Army Reserve Civil Affairs provides stability for citizens in “The Box”

Photo By Timothy Hale | Army Reserve Spc. Tracy Bonzo, assigned to A Company, 401st Civil Affairs Bn. stands watch outside the government complex at Medina Wasl at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., Tuesday, June 1.  

FORT IRWIN, IRAQ

05.31.2010

Story by Timothy Hale  

U.S. Army Reserve Command

FORT IRWIN, Calif. – The minutes ticked away as Staff Sgt. Alan Laville, a 16-year Army Reserve Civil Affairs veteran waited inside the Joint Security Station adjacent to the town of Medina Jabal, located inside the 1,200 square mile area simply known here as “The Box.”

Laville, a Civil Affairs specialist with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion in Webster, N.Y., had an important meeting with the mayor of Medina Jabal. But due to a logistical tangle, the patrol arrived late and the window of opportunity seemed as if it had passed.

Although it was a training event, situations inside the National Training Center often replicate what happens in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Laville’s persistence and apologies to the Iraqi Police paid off and the team was eventually escorted to the mayor’s house, under the watchful eye of Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood, Texas.

“Often, we have to overcome adversity to do our jobs,” said Laville, a native of the Dominican Republic who has deployed to Iraq and Ethiopia. “Unfortunately, we were delayed due to a logistics issue with of our security force.”

“We persisted with the IPs and a mayoral liaison to get the appointment with the mayor,” he continued. “It is a very fluid business and you have to be able to adapt to situations beyond your control.”

Inside the small, rectangular office adorned with paintings of Iraq from local artists, Laville and his team sat down with the mayor to discuss issues about the town’s hospital and school.

Through an interpreter, Laville and Mayor Muhammad Azim outlined the steps to correct issues with shortages in medicine as well as doctors, nurses, school supplies and the supporting infrastructures such as buildings, electricity and clean water.

At the conclusion of the 30-minute meeting, the mayor summed up his feelings.

“The reason we all of us are sitting here is to make things better for the citizens,” Muhammad said. “The people want to see something. They want to feel it.”

“We are in agreement on that,” Laville replied.

The meeting ended with smiles and handshakes. Both sides agreed to schedule a site visit to the hospital and the school so a Civil Affairs team can make the proper assessments in order for work to get underway.

Civil Affairs units help military commanders by working with civil authorities and civilian populations in the commander’s area of operations. The four-person teams work to lessen the impact of military operations on civilian populations during peace, contingency operations and declared war.

The Civil Affairs specialists, working with the support of active Army units, can do this in a number of ways.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Collson, from Buffalo, N.Y., and also with the 401st CA Bn., worked with city leaders in the town of Medina Wasl on many of the same issues.

Additionally, Collson and his team also set-up a job fair at Medina Wasl’s Town Hall.

There, citizens lined up to fill out applications as the elements of the 3rd ACR and a squad of Army Reserve Military Police from the 303rd MP Co. provided security in the streets.

“There is a road project from Medina Wasl to Medina Jabal. We can actually hire locals to do the work,” Collson said.

“One, it occupies the road to keep insurgent and black market activity down,” he said. “And two, it supplies jobs to the local populace.”

Collson added that nearly 30 townspeople from Medina Wasl turned in applications.

“I was expecting between 20 and 40. It was a pretty good turnout,” he said.

In addition to the job fair, they also accepted micro-grant applications from current or prospective business owners to help boost the economy and bring stability to the region.

Training scenarios like this at NTC give Active, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers the realism and authenticity so when they deploy, they understand the full scope and intent of their mission.

For the Civil Affairs Soldiers, this type of training is a valuable tool.

“The benefit for these Soldiers is the way they interact with the people,” Muhammad said. “Whether they are tribal leaders, mayors, police or regular people from the towns.”

“This particular training is to give the Soldiers what they expect to have for reality in Iraq,” he continued. “So if the same situation happens to him in Iraq, he has already trained on it and have no mistakes.”

“[A Soldier] can make a mistake here, but not make the same mistake in Iraq,” Muhammad concluded.

There are plenty of opportunities for Civil Affairs Soldiers to make mistakes and learn from them at NTC. Working alongside their active component brethren, Army Reserve Civil Affairs Soldiers routinely visit 13 towns and villages across the training area.

While each Full Spectrum Operation rotation is only two weeks long, projects are continued through each of the ten annual rotations. The next Civil Affairs team will pick up where the last team left off and continue to make progress for the betterment of the citizens who live and work in “The Box.”

• Date Taken: 05.31.2010
• Date Posted: 06.11.2010 12:43
• Story ID: 51253
• Location: FORT IRWIN, IQ