On television, actor Jeff Donovan plays a defunct spy who has expertise in explosives and weapons.

Recently, however, at Combat Outpost Meade, south of Baghdad, it was Donovan who took pointers from the Soldiers of 113th Field Artillery Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

Donovan was accompanied by Don Campbell, military advisor for the tour, and Bruce Campbell, Don Campbell’s brother, and also a cast mate of Donovan.

Bruce Campbell is a star in his own right, from films such as, “Army of Darkness,” and “Bubba Hotep.” Both Donovan and Bruce Campbell appear on the USA network television show, “Burn Notice.”

During their visit at COP Meade, Bruce Campbell and Donovan tried their hand at the firing range and met with Soldiers as part of a morale, welfare and recreation tour throughout Iraq.

“Everybody should support the troops,” said Bruce Campbell.

Only a few minutes after landing in a UH-60 Black Hawk, the two actors were greeted by cheers and shouts, “Hey Bruce!”

“Hi guys, how is it going,” said Bruce Campbell as he and Donovan walked into a maintenance bay.
The Soldiers were appreciative as the actors posed for photos and signed autographs.

“It was inspiring because somebody cares enough to come here and entertain us,” said Sgt. Micah Joseph, a human resources specialist from Charlotte, N.C.

Bruce Campbell and Donovan were as interested in the Soldiers as the Soldiers were of them, taking nearly as many photos and asking as many questions of the Soldiers.

“I am impressed by individuals I have met; how mentally strong they are,” said Donovan. “It takes a certain mentality to do the job out here from the boredom to sudden violence.”

Donovan tried on one of the Soldier’s body armor.

“You don’t have to work out, just carry the weapon and armor,” Donovan said while wearing the armor.

Later, the actors went to the firing range for an opportunity to fire an M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, the M-4 rifle and an M-9 pistol. After a short safety briefing, the actors put in earplugs and fired the weapons safely down range.

After another quick orientation and brief, Donovan then climbed atop an armored humvee, dropped into the gunner’s turret, and fired the M-240-Bravo machine gun once the range was cleared for firing again. The actor had to make some slight adjustments at first.

“It was a learning experience,” said Donovan.

“It is more fun out here than firing on a film set,” Bruce Campbell said. “We have editors who make sure we always hit the target.”

The three all have ties to the military. Donovan’s father served in Vietnam and Korea, and Don Campbell currently serves in the reserves.

Don Campbell, who has 28 years in the military, tours with his brother and helps the actors with a few pointers. “When Bruce volunteered I told him what to expect; military dos and don’ts, Arab culture,” Don Campbell said.

He also showed brotherly concern as well. “I told him what could happen; there is no guarantee of a safe journey,” Don Campbell said.

Don Campbell and the actors visited an Iraqi bazaar that supported local widows and orphans in the area. Bruce Campbell, and Donovan greeted some of the Iraqi Soldiers who train alongside U.S. Soldiers on the COP.

After the two hour visit, the three men went to the helipad to catch a ride to the next post on the tour.

Bruce Campbell left with a message for his fellow actors back in the U.S.

“Everybody should go, there is nothing more real than a war,” he said.

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Story by Sgt. Robert Jordan

Nouri Obeyd Kathem -left-, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, explains the Sobbar Abu Habba site, Nov. 4, to Maj. Charles Morrison of Nashville, N.C., -center- and Capt. Ross Boyce of Chapel Hill, N.C. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

What may look like large, weathered mounds of dirt in rural farmland near Mahmudiyah are actually artifact-filled ruins of an ancient civilization.

Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard’s 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, surveyed the sites, here, recently, with officials from the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism to examine ways to preserve and protect two ancient Sumerian sites from looters.

The complexes of dirt mounds – Tal Aldair and Sobbar Abu Habba – were once Sumerian city walls outside of what is today Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad. Pottery and clay tablets with the world’s first form of writing, Cuneiform, are known to be in the mounds. The Sumerian culture is the oldest civilization in the world, dating back to the 6th century B.C.

“It’s for the world and not just Iraq to preserve these world heritage sites because a lot of folks know it as the cradle of civilization,” said Morrison. “These [Sumerians] were the first people we know of in history to be able to write and keep records and those are the kinds of artifacts that are here today.”

