Iraqi exiles prove value in fighting
by Capt. Wells Parker
TASZAR, Hungary (Army News Service, April 7, 2003) -- The requests are pouring into the forward office of Task Force Warrior in Kuwait.
A typical message will state, "Request 3 Free Iraqi Forces with expertise in Basra region..."
Those requests usually end up on the desk of Col. James Doyle who represents the Army training task force in Taszar, Hungary, that trained the volunteers.
"The requests are pouring in," said Doyle. "Initially, the warfighters did not know their value. Now, the secret is out about how invaluable they are. There are strong-willed exchanges among senior officers for their use."
Task Force Warrior, a training task force made up of active and Reserve soldiers representing more than 30 Army units, trained dozens of Iraqi exiles at a former Warsaw Pact base in Hungary. Elements of major Army units included the 1-61st Infantry Regiment, of Fort Jackson, S.C.; the 1-321st Field Artillery Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and the Warrior Brigade Headquarters, Fort Polk, La.
Volunteer Iraqi exiles from the United States, Canada and Europe received military survival training and basic military orientation from task force members in four-week courses in Hungary.
Doyle's soldiers, 350th Civil Affairs Command, of Pensacola, Fla., presented about half the instruction in military-government operations.
Some of the reservists have seen the results of the Free Iraqi Forces first-hand while visiting 101st Airborne Division units currently operating in Iraq. Those reservists included: Maj. Danny Hassig, Capt. Carl Spear and Sgt. 1st Class Mike Odette.
"I wish all our task force trainers could have seen the Free Iraqi Forces in action," said Hassig.
"The Free Iraqi Forces volunteers stood in front of the division commander pointing to the Iraqi regional maps, telling us everything that no map will show," said Hassig. "They knew the locations of reputable suppliers, locations of critical infrastructure, how to distinguish certain groups by the manner in which they pray, and warning signals of trouble that only a local would know."
The volunteers quickly proved their value, Hassig said, when Free Iraqi Forces volunteers assisted in the apprehension of two would-be terrorists.
The volunteers are as valuable in their native Iraq as a Global Positioning System device, Spear said. "They are the assets that make all interaction with Iraqi civilians safer and much more productive."
The value of the volunteers is enormous, said Odette, who as a civilian serves as a prosecutor in Lake County, Fla.
"A translator can talk to Arabic or Kurdish speakers," said Odette. "This is invaluable to the front-line soldiers. A single one of our graduates can be ready at 2:17 a.m. in a sand storm when he is needed.
The Free Iraqi Forces include Saib Al-Hamdy, a practicing civil engineer who is a masters degree candidate at the University of Southern Illinois.
Al-Hamdy recently introduced himself to a Free Iraqi Forces orientation class to over 300 American soldiers.
"I have three children in America," Al-Hamdy said. "I have a son at a fine university, one a high school senior, and my little girl who is a typical American teenager."
Al-Hamdy rolled his eyes and the crowd of soldiers laughed.
"When I first learned of the Free Iraqi Forces were forming, the recruiter mentioned a monthly payment of a little more than $1,000. I immediately started making the arrangements so I could pay the money.
"Later, I was happy to find that it was I who would be paid and not the other way around," he said, with a big smile.
"However, I would have sold everything I own to have this significant role in Iraq's liberation. I have waited for this moment my whole life. Alongside you, and at any cost, I am here to bring freedom to my countrymen."
The crowd of young and old U.S. Army soldiers erupted in applause and shouts of "Hoo-ah!"
Free Iraqi Forces soldiers were with the front-line troops in the port city of Umm Qasr, said Hassig. The volunteers accelerated the humanitarian assistance process by their knowledge of the local language and customs.
"Each hour following Umm Qasr's liberation was critical, as supplies were needed countrywide immediately," said Hassig. "The Free Iraqi Forces saved much time, all the while building further support for the coalition forces among Iraqi citizens."
The volunteers have experienced Saddam's reign of terror.
One volunteer, Ali, remembers.
"My brother was shot 15 times by Saddam's thugs," said Ali. "My mother and father watched in horror as they delivered my brother's lifeless body to our doorstep, told us he was a disloyal and shameful disgrace, then ransacked our home for possessions when we had no money to pay them for the 15 bullets.
"In our despair, my father still thanked God that the thugs did not kill more of our family. Many Free Iraqi Forces volunteers have much worse family hardships under Saddam than me. This is the terror that every Iraqi child grows up with."
Ali said his work in the Iraqi liberation is not of personal revenge, but of a contribution to the future.
"To bring my personal revenge will make me no better of a man than Saddam," said Ali. "My work right now is all of my passion; so that my son will never lose his brother to Saddam."
Currently, the volunteers work in such varied dimensions as refugee assistance, humanitarian aid and prisoner-of-war camps liaison. They also provide orientation training to newly arrived American soldiers.
The Free Iraqi Forces soldiers provided advice to a newly arrived unit of Army Reserve military police.
One Free Iraqi Force volunteer said to the soldiers, "Look for Iraqi people who receive unusual respect or are avoided. Look for the man whom others give their food to. Such a man is likely to cause you big problems soon."
As the training ended, the military police soldiers marched back to their barracks. Their company commander pursued Doyle.
"Sir, can we get some Free Iraqi Forces volunteers?" asked the commander.
(Editor's note: Capt. Wells Parker is assigned to the 350th Civil Affairs Command.)
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