Passing on their know-how

BUTLER RANGE COMPLEX, Iraq — As the U.S. military begins the largest troop rotation of its recent history, soldiers of the 1st Armored Division are gathering their thoughts and their belongings in anticipation of heading home.

As much as the past year has transformed Iraq, so it has changed the U.S. Army, giving soldiers new combat and survival skills, as well as new insights into another part of the world.

Trained for tank battles on the rolling green hills of Europe, the Germany-based 1st Armored Division has learned to fight a guerrilla war in cramped cities, sandy deserts and steamy river valleys — ever wary of nighttime mortar rounds and hidden roadside bombs.

“We’ve learned many tactical lessons — how to look out for homemade bombs, how to maneuver the vehicles in an urban environment,” said 1st Lt. Reies Flores of Harlingen, Texas.

During a break at this makeshift training base, where soldiers conduct mock raids on houses manned by dummy rebels holding cardboard machine guns, Lt. Flores and other members of his unit eagerly offered advice to the troops who will replace them.

“You need mosquito nets, mosquito repellent and sunscreen,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Russell Sadler, whose unit operates in and around Baghdad.

“It’s an ever-changing environment,” said the U.S. Virgin Islands native. “At night, it’s cold; in the daytime, it’s scorching hot. You have to maintain focus and vigilance. And you have to have a will to survive.”

Spc. Kelly Leonard of Northfield, N.H., said her time in Iraq has given her a new understanding of Islam and Muslim women.

“I thought that they were controlled by their men, that they couldn’t do what they wanted,” she said. “But when I asked a woman why she wore a veil, she said her beauty was just for her husband and her family, and I really appreciated that.”

Almost all American soldiers in Iraq learn a few words of Arabic and acquire other cultural tips, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, spokesman for coalition forces in Baghdad.

“All of our soldiers that come into theater go through a significant amount of training on not only how to fight and conduct their combat operations, but also to understand the cultural context of where they’re going to be operating in,” he said.

U.S. officials will not release details of the rotation for security reasons, but reports say 125,000 soldiers and Marines will leave Iraq and 110,000 will replace them through April. The Associated Press reported that 120,000 of those forces would pass through Turkey’s Incirlik air base.

Among other movements, the 1st Armored Division will be replaced by the 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, a senior source familiar with the plans said. Both divisions will be crowded together in Baghdad for several weeks while the new arrivals learn the ropes.

The arriving soldiers will live far better than the first troops, who often slept outdoors and had only the most primitive facilities. Most bases now have satellite-powered Internet cafes and televisions.

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