The sites have already seen looting, and the GoI officials and archaeologists want to prevent more plundering by erecting security fences and a guard shack at the mounds.

“It has been identified as one of those sites that have been an easy target for looters over the years because of close proximity to Baghdad and because of turbulence in Iraq’s history,” said Maj. Charles Morrison, executive officer for the 120th CAB. “We’re working with the Ministry to secure the site for preservation and future excavation. It’s important for the Iraqi people, especially to preserve their heritage.”

Morrison, an infantry officer from Nashville, N.C., is taking a lead in the project. A self-described history buff, Morrison formerly worked for the North Carolina of Archives and History. He said he is particularly interested in helping the Iraqis preserve a site that is 4,000 years old.

Nouri Obeyd Kathem, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, led Morrison over the mounds. Thousands of years of erosion have worn down the once city walls and temple structures, exposing countless pieces of clay pottery and other artifacts. Many more are still buried in the centuries-old mounds.

“They have been with us today to make sure we don’t damage any of the archaeological sites when we emplace the fence and scope of work,” said Morrison. “We’re trying to work hand in hand with the government to make sure we do what they want in terms of preserving the site.”

The plans call for security fences and possibly guard shacks to protect the sites. Signs would also be erected to let Iraqis know about the historical significance of the sites.

One of the legacies American Soldiers can leave behind in Iraq as the troop drawdown continues is a fence that will help preserve an ancient site that will continue to be a symbol of the nation’s ancient history and culture.

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Story by Sgt. Jon Soles

Capt. Bobby Lumsden, of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., (left) and 1st Lt. Joel Pierce (right), of Thomasville, N.C., advise Rafea Abass Ali (center) about the placement of steel beams supporting a rooftop cooling tower on the poultry processing plant Ali owns near Mahmudiyah, Oct. 31. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

U.S. Soldiers lent their agriculture and engineering expertise, Oct. 31, to help bring a chicken processing plant into operation; one that will provide food and jobs.

North Carolina Guardsmen with 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, who have agribusiness and engineering backgrounds, visited the al-Kien plant near Mahmudiyah to offer advice and seek ways to help the plant begin operations.

Capt. Bobby Lumsden, the battalion’s operations officer, walked through the plant with owner Rafea Abass Ali to inspect the plant’s machinery and the massive coolers that will help keep poultry fresh. Getting the plant up and running will not only create a market for fresh chicken in the area, but will also give farmers a place to sell their chickens.

“This will be the only factory in the area with fresh frozen chicken,” said Lumsden, a native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C. “Iraqis want very fresh chicken, but their choices right now are canned chicken or chicken that is imported.”

The plant has the capacity to process 10,000 chickens a month and can employ up to 150 workers. Lumsden said the plant could boost the local economy and attract other investors to the area.

“It will open up this area for more agribusiness and, as we have studied, agribusiness brings more industry and factories,” said Lumsden. “It will be the first step in the process to bring economic improvement to this whole area.”

As Lumsden checked out the plant, he had help from two subject matter experts in engineering and agriculture.

1st Lt. Joel Pierce is an engineering officer who owns a contracting company back home in Thomasville, N.C., and 2nd Lt. James Bowden, of Siler City, N.C., grew up on a large industrialized poultry farm.

What the officers discovered was that the only chicken hatchery in the area does not produce enough hens to meet the demand of hundreds of farmers in the area. They also discovered some improperly installed steel beams that are bending under the weight of cooling towers on the roof of the plant.

“There were issues about the structure supporting the cooling tower,” said Lumsden. “They can operate right now, but they need to fix the I-beams and the ice machine.”

Lumsden said the American Soldiers will continue to work with the Iraqis to help get the plant up and running. He said he hopes to see the plant processing chickens by the time the 30th HBCT redeploys in a few months.

“Time and time again, an economy has a proven to be the ultimate stabilizer in any country,” said Lumsden. “This will be a great increase to the economy in the area by providing jobs and having an outlet for the farmers’ products.”

The al-Kien plant has come a long way and is close to beginning operations. The expertise offered by the National Guard Soldiers will help sow the seeds of peace and stability by increasing food choices and bringing jobs to Mahmudiyah.

