The third Iraq deployment for Fort Lewis’ 14th Engineer Battalion has a different feel: The 750 soldiers are spending less time searching for roadside bombs and have more opportunities to train Iraqis and rebuild roads.

And that means more opportunity to build goodwill, the battalion commander said.

“In the summer of 2003, most Iraqis waved or smiled when you passed them on patrol,” Lt. Col. Pete Helmlinger said by phone. “When I returned in 2006, I saw mostly long faces and glares. I now see waving and smiling again, with an occasional hang-loose wave, and far fewer glares.”

Most of the soldiers spend their days rebuilding roads near Tallil, in southeastern Iraq. But a third of the unit, part of the 555th Engineer Brigade, spends its days on patrol, looking for roadside bombs – a task that took up most of its first two deployments.

The battalion, which includes 500 soldiers from Fort Lewis and about 250 from Fort Hood, Texas, is largely stationed at Contingency Operating Base Adder outside Tallil, though a company is working near Balad in central Iraq.

The engineers deployed in April and should return from its 15-month tour this summer. The battalion previously served during the 2003 invasion and again in 2005-06.

Helmlinger, a University Place native, said the difference between deployments is stark.

“Violence and the number of (improvised explosive devices) are down to a fraction of what they were two years ago,” he said. “On our route clearance patrols, we now average two IEDs a week, instead of two a day, which has freed us to focus on other engineer missions.”

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