DURA’IYAH, Iraq — The door was locked, but the soldiers needed to get a look inside.

Armed with a list of names and approximate locations, a platoon of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division soldiers were on the prowl in the small farming village of Dura’Iyah during a recent patrol.

The target of their search was hardly dangerous, though.

"She received money from coalition forces so we just want to see how the business is doing," 1st Lt. Brendan Collins explained to family members of the absent shop owner.

In an effort to spur businesses along at the grass-roots level, coalition forces have been offering up microgrants for businesses in areas where security is strong enough that more attention can be turned to economic development programs.

In the Dura’Iyah area, an effort also was made to incorporate female business owners into the initiative. While the numbers were small — only about five female-run shops were part of the project — the effort showcases what type of role soldiers are now playing in many rural zones free of the volatility and day-to-day threats encountered in places such as Sadr City.

Indeed, the soldiers working in the countryside sometimes seem engaged in work more associated with a Peace Corps volunteer than your stereotypical war fighter. Though commanders make the point that the security gains are fragile and reversible in such areas, the 50 calibers mounted on Humvees and weapon-at-the-ready soldiers almost feel out of place.

On a recent trip to Dura’Iyah — a rural community not far from the city limits of Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad — Company A soldiers were following up on a project started by the unit that preceded them in the area. In the two months since the women received the grant money, the soldiers wanted to assess whether the investment has made a difference.

Microgrants tend to range somewhere between $500 and $1,000, a substantial sum in areas such as Dura’Iyah, where only four or five months ago people did business by barter and trade. There was no currency in the area at that time, soldiers said.

Now, money is being injected back into the local economy through the "Sons of Iraq" program, a coalition-funded project that pays members of the local security force roughly $300 a month. As a result, security has strengthened in communities like Dura’Iyah, and businesses are starting to proliferate.

But in the wilds of Iraq, tracking people down isn’t always easy. And sometimes well-intentioned initiatives can fall short of expectations.

At their first stop, the soldiers approached a home where there was supposed to be a shop selling women’s accessories. After asking villagers a few questions, the soldiers learned that the place they were looking for was the padlocked garage standing right before them.

The shop’s owner received an undisclosed sum of money to hire two additional workers and add to her inventory. But when the Task Force 2-6 soldiers inspected the shop, all that was inside was a couple of dresses, a small collection of children’s clothes and a few toiletries.

All in all, not much of a business. Because the owner wasn’t around, Collins told the family they would come back another time to see how the money was used.

The effort to assess the success of the women’s businesses proved to be something of a wild goose chase for the soldiers, who ran into dead end after dead end.

At another women’s clothing shop, which didn’t receive any coalition money, the soldiers at least hoped to get pointed in the right direction in their search for the business owners. No such luck.

"It doesn’t seem like anyone knows their names," said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Getzinger, a civil affairs specialist assigned to Task Force 2-6.

The soldiers pressed on to their next stop, where they sought help from the owner of a cell phone store.

"He also doesn’t know about this," a translator explained to the soldiers.

The cell phone shop owner, however, was interested in all the talk of microgrants.

Getzinger was forced to explain: "We already gave money, so now we’re trying to find the people we gave it to."

The group marched on to a nearby convenience store, again seeking information. No luck.

The last stop: A women’s school that coalition forces have been supporting. Surely, if any one knows about female business owners in town it’s the women who run the school. But here, too, the soldiers ran into a dead end.

With their patrol through town complete, the soldiers headed to their Humvees for the drive back to Combat Outpost Carver.

As they departed, Getzinger said he would do some more research to see what happened to the women, who perhaps opened shops in another town.

"Or we got taken for a ride and those women are in Baghdad with the money," Collins added.

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