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Story by Sgt. Jon Soles

Majid Aubied Sahail al Azouy (right), owner of a hardware store, signs a micro-grant receipt as Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Jack, of A Troop, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, watches, Sept 21. Al Azouy plans to provide more electrical supplies to the local villagers. A Troop, based out of Williamson, W.Va., issued nine grants in one day to help stimulate the economy in its area of operations. Photo by Spc. Ruth McClary

Nine Iraqi businessmen in southern Baghdad gave broad smiles and many thanks as they received micro-grant payouts, Sept. 21, from Soldiers of A Troop, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, that improve economic conditions in their communities.

Funding allocated through the brigade commander’s Emergency Relief Fund was distributed to the businesses in the al-Radwaniyah, Mufargi and Fetoah marketplaces, about 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

“This was my first time giving out micro-grants,” said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Jack, of Seth, W.Va. “I usually work with micro-rewards, which are pay-outs for tips to stop terrorist activity; it works like crimestoppers in the U.S.”

Nearly $43,000 in payouts were given to upgrade four grocery stores, a restaurant, an auto repair shop, a butcher shop, a general store and a hardware store.

“Opening a butcher shop in this area would decrease the travel time for transporting fresh meats to this area,” said Ahmad Abdullah Husen al Azouy, of the Abu Amur marketplace. “Local herders can bring their livestock to the market for butcher or sell them to me.”

“My store provides common products like blankets, mattresses and clocks,” said Sarmad Samey Mahmoud al Mufargi, a general store owner in the Murfargi village. “The grant will help me expand to include a repair shop.”

Each business caters to at least 150 customers in its local area, and they also double as community communication hubs; providing people with information that can affect the entire area. All of the owner’s expansion plans will create more jobs and stimulate the economy.

Samy Yahyaa Aheya Jaabir al-Janabi, a Mufargi falafel restaurant owner, wants to add a grill and expand his area to house more supplies. Majid Dafak Saiel, an al-Radwaniyah grocery store owner, threw up his hands, thanking Allah for the grant. He plans to upgrade his store and increase supplies.

The squadron has submitted nearly 40 grant applications with 20 payouts to date that include a fish and dairy farm expansion and an internet and phone center. Grant approval is based on the overall impact the improvements will have in the community. Recipients from these payouts submitted applications back in July.

“I was really glad to finally have follow through on the micro-grant project after many months of waiting,” said 1st Lt. Timbur Nersesov, of Los Angeles. “It is an opportunity for U.S. forces and the government of Iraq to impact our relationship with the locals.”

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Story by Spc. Ruth McClary

Staff Sgt. Travers Brake, a cavalry scout platoon sergeant from Elkins, W. Va., assigned to 2nd Platoon, Troop C, 1st Battalion, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, points out the back of solar panels used to power a water-filtering pump as Sheikh Mohammed Shalal Syiar watches, Aug. 28. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell

A series of intertwined, water-filled canals create a patchwork of green fields, abundant in crops near the section of al-Zooba, here, in Baghdad.

The intricate irrigation system provides essential water to the local farms but not to its inhabitants.

“Potable water makes the difference between getting disease. For us, it’s the difference between life and death,” said Spc. Stephen Palac, a combat medic, about the importance of available drinking water. “There are all kinds of bad organisms in that canal water which leads to lots of stomach problems.”

National Guard Soldiers of 2nd Platoon “Spartans,” 1st Battalion, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, visited one of five solar-powered water-purification pumps donated by U.S. Forces and Iraqi Security Forces to local Iraqis leaders in the area to fulfill the need for potable water.

“Before, the people got sick from the water,” explained Sheikh Mohammed Shalal Syiar, a local sons of Iraq leader, Aug. 28. “Then, we got our water from the pumping station, but it was difficult to get to and if the power was out, then no fresh water. The kids and young people need the water. Now, they come here by foot.”

The clean water from the local pumping station is their main source of water, when the electricity works. Since the neighborhood is at the end of the power grid, power failures are commonplace, said Staff Sgt. Travers Brake, a cavalry scout platoon sergeant from Elkins, W. Va., assigned to the Spartans. U.S. forces in the area recognized a need for portable water filters and filled that need.

“I have a schedule to run the pump,” said Mohammed. “Everybody in the area comes and gets water from here.”

According to Mohammed, about ten people come a day to get water and fill about 200 bottles.

