Photo By Sgt. Emily Knitter | Staff Sgt. Ben Lolohea and Sgt. Michael Allen, civil affairs Soldiers with 486th Civil...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD -- The teal and black colored boxes with "Scholastic" blazing across the sides were tossed onto a truck by an assembly line of U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi locals.
Joining together to load all the supplies, the two groups had more invested than just the sweat dripping down their foreheads. The textbooks inside the boxes were being given to local Iraqi high schools, and the three Soldiers are the ones who organized this donation every step of the way, leading up to the pickup May 24.
This was the first time they had coordinated a humanitarian aid drop, and the Soldiers were almost as excited as the locals who were receiving the aid.
"It was very rewarding to actually see the Iraqi people get [the supplies]," said Staff Sgt. Jan Rachels, a native of Tulsa, Okla. "Handing it over to them, and seeing how happy they are to receive it is my favorite part. They really are grateful; it makes me really feel like I am making a difference."
Two of the Soldiers are mechanics; the other is a college student. Normally, they are working on broken down trucks and unsolved math equations, paperwork and homework.
Since November, though, they have been solving very different problems far away from the shop and the classroom. These everyday people have been brought together for a job completely different than what their usual careers entail.
They are part of the Army Reserve 486th Civil Affairs Battalion, out of Tulsa, Okla., currently deployed in Iraq with 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. Coordinating with local leaders, the three civil affairs coordinators organize improvement projects for impoverished areas, overseeing progress and arranging assistance when needed.
Civil affairs units are almost exclusively made up of Army Reserve Soldiers who draw upon their civilian knowledge and experiences for guidance as they work on projects within different communities.
"We have doctors, lawyers, engineers and architects, among other things," said Rachels. "All of those kinds of people who do it for a living as a civilian are employed for civil affairs. So when they come into an Iraqi town, or any location, and it needs a sewer system or a building rebuilt, for example, we have a base of knowledge."
For Sgt. Michael Allen, a native of Muskogee, Okla., who is still in college, working with people from so many different career paths has influenced his own plans.
"Until you actually graduate and have a specific field, you just have more of a general base of knowledge. I was going to do architecture, but I met some other architects in my unit, and I changed my mind," he said.
Over the past few months, the team's mission has been decreasing. As troops slowly drawdown in Iraq, the team's main purpose, to identify what is needed in the area, is being taken over by individual battalions. As the battalions take command, civil affairs Soldiers are being sent home in larger numbers.
"Now there are only four of us, where there used to be a whole company," said Rachels.
But the team still has the opportunity to make a difference within the local community.
The first five months of their deployment, the team was in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. In April, they moved to Contingency Operating Station Falcon, outside of Baghdad. With their move came a new mission. The team is now able to orchestrate humanitarian aid drops in poverty-stricken areas.
These drops can provide items such as food and blankets to needy families, and books and equipment to the local government for distribution throughout area schools.
"Depending on what we are getting, we try to make contact with the right people," said Staff Sgt. Ben Lolohea, a native of Fort Worth, Texas.
They receive the supplies from different groups throughout Iraq, but sometimes they stumble onto things unexpectedly.
A storage unit that had been left by the previous unit was uncovered right after the team transitioned to Falcon. When they opened the doors, they found almost a full laboratory collection of everything from textbooks to a model human skeleton.
As soon as they discovered what was inside the storage unit, they began planning for how to donate it.
"We came upon it accidentally, but it was really good stuff and it was really nice to give it to somebody who can use it for what it was intended for," said Rachels.
Although the boxes were labeled for elementary school children, the team had the supplies appraised and discovered it was more suitable for high school students. They contacted the education department.
"We met the director of education on Thursday, and he was very impressed," said Lolohea. "He was representing the kids of Iraq, and it was very rewarding knowing they were happy with what we are trying to do for them."
Being away from their children is the hardest part of the team's deployment.
"I have left home before and taken [my daughter] to the airport, and she didn't really know what was going on," said Allen. "This last time, I thought it would be the same way because she was only two. But right as I started to get on the plane, she started saying 'no, no, no' and started crying."
"When we go out and interact with the local people and we see little children, we automatically think of our own," said Rachels. "It makes us feel better about being here because those kids aren't any different than ours, and they need help."
Army Reserve Soldiers have a different system for deployment rotations than active duty Soldiers. Because they also balance civilian careers, once a person has deployed a few times the units try to rotate in new Soldiers with no overseas experience so the veterans can stay in the States. But Lolohea, Rachels and Allen didn't use their previous deployments as a buffer.
"Whenever they told us we were on the battle roster, we didn't fight it; we probably could have, but we just said 'okay,'" said Allen.
For Rachels, who has four daughters and six grandchildren, her biggest reward has a bittersweet taste.
"Whenever there are children involved, I feel a lot better about what we are doing. But that is also what makes me think twice about every deployment. I only had eight months between my first two deployments. After that I had some leeway [when I found out I was deploying a third time] to say, 'Look I just got back, I've been twice when there are some people who haven't been at all.' I never have though. [The greatest reward] is being a part of something that is going to make a difference worldwide.
"I really believe in the mission too," Rachels said. "In the Army, no matter what the mission is, you go. But I really feel good about this one."
As a college student, one of hardest parts about deploying for Allen is adjusting back to the States.
"It's crazy going from college life to a deployment, but it's even worse trying to go back afterwards because getting back into the rhythm of school and homework -- after having a full time job -- is hard," he said.
But a year in Iraq is helping to pay for his college bills, and for his two children. While it is hard to be apart, it is something he is willing to do.
"Even though my daughter is only three, I still get to talk to her [through the webcam] during the week," Allen said. "She is really smart for her age."
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2010 20:54 |
| Story ID: | 50328 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 133 |
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