British Soldier Guarding the Desert Border

Nov. 3, 2006 — -- He looks the part. He's a dashing-looking British lieutenant colonel in the desert. David Labouchere has turned his men into desert rats. They patrol and live on the sand of southeastern Iraq.

The 42-year-old father of two speaks a bit of Arabic and sometimes wears a traditional Bedouin scarf. That has led some of his colleagues to compare him to another British soldier known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Labouchere scoffs at the comparison. "No, I don't think so. He had some fairly strange habits that I don't share," he said.But Labouchere does admit he has picked up some of the local habits, but added, "Everything about me is British army." And that's true. His grandfather also commanded the queen's Royal Hussars.

The current commander of the Royal Hussars is borrowing a page from history. Labouchere has turned his back on armored vehicles and his base in the provincial capital. For five months, these British troops were mortared 281 times at their base. But Labouchere said he left the base, which was stripped bare by armed militias after the exit, to allow him and his men to do their job.

"We've taken ourselves away from a fixed base and allowed ourselves to move freely throughout the country. And this has also had the added benefit of making it harder for the enemy to target us and made it easier for us to get on with the job without all the trappings of sitting in one place," said the 25-year army veteran.

So every couple of nights, these troops move to another spot in the desert to hide. A convoy of about a dozen vehicles carrying food, water and parts joins the soldiers at camp. Sleeping, eating, bathing and working in the desert is a harder life than being in camp. But, as Lance Cpl. Chris Jones says, "I like it. It's actually me doing the soldiering business."

That business is security for the province of Maysan, and it's nearly 200 miles of border with Iran. Maysan is home to the Iraqi marshes and spectacular desert landscapes. The border area is where many battles were fought during the Iran-Iraq War. We drive slowly through the battlefields where thousands of unexploded mortars, shells and land mines cover the ground. Arriving at the border, we drive up to one of 28 "border forts" built by the coalition in the past three years.

On the roof we look across the border and see the Iranians have answered by building their own fort, which just happens to be on slightly higher ground. The coalition claims that high-tech Iranian explosives and weapons are flowing across the border. It's Labouchere's job to stop that flow. But he's not sure how much is actually coming across his section of border. "I think there's plenty of indications that there is technology coming across, but very little proof. And what we'll do here is try to find that proof."

Labouchere's mobility, driving around in open topped unarmored Land Rovers, allows him to cover a lot of territory quickly. But that doesn't make his men invincible. In fact, the day before we arrived, one of his units was hit by a roadside bomb. That sent the lieutenant colonel on a mission to the small town where the explosion happened. He planned to confront the police chief, because he believes men in police uniforms set the bomb. Labouchere was firm. Here is part of what he told the police chief through an interpreter.

"This brings shame on Kumait, because we are not here to be blown up, we're here to bring prosperity to Maysan. What is more disappointing is that there were policeman there when the explosion happened. I only ask that your good name is maintained, and you are the one to maintain your good name. And this requires you to keep your town secure, because yesterday it was not secure. It was the first incident. Let us work together to make it the last incident."

As soon as he finished, Labouchere and his men headed out on patrol without helmets, trying to show the Iraqis in this area that they are not a threat, not an occupying force. Is it working? "Yes. Definitely. We have a wonderful relationship now with the people in the country. They're more open to us now because we're more open with them," he said.

But this overall strategy has serious consequences. Back in the provincial capital Labouchere abandoned, three police stations were attacked in recent weeks by Shiite militias.

Labouchere is supposed to return to the main British base every few weeks for rest. So far, he has refused to leave. He's relishing every day in command, every day in the desert." I stay out here because I enjoy it, and I enjoy the simple life. But in the end, you only get one chance to command a regiment, and I'm not going to spend that in an air-conditioned caravan back in an airbase," he said.

Labouchere of Maysan. His commanders may have to pull him out of here. Until then, he'll just keep moving.