Photo By Staff Sgt. Kimberly Johnson | Staff Sgt. Peter Faul (center), a fire support non-commissioned officer with Company...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD - As soldiers with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, United States Division-Center, depart Baghdad as the last combat brigade in Iraq, they are leaving a country that has gone through many stages and progression to be where it is today.
Two soldiers who deployed during three key periods in Operation Iraqi Freedom reflected on the many changes they have seen in the Iraqi population and country as a whole during their time here. Both soldiers deployed during the initial invasion in 2003, again with the 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div., in 2007, during the surge, and are now leaving Iraq with the only combat element left in theater.
During their most recent tour of Iraq, soldiers of the 4th SBCT have supported U.S. Division-Center area of operations in and around Baghdad for the past year, assisting, training and advising the Iraqi security forces.
“I have seen massive changes in Iraq since 2003,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Pankey, a platoon sergeant with Company B, 702nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div., and a Salem, Mo., native. “During the invasion, it was utter chaos, really. As the war progressed, the locals grew angry at the fact the power wasn’t restored quite as fast as expected, and the insurgents saw that as an opportunity to turn the people against us.”
Staff Sgt. Peter Faul, a fire support non-commissioned officer with Company F, 52nd Infantry Battalion, 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div., and a Longview, Wash., native, has spent part of every year in Iraq since the beginning of the war, and shares similar memories of Iraq, early on.
“During 2003, it was interesting,” said Faul, who was just 20-years-old during his first deployment. “I saw the beginning of the Iraqi army, the Iraq police forces and the Iraq Civil Defense Corps. The unit I was with was constantly interacting with the people in the local villages. We had a lot of key leader engagements with the village elders to build relationships with them.”
Both men returned from the initial invasion and deployed again in 2007, as part of the U.S. troop surge. Pankey and Faul both said they did not see a huge change between Iraq security forces between 2003 and 2007.
“We worked a lot with the IA and IPs in 2007, and we really didn’t have a lot of trust [between the American soldiers and the Iraqi forces],” Pankey said. “We didn’t have a good working relationship with those personnel.”
He said it was the clash of cultures and ideologies, at first, which caused the mistrust.
“No one can expect two countries with two totally different histories to just come together right away and work together,” Pankey said. “We had to find that niche where we come together.”
Because of the surge, the Iraqis began to slowly show they were building their forces, taking examples from the American soldiers around them, Faul said.
“I think what really started the turnaround was the surge and putting more American troops out there to really secure the areas for the Iraqi civilian populous,” Faul said. “That just led to a chain reaction. Being out there, patrolling with them and getting to know the public set the mission free and encouraged the IA and the government to start taking their own actions toward taking over their own country.”
Throughout the years Faul has spent in Iraq, he said he never thought Iraq would be where it is today.
“In talking with the local citizens during my first deployment, I remember specifically most people saw us as a liberating army,” he said. “This many years later, we do not get the same feeling from the local populous. A lot of the locals are ready to handle their country and a lot of us are ready to go home. The Iraqis have taken the lead and the local citizens are very adamant about taking back their country the right way, through law and order.”
As U.S. forces drawdown, with the final brigade combat team leaving theater, there are lasting impression—both on the American soldiers and the Iraqi forces who are gaining back their country.
“[The American soldiers] have left a very good impression on our counterparts, especially with the local populous,” Pankey said. “We’ve really worked with them out in the civilian population, helping them go out and get jobs. I think that’s been a great help in making a positive impact on this nation.”
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2010 20:03 |
| Story ID: | 54808 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 296 |
| Downloads: | 9 |
This work, Soldiers deploy multiple times, see Iraq in different stages, by SSG Kimberly Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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