Fairchild captain sees change in Iraq first-hand Published Feb. 17, 2005 FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- For one Fairchild officer who deployed to Baghdad during the height of preparations for the first-ever, free Iraqi elections, witnessing history and assisting in the delivery of democracy has been eye opening and memorable.Capt. Matt Hasson, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Officer, packed his bags late last year and deployed to Baghdad where he was assigned to the strategic operations center located in the Green Zone, a heavily guarded area of Baghdad that houses Iraqi citizens, Coalition partners, and U.S. forces.In the days leading up to [Iraqs] Election Day, the strategic operations center was booming with activity 24/7, Captain Hasson said. We (The SOC) were coordinating the movement of election materials throughout the country, planning and triple checking the security situation, and gearing up for what many thought would be a bloody, but historic day in Iraqs history.The captain works for the Multi National Forces-Iraq, Strategic Communication office. He said STRATCOMs mission is to integrate and synchronize public diplomacy, public affairs and information operations, reinforced by diplomatic, economic and military actions. He said the office also attempts to gain and sustain support of operations to establish and maintain a secure environment, which allows the continuance of relief and reconstruction efforts and improves the training and capabilities of Iraqs security and defense forces.[We were] fully engaged with international media leading up to the election, he said. Our objective was to remind the world that Election Day belonged to the Iraqi people, not the coalition forces. We reinforced that message to the media day-in and day-out. The Iraqis were responsible for polling center security, the second layer of security and [the coalition forces] were in the third ring, just in case.As Election Day drew closer, the captain said tensions escalated and reality began to set in.He said these tensions came to a climax the night before the elections as the U.S. Embassy was attacked and sustained a direct hit.Normally, explosions shake the building and violently rattle the windows, people look up and around to make sure its over, then they go about their business, the captain said. Every day here I experience the violence going on in some way shape or form, but this [attack] was different.I was walking in the hall when I heard a lot of commotion and yelling about a rocket hitting the Embassy. Then out of nowhere, U.S. Marines came running toward the smoke and debris. They were running to help the folks we all knew were hurt thats what these Marines do, and thats why theyre heroes.As the dust settled, we learned we sustained eight casualties, two killed and six wounded. That incident more than the constant car bombs, mortars and gun fire we hear nearly every day hit me pretty hard and made this very real.As the liaison officer for STRATCOM, Captain Hasson monitors all operations throughout Iraq, and ensures media is getting and telling the accurate story. Because he works in the operation cell, he has an eye on every operation and engagement throughout the country and is able to quickly confirm ground truth if the media says three soldiers were killed in operation X.He also receives Rendon Alerts, instantaneous reports off the news wires that state what international media is about to report. The captain said an issue theyre facing in Iraq is the news media is everywhere and no longer is required to be embedded with the military to get around the country.This does create problems when media sees or hears something happen, and they rush to report it, Captain Hasson said. I take these Rendon Alerts and report them to the chief of operations, who ensures all hands focus on the alert and find out the ground truth essentially, we are forced to play catch-up with the reporters.He said the news media often hits the target and delivers the right message at the right time to people around the world, but he said they sometimes miss the mark.The captain said a recent example of this is when an Islamic group contacted the Agency French Press the European Associated Press and told them they had captured an American soldier and were holding him hostage. The group demanded that coalition forces release all detainees or they would behead the soldier in 72 hours. He said the story hit the news wire within an hour, with no one bothering to do much checking before reporting it.I monitor the Pan Arab media, as well, and when we finally got the picture off their Web site, we all thought it looked very suspicious, but it was out of focus just enough to make us think twice, Captain Hasson said. An hour or so later, one of our guys found an [action figure] online that looked exactly like the soldier in the picture. As it turned out, thats exactly what it was a doll. The terrorists are grasping at straws over here and are often forced to use extraordinarily peculiar tactics to get attention.Captain Hasson still has many weeks to spend in Baghdad, but he took time to reflect on the morning Iraq took a monumental step in the right direction.The morning of the elections, I was lying in bed, exhausted after little sleep. I said a prayer; first, for the American forces who were out in force throughout the country, then for the Iraqi people, Captain Hasson said. I firmly believed it would be a bloody day and that many innocent lives would be lost. I also prayed that this would be the turning point for this country; that [the Iraqi people] would take the reigns of their future and vote for democracy. Air Mobility Command News Service is a service of the Internal Division Office of Public Affairs 503 Ward Drive, Room 214 Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 62225-5335 618-229-7821