Local municipal official reports from Baghdad

BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

In a little over a month, Stephen Alexander's public service forum has transformed from the local dais into one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.

Maj. Alexander, a township committeeman in the western Monmouth County community of Upper Freehold Township, was deployed to Baghdad about a month ago. Alexander, an attorney, is an Air Force reservist with the 108th Air Refueling Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, which is based out of McGuire Air Force Base in Wrightstown.

In Iraq, Alexander has judge advocate general (JAG) duty, and his tour is expected to last four to six months. He now works in one of Hussein's former palaces in the International Zone, which used to be known as the Green Zone.

He said his area received mortar attacks four days in a row two weeks ago. One of the attacks was so loud and powerful, he said, that it rattled his bed.

"I thought I was going to fall out," Alexander said.

Another mortar attack came close enough to sound the "duck and cover" alarm, according to Alexander.

Still, while military personnel keep aware that the enemy is there, they don't feel like they are in great danger, he said.

People go about their jobs professionally, he added.

"It's just a different environment,"

he said.

Alexander works with a prosecution team that covers western Iraq, including Fallujah and Ar Ramadi, scenes of some of the heaviest fighting that has occurred during the past three years.

His group prosecutes foreign fighters, which include al-Qaeda members, and anti-coalition detainees, he said.

Alexander referred to those on trial as "some seriously evil people hell-bent on killing U.S. troops and destroying any chances of a democratic Iraq."

One of his first cases involved prosecuting a detainee responsible for killing many U.S. Marines.

According to Alexander, the deceased Marines were young enough to be his sons. The matter really hit home, he said, as he realized "how young these Marines were and what they sacrificed in the name of freedom."

The trial was not the kind he would deal with in his law practice back home, he said.

Alexander described his average day. He said he wakes up, goes to work and works long, hard hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Alexander said the JAGs travel to the courthouses in a convoy led by the Army.

He must wear body armor and blast-proof sunglasses, he said, and must also carry a fully loaded rifle, a handgun, and a knife and gloves.

"We are required to leave our rifle downstairs under guard, but the Army escorts are permitted to carry their rifles into the courthouse," Alexander said. "I do not take my body armor off. Too many judges have been the subject of attacks."

Judges and attorneys must follow Iraqi law and Iraqi legal procedures, according to Alexander.

He said temperatures in the courtroom rise to about 90 degrees and there is no air conditioning.

"I lose 5 pounds of water on any given day I'm at the courthouse," Alex-ander said. "I drink water and Gatorade all the time."

Although his food is decent and everyday living conditions are not bad, he said his environment is not like home. However, he said there are many troops living in far worse conditions.

"The Marines I work with on my cases are the ones hunting down and taking live fire from the insurgents," Alexander said. "We have it pretty good here. I do not complain."

Alexander said he gives the young Army men and women who convoy him to the courthouse many of the things he receives in care packages.

"They deserve it, and you should see their faces," he said. "They truly appreciate thoughts from home."

A second grade class from the Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School sent cards to Alexander, which he said went over "big" with the troops.

While stationed in Iraq, he has made new friends from all over America. He said many of those serving are in their 40s, and have spouses, children and jobs back home.

"I really miss my wife and daughter," he said. "I know it is not easy for Linda [his wife] and Analise [his daughter] at home by themselves."

Alexander tries to talk to his family every day, but that doesn't work out all the time. He has a picture of his wife and his child taped inside his body armor.

"My friends have been great in staying in touch with me and helping Linda and Analise out," he said.

The Alexanders recently had the opportunity to videoconference.

Mrs. Alexander explained a daily ritual she and her daughter are keeping. They have 120 small foam hearts in a jar. Each heart represents one day of Alexander's military service. Every day, they pull out a heart and put it into another jar.

Mrs. Alexander told Analise that when they empty the first jar and fill the second one, "Daddy will be home."

When asked if he has kept up with township business, Alexander said he has e-mailed members of the Township Committee but has not yet heard from anyone.