIED, they need to know how to patch someone up and move the patient to a medical facility to give them a chance."

One of the challenges Vega faces is that some of the medical terminology used to explain first aid is not understood by the interpreter and therefore cannot be expressed to the IBP and other ISF.

"After the first class, I looked over the material and simplified the class to ensure they get all the life-saving information," he said.

Despite any barriers faced by his team, Vega remains optimistic.

"I think overall we are being successful," said the corpsman. "We are still learning about the culture and they do not open up to foreigners. But they are good people and they seem to want to take control of their country, and that is what we are here to help them do."

• Date Taken: 10.23.2006
• Date Posted: 11.13.2006 13:58
• Story ID: 8252
• Location: RABIYA, IQ