Major Iraq troop rotation gets under way

In the backwoods of Louisiana, 4,500 National Guardsmen contend with mortar attacks, road bombs, and ambushes in a mock Iraqi province with hundreds of Arabic-speaking role players.

It's an eye-opening rehearsal for the 30th Brigade of the National Guard, which hasn't been called into combat since 1944. Many of its soldiers have never been abroad.

This month, the North Carolina unit will ship out to Iraq's "Sunni triangle" as part of the biggest US troop movement since World War II. The rotation - by May replacing the bulk of US servicemembers now in Iraq - comes with risks as well as opportunities. Fresh units like the 30th Brigade will take over from more seasoned US forces to try to quell a shifting insurgency and prevent political turmoil as Iraq nears a June 30 deadline for self-rule.

Between a rise in nationalism and more frequent terrorist attacks on Iraqi security forces and civilians, the job of policing Iraq is growing increasingly complex for newly dispatched soldiers. Perhaps most crucial, relationships forged over months with local Iraqi officials, tribal chiefs, and religious leaders cannot be duplicated overnight.

"We're very, very sensitive to the fact that the great progress we've made has an awful lot to do with the understanding and relationships we've established at the local level," Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, told a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week.

A vast influx of forces to Iraq and Kuwait will peak in March, raising to 220,000 the number of US troops there and temporarily doubling the size of the American military "footprint." As a result, US commanders "will have a very, very large force in there and a very capable force," which they will leverage to "keep the pressure on the enemy," says a senior Army official.

But the surge in troops means more targets, and large movements themselves are often dangerous. Over four months, 14 brigades will overlap with and replace 17 brigades as the number of divisions drops from four to three. The projected total force of 110,000 will consist of 80,000 soldiers, 25,000 marines, and 5,000 Air Force and Navy ground personnel such as truck drivers and engineers.

Even with a smooth "battle handoff," incoming troops will lack the firsthand political experience vital to navigating Iraq's escalating factional conflicts. Sunnis and Shiites, Kurds and Arabs are vying for resources and power. Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence is on the rise. Insurgents are appealing to nationalism or radical Islam as rallying points rather than loyalty to Saddam Hussein.

"The hard part is the ... personal relationships that you build with the leaders. That will always take some time," says Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the Army's Fourth Infantry Division. The lack of established relations will have "an impact" as new US forces help set up an Iraqi government, he said. Based in Tikrit, General Odierno's division patrols the Sunni triangle and will be replaced beginning next month by the First Infantry Division from Germany and the 30th brigade. For months, the units have been sharing information to ease the transition.

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