Iraq has forced Army to reorganize on the go

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/i...apt-iraq_x.htm

raq has forced Army to reorganize on the go
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD ? Racing through crowded streets to the site of a car bomb, gunners atop the Humvees pivot side to side, scanning for threats. The drivers zigzag through underpasses, to make it hard for someone who might drop a grenade on the far side. Radios hiss as troops pass the word about suspicious items on the roadsides that could contain bombs.
2nd Lt. Leslie Waddle's platoon is escorting bomb-disposal experts into some of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhoods. It's not what they trained for. Yet they handle their mission with the attention to detail of combat veterans, which they now are. They've had the windows blasted out of their vehicles and driven into scenes of carnage draped with body parts.

"We see it all," says Waddle, 23, quiet and petite with a soft rural Kentucky accent.

Waddle's platoon is trained to drive convoys of trucks, ferry ammo, and run fuel stops behind the lines on a more conventional battlefield. It's attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, part of the 3rd Infantry Division.

But there is little demand for cannons in the fight against the shadowy insurgency in Iraq. And so they have been deployed on what amounts to the front lines of an insurgency. Iraq has forced the Army to reorganize on the go, changing a force designed for large tank and mechanized battles in Europe into one more suited for hunting a dispersed and hard-to-see foe. The military is taking soldiers ranging from cooks to tank gunners, and putting them into the fight.

"The U.S. Army is finally moving in the direction that the British Army moved years ago," says retired Army colonel Doug Macgregor, author of two books on modernizing the Army's organization. British soldiers are trained to be more generalist. The U.S. Army is more specialized.

"Competent, disciplined soldiers can perform whatever mission they are assigned," he says.

Shortcomings in the U.S. military's traditional training and organization became apparent even while the invasion of Iraq was underway, as Saddam's defense shifted to guerrilla tactics. U.S. armored units made a lightning charge to Baghdad in a lopsided victory but the convoys supplying them, ill-prepared for combat, fell victim to ambushes. Most famous was the case of the 507th Maintenance Company, which lost 11 soldiers and another six captured, including the badly injured Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, who became Army chief of staff after the 2003 invasion, quickly ordered all branches of the service to put new emphasis on marksmanship, beginning with basic training. In the past, specialized troops such as mechanics and drivers had to qualify on their weapons only once a year. Now it's at least twice.

In addition, soldiers heading to Iraq are put through simulations of Iraq combat conditions, including ambushes, roadside bombs and suicide car bombs.

Officers say they have no choice but to adapt to the war they find themselves fighting in Iraq. "By God, we've got to make a difference," says Lt. Col. Steven Merkel, commander of the 1/9 Field Artillery. In a conventional war, the 16 big 155mm Paladin howitzers of the 1/9 Field Artillery would be blasting enemy targets to clear the way for invading infantry and armor. On this deployment, the battalion's 350 troops haven't fired a single artillery round. Instead, the troops are functioning as motorized infantry.

"The soldiers that would be manning the guns are out there on patrol, talking to the people," says Merkel.

Senior officers say switching roles isn't easy. "We'll have to get better at it even while we're deployed," says Col. Joseph DiSalvo, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, of which 1/9 Field Artillery is part.

About three months after arriving in Iraq, Waddle's 16-person platoon got their first escort tour. The explosive ordnance team they were escorting used a robot to place a small charge atop a roadside bomb, to detonate it harmlessly. But Waddle's platoon didn't back off far enough.

"It busted all the windows in our Humvees," she recalls.

Waddle says the platoon was "surprised and scared at first, but we're confident now."

The platoon has not had a casualty, although the 2nd Brigade has had eight deaths during its current tour. That's the same number it had two years ago when it participated in the initial invasion and conducted "thunder runs" into Baghdad with its tanks.

One of the biggest challenges is taking soldiers trained in specialized weaponry or logistics and putting them into an insurgency where personal skills may be the soldiers' best weapon.

"We must continue to co-opt the citizens by way of courtesy, dignity and respect," DiSalvo said in a written message to the troops.

Capt. Todd Smith, of 1/9 Field Artillery, says he spends 80% of his time on missions talking to local Iraqis. "It's a far cry from firing rounds," he says. Instead of spending nights calculating azimuths or trajectories, he's on the Internet with other officers sharing tips on how to win the loyalty of local Iraqis away from the insurgents.

Sgt. Anthony Steward, 29, of New York, equates the platoon's work with that of the New York City police, a force he plans to join after his enlistment in the Army is completed next year.

"It's just like the police. They get a call about a domestic violence case, they respond. It's the same thing," he says.