On the road in search for weapons
WO2 Al Green joins the Iraq Survey Group as it continues its methodical task to seek and destroy the former Iraqi regime’s weapons of mass destruction.

By LACW Simone Liebelt

Assisted by Australian National Commander Air Commodore Graham Bentley, Australian and US troops remove a weapons training system during a search at Taji, 50km north of Baghdad.

An Air Force member of the Iraq Survey Group inspects a building.

Coalition personnel from the Joint Captured Materiel Exploitation Centre evaluate a range of ordnance found in Iraq.

Photos by WO2 Al Green

BAGHDAD shimmers in the early morning heat and dust as a Coalition convoy slowly winds its way north. Providing security at either end are US Rangers manning heavy weapons.

Within the convoy are members of Iraq Survey Group (ISG) consisting of Australian, British and American service personnel. Despite the early start nobody is relaxing; they are keeping their weapons at the ready and are watching their flanks for ambush. Nowhere is safe on this road and there are no totally safe roads in Iraq.

The danger of road travel is one factor in the diffi cult task that members of ISG face as they seek to discover and destroy the Ba’ath regime’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

These include delivery systems and the underlying research, development and training capability. And that’s where the team is off to today – a training centre 50km north of Baghdad.

The aim is to collect and analyse materials and documents relating to weapons systems, their variants and training methods. This information will, in turn, give an insight into the former regime’s weapons system employment.

Taji, today’s destination, is a sprawling train-wreck of a place – a mass grave for Iraqi armour and wrecked helicopters from the First Gulf War. The convoy members give these scant regard – it’s a set of nondescript low-lying buildings and warehouses that draw their attention.

These will be the subject of today’s search. It’s brutally hot and although the area is secured body armour stays on. The reason for this is that while each building to be searched has been cleared of explosives, there is a small chance of enemy action.

Helmets, which are easy to don in case of immediate threat are, at this stage, permitted to be removed and stacked neatly nearby with webbing – just in case. When the team is dealing with live ordnance the lids are back on no matter how hot it gets. Sweating profusely, the experts get down to work.

The ISG teams consist of specialist and subject-matter experts with extensive experience. The Australians on task today – including Air Force personnel – specialise in missile and radar systems.

As they work over the systems and data their depth of knowledge is well evident as they pick up variants or confirm text-book descriptions of the systems that they examine.

The US Rangers who provided security for the convoy now shadow the ISG personnel, watching their back so that they can concentrate on the task at hand without fear of surprise attack.

One Ranger limps slightly. He’s Staff Sergeant Josh Garrison, whose Humvee was damaged the week before on escort duties near this location. His uniform and leg still bear signs of shrapnel.

Back on duty and focused on the task, there is no doubt Rangers are a tough crew. The ISG personnel are also proving their toughness and tenacity.

The searched buildings are full of broken glass, rubbish, faeces and wild dogs that sniff and growl, cowering as they are evicted from their squats.

Somewhere under all this lie clues to the way the former regime trained its forces. It’s a tedious and exacting affair collecting documents and materials. It’s also heavy work as missile system trainers are loaded into containers and man-handled to collection area.

Commander Australian Forces Air Commodore Graham Bentley, on a fact-finding visit, pitches in and lends a hand – rank means little in Iraq when there’s a job to do.

For lunch everybody tucks into an American ration pack (MRE). An Aussie reading the packet asks “what the hell smoke flavouring is?” The Rangers demonstrate some of their specialist recipes to make the crackers more palatable and SSGT Garrison tells us about his family’s reaction to his attack.

“When I told my five-year-old daughter that my car just got blown-up all she said was ‘was it fun Daddy?’ think I gotta talk to that girl about her idea of fun.”

Perhaps she’s another Ranger in the making. By 1300hrs the buildings bake like ovens but the effort is still relentless.

It has to be if WMDs are to be uncovered, according to the Australian Commander within the ISG, Brigadier Steve Meekin.

“We are up against the legacy of a tough, skilled and cunning adversary,” he said. BRIG Meekin said the ISG had access to leads from the exploitation of documents and computer media along with the results of interrogations of high-profile former Ba’athists that allowed it to work with efficiency.

“We’ve also debriefed cooperative Iraqi citizens and have the capabilities of Coalition intelligence and security agencies to rely upon.” What will bring a sure outcome is that the ISG, despite potential ambushes, has full and unfettered freedom of movement and access in Iraq.

This access comes at the price of constant vigilance. Leaving the secure compound at Taji, security personnel warn that “an RPG ambush back in Baghdad has taken out three guys, so go easily and stay alert”.

Staying alert is what the ISG does for a living.

.