Colombia's newest troops don't have to leave home

Like many of this country's forgotten villages, this sleepy hamlet never had a military presence.

That changed six weeks ago when 36 soldiers wearing fatigues and wielding Galil rifles marched into the town square.

But it wasn't an occupation. It was a homecoming.

These young men, ranging in age from 18 to 28, were returning to their hometown from three months of basic training in the capital, Bogotá. They were greeted with anthems and white banners. Schools closed, and the mayor declared the day a civic holiday.

Their mission: to protect their 12,000 neighbors and their families from the creeping presence of leftist guerrilla forces.

These sons of San Francisco are part of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez's newest weapon in the war on terror - recruits of a fledgling program called soldados campesinos, or peasant soldiers.

In order to strengthen the armed forces as quickly as possible, Mr. Uribe has offered Colombia's young men a new way to serve a 18-month mandatory military service. Instead of being stationed in far-flung provinces, where the population regards them suspiciously, the peasant- soldier program allows troops to return to their home villages. The aim is to train more than 15,000 soldiers this year and dispatch them to 450 of 1,098 municipalities over the next six months. More than 150 of Colombia's towns have never had military presence.

The program was announced last fall, and soldiers just began arriving in the nation's war- ravaged villages last month. Some 5,000 eager recruits have already enlisted and the government hopes that being with their families is enough to keep young men from dodging military service.

"This is a very special opportunity to be close to my family ... to feel their warmth," says Johan Murillo, who joined the program, along with his younger brother. "We also receive a lot of cooperation from the population."

The troops get three months' training, and $17 a month in pay, although room and board is provided. They have just begun arriving in Colombia's war-ravaged villages and so far, there have been no major conflicts or casualties.

According to Col. Ruben Alzate, who will train 200 peasant soldiers at the Rincón Quiñones barracks in Bogotá this year, the soldiers' special training is in urban warfare tactics.

"In three months, they are ready," Alzate says.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Army's main foe, has no direct presence in San Francisco. But Alzate explains that the village is a "strategic" point in neutralizing the guerrillas should they try and advance toward the capital, an hour and a half west. Any intelligence gathered in the area would help the Army better plan its offensive operations.

On a daily basis, the troops' main tasks include patrolling the town square, searching cars entering and exiting the village, interacting with the population, and aiding in civic education and cleaning campaigns. According to the platoon's commander, Sgt. Mena Córdoba Edison, common crime, such as theft of cattle and cars, has decreased 80 percent since the troops arrived.

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