Countdown to the handoff

[unhappycamper]

Countdown to the handoff
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 31, 2008

BAGHDAD — Page through the new security agreement between Iraq and the United States, and you’re likely to have a few questions that the often-vague document can’t quite answer. But while diplomats hash out exactly what those words mean, many soldiers on the ground say that they have a pretty good idea of how the security agreement will affect their jobs.

The security agreement, which lays out the road map for a return of Iraqi sovereignty and the departure of U.S. troops, will require sweeping changes for American forces when it takes effect Thursday. But ground-level soldiers are likely to see the impact of just a fraction of the changes set forth in the 18-page document.

Capt. Andrew Slack, a company commander in Baghdad, said three main areas affect the company level: warrants, vacating certain bases, and joint operations.

The unit doesn’t have to worry about basing because it shares its base with Iraqi soldiers, which should exempt it from the requirement for American soldiers to pull out of cities, villages and localities by July, said Slack, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, a unit in Sadr City.

Every base in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division — the unit in charge of Sadr City — is a joint base.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59719