By MAJ. STEVE CARPENTER, Special to the New Era
The story of Tal Al Khaym, a village southeast of Mosul, is heart-wrenching, but inspiring. Over the last four months, this once-repressed community has grown, not only in population, but in spirit.
Maj. Steve Carpenter (left) speaks at the dedication of
the school in Tal Al Khaym.
Two boys give a thumbs up at the school dedication.
The story begins in a traditional military fashion. Together with our Iraqi Army battalion, we were pursuing foreign fighters into a mountain range during a search-and-attack mission.
We set up our hasty command-and-control node in Tal Al Khaym because of its proximity to our objective area, and its advantages in terms of line of sight, elevation and defensibility.
Just as important, the muqtar responsible for the five villages in the area lived in Tal Al Khaym. In a counterinsurgency environment, it is essential to engage the village leadership and the population diplomatically, regardless of the type of operation you are undertaking.
Our mission one balmy day in January was successful, but I barely remember the details. What I remember is the people, specifically the children, of Tal Al Khaym.
One of my non-commissioned officers attempted to hand a toddler a second bag of food. He refused and pointed out that he had already received one. He then invited another child forward so he could receive his fair share.
It was one of many selfless gestures we would witness that day.
Tal Al Khaym was once a beautiful village with more than 300 homes housing over 250 families. During Saddam Hussein's so called Arabization campaign, Tal Al Khaym was completely destroyed. Saddam's Ba'ath Party loyalists used bulldozers and explosives to level the entire community. The people fled into the mountains of southern Turkey and northwest Iran. They often say, "The United States and the mountains are our only friends."
Our focus during the last few months has been not only on securing the population, but also stabilizing the area where we operate.
In Tal Al Khaym and the surrounding villages, we have overseen an Iraqi-led medical initiative that led to immunizations for each infant and school-aged child.
Adults who previously had no access to health care are now receiving routine checkups from a mobile medical team that conducts wellness exams and medical assessments throughout the district.
We have worked with military and local government leaders to ensure that "in need" villages, like Tal Al Khaym, receive adequate short-term humanitarian assistance such as clean water, food, vitamins, blankets, clothes and school supplies.
We have partnered with the Iraqi government and developed a water-purification system. Now parents in Tal Al Khaym no longer need to fear that they will lose a child to dehydration.
Sixth-century Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, "Go to the people… Learn from them… Live with them… Start with what they know… Build with what they have… The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished… the people will say we have done it ourselves."
That is what we have done. Our team sleeps, eats, trains and conducts missions with our Iraqi counterparts. This closeness has given us insight into the Iraqi culture, and has allowed us to generate solutions supplied by Iraqis that are sustainable over the long term.
Other than the funding required to sustain our 11-man team, our programs do not require American financial support.
In Tal Al Khaym, the well system was designed and excavated by an Iraqi; the mobile medical team is financed, resourced, and manned by Iraqis; and the medical initiatives are secured by Iraqi security forces, performed by Iraqi medical providers, and supplied with Iraqi immunizations.
While many of our families and friends have contributed to our humanitarian efforts, the majority of humanitarian aid that flows into our region originates from non-governmental organizations, and they are coordinated by the local Iraqi governments.
Then there is the school.
Even though Tal Al Khaym's school project was the only school project disapproved by the provincial government, we found a way to build one, using nothing more than the resources available to Iraqis.
We dug the foundation with pick-axes and shovels.
We built it with an Iraqi Army unit that understands offensive action is necessary to maintain security in the near-term. Long-term stability is better achieved by providing for the needs of the people. We allowed the people to participate and take ownership.
But the building is not the school.
The foundation of this school is the people. In Tal Al Khaym, the students are motivated to learn; the educators selflessly teach; and the community is healthy again and ready to offer support.
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Maj. Steve Carpenter is a 1992 graduate of Manheim Township High School and a 1996 graduate of the
United States Military Academy at West Point. He is the son of former Millersville University football coach and athletic director Gene Carpenter. He heads a military transition team serving in Iraq.
