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March 9, 2005
Two soldiers, two families, one warWEHRLY WITH THE 313TH TRAINING IRAQI POLICE
By DOUG McMURDO
Wehrly is helping to train cadets at the Baghdad Police Academy in the hopes that one day soon the U.S. could withdraw from a stable and democratic Iraq. Sgt. First Class Wehrly is a member of the 313th MP Detachment, a reserve military police unit based out of Las Vegas. He trained on weekends and every once in a while he would be assigned to serious duty; like the time he and his unit helped provide security at the Atlanta Olympics. But things turned decidedly different Oct. 17 when the 313th received its aptly named "MOB," military jargon for mobilization to active duty. Three days later at 5 a.m. the unit's gear was packed and the men and women assembled at McCarran International Airport. They flew to SEATAC in the state of Washington and from there they bused it to Ft. Lewis. Forty-five days of training followed. "We got our medical evaluations," said Wehrly in a recent e-mail to the newspaper. "Shots. There were lots of shots." Each troop was required to range qualify on M4 rifles and M9 pistols; a contingent was also trained on M203 grenade launchers. As the time for deployment neared, Wehrly said, additional military equipment was issued, including the "DCU," or desert camouflage uniform, cold weather gear, and an interceptor vest. There were other training exercises during the month and a half in Ft. Lewis, but Wehrly refused to elaborate due to security issues. "Most of it was for specific in-country tasks that we will do in Iraq." In mid-November the 313th journeyed to Kuwait to undergo additional training before heading to Baghdad. As they say in peacetime, getting there was half the fun. "We loaded a World Airlines plane. I don't know what they called it, but it was the biggest plane I can honestly say I've ever seen," Wehrly wrote. "This was at an Air Force Base just outside of Ft. Lewis. From there we flew to Colorado to pick up another unit and then we headed for Maine. "The people in Maine were very nice to us; we were only there for two hours and then we did the hop to Germany. That was my first time there and the airport was OK, but then we headed to Kuwait; a long flight that truly seemed to take forever." Wehrly said the small airport they landed at in Kuwait looked "a lot like Death Valley, only more buildings." Upon arrival in Kuwait Wehrly and the rest of the 313th did what's often done in the military - they hurried and then they waited: "We loaded a bus and a few of the soldiers were issued ammunition (for force protection) for the trip to Camp Virginia (an Army encampment along the Kuwait and Iraq border - within mortar range of insurgents). "That was some kind of ride; it was dark and we couldn't see a thing. We spent the next five days not doing much, just waiting for the next plane ride into Baghdad." Wehrly is the section leader for military police investigations; he attended a 318-hour course at the US Army Military Police Investigations School in Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.; he is also Peace Officer Standards and Training certified as a member of the sheriff's office. Wehrly said there are other sections for traffic accident investigations and force protection. Currently, the 313th is stationed on the east side of Baghdad at the Iraqi Police Officer Training Academy, which has been in existence, he said, for nearly 40 years. Iraqi cadets who attend the academy have been popular targets for insurgents, and part of Wehrly's job is to protect the potential police officers. "We are giving instruction to new recruits in basic law enforcement activities that are closer to Western principles, more like what the people of the US and England are willing to accept." Wehrly is a longtime Pahrump resident and is the son of popular sheriff's department volunteer Sharon Wehrly. Editor's note: Wehrly will periodically write short stories on his time in Iraq. |
