Multiple units in Ramadi work in sync toward goal

SUFFOLK

When Army Col. Todd Ebel arrived in Iraq's Al Anbar province in February, he was open to the idea of different branches of the military operating together, but was reserving judgment until he saw how it all actually played out.

When he returned in mid-November after a nine-month deployment, he was a believer.

Ebel commanded Task Force Ramadi, a group charged with providing security, infrastructure and combat service support to Camp Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The group was part of the U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Enabling Capabilities Command.

Ebel and his team of approximately 120 senior military and civilian leaders arrived to find the camp battered by years of attacks from the Sunni insurgency. Military units stationed there focused their energy on missions outside the camp.

The camp housed more than 7,000 personnel and had multiple needs: security, communications, infrastructure.

Ebel's team had to become urban planners, mayors and security specialists. They also dealt with a culture clash.

Most forces at Ramadi were Marines. Ebel, an Army colonel, brought in an untested group to run the place. They had to show they could deliver.

He drew on experience to boost his group's credibility. This trip was his third tour of Iraq in five years. Previously, he commanded the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in south Baghdad.

The group spent time building rapport with other camp residents, holding town meetings to gin up interest. Working with other units in the camp and with local Iraqis, the team oversaw installation of thousands of protective barriers, renovation of numerous buildings and installation of miles of communications cabling.

At the same time, the task force provided members for projects outside the camp aimed at helping local residents: water treatment, road repair, banking, power generation, communications and legal issues.

When Ebel's team members left in mid-November, they had a to-do list ready for their successors, an Army National Guard brigade combat team from Washington state.

Ebel brought home a new appreciation for collaboration. "This puts everybody in the game and lets people focus on one thing, which is better."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com