And then, just the daily support -- maintenance support, being in direct contact with your immediate chain of command about small issues -- to go down and see maintenance or go down and see different personnel, we have to get all our vehicles together and actually make a whole movement for a day or two. Other challenges experienced by Riveras team correlate to the uniqueness of working customs security at the point of entry. The Army doesnt teach you anything about the Port of Entry and customs, Whited said, so it was brand new to us. As far as being on the border and being up here...a problem that we have, that we dont 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, didnt have a lot of experience working with that kind of stuff, he said, so its 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, weve 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. Weve 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 patrols abilities -- others seem to stay the same. Those solid relationships between the Americans and the Iraqis remain intact, evidenced by the hospitality shown to the team by their counterparts. Whited commented on how the Iraqis frequently invite the team to dinner, have conversations over chi 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 -- so its fun. It appears to be working pretty good, he added. Otherwise, we wouldnt be invited to dinner all the time and getting high fives 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, he said. Actually working with the Iraqis and seeing that all the people arent bad in the country. Everything they show back in the States -- they show pretty much the bad stuff. But thats 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 Id prefer to be doing. |