 | Army 1st Lt. Mark Padien, among the first American forces to invade Iraq last spring, discusses his experience with cadets in the URI Army ROTC program. Padien is a graduate of URI and its ROTC program.
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Alumnus recounts experience as one of first soldiers to enter IraqArmy 1st Lt. Mark Padien was among the first American forces to invade Iraq last spring. But he told a group of Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets at the University of Rhode Island that combat was not the toughest part of his seven-month deployment. The worst part was doing police and security work.
“During the war, if Iraqis were in tanks, you obviously knew they were the enemy. But now you don’t know unless they are shooting at you,” he told the cadets.
A member of the Army’s Third Infantry Division, the 2001 graduate of URI’s College of Business Administration and the Army ROTC program was invited to campus by Army Lt. Col. Paul C. Krajeski, professor of military science, to talk to the cadets while he was home on leave. He returned to duty in Fort Stewart, Ga. on Sept. 26.
With his blond hair and youthful face, Padien looks as though he could still be a student at URI. But his discussion of firefights, Air Force bombing runs, mortar attacks and surviving on three bottles of water a day in 100-plus degree heat made it clear to the cadets that their first jobs will be unlike any careers their classmates will be likely to pursue.
He reminded the cadets that once they become Army officers, they have the power to give a command that could lead to loss of life. But they also have the power to enforce the standards that could keep them alive.
“When we rolled in to Iraq, the enemy knew we were coming in hot, and weren’t afraid to shoot,” Padien said. However, once the combat mission ended, his unit had to learn quickly the techniques of peacekeeping.
He told the cadets that overall the Iraqis were glad to see U.S. forces and they were supportive. “They were definitely a bit curious to see if we got Saddam and if he would come back. A lot of people said, ‘Thank God you are here, but don’t leave until he is gone.’”
The educated Iraqi citizens remain supportive, but the uneducated are easily influenced by fanatics, Padien said, adding that the presence of the U.S. forces has heightened expectations.
Padien said that the road to peace will be long, but democracy is slowly coming to Iraq. “It’s not pretty, but it’s happening.”
After Padien’s prepared remarks, Krajeski asked if the military adage of “don’t ever believe the first report” held true in Iraq. “Yes, you don’t want to rush toward the enemy. You definitely have to assess the situation and be patient. However, there were times when we had to plan on the move.”
Krajeski asked Padien if he could expand on the phrase “when fear kicks in, training takes over.”
“Training absolutely kicks in, you can only tell them (troops) so much,” the battle tested lieutenant answered. “They have to be able to react on their own. You can’t tell them all the time when to return fire; they have to know when to do it.”
By Dave Lavallee
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