By Pfc. Alisha Nye
14th Public Affairs Detachment
TIKRIT, Iraq - Children from two villages neighboring Contingency Operating Base Speicher, located in Tikrit, Iraq, went on base for a bit of fun and games during and Iraqi Youth Day, which was organized by the Salah ad Din Provincial Reconstruction Team.
"This was something that was important for the Provincial Reconstruction Team to do, and also for the Soldiers," said Sgt. Peggy Swircek, public diplomacy non-commissioned officer, 407th Civil Affairs Battalion, Provincial Reconstruction Team. "The Soldiers who work at the PRT are civil affairs Soldiers, which means that we do a lot of humanitarian assistance."
One of the greater effects of the day was counter-insurgency operations, Swircek said.
"If U.S. Soldiers and coalition forces can make a positive impression on children now, give them an opportunity to experience things that, perhaps, they did not experience before we made our presence here, I think it will affect the future in a positive way," Swircek said. "They'll become more accepting and tolerant, hopefully, of the help that we offer them and it will also empower them to help others in the future."
It is also important, Swircek said, that the cultural gap between Iraqi customs and cultures and American customs and cultures is bridged.
They (the children) had an opportunity to stuff a teddy bear and that's something that is an American tradition," Swircek explained. "Some of these kids don't have shoes. Some of these kids don't go to school. So for them to experience something that's been a central point of our culture as children, it's really important and kind of heart-warming."
All of the children in attendance came from two villages outside of COB Speicher.
It was really important that we brought these kids here because they see us roll in and out of the gates of COB Speicher inside of our big, huge up-armor vehicles and our weapons," Swircek said. "So it was nice to have these kids come here and see that we are actually real people."
Some events the children had an opportunity to partake in were to play soccer, stuff a teddy bear, have a pizza party and even make a gooey blob of slime to play with, the latter being one of Swircek's personal favorites.
"For them to actually be hands-on and do some sort of experiment that they don't have the ability to do in their normal schoolhouse here in Iraq, it was interesting," she said. "Their expressions were all different. Some were afraid and some were really excited. For them to actually create and make something, it was interesting to see from start to finish."
Having the children on base was a huge gain. Swircek's biggest gain, however, was just to sit down and speak with the children.
"It's very interesting to sit down with an Iraqi child and talk to him about his village, talk to him about school, get his idea about what's happening in Iraq and how he feels about his country," she said. "You get a completely different perspective when you talk to a child versus an adult."