Military

USAREUR Public Affairs 
June 23, 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq - There is a thin line between the soldiers in Baghdad's city center and the vagrants who want to harm them, but crossing that line is like passing through a brick wall.

That line is the soldiers of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment.

Assigned to Task Force 1-35 for this deployment, the soldiers guard the front gate of the coalition compound in the heart of the Iraqi capital.

Everybody has a mission and this is just one of the many for A Company, said Cpl. Jonathan Gibson, a team leader with the company's 2nd Platoon.

Each platoon works 48 hours - in a 12-on-12-off format - on the gate, then moves to one of the other missions, which could be patrols or guarding checkpoints.

While on the main gate, they thoroughly search non-military vehicles and local nationals entering the compound, checking for proper identification, which the locals obtain from their employers on the compound.

"If the employer is legitimate," Gibson said, "they'll have the proper means to get their workers passes."

In addition to filtering who enters the compound, the guards must also keep the flow of traffic moving past the gate, especially when it is a mob protesting the presence of the United States in Iraq.

They hold up signs saying "America go home" and "No George Bush," Gibson said.

"They felt that us being here, we are an occupying force and we're not going to give them the chance to have their own government," the La Porte, Texas, native added. "There's a lot of confusion on that part."

Though Gibson doesn't feel very threatened during demonstrations, he said his team can't let their guard down.

"That's when they like to hit," he added, "when we're all unfocused."

Gibson said a big asset at the gate has been the translators.

These guys are working out really well," he said. "They understand us and . they know we're trying to help these people"

Like many of the other soldiers in his unit, Gibson has only been able to correspond with his wife through letters, but if he got the chance, he wouldn't tell her what he's doing here.

"I'd tell her the basic stuff," he said. "But, I don't think she'd like to hear the dangerous stuff . it would just make her worry more."

All in all, everyone understands that there is a job to do, and as a team they stay focused on it.

"We keep each other alert by word of mouth - 'Hey, watch for hands. Watch for this guy over here. What's that guy with the bag doing over there?'" Gibson said. "There's a lot of cross talk amongst this platoon, and it keeps us wide awake."