The author with Iraqi General Ali Adnan (center) and US Army Colonel John Bogdon (right). Click the photo to read "Building Bridges to the Iraqi Police."

Major Mike Indovina and Captain Tedrick by the dart board in Joe's Cafe. Click the photo to read "After the Patrol - Conversations at Joe's Cafe."

The Changing Streets of Salman Pak
by Gordon Cucullu

"If this was six months earlier, I would ask that you not come with us to Salman Pak," said U.S. Army Captain Liz Cain, commanding officer of the 59th Military Police Company. Cain's company, nicknamed "Warriors," has responsibility for the area southeast of Bagdad, all the way to what was once an infamous al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) stronghold.
        
This was my first day of embed with the 95th MP Battalion (Super Stars) and that evening several of us were gathered in lawn chairs under a screened porch outside of Lieutenant Colonel John Bogdan's room smoking cigars, drinking non-alcoholic beer, and talking shop. My original schedule called for an easy tomorrow of soldier interviews in the battalion area at FOB Rustamiyah. But my ears perked up when Cain mentioned that she was leading a mission down south to Salman Pak in the morning.
        
The city was a lure for me, largely because of the deeply entrenched al Qaeda presence that long pre-dated the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Marines had overrun the infamous terrorist training camp just outside of Salman Pak in the early days of the fighting. Observers, such as former Marine Oliver North, who were embedded at the time, reported seeing mock-ups of aircraft fuselages in which al Qaeda and other terror groups trained to hijack aircraft with knives. Much documentation on poison gasses such as Ricin and Sarin were also uncovered at the camp. I was curious, so I asked to accompany her patrol.

"Better ask him," Cain laughed, pointing to the battalion commander.

"Sure, why not?" Bogdan replied when I interrupted his conversation to ask permission. "Liz will take good care of you."

That settled it. With a grin Cain instructed me to meet in her conference room at 0700 for a pre-mission briefing. Then she gave me some background on Salman Pak.

"We would get into a firefight every time we went down there," she said. "It was a real shooting gallery. But things have turned around now. The maneuver brigades have pushed the AQI out of the city and south into a peninsula formed by the Tigris River as it twists and turns. We won't be going that far south tomorrow."

"But we will go to the city?" I asked.

"Absolutely. And we'll run down so that you can see the Arches." Cain went on to explain that in ancient times Salman Pak was a capital of the Persian Empire that stretched from present-day Iran all the way to the hills of Greece. There was a famous structure still standing there that dated back to Biblical times. "It is something to see. We'll drive past it."

Cain also told me that in Saddam's day this part of Salman Pak was a resort area, a place where newlywed couples would come for their honeymoons. "There's a place called the Panorama," she said, "that was where people stayed who were visiting the site."

At the morning brief I saw that we were going way south out of Baghdad proper. "We will visit two stations in this area," Cain said, showing me their positions on a map. "The Arches are here, and there," she pointed to a built-up area on the map south of the city proper, "this area is where the AQI have retreated to. If we go in there we're sure to get into a fight so we're staying away for today. The BCT (Brigade Combat Team) will clean them out of there soon enough."

We roll out earlier than I'd thought we would, reaffirming a lesson that quickly came back to an old soldier: always make sure that you have something to eat stuffed into your shoulder bag. Because of miscommunication I thought we were going to breakfast after the morning brief. Whoops. Turned out that they had an early chow. So I rolled that day with a rumbling stomach. Missed my morning coffee most of all.

But the experience was well worth the minor sacrifice. We stopped first at the southernmost IP station in the city. As we walked in, we stepped past piles of sand and gravel, sidestepped a worker mixing concrete, and ducked so that we would not get splattered from paint by workers on ladders. "This station is undergoing a total renovation," said Sergeant First Class Stephen Mudge. A Plymouth, MA native and career soldier, Mudge is optimistic about the changing situation. Mudge leads the squad that is based with the IPs and live at the station.

"I like living down here with the IPs," he says. "We're closer to the action and get way better intel than if we went back to the FOB every day."

The soldiers are fired on frequently. "We get shot at by AQI pretty regularly," Mudge said. "They also like to use deep-buried IEDs against us. Every so often a sniper will take a pot shot, but most of their weapons are non-scoped so they have a pretty small porch." For the layperson this refers to al Qaeda use of iron-sighted weapons - without telescopic sights - thereby giving the shooter a much shorter effective range to engage a target.

"They test us all the time," Mudge said. "They learn from us; we learn from them. It's a game. The last attack a few weeks ago was a free-for-all. Fortunately all small arms with some RPGs (rocket propelled grenades, a shoulder-fired weapon). The tower there got hit more than 100 times. But we didn't have casualties to speak off on our side. The IPs fight a lot better when we're here with them. Can't blame them for that."

Mudge is happy with the expanding Sons of Iraq program. "Probably half the guys you see on the streets in SOI uniform were fighting us until not long ago when they switched over. But it has made a huge difference. We can walk the streets now without getting shot at. And the civilians are out all the time, walking around, reopening the markets and stores. It's a completely different place now."

Cain concurs. "The SOI program has had a great positive effect. A good example: We're going to meet General Adman later at the station. He has moved his family back to Salman Pak because he thinks the threat has diminished that far."

Later, we ride north through Salman Pak, returning from our swing to see the Arches. On the streets of Salman Pak children are running around kicking soccer balls and trailing behind mothers. Shoppers fill the market that is loaded with fresh produce and livestock. Stores that feature dry goods are open for business with plenty of customers. Old men in traditional dress cluster around tables in front of open-air restaurants sipping strong coffee or sweet chai.

We see Iraqi Police manning checkpoints and just up the block SOI in their brown camo uniforms are standing alert by a kiosk. It's an odd sight: former enemies now working together for a better Salman Pak, a better Iraq.

"Is it really working?" I ask Liz Cain over the vehicle intercom system.

Cain points out an IP officer walking casually down the median strip. "Look at that!" she said. "Just a few months ago he would have been assassinated if he did that. Now he's walking around without a weapon or armor, waving to the people. What a difference! That's real progress. Progress you can see."

Bad Air - Cigars at FOB Rustamiyah Colonel John Bogdon has a few thoughts on why the air is so bad around FOB Rustamiyah, and it "ain't" the cigars.	The Face of War: Women in Combat Though it may still be controversial, Military Police women are potentially engaged in the fight every time a convoy rolls outside the wire. Hear the stories of several MPs in Iraq.	Who is That Masked Man? Despite their intimidating appearance, Interpreters are unarmed and rely completely on soldiers to protect them.
An ally and a favorite resource...

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