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Partnership Encourages Cultural Exchange, Provides Learning Experience Print E-mail
Friday, 26 June 2009
By Capt. John Landry
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

1st Lt. Jed Fisher, platoon leader for Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment practices his Arabic while greeting Iraqi villagers in the Maysan province. Fisher is deployed with the 2nd Bn. 29th FA Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas. Photo by Capt. John Landry.
1st Lt. Jed Fisher, platoon leader for Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment practices his Arabic while greeting Iraqi villagers in the Maysan province. Fisher is deployed with the 2nd Bn. 29th FA Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas. Photo by Capt. John Landry.
 FORWARD OPERATING BASE HUNTER — As 2nd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment arrived on Forward Operating Base Hunter, the battalion felt they had a good understanding of the mission at hand.

The first few weeks allowed them to begin their patrols alongside 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Soldiers, who had been here since January.

This type of handover was designed to familiarize incoming Soldiers with their new surroundings and learn from Soldiers who have been doing the same jobs.

Furthermore, this essential phase gave the newly arrived Soldiers a chance to meet with the local leaders and discuss how, with their help, 2nd Bn. 29th FA Regt. can make their province and country a little better.

1st Lt. Jed Fisher, Battery B, came to this region with a working knowledge of the local history.

"This area was once known as the Fertile Crescent. Saddam decided to divert the mighty Tigris River in an attempt to dry out the fertile marsh here," Fisher said.

He expanded on the region's significance saying, "This land is almost purely Shiite, the born enemy to the Ba'ath party."

In 1991, there was a Shiite uprising against Saddam Hussein that was crushed by his loyalist. Many Shiites were killed and the marshes in Maysan were drained resulting in an ecological catastrophe.

This basic understanding of the local population's history aids Soldiers in connecting with the Iraqi populace. The addition of an Iraqi interpreter embedded in Fisher's platoon enhances his unit's capabilities to understand the local population even more. Upon meeting his interpreter, a man known as "Blade," Fisher recalled, "He is your average Iraqi male. He speaks with elegance and grace and is, in general, very brave."

1st Lt. Fisher has developed a relationship of mutual respect with Blade in the short time they've been working together. He has been encouraged to learn the language and acknowledges, "Blade mentors me nearly as much as my senior [non-commissioned officers]. It is not very hard to see a teacher-student relationship forming. Without a doubt this friendship will prove to be extremely fruitful in such a place," Fisher said.

In their encounters with the local population Blade has been encouraging Fisher to speak the language as best as he can. Blade's lesson for the 3rd Platoon's leader is one of cultural respect, which is a building block to stability in the Maysan province and an example of effective leadership. It is learning points like this which will enable long-term success in a region rich in history.
 
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