“It’s a simple pump and a simple process,” explained Brake. “It’s very few moving parts and all solar powered. It’s got a battery bank and sucks power from the sun.”

Unfiltered water passes through a filter and out another tube, producing drinkable water.

“Security is number one and water number two,” said Mohammed.

Early in their deployment, the Spartan troops realized that taking care of the community and security are as intertwined as the canal system and the green fields.

“Specifically, this area is thankful to the U.S. forces,” said Mohammed. “They take care of the welfare of the families.”

“It shows we’re trying to help and not ask for anything in return,” said Palac. “It does help the security situation though. [The water pump] is a gift.”

In return, the Soldiers see increases in security gains and cooperation from the community.

“We’re real lucky in our area because the people are kind and respectful and we give that back to them and try to help out,” explained Brake. “They know we’re not here to harm them and we’re here to do good.”

Palac agreed, “It’s something that the kids see and think, ‘Hey, why don’t we try to improve this place too?’ But that’s up to them.”

The Spartans have done their part by bringing clean water to the community, providing security and building relationships. Now, as the young medic suggested, the rest is up to the people of Iraq.

MNF-I
Story by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell

Capt. Sara Woods, chief of Civil Affairs Team 31, unscrews a lid to check a water pump filter in a sunflower field near Mahmudiyah, Iraq, Aug. 9. Woods, of Janesville, Minn., is attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Brigade Combat Team. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

Capt. Sara Woods calls it “sweet water;” the clean, potable ground water that hides under the dusty farmland at a depth of about 20 meters. That sweet water is the key to helping rural Iraqis enjoy greater health and more productive livestock.

Woods is the chief of Civil Affairs Team 31, currently attached to the North Carolina National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and her job is to help Iraqis help themselves by setting up wells and teaching them how to operate them.

The civil affairs team, and a platoon of infantrymen providing security, visited well sites near Mahmudiyah, here, Aug. 9, to check on their condition and level of use by local farm families.

“What [a well] does is provide everyone with clean drinking water, for people and animals; for an entire cluster of farm families,” said Woods, a native of Janesville, Minn. “From the well, all the families can come in and get good drinking water.”

Woods said the alternative to the well water is canal water, or water from wells that are too shallow.

“Right now most of them are pretty much drinking straight canal water. It’s dirty, it’s contaminated and it’s salty,” said Woods. “People get sick, the kids are sick and babies are born with birth defects; it’s absolutely terrible.”

This well in Mahmudiyah was built by the civil affairs team and an embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team. When the Soldiers came to check on it, they found the well in good working order and utilized by about 15 families and cattle. The North Carolina National Guardsmen have plans to build more wells capable of providing water for dozens of families, according to Woods.

“The larger-scale concept that the 120th [Inf. Regt.] is looking at puts out 1,500 liters an hour and would service about 30 to 50 families,” said Woods. “It’s ideal for out in these rural areas where you’re not going to get a city network running to you.”

Beside the well, a milk cow and her calf stood under a shade tree. Woods pointed out that the cow and her calf looked much healthier since they started drinking clean water from the new well. Cows drinking the dirty water often have shrunken udders that do not produce much milk.

“She can’t even stand up straight she’s got so much milk in her udders and that comes from drinking good water and not that really nasty salty water,” said Woods. “That cow is going to produce phenomenal amounts of milk for the family.”

In order for the wells to work properly, they need to be deep enough to tap into clean water, said Woods. Filters clean remaining contaminants or salt from the water.

“That 20-meter aquifer we have to hit is ideal because it’s got the lowest salt content and the least amount of contaminants,” said Woods. “There are two other aquifers at 6 and 12 meters and they (Iraqis) stop there because they think it’s good, when all they’ve got to do is put in a little more elbow grease and hit that 20 meter aquifer.”

Something as simple as a new well helps the community and builds self-sufficiency in many different ways, according to Woods.

“You’re decreasing illnesses and the problems the kids and the families have from drinking polluted canal water,” said Woods. “And you are giving it to the milk cows, which means the farmers have more milk to take to the market to make products, and it builds the dairy industry up and it provides for the folks in the area.”

As the Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 120th Inf. Regt., continue to pursue the well project that provide clean drinking water, they can help Iraqi families extract better health and economic prosperity from the dry, dusty farmland.

