Courtesy Photo | Army Staff Sgt. James Wardle (left) and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Kidwell,...... read more read more
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — An Airman and Soldier assist Multi-National Corps — Iraq senior leaders in their mission to help Iraq's civilian authorities and military forces efficiently protect their country.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Kidwell, administration noncommissioned officer to the deputy commanding general for Iraqi security forces police, and Army Staff Sgt. James Wardle, operations NCO to the DCG for ISF military, Maj. Gen. Peter Aylward, are responsible for coordinating the planning stages of their bosses' missions to support their operations throughout Iraq.
Kidwell, who is deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., has accompanied his boss, Col. David Fox, on 10 missions that he has planned, and feels that crucial information is gathered from the trips.
"Most of them are our way of finding out how well they're being trained, how well they're equipped and what kind of shortfalls and challenges they're coming up against," the Alamogordo, N.M., native said. "We're supplying the Iraqi police with the equipment and training they need to become active in their government and the security of their country. What we do for them is important because of the training they get, the equipment that they're procuring that allows them to better -- do their mission and support their borders and help their country progress."
While they have different missions, both groups strive toward a common purpose.
"We work together in a sense of helping Iraq decide if they will become a more military or police-run country," said Wardle, who is deployed from Fort Lewis, Wash. "Both of us work well together to get them to where they need to go. You can't have one without the other, but one ultimately can't be in control of everything."
Both sergeants say their job in Iraq is different from what they do day-to-day at their home station. For Kidwell, who works as a personnelist at Barksdale, the difference is only slight.
"The work I do here is a combination of paper work and missions," Kidwell said. "I get to see a little more of the mission side — what our function is. I get to go out on missions, fly out on missions with teams, or ground movements — it's very interesting."
However, Wardle's requirements were brand new to him.
"It's different because this is a job where you don't bring any knowledge from your previous job here," said Wardle, a native of Boise, Idaho. "I'm a combat engineer at home but I'm doing operations here. It's a completely different animal. But it's the level of responsibility you have here that makes this job very, very important. You have to be on your game at all times, because you're not only representing yourself, but the general you work for. That's priority — it's his name going out there, not mine."
While he may not always see it first-hand, Wardle knows that the work they're doing is making a difference within Iraq.
"I don't get to see the benefits in person, but I've read and heard about the progress we're making and ideas we're giving Iraqis," he said. "I think we're making a huge improvement — we're giving ideas to their general officers so they can sustain themselves once we leave. Slowly, but surely, we're getting there."
| Date Taken: | 12.07.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2009 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 42399 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 271 |
| Downloads: | 247 |
This work, NCOs support mission of MNC-I senior leaders, by SrA Alyssa Miles, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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