39th sharing the road in Iraq but still wary

AL ASAD, Iraq - Shiny new metal signs adorn the back bumpers of humvees here in Anbar province, telling local drivers in both English and red swirls of Arabic to carefully pass the convoy when signaled.

They are in stark contrast to the signs they replaced last week that had been bolted to the rear bumpers of convoys for years now and warned drivers to stay back 500 meters or risk being shot.

"They've gotten the memo; the message is out," Capt. B.J. Vincent of Harrisburg, commander of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Brigade, told his squad leaders during a midday briefing. "They are flying by us, so watch out."

That night, Alpha Company headed out the Camp al Asad gate on another four-day convoy west to Jordan then back east across the province to Taqaddum and back home to Camp al Asad. The battalion's 600 soldiers protect civilian trucks hauling supplies to U.S. troops across the region.

That night, in a gravel lot filled with tractor-trailer rigs driven by truckers from other Arabic countries, 2nd Lt. ClintLeonard of Damascus told his platoon: "Remember to treat all civilians with dignity and respect. And throw nothing from the vehicles."

In Anbar Province, which stretches across western Iraq, the primary focus of U.S. troops is shifting from combat operations to support missions.

Two years ago, this province was the deadliest part of Iraq, a stronghold for Sunni Muslim insurgents. That changed when the U.S. began paying Sunni fighters to join local militias and protect their neighborhoods from al-Qaida forces instead of fighting U.S. troops.

At the same time, U.S. forces have steadily adopted a less aggressive attitude in the region, hoping to instill alliances with residents rather than appearing as an opposing force.

"When we first got here, these people would pull over to the side of the road, jump out and hold up their hands until we passed by," said Lt. Col. Mickey Stewart, 2nd Battalion commander.

The U.S. Marines who patrol this region required that behavior in past years when Anbar province was still the deadliest region in Iraq. Now, attacks are no longer a daily occurrence in the province, a fact that led to the decision by military leaders to allow local residents to stay in their cars and keep driving.

"Last time we had the bubble concept - a vehicle penetrates that bubble [perimeter around a humvee] and they get shot," Stewart said. "It's been a quantum leap getting past that mind-set."

Soldiers can still shoot vehicles they feel pose a threat. But it's been two years since a car bomber attacked a U.S. convoy in Anbar province. In this new environment, keeping the local population from feeling threatened is an important part of the philosophy that led to the reduction of violence in the region in the first place.

"Actually, I think having civilian traffic sharing the roads makes them safer," Stewart said. "Mamma and the cousins and everyone running the roads reduces the [roadside bomb] threat. They don't want to blow up their own."

That realization came one recent day when Alpha Company found itself in a traffic jam in the middle of the still-volatile town of Hit well past dawn. Local traffic began to pile up behind the trucks on the small two-lane road thatruns along the edge of town on the Euphrates River.

Stewart was on the mission, and gave the go ahead to let locals pass the convoy.

"And they responded well to it," he said. "Now they've started waving at us as they pass instead of scowling. When I saw that, I began to think it may actually work."

There are still some roadways that traffic is controlled, but they are the exception these days.

Rolling west down the main supply route - a six-lane highway that runs from Jordan to Baghdad - Spc. Thomas Blevins of Swifton told Staff Sgt. David Castle of Greenwood that a vehicle was fast approaching their humvee - the last vehicle in the convoy. Blevins looked for flares to shoot as the men discussed what to do with the speeding vehicle. It was midmorning.

Without prompting, the vehicle crossed the median and passed the convoy in the eastbound lanes, a common practice.

A day later, on a different route heading back to Camp al Asad, Spc. Jeremy Adams of Houston pointed to an Iraqi man pedaling down the gravel road on a bicycle.

"I thought he was supposed to pull over and wait for us to pass," he said to Sgt. 1st Class Gordy Thielemier of Pocohontas, truck commander.

"We share the road now, Bud," Thielemier said, waving at the man as they passed by.

Farther down the road, Spc. Colorado Norton of Heber Springs pointed from his gun turret to a bus that had moved into the oncoming lane to pass the convoy.

"That's a wreck waiting to happen," Norton said.

"I think that every night we're on this road, and it hasn't happened yet," Thielemier replied. "You know, if there was a wreck, we'd stop and help."

"Really?" Adams chimed in. "Why?"

"Well, it would be partly because of us, that's why they're in that lane," Thielemier answered. "I just think it's the right thing to do."

This is a whole new concept for 2nd Battalion. It's a complete shift in thinking from the last deployment, which still rings fresh in many of these soldiers' minds.

The mission - escorting supply convoys across the vast western desert - is vastly different from the brigade's 2004-2005 deployment as well. Back then the brigade patrolled a swath of Baghdad as part of the 1st Cavalry Division. Its soldiers walked the streets, raided houses, chased insurgents.

There are no chases this time. The mission has one focus - getting civilian trucks safely to their destination. Other units lead the hunt for insurgents this time. The "Gunslingers" of 2nd Battalion are ensuring those units have the fuel and food they need to wage the fight.

"Although killing is the No. 1 mentality of the infantry, I don't see it as much with these guys," said 507th Corps Support Group Command Sgt. Maj. Sultan Muhammad. "It's kind of hard to tell infantrymen to stop killing. But they accepted the mission very well."

Arkansas' 2nd Battalion is attached to the 507th.

But that doesn't mean they aren't prepared. Heavy machine guns are manned on every truck with boxes of ammunition to spare.

The struggle facing military leaders is to ward off complacency in this new environment and to keep soldiers from feeling too safe.

Signs across Camp Korean Village - one of the outposts where 2nd Battalion stays when on the road - carry warnings such as: "Treat every day like day one. Complacency Kills."

In a briefing the final night of the convoy, Leonard ran down the short list of attacks on U.S. forces in the region over the past few days. Roadside bombs and small arms fire still threaten convoys, proving that the province is not totally safe. But it is much safer than it once was.

"Just because nothing has happened in the last 24 hours doesn't mean something won't happen in the next 24," he said. "That doesn't matter. Anything can happen."