Dec 23, 2004
Departing units advise incoming guardsmen
CAMP CALDWELL, IRAQ - Capt. Scott Leslie listens intently to what the soldier in the dirty uniform is saying. What he hears just might save his life.
Capt. Leslie, 36, of Athens, Tenn., is Deacon Company commander of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based National Guard unit with more than 4,000 soldiers just beginning its tour in Iraq. The soldiers are getting advice from the departing 30th Heavy Separate Brigade, based in Clinton, N.C.
"They can tell us all about the lessons they’ve learned the hard way," Capt. Leslie told an embedded reporter with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "We can transition out in a way the local populace never knows there’s a difference."
Since arriving here about a week ago, 278th soldiers have been going out on missions with their counterparts from the 30th. These veteran troops have been splitting time packing their bags for home and transferring a year’s worth of knowledge to Capt. Leslie and company.
The Army calls this 10-day transition process "left seat ride, right seat ride." New soldiers begin by sitting beside the departing soldiers and learning the job firsthand. After a few days the roles are reversed, with the soldiers just beginning his or her deployment taking over the duty while the seasoned soldier watches and critiques.
"We are imparting all the knowledge and experience we have gotten in our 10 months here," said the 30th’s Capt. Michael Allen, who spent last week as a tour guide pointing out the terrain Capt. Leslie will navigate and the people he will face during the next 12 months.
Most of the brigade, including 3,400 members from North Carolina, will return home beginning next week, the North Carolina National Guard said Tuesday.
The 278th will patrol a sector east of the town of Baqoubah near the Iranian border.
Venturing outside the camp with the 30th veterans, 278th soldiers under Capt. Leslie passed military fortifications left over from the Iraq-Iran war.
The convoy of Bradleys and Humvees eventually stopped inside a former U.S. base recently handed over to the Iraqi National Guard. While at the base, called Wolf Den, Mayor Kahlan Jamal of the town of Qazania stopped by and told Capt. Allen and Capt. Leslie about the town’s needs.
He said power lasts for just 10 minutes a day, water and fuel come from a nearby town and are unreliable, and the city doesn’t have enough police officers to maintain control.
"We need lots of police while we are preparing for the elections," said Mr. Jamal, who speaks fluent English. "Lots of police."
Similar training occurred for all the jobs needed to keep Camp Caldwell running. First Lt. Alex Sanderson last weekend guided 278th soldiers with the 1st Squadron’s service battery on a practice supply convoy.
He told the 278th drivers to listen for any sounds that might be a signal to an attack, such as an Iraqi whistling, and advised them not to pull alongside Iraqi vehicles stuck in traffic.
They are doing pretty well.
It's tough on them because of his brain damage.
They say he in alot of ways he is like a child.
I will be going over there soon to install a door (not today), Russ get's aggravated easily.