And now, what to pass on?

(For the soldiers of Bravo Company, 2/327th Infantry, after 400 days of patrolling the countryside around the base, it's second nature.)

Joint Base Balad- You've been in Iraq almost 15 months. Most likely you've spent one Christmas, one Thanksgiving, two Easters, two Ramadans, one or two birthdays here. More than one year of your life. You've worn through one pair of desert combat boots, have lost more than one pair of sunglasses, and have barely avoided more than one IED attack.

Now what would you impart to a new soldier coming to replace you? In the case of 1st platoon of Bravo Company of the 2nd 327th Infantry, what would you tell an Air Force comrade who's only been in this country one month? He will have to do your job- most importantly work with Iraqi allies, build relationships and have the instinct of who to believe and which situation to act on and which not to.

Sometimes he'll have to wake up the Sons of Iraq at their checkpoints, others he might be taking gun fire next to them. He'll spend long nights, early mornings, days under the hot sun of this farming countryside chocked full of dust and woven with grape vines.

The airmen are fresh, they're no younger than the infantry guys but they look more tentative. They couldn't find their way back to base unless they asked. But the Air Force is taking over Joint Base Balad, and they will run regular patrols outside it. A combat group of airmen of this size hasn't been stood up since Vietnam.
(An airman from 532nd ESFS G group listening to the patrol brief.)

So what would you tell them?

"You're second in command," Staff Sgt. Eric Caudill said to one of the tech sergeants at a checkpoint. "You need to get out and know these people."

"We're introducing them to all the leaders," said Lieutenant Michael Handlan. "How to build rapport, not telling them how to do it."

Sergeants from Bravo company already spent five days training the 532nd ESFS G group of airmen on everything from weapons safety and medical treatment to Iraqi cultural norms. Now they're out on patrol, and by nightfall, starting to look tired.

"I'm pretty impressed by their willingness to learn," Handlan said, "but by the time they take over things can change."

When asked what the hardest thing to impart is, Handlan thought about it for a minute. "For me it's posture, stance, in your interaction with the locals. Everyone wants to come in hard. You don't know where the line is. You have to have a posture that is a hard target, but at the same time welcoming to Iraqis."

Although security is vastly improved in the area, there are new challenges. The Sons of Iraq at area checkpoints all seem to believe they will be phased out sooner rather than later. They fear they won't have a job, and for some the job alternatives are not appealing.

"Some got taken from their checkpoint and have been paid to pick up trash," one Son of Iraq said. "For them it's a disrespect."

At the last checkpoint of the night, the Iraqis insisted they were being targeted by a sniper. Lt. Handlan acknowledged there might be one, but privately said the men afraid of losing their jobs tended to exaggerate. "It's so aggrevating, at the same time if I was going to lose my job, I might say the same thing."

(Staff Sergeant Eric Caudill, 28, of London, Kentucky rattling off the names of dirt roads leading to various checkpoints the airmen would have to learn.)