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Doug Grindle ReportingTonight we continue our look at soldiers of the Utah National Guard based at a camp in Ramadi Iraq. Ramadi is one of the hotbeds of the insurgency and the soldiers are trying to help the recently elected Iraqi government take root in the city, but as our correspondent Doug Grindle reports, even getting to meetings in the city center can be fraught with danger.
The soldiers of the Utah National Guard are driving to a meeting in downtown Ramadi. These roads are not safe, and the soldiers in their armored humvees keep a wary eye out for roadside bombs, also called IEDs.
SPC Paul Hansen, Cedar City UT: "I am a gunner, so if something happens, I am going to get it. So if we approach something, I hunker down in my seat as we race past and see if it is IED and wait for it."
The soldiers go into Ramadi twice a week. It is only two and a half miles to get there, but the whole way they have to look out for insurgent attacks.
The soldiers say they are in the city to help the Iraqis, but they cannot trust the ordinary Iraqi people they have come here to help.
SPC Jed Townsend, Parowan UT: "I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I don't trust anyone but this uniform."
Utah soldiers are helping organize training for local Iraqi police. Police recruiting recently took off because the local Sheikhs are supporting the Americans.
LTC Richard Miller, Highland UT, Commander 222nd Field Artillery Battalion: "The Sheikhs and imams have a huge influence on the local people, and if they tell them to participate, they will participate."
Ramadi is likely to be the last place in Iraq that is stabilized. For now its buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes, and soldiers say this war-torn landscape is often surreal.
SPC Paul Hansen, Cedar City UT: "Back home you see cars broke down and your first thought is to help them. Here you have your gun pointing at them. You're not sure if there is a bomb that might go off."
