By KEVIN NEVERS

Five months ago, in October, the Iraqis who live in southeastern Baghdad—home to Base Hammer, the headquarters of the then newly deployed Task Force 1-10 Field Artillery of the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army—wanted nothing to do with the nearly 600 members of the battalion.

The locals were skittish, fearful, uncooperative, unfriendly. They avoided contact with the troops. For that matter, they avoided contact as much as possible with each other.

Five months later, Command Sgt. Maj. (CSM) Jim Benedict says, the burgeoning success of the surge and the outreach missions of Task Force 1-10 have, for all practical purposes, turned a battle space back into a neighborhood. “When we first got here, you wouldn’t see people shopping. You wouldn’t see them in cars. But now there’s a sense of normalcy. Morale is higher. People can do things on a day-to-day basis. People are willing to talk to us and associate with us.”

Benedict, 48, is a Chesterton native—CHS Class of 1979—a 29-year veteran of the U.S. Army, and as CMS of Task Force 1-10 the highest ranking non-com in the battalion. “I’m the battalion commander’s right-hand man,” he says from Baghdad. “I advise on all enlisted matters. And I’m responsible for the welfare and morale of the enlisted soldiers.”

So Benedict is in a position to know that the morale of the troops in Task Force 1-10 is exemplary. “At this time it’s very high,” he said. “The attitude of the soldiers is great. They’re motivated and they’ve been working hard over the last year.”

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Like every other soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan, Benedict misses his family most, his wife Su Yong, their daughters, Crystal and Julia, and their four grandchildren. Home is now Fort Benning, Ga., with the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, but Benedict has kicked around a lot over the years since joining the Army only weeks after graduating from CHS. He’s served as a drill sergeant, training new recruits, as an instructor at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas, and as CSM of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. Benedict also put in a tour of Iraq the first go around, during Operation Desert Storm.

Base Hammer is not exactly a home away from home, Benedict says, but it’s homey in a sandbagged, razor-wired sort of way, and while no soldier in Task Force 1-10 is ever really off duty, everybody’s got down time. “Guys go to the gym, the laundry. There’s the Internet cafe. We’ve got sports teams. There’s a lot to do.”

Still, no one’s going to mistake Base Hammer for summer camp. The Iraqi contracting system is “slow and in a lot of cases inexperienced,” Benedict says, and after five months in Baghdad Task Force 1-10 is still “trying to get a shower trailer up.”

After family, though, the troops miss one thing above all, Benedict says: “freedom of choice.” Back home folks have options. Every day they pick and choose where they’ll shop, what they’ll buy, whose brand they’ll plump for. In Iraq genuine options are far and few between. “It’s tough not being able to have access to those things we take for granted, like Wal-Mart, fast food, having a choice and knowing you’ll find what you’re looking for. Here you can’t even buy a Snickers bar, because the PX is out.”

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Task Force 1-10 began its tour in April 2007, oddly enough, as a military-police outfit, responsible for the bulk of the detainees now in Iraq—4,000 of them—housed in two compounds located in the southern tip of the country. “We’re a field artillery battalion and we were doing MP duties,” Benedict says. “The soldiers enjoyed it, though. It was different. They learned a lot. They built the detainees’ compounds themselves. They always perform well at everything they do.”

In October Task Force 1-10 was re-deployed to Base Hammer and its troops are now doing what they were trained to do: conduct field artillery missions. But the battalion has also tasked two motorized rifle companies to combat patrols and security missions. Benedict hits the streets with them daily. “I maneuver at least once a day to see how the missions are running, whether they’re going smoothly,” he says.

The troops of Task Force 1-10 have been split into three units, Benedict notes: the forward operating base and two combat outposts. That division of forces proves a hardship at times, although not for the reason one might think. Because “it’s impossible to bring everybody together” at one time,” he says, a “competition” for limited resources—“choices of entertainment, like celebrities”—becomes inevitable. “As I said before, more freedom of choice would be good.”

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Benedict grew up in a house on Richter Street. He didn’t play sports at CHS. He didn’t have the time. From the age of 16 he was working a job. But Benedict has fond memories of his free hours. “My favorite times were the Friday night home games at the school,” he says. “We always enjoyed getting together and having a good time. I spent a lot of time at the park, the bowling alley, and the beach.”

Within months of enlisting, not long after finishing basic, Benedict knew that he’d make a career of the Army. It’s taken him across the country and around the world, into some fairly cushy billets and some rougher ones, and it’s bestowed on him enormous responsibility. It’s been a good ride, Benedict says. But he’s never forgotten Chesterton. “I miss the togetherness and the peace and quiet of a small town.”

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Task Force 1-10 has had few dealings with the enemy during its tour. Benedict calls them “contacts” and says they come “in spurts, not too many and nothing major since we’ve been here.” Indeed, Benedict says that the most gratifying part of his deployment has been “keeping 500 plus soldiers alive and out of harm’s way. Not one incident or accident in 12 months while in theater.”

Besides its field artillery and security missions, Task Force 1-10 is engaging in ongoing outreach missions in its field of operations, including school-bag drops and water drops. As part of the surge, its troops are also participating in a local command citizens program dubbed the Sons of Iraq, in which Iraqi men—“locally trained by well-known sheiks”—work side by side with U.S. soldiers in “security pieces” in the town. “They’re so compassionate about what they do because their securing their own homes. They immediately report violence and we work together to respond. It’s definitely making a difference. It’s working great and we work hand in hand.”

Have the media been covering the surge accurately? “It all depends on what you watch,” Benedict says. “Some of it’s good. Some of it’s not so good. For the most part I think they’ve done a good job of reporting on us.”

Benedict himself, however, has no doubts about the effectiveness of the surge. “The surge is working,” he says. “It’s definitely making a difference. The troops are doing a great job being ambassadors for our country. They’re maintaining security in Iraq. People here are getting their lives back. It definitely getting better.”

“Americans can be proud once again,” Benedict says. “We just want people to live their lives in prosperity and freedom. Freedom is what it’s all about. Folks back home don’t see what we see, and we’ve watched it grow better every day. We’re seeing citizens step up and do their part to improve things.”

“I’m just glad that I’m here,” Benedict adds. “It’s not just about the future of the Iraqis. It’s about our future too. I’ve got four grandkids. We need the country to prosper. That’s what it’s all about. It’s all about a better future for everyone.”

Posted 3/26/2008