European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition pages photos by Teri and stripes above iraqi army Mohammed directs about 600 soldiers in the 3rd 3rd 1st Marine Craig directs 19 marines who advise the battalion on supplies and personnel left Mohammed suggests the local Security forces work to protect the schools during their upcoming Endo year Tough work for military transition teams by Teri Weaver stars and stripes Iraq american and iraqi forces in Western Iraq know that time is ticking toward a so imagine the frustration on a Day in March when both sides found they were operating on two different the marines had sprung ahead an hour for Daylight saving Only to leave the 3rd 3rd brigade of the 1st iraqi army division they were an hour late when they left the said Steven of shaking his head at the by the end of that Iraq military decided to dial ahead an it was a fairly painless fix in the constant Maneu vering needed to build a collection of sheep College students and former Mem Bers of the Republican guard into a Independent that Battleground is the work of military transitions called Small collections of officers and senior enlisted As signed to advise and Mentor iraqi units throughout the its its its frustrating says de who advises the iraqi 3rd brigade on their Mili tary intelligence Ive never done anything like officers like Amdahl and Brand have worked on transition teams for in the the iraqi and teams lived on adjoining bases while the americans planned operations and helped the local forces build Chow Halls and develop Security the teams in Habb Aniyah live on iraqi the iraqis manage base be run drive their own humvee that wave iraqi some bases Are surrounded by wire Fence and concertina the iraqis stand watch on we sleep with one Eye says Doug Dud of the acting Leader of the 3rd brigades transition the marines live in Small Corners of bases that some times have no dining no the teams of 20 marines build their own weight rooms and internet they generally eat one meal a Day with the while they work to build Trust and Confidence among the they also Are get Ting to know each the two teams in Habb Aniyah were cobbled together from various Marine some found out abruptly last summer they would be living in Anbar province for a dudgeon Learned of his deployment by checking his Blackberry on a family a we were available to fill the said Craig of Camp Lee the team met on 11 of last the first Day of their three month training ses they got weekends but some lived too far away to travel they spent one week learning arabic they started their assignment in Jan not everyone has enough patience or enough Luck to last As a Dud Gens group had to fire a Navy corpsman from the Job once in they have lost to despite the the team members Here say they feel Lucky for the Treyve seen violence in the area drop and they give credit to the iraqi other members Petty officer 1st class Aaron Baltosser replaced the he helps the iraqis manage health care for a 30mile Radi us in the the iraqi base has become the towns emergency with prob lems ranging from shrapnel to chronic ill every single time that they Call he Ive probably gone Over 70 or 80 times since he perhaps most Baltosser is teaching healthcare providers in town to help when a patient comes in with a special Baltosser directs them to the inter he tells them to find a Hospital that can treat the a doctor willing to do it for the proper visa applications needed to travel outside of that what  have to do when the Mili tary is Baltosser despite the the team Mem Bers Here say they feel Lucky for the expert Treyve seen violence in the area drop and they give credit to the iraqi its fun to see the said wig his Mohammed a Speaks English and directs 600 iraqi the battalion is capable of handling ground but still needs the americans for air support and wiggers i think Well be their last transition he dudgeon want quite As but he still holds out id rather come and do my year than have my son have to come Back in five he email Teri Weaver at  military services we do what we say say what we do from construction to maintenance from supplies to installation got it All located at Afghanistan Qatar Kuwait Iraq email us