Iraqi Army 2nd Lt. Lazer mans a checkpoint at a wall that separates the northern two-thirds of Sadr City from the rest of Baghdad. The wall is crucial for keeping enemy fighters from bringing weapons into the capital, but requires substantial manpower from the Iraqi Army. (James Warden / S&S)
Iraqi Army 2nd Lt. Lazer mans a checkpoint at a wall that separates the northern two-thirds of Sadr City from the rest of Baghdad. The wall is crucial for keeping enemy fighters from bringing weapons into the capital, but requires substantial manpower from the Iraqi Army. (James Warden / S&S)
Staff Sgt. Lewis Trogler, an acting platoon sergeant in Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, inspects an Iraqi Army checkpoint Dec. 27 in Sadr City overseen by Iraqi Army 1st Sgt. Hassan al-Harabi (left) and another Iraqi soldier. The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq will likely force the Iraqi Army to spend more time patrolling around communities instead of manning checkpoints like these. (James Warden / S&S)
BAGHDAD – The Iraqi Army may reconsider the amount of effort it spends on static checkpoints in Sadr City as a result of the emphasis on empowering Iraqi forces called for by the security agreement signed by both countries.
The Iraqi Army is far from a static force. Soldiers patrol local streets, search homes and meet with locals just like the Americans do. But unlike American units, they must also man Sadr City checkpoints that control the entrances to walled-off portions of the Baghdad slum.
To maintain the same patrol tempo, the Iraqi Army will need to bring in more soldiers or shift soldiers from checkpoints to the more mobile missions that the Americans do almost exclusively.
The checkpoints are crucial to controlling the northern two-thirds of Sadr City — an area off-limits to Americans even though it’s long been the stronghold of Shiite militants. Iraqi soldiers ensure that enemy fighters aren’t able to slip roadside bombs and other weapons into the rest of Baghdad.
“We’ve gone through great pains and treasure and resources to wall off this place, and they are literally the ones who have the keys,” said Capt. Andrew Slack, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor, a unit in Sadr City.
But these checkpoints absorb a huge fraction of the Iraqi Army’s manpower. Capt. Mohammad Fadal, commander of 4th Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, is responsible for two checkpoints with 10 to 15 men on duty at any given time. Fadal may also have temporary checkpoints with five soldiers.
Factor in shift rotations, and the manpower requirements add up. When the Americans pull out, the company will either have to pull people off checkpoints or be augmented by another Iraqi Army company, he said.
“I’m sure the Iraqi government will put more people and equipment in if we need more,” Fadal said.
Many of these soldiers are also assigned checkpoint duties permanently. Iraqi Army Sgt. Maj. Ali Bean Hassan, a checkpoint commander, said he works 10 days, gets 10 days off and then the cycle restarts. The only patrolling he does is a sweep 100 meters from the checkpoint each morning to ensure enemy fighters didn’t leave anything dangerous on the road.
“My guys, their job is to be here, not patrol outside,” Hassan said.
Any change in duties will test soldiering skills some haven’t practiced for six or seven months. Checkpoint duty is a lot like being a customs agent. The soldiers must stop people and rummage through their vehicles. They must often be abrupt to bring the disorderly Iraqi traffic under control.
Patrolling through Sadr City, on the other hand, requires a softer community-policing mindset. Good soldiers stop and chat with the locals in addition to the combat duties for which the military is better known.
“It’s something completely different, patrols and [entry control points],” Hassan said.
But Slack thinks that’s a test they’ll pass. The units are at the point where they have a strong enough group of noncommissioned officers who can train new soldiers in the skills they need. Many of the checkpoint soldiers also have patrol experience in other sectors.
“They’re well beyond needing to be trained in basic soldiering tasks,” he said.
Hassan agreed: “It’s not going to affect us. My guys have the perfect skills for anything.”
