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MOSUL, Iraq (January 5, 2009) - Fame is a word
normally associated with movie stars, musicians, athletes, maybe
even a political official, but in the world of military civil
affairs Lt. Col. Jack McLaughlin is one step from stardom. This
sort of fame wouldn't appeal to just anyone, especially when the
requests for appearance land you in the middle of Iraq.
It's not the most favorable spot for most people, but McLaughlin
jumped at the opportunity to share his knowledge and see the
progress in an area he had visited during previous deployments.
His implied fame and travel to Iraq was the result of an article
he had been quoted in years prior.
"When I was in Air Command and Staff College [McLaughlin] was
quoted a couple times in an article on counterinsurgency," said
Maj. Ryan H. Whittemore, executive officer and civil affairs
advisor for a Military Transition Team in Mosul, Iraq. "This
article was kind of a must read in regards to counterinsurgency and
civil affairs training."
Whittemore knew McLaughlin from their days as artillerymen, so
he contacted his renowned former battery commander.
"I told him I was headed to Mosul and asked if he was familiar
with the area," said Whittemore. "I found out that he was, and he
was back in Kuwait."
McLaughlin, civil affairs officer-in-charge for 1st Sustainment
Command (Thearter), had spent a year in Talafar, a town just
outside of Mosul during a civil affairs mission about three years
ago. He offered to fly to Mosul and give Whittemore and his
colleagues a class on civil affairs in Iraq.
"The thing with civil affairs is that it takes a while to see
positive results from your actions," said McLaughlin. "This was an
opportunity to share some civil affairs knowledge and I was able to
really see the effects of our work since I was last here three
years ago."
Whittemore's MiTT team was not the only attendee of McLaughlin's
class, other MiTT teams were extended an invitation.
"When I found out [McLaughlin] was flying up for [officer
professional development], I jumped right on it," said Marine Cpt.
Ryan Barnes, civil affairs advisor for 3rd Brigade, 1st Division,
Iraqi Army. "I learned a little bit about civil affairs at
Expeditionary Warfare School, the Marine equivalent of Captains
Career course, but I was glad to get this training by someone with
experience in the area."
McLaughlin has spent over four years in the Middle East since
the war began and is also practiced in reading, speaking and
understanding Arabic.
"He was able to come down here and associate theory with
practical experience," Whittemore said. "I think it helped because
he was former artillery. He was able to put it in a language we
would understand."
Barnes, also an artilleryman, had been having some success with
his unit's civil affairs mission so far, but was grateful for the
extensive content McLaughlin provided.
"I haven't done a lot of research on the funding aspect, and the
class really opened my eyes on how the financing process works,"
said Barnes. "It's better to know as much as possible about how the
whole process works in order to present it to the command
properly."
McLaughlin spoke on everything from presenting projects to a
command, to common courtesies and dialect in the region.
"[Civil affairs] is definitely a practiced art," Whittemore
said. "Getting the opportunity to learn from Lt. Col. McLaughlin's
training and experience in this area will be beneficial to our
mission here."
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