May 29, 2006 By Patty Yauger 8 min read

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ – It has been nearly a year since the Mount Pleasant based unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PANG) said goodbye to loved ones and boarded an airplane that would place them in an area where residents were afraid to leave their homes and terrorists reigned. Within the next few weeks, the contingent will begin to make their way back home from Iraq.

Several local soldiers recently took the time to reflect on the mission, the accomplishments and how it has affected their personal lives.

After six months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and Fort Irwin, Calif., more than 2,000 members of the state’s National Guard 2nd “Iron Soldier” Brigade joined with other guardsmen from throughout the U.S. and a U.S. Marine battalion in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.

Their mission was to provide security in the western region of Iraq that borders Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria and where more than 800,000 Iraqi residents live.

“It is a very violent environment,” said Col. John L. Gronski, 2nd Brigade combat commander of the area known as the Sunni Triangle, “but it is getting better.”

Connellsville resident, Sgt. William Colvin said the three-day trek from Kuwait to Camp Habbaniyah where he would live for the next year, was “an experience.”

“Most of our battalion flew to Iraq, but I was one of the lucky ones who got to convoy,” he said. “I was both excited and disappointed. I knew it would be an experience that not everyone would get, but being enclosed in a little metal box on wheels without a working air conditioner and in the desert when the temperature ranged from 120 to 130-degrees, was hardly going to be a fun road trip.”

His “home” was located at a former British Air Base that had been somewhat landscaped with Eucalyptus trees that had been imported from Australia by the British.

“(The trees) were something that we did not see in Kuwait or anywhere in southern Iraq,” said Colvin. “We were very fortunate because most camps don’t have trees and some don’t have permanent buildings.”

Colvin said he shares his living room-sized quarters with three other soldiers and shower facilities with many others.

“I can’t complain because I know that there are other guys living on this base in tighter quarters,” he said.

As a battalion operations officer, Colvin said that his duties include tracking the activities of the soldiers.

“We track our units that go out on patrol, coordinate with other units coming into our battle space, coordinate with Iraqi Army patrols and advise and update our units of what is going on around them,” he said. “At times it seems everything is happening at once; the radios are all reporting, everyone is cross-talking while getting the support out to the troops that have had contact with the enemy.

“When it’s quiet, it means that everyone here is doing what they should and things are safe and sound.

“I don’t mind the lack of excitement.”

Geibel Catholic High School graduate, 2nd Lt. Sean Bufano, who was appointed executive officer of the 3rd Platoon, said after their arrival, the soldiers had very little time to become oriented to the new environment.

“The operation tempo was mind numbing,” he said. “We conducted one or two missions per day (and) there was no unwind time.

“The platoon responded well, and we quickly gained a reputation for finding a fight or a fight finding us.

“We became successful in finding the enemy and in delivering to the enemy a very heavy hand.”

Urban combat, said Bufano, strains soldiers at every level.

“The mental shifting of gears is unmatched by anything I’ve done as a civilian,” he said. “One minute I am holding a baby and thinking of my daughter back home and then a moment later I’m delivering a high volume of fire at the enemy.

“One day I am shaking hands with an apparently congenial local, and that night we raid his house and arrest him as recent intelligence has identified him as an insurgent.”

Gronski, meanwhile, said the U.S. led coalition force has made great strides during the yearlong tour of duty, including the training of the Iraqi Army which has now taken an active role in providing security for their country.

“When we arrived in July, we had four Iraqi Army battalions working in our battle space, but they were not capable of conducting independent operations,” said Gronski. “Now we have nine Iraqi Army battalions working with us and all nine are very capable of conducting an independent operation.”

The Iraqi soldier, said Gronski, is more capable of interacting with the local citizens and garnering information that can be used to capture insurgents or locate weapons.

“With that action, we’ve been able to detain many high-value (insurgency) cell leaders, financiers of the insurgency, IED (improvised explosive device) placers and bomb-makers,” he said. “They have been very, very productive for us.”

The additional security force has also facilitated the removal of insurgents from three areas that had been a safe haven for them to gather, plan attacks and transport weapons, added Gronski.

Many Ramadi residents have also volunteered for police training and are now patrolling their cities.

“There were virtually zero Iraqi police when we arrived here,” said Gronski. “Since January, 1,600 have been sent to (training facilities) in Baghdad and Jordan and 700 have returned and are now securing their own city.”

The added security has translated in more residents participating in elections and additional dialogue with tribal sheiks.

In January 2005, only 2-percent of the residents went to the polls. In December, there was a 60-percent turnout of voters.

“It took us four or five months, but we have developed a bond of trust with the area leaders, and they have encouraged the people of this area to go out and vote,” said Gronski. “It was very rewarding to the soldiers when we saw such great numbers come out and vote.

“We felt that the work we were doing here had been validated and we saw that as making significant progress in this area.”

He credits PANG Lt. Col. Michael McLaughlin with paving the way for discussions with the local leaders.

“He was very instrumental in creating the bond of trust.”

McLaughlin was killed in January when a suicide bomber raced into a crowd of Iraqi police recruits standing with him in Ramadi. He was the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman officer to be killed in combat action since World War II.

The coalition forces have also made infrastructure improvements for schools and hospitals.

“One of the greatest improvements has been the increase of energy at Ramadi General Hospital and a nearby children’s hospital where they now have electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Gronski. “We’ve delivered $1.8 million in medical supplies and equipment to 22 hospitals and over $300,000 in school supplies to 31 schools.

“We seen a lot of improvement and the people of Ramadi and the surrounding area are very appreciative of our efforts.”

Mount Pleasant unit Maj. Ros Gammon said the progress is visible, but permanent stability will take time.

“The Iraqi Army soldiers definitely want things to get better,” he said. “They started from scratch. They are moving along, but they need help doing it.

“Everyday things get better, but we need to be here until they are able to do it for themselves.”

As the end of the deployment draws closer, there will be no let down in the day-to-day activities, said Bufano.

“The thought of returning home safely to our families is nearly overwhelming, but we must remain focused,” he said. “The danger of this theatre will not end for us until we re-deploy back to the states.”

Colvin, meanwhile, said the time away from home has quickly passed in some instances and stood still at other times.

“I can’t say that it was an entirely positive experience, but it is definitely something that I will never forget.

“Our time here has taught me valuable life lessons that some people will never fully understand. I know that there are many people on this base and across Iraq that have done greater things and have more exciting stories, but the experience I have gained from this deployment is far more valuable and memorable to me than anything else I have ever done or probably will ever do.”

Gronski, meanwhile, said that Pennsylvania and those across the nation should be proud of the soldiers who faced adversity every day.

“This is the most intense area in terms of fighting in the entire theater,” he said. “Everyday is a ‘game on’ day. There is never one day off because of the level of insurgency.

“These soldiers have exhibited great courage, dedication and bravery on a daily basis and will continue to do so until we transition out and the new unit transitions in.”