Lt. Col. Dwaine Drummond doesn’t mind that U.S. combat operations in Iraq have commanded less of the public’s attention of late.
“It means there’s less violence, so that’s good,” the 49-year-old commander of the 133rd Engineering Battalion, the Maine Army National Guard’s largest unit, said recently. “We all know good news doesn’t make headlines the same way.”
Indeed, as the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq arrives today, it seems that many Americans — Mainers included — have lost interest. The decrease in violence and casualties has played a role, but focus at home also has shifted almost exclusively to the economy.
Yet, in its 7th year, the Iraq war has something that it hasn’t had in any of the previous years since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003: an end date.
President Obama announced last month that he plans to draw down all combat troops by August 2010. As many as 50,000 non-combat troops could remain to help execute a draw-down plan, but all U.S. forces are set to be out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.
“I think there is an appreciation of a finish line,” said Drummond, who was part of the 133rd’s deployment to Iraq in 2004. “When we were there, the goals were short-term.”
First Lt. Joe Cheever, commander of the 262nd Engineer Company out of Belfast that is part of the 133rd Battalion, agreed that Iraq has changed considerably since 2004, but he doesn’t worry about any political debate.
“We join [the guard] for a reason,” Cheever said in a recent interview. “As a commander, I have to think long-term. That means deployments every five years. If it isn’t Iraq, I’m sure we’ll be asked to go somewhere.”
Lately, that somewhere has been Afghanistan, where U.S. foreign policy leaders have shifted their attention.
But conflict in Afghanistan is not front-page news either. In fact, even when war is mentioned lately, the context is: How much money will the U.S. continue to spend? The Iraq war budget already has eclipsed $700 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
Some critics, however, don’t think the financial role of the war is getting enough attention.
“It literally makes me sick to my stomach that we’re not talking more about the war,” said Danny Muller, executive director of Peace Action Maine, an activist group of more than 4,000 members. “Fifty percent of our budget is going toward the war. Clearly, that has caused collateral damage to the economic crisis.”
Currently, there are more than 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including about 100 Maine guardsmen and women who are part of the National Guard’s Operational Support Airlift Agency.
Since 2003, 10 different Maine guard units have been deployed to Iraq, and 2,265 Maine Army National Guard soldiers have served overseas since the Iraq war began, although not all in Iraq. That also doesn’t include Mainers who are enlisted in main branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
According to the latest estimates from the Associated Press, 4,255 Americans have been killed in Iraq since 2003. Twenty-four service members from Maine have died and seven of those were from state guard units. They are: Sgt. Christopher Gelineau, Staff Sgt. Lynn Poulin, Sgt. Thomas Dostie, Master Sgt. Michael Jones, Staff Sgt. Dale Kelly, Staff Sgt. David Veverka and Sgt. Richard Parker. If you expand the casualties to include those with ties to Maine, the number is 40.
The number of injured soldiers is harder to track. Capt. Shanon Cotta, spokesman for the Maine Army National Guard, said he could not release information about injuries because of patient confidentiality concerns. He did say that 40 guard soldiers have received Purple Hearts for being wounded in combat.
And, Maine’s role in the Iraq conflict is not over.
The 133rd Battalion, which includes three different units and about 500 soldiers, is scheduled to re-deploy to Iraq beginning in January 2010.
Since the 133rd is an engineering battalion, it’s likely that deployment will not be affected by Obama’s recent announcement. Major Gen. John W. Libby of the Maine Army National Guard said shortly after the announcement was made that he has no reason to believe Maine’s deployment schedule will change.
Drummond, who is preparing the 133rd but will not deploy with them, said part of his job is to make sure his troops don’t wade into politics.
“We’ll continue to train,” he said. “If we shifted [policy] and had to go Afghanistan instead, not much would change.”
Activists like Muller said an opportunity still exists for the U.S. to create radical change in its foreign policy, but he said he’d like to see more than rhetoric from the new president.
Drummond, however, said he’s encouraged by the attitude shift, which he said is evidenced by the number of younger troops that have signed up recently.
“When I joined, I had no expectations of being deployed,” he said. “Now, people are signing up for guard duty knowing they will likely go.”
Cheever certainly fits into that category. At age 29, he’s already a unit commander preparing for his second deployment.
“It will be interesting to see the changes in Iraq since 2004,” he said. “But with every mission, there is risk.”
A complete list of soldiers with Maine ties who have died since Sept. 11, 2001 can be found online at http://www.maine.gov/dvem/bvs/Maine_Fallen_Heroes.htm.
7 state guard service members with Maine ties have died
Spc. Christopher D. Gelineau, 23, Portland; Sgt. Lynn R. Poulin, 47, Freedom; Spc. Thomas J. Dostie, 20, Somerville, Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Jones, 43, Unity; Staff Sgt. Dale J. Kelly Jr., 48, Richmond; Staff Sgt. David M. Veverka, 24, University of Maine and Sgt. Richard K. Parker, 26, Phillips.