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Story by Sgt. Jon Soles

Spc. Felicia Sloan (left), of Lumberton, N.C., and Spc. Yessenia Morales, of High Point, N.C., are drivers with the personnel protection detachments that shield the 30thHeavy Brigade Combat Team's command group at Forward Operating Base Falcon. The two military policemen mainly work with infantrymen, which is traditionally a male-only field. Photo by Pfc. kelly lecompte

Yessenia Morales, of High Point, N.C., and Spc. Felicia Sloan, of Lumberton, N.C., are two military police Soldiers that serve as mine resistant ambush protected vehicle drivers in security details for the command group of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

Morales, one of two females on her protection team, looks after Col. Greg Lusk, the North Carolina Army National Guard brigade’s commander, while Sloan, one of three females on hers, protects the brigade’s Command Sgt. Maj. John Swart.

“We drive him and protect him,” Morales said of Lusk. “We are his security.”

Sloan said that at the beginning of the deployment in late April, the males treated them a little differently, but now the “girls” are just part of the family.

“We’ve held our own,” Sloan said. “We do everything they do.”

Morales said that as most of the Soldiers on her team are infantrymen; infantry is a male-only career field; working with a woman was new to most of them.

Spc. Yessenia Morales, of High Point, N.C., is a Caiman mine resistant ambush protected vehicle driver on a team that protects the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team's command group at Forward Operating Base Falcon. Photo by Pfc. kelly lecompte

“My guys on my team weren’t really used to working with females,” Morales said. “There’s not really even a lot of MP guys on my team, so they didn’t know what it was gonna be like to work with females. But now, they don’t mind, I’m like, the little sister on the team.”

“We’ve all come to accept each other,” Sloan said.

The girls said even though the different members on the team each have their own roles, they are all still expected to know how to do each other’s jobs.

Spc. Felicia Sloan, of Lumberton, N.C., is a Caiman mine resistant ambush protected vehicle driver on a team that protects the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team's command group at Forward Operating Base Falcon. Photo by Pfc. kelly lecompte

“We’ve been trained the same,” Sloan said. “We can fire the weapons the gunners use. We’ve had the same training and if it came down to it, we can all do the same thing. And the guys know that.”

The two said the like their jobs, with its busy pace that helps the deployment pass quickly.

“I like that we get to see so many different places,” Sloan said about the operating area south of Baghdad.

“When you’re constantly doing something, you find the days fly by,” Morales said. “If I have a day off, I find myself trying to find things to do.”

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Story by Pfc. kelly lecompte

A two-man team from MTV’s “Real World” program spent a week at Joint Security Station Saydiyah here filming the final portions of a follow-up story on one of the show’s former participants.

Army Spc. Ryan Conklin of the North Carolina National Guard’s Company B, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, starred in the Brooklyn edition of the show and received notice of his deployment during filming.

MTV followed the Gettysburg, Pa., native through part of his mobilization and pre-deployment training, and is filming the final portion, his deployment to Iraq, for the follow-up story.

At the end of June and early this month, photography director Jason Williams and producer Matt Ruecker covered Conklin patrolling Baghdad’s Saydiyah neighborhood and participating in everyday life at this small base.

The “Real World” program involves moving a handful of people into a house together and covering their daily interactions.

“It is an examination of these people and the way they deal with these things in their lives, and this is just an extension of that,” Ruecker said.

During the show, Conklin received a call from his brother, notifying him that he’d been recalled to active duty. Ruecker and Williams were there when Conklin received the call, and have since followed him to Iraq.

“It’s not just a news story, it’s deeper than that” Ruecker said. “Being the first people from MTV [in Iraq], I think that hopefully, we’re going to provide a story that is not typical that is coming out of this region.”

“And not typical to MTV,” Williams added.

Conklin said he hopes the MTV coverage will help to open eyes among younger American viewers.

“I hope something positive comes out of it,” he said, “even if it’s just a slight introduction to just what things look like, or who’s over here, or a face to soldiers. I think that would be pretty good.”

“It’s been a life experience that neither one of us will ever forget,” Ruecker said.

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By Army Pfc. Kelly LeCompte
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
North Carolina National Guard’s 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team public affairs office