RUTBAH, Iraq -- Two Oregon soldiers set up their computers, fingerprint scanners and cameras as an Iraqi policeman stands in the nearby window light arranging his black hair in the reflection of a handheld mirror.

The policeman turns around to face the room of U.S. soldiers and grins like an actor on stage.

“Like the pictures, the badges are a very big deal for these people,” says Sgt. Charley Blunt, 38, of Ashland, Ore., who frequently takes several pictures before his handiwork meets with his subject’s approval.

Blunt and Spc. Chealsea Marshall, 24, of Medford, Ore., create and distribute official ID cards to the IPs (Iraqi Police) in Rutbah, Iraq.

They take iris scans, fingerprint scans and new photos with the Iraqi flag as a background.

“They’re very proud of their country, and they’re very proud of their flag,” Blunt says.

The military uses iris scanning at base checkpoints.

“I’d say a good percentage of Iraqis are already in the database,” Blunt says. He estimated there are at least a couple million irises on file. 

“If someone gets caught for, you know, sneaking something on the post,” he says, "then we can put a warning on there and deny this person access.” 

The badges are also helpful to the IPs.

“They need them (badges) in order to move around. They get stopped by the Iraqi Army and they get stopped by us, so if they don’t have current ID badges it’s going to create problems,” Blunt says.

The badging procedure presents a unique opportunity for soldiers like Blunt and Marshall of Charlie Company 1-186th of Oregon’s 41st Infantry to interact with the IPs. Blunt and Marshall spend most of their time on a small Forward Operating Base called Camp Korean Village.

“It’s interesting to see how the Iraqis live,” Blunt says about his experiences with Iraqi culture.

Marshall, the lone female on the trip, also appreciates a glimpse into the villages and the few burka-clad female residents walking out in the open.

At the police station, Marshall notices the IPs are still adjusting to working with a female soldier.

“They defiantly look to Sgt. Blunt for the answers to why they’re having issues with the badging, about the process,” Marshall says. “Hopefully we’ll work that out the more times we go out there.”

Soldiers like Sgt. Joe Celetti, 26, of Springfield, Mass., of 747 Military Police Company visit with the IPs in Rutbah often. His unit notifies the IPs about a week prior to the badging mission. According to Celetti, spreading the word through the grapevine of Iraqi family and friends is the most effective method.

“We plant the seed and follow up,” Celetti says. It usually takes up to three trips to get the word out to the four different stations that the IPs will travel from to get badged. It will take three separate trips to actually badge the 262 policemen.

Celetti oversees the IP operations on these days and observes how well it runs. 

“It was good. It wasn’t as stressful as last time,” Blunt says.

On the first badging mission, Iraqis flooded the office.

“People outside were getting impatient, and they were pounding on the door,” Marshall recalls. “People were getting frustrated standing outside.”

The soldiers are still struggling with gaining the Iraqi’s trust. “They didn’t believe that we were coming back,” says Marshall.
But they do come back, issuing 60 badges this time compared to the last round of 95 badges.

The IPs line up outside Lt. Col. Rahmead Awaed's office, used today as the badging center. They talk loudly in uniforms of blue shirts with black pants or camo and sweat in the hot sun.

Auda Ajeel Radwan, a policeman and postman, traveled here from his village, Nukheab. The last update on his badge occurred in 2006.

“This is the only way to prove I work at this (Nukheab) station,” says Radwan.

After several hours of issuing badges, the handyman for the Iraqi police station blows a fuse and scorches his arms, which happen to be wet with oil from another job. The air-conditioning and electricity no longer work.

Within minutes the military police unit’s medic has wrapped the man’s arms in bandages. The military police are also ready with a generator, but only one badging computer system is still running.

“Power is always an issue, “ Celetti says.

By mid-afternoon the line outside the office diminishes. Blunt and Marshall and the military police pack-up their gear and head for the convoy back to their base.

Cali Bagby embedded with the Oregon Army National Guard from the 41st Infantry for KVAL.com. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly.
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