Soldier discusses his time in Iraq

KOKOMO -- Of all the care packages Maj. Anthony Jocius received during his recent stint in Iraq, the one he talked about the most contained something few would suspect a soldier to crave: powdered drink mix.\nThe water in Baqubah, where Jocius is stationed, is drawn from a river that might make some creeks look clean. The water is cleaned through a reverse-osmosis process that leaves the water with a chlorinated taste.\nThat's where the two giant containers of drink mix, sent to Jocius by a colleague at Delphi Electronic Systems, came in very handy.\nDuring an interview at his home Friday, Jocius could only describe the heat as a wall of hot air. Out of necessity, he drank a lot of water.\n"At night it got down to like 95 degrees, but it was so hot you'd stay up all night. You'd be sweating all the time," he said. "I never want to spend another summer in Iraq."\nUnfortunately for Jocius, who is home on leave, his job may require him to stay for part or all the upcoming summer. His leave is scheduled to end Jan. 16.\nJocius said he's hopeful he'll be transferred out of Baqubah sometime this spring and sent down to Baghdad, where things are calmer.\nBaqubah is about 40 miles northeast of Baghdad. Jocius arrived in Baghdad in April and was then transferred to Saddam Hussein's home of Tikrit, where he spent nearly three months.\nJocius is in charge of many projects for the Coalition Provisional Authority, headed by Civilian Administrator L. Paul Bremer. Jocius is in charge of about $3.8 million worth of infrastructure projects and has another $4 million worth of projects in the final planning stages.\nHe said he's hopeful all the projects will be under way by the time the Iraqi government is scheduled to assume duties in July.\nJocius said he remains upbeat about the U.S.-led coalition's mission. Each day, he said, life gets better for the Iraqi people.\nThe biggest problem is still a lack of security, both for coalition forces, civilian contractors and regular Iraqis, he said.\n"It'd be nice if there were more security, but they're working very hard on that every day. Every week there's more security," he said.\nJocius said he tries to be seen as someone who helps the Iraqis, rather than as a member of combat forces.\n"We're here to help the Iraqis, and that's how we have to be seen," he said. "We want the Iraqis to be successful. We don't want to be seen as a part of that success."\nMuch of the mission is simply centered on building up a people demoralized by Saddam's ruthless secret police. Giving out encouragement, even for small accomplishments, is a big part of the job, he said.