Posted on 11/04/2006 7:11:09 AM PST by SandRat
RABEA — It is early morning at the point of entry where two countries meet – Iraq and Syria. Two men in different uniforms stand near a sand-colored tower. They look off in the distance and wait for signs of activity, anticipating the mass of vehicles and pedestrians who will soon attempt to gain access to one of the neighboring nations.But at this time of day, the only thing crossing the border is the occasional gust of sand carried by the breeze.
The two men, an American Soldier and an Iraqi Border Patrol agent, engage in friendly dialogue. Each makes an effort to speak the other’s native language – a little broken English here, some broken Arabic there – followed by laughter and warm handshakes.
Observing this exchange, it becomes evident the border is not the only thing being secured in this remote area. Members of the Border Transition Teams are securing relationships, as well.
“A BTT is like any other transition team in Iraq,” said Capt. Nicholas Rivera, a transition team adviser from Fort Bragg, N.C. “We’re here to train the Iraqis that we work with, specifically on the border.”
The BTTs work side by side with their Iraqi counterparts -- advising, coaching, teaching and mentoring them to become more self-sufficient. In the process, personal and professional relationships are developed.
“It’s because they are working so closely,” said Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group, which provides administrative support to the embedded transition teams, “and often times, the Department of Border Enforcement and the Border Patrol are so dependent on the Border Transition Teams.”
What distinguishes Rivera’s team from most BTTs is they work at a point of entry near the small village of Rabea, thrusting them into the world of customs measures and procedures.
“We’re actually considered a Point of Entry Team,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Whited, transition team adviser from Fort Lee, Va.“We work with the whole Port of Entry, which is the customs inspectors, the customs police and the Customs Security Battalion.”
Regardless of the good working relationships embedded transition teams may have with their Iraqi counterparts, each team has its own obstacles to overcome. Being in a remote location is one of the things presenting challenges to the BTTs.
“Right now, it is an economy of force mission,” Pittard said. “There are challenges as far as not having a partnership unit that you can easily get resources from as a BTT.”
Other challenges experienced by Rivera’s team correlate to the uniqueness of working customs security at the point of entry.
“As far as being on the border and being up here ... a problem that we have, that we don’t have down in central Iraqi, is the smuggling,” said Rivera.
“A lot of the Soldiers, probably before the last couple of teams came up here, didn’t have a lot of experience working with that kind of stuff,” he said, “We’re going through the whole ‘crawl, walk, run’ phase, but doing it on the job.”
U.S. Customs agents, dispatched to assist the BTTs, have been instrumental in showing the Iraqis how to detect smuggling activity, quickly identifying and correcting shortcomings in their customs measures, said Rivera.
“If you look up at the Syrian border,” Pittard said, “we’ve got BTTs that are making a world of difference in partnership with U.S. Customs officials in helping to train Iraqi Border Patrol units, as well as Iraqi port of entry soldiers.
“We’ve seen where a number of smuggled goods have been captured or detected through the efforts of the Border Transition Teams. The entire professionalism of the BTTs along the Syrian border has increased remarkably.”
Where some things change – specifically, the improvement in the Iraqi border patrol’s abilities – others seem to stay thesame. Those solid relationships between the Americans and the Iraqis remain intact, evidenced by the hospitality shownto the team by their counterparts.
Whited commented on how the Iraqis frequently invite the team to dinner, have conversations over chai tea, and exchange treats on the line.
“They have families that live right up along side the POE, so we see their kids everyday,” he said. “They come up and shake our hands. We give them candy, they bring us stuff – it’s fun.
“It appears to be working pretty good,” he added. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be invited to dinner all the time and getting highfives and shakes out there.”
Rivera commented on the positive interaction he has had with the Iraqis this tour, in contrast with his previous tour where he worked in convoy security.
“My perception of the Iraqi Soldiers, the Iraqi leadership, has changed quite a bit from last year to this year,” he said.
He also said he looks forward to going home and sharing his observations with his family, having seen Iraq from two different angles.
Whited agreed, and said working on a transition team has been an eye-opening experience.
“It does let you see things from the other side, actually working with the Iraqis and seeing that all the people aren’t bad in the country,” he said.
“Everything they show back in the States – they show pretty much the bad stuff. But that’s the one thing on being on the transition teams and working with them, you actually get to see the good that we do bring out to it.”
“We are making an impact over here for these guys,” Rivera said. “If I had to come back over here for a second job, this is what I’d prefer to be doing.”
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