.
The senior leaders of the Wisconsin Army National Guard visited many of the 3,200 Wisconsin troops of the state’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team -- which includes soldiers from the Coulee Region -- in Iraq last week. Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, Wisconsin Army National Guard commander, and state Command Sgt. Maj. George Stopper traveled to several forward operating bases that are home to Wisconsin Guard soldiers for the next eight months.
Two significant dust storms curtailed the Wisconsin leaders’ travel itinerary while in Iraq, but Anderson said he was impressed by what the 32nd Brigade has achieved in just a few weeks. "Typical Wisconsin soldiers," Anderson said. "They’ve taken the situation they were handed and made significant improvements."
For example, soldiers from Task Force 128 at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Future - made up of the headquarters and Company A of 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry - inherited a fleet of vehicles that was only 50 percent mission capable. After three weeks that status climbed to 80 percent.
Anderson and Stopper also saw two other task force elements, Company D, 128th Infantry and the 32nd Military Police Company, whose mission is to establish a corps of professionally trained Iraqi corrections officers. FOB Future is located near Baghdad International Airport.
The two met with soldiers at Camp Cropper, home to a task force led by the headquarters troop of 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry. Camp Cropper is the site of a theater internment facility (TIF). Wisconsin troops not only secure the internment facility, but also manage the camp’s life support and are responsible for base defense.
The 105th headquarters’ "mayor cell" is responsible for providing water, electric power, food, recreation and other life support functions for the troops based there, and also supervises maintenance for Camp Cropper’s facilities. Troop B is responsible for base defense and is prepared to act quickly to disrupt any threats to personnel inside the camp.
During a tour of Camp Cropper’s internment facility, Anderson and Stopper saw how soldiers treat detainees at the TIF, where the watchwords are "dignity and respect." Anderson recalled one particular specialist who was managing the care of more than 320 detainees during a 12-hour shift.
"She was absolutely confident in her skills," he said. "That speaks to the quality of the mobilization training as well as how well the RIPTOA (Relief in Place, Transfer of Authority) was conducted.
"I saw that with a lot of soldiers," Anderson continued. "They recognize the importance of their mission. Senior leaders there have said it’s a breath of fresh air how our soldiers are treating this mission compared with previous units."
"To all of their credit, they have grasped their mission and taken ownership of it," Stopper said. Wisconsin Guard units working at Camp Cropper are Company B, 1-128th Infantry; Batteries A and B, 1-120th Field Artillery; the 829th Engineer Company, Company B, 257th Brigade Support Battalion; and the 1158th Transportation Company.
Gen. Anderson also held an informal meeting with soldiers at Camp Cropper’s dining facility. For more than an hour, the Wisconsin Army Guard’s top leaders fielded questions and also shared their observations about the outstanding work being done by 32nd soldiers in Iraq. Anderson said the soldiers were doing well and morale was good.
Anderson and Stopper also visited troops working in the International Zone in Baghdad. A scheduled trip to Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, where additional Wisconsin troops are based, was cancelled due to the dust storms.
Anderson said that the 32nd Brigade is deployed during a fluid yet historic time for Iraq. During his visit, the general said he saw few indications of a combat zone. Remarkably, he was able to travel one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Iraq in up-armored non-tactical vehicles without gun truck support.
"A lot of things have changed," he said. "All for the good."
.
Advertisement 
