State rep returns from tour of duty in Iraq

DENVER - After helping Iraqi security forces learn how to set up a crime scene in Baghdad, fixing the state budget might not seem so challenging to Col. Joe Rice, who just completed his fourth tour of duty in Iraq and is soon returning back to Colorado to his job as a state representative.

"There has been progress but it's fragile and potentially reversible," said the Littleton Democrat who was back in Colorado for one day before going back to Fort Benning in Georgia until the end of November. "It's going to take a lot of time before we can say that things are stable.

"I think that's just the nature of conflict in the 21st century. It's not like World War II where you have a victory date and everybody agrees the war is over and now we can start the next phase. The conflict of the 21st century is just different," Rice said.

Rice is with the U.S. Army Reserves and was stationed in the Iraqi capital city. Because of the surge, U.S. forces are now limited to the countryside. That means day-to-day security operations, including the guarding of folks like Rice, is conducted by Iraqis.

"They can handle a lot of it on their own," he said.

While we may watch television programs like CSI and think crime labs and yellow tape are inherent in our DNA, that's the stage of the training now for Iraqi security forces. They are learning how to protect crime scenes, protect evidence and use modern technology to present evidence in a courtroom.

"It's one thing to train an Iraqi policeman, it's another to train a detective," Rice said. "It's another to set up forensic capabilities, forensic labs and you have to then train folks how to use them."

Rice says he still strongly believes in the American mission in the Middle East and that further engagement should be cultural and economic in nature. The result he says will be a safer United States.

"It's a moral obligation I believe we have to the Iraqi people and I think it directly affects our national security," he said. "It's a life-changing experience that you never really leave."