Travis Vires is pictured in Iraq where he is now serving in the Multi-National Security Transition Command. He expects to be there for a year. (Courtesy photo)

    By Jan Schultz
    The Imperial Republican
     In the ongoing effort to eventually get the Iraqi Army trained to keep its country stable, U.S. soldiers are working, in some areas, one-on-one to teach them what they know.
     One such U.S. Air Force officer is Major Travis Vires, an Imperial native, who left for Baghdad Nov. 8 and expects to be there for the next year.
     He works in the Multi-National Security Transition Command as an advisor to the Iraqi Logistics Directorate. He is one of two Air Force officers at the Baghdad headquarters, along with three other officers from the U.S. Army, three from the Navy, a Marine and one from the Australian Army.
     Their headquarters is located in the "green zone," and close to the U.S. Embassy.
     Vires said each of the 10 officers is assigned to an Iraqi General Officer with whom they spend half their day helping them learn basic Western officer ship traits.
     "Things like taking initiative, forward planning and communication with other divisions to keep everyone on the same page," Vires wrote.
     "This is all new to the Iraqis," he noted.
     That's because, under Saddam, the officers were "stove-piped" and only told to work on what they were given, to help the dictator keep better control over them, Vires said.
     He noted that many of the officers they are now working with were imprisoned themselves or had family members in prison under Saddam.
     His father, Bruce of Imperial, said there is always a little anxiety, as a parent, when a son is in Iraq.
     "But, this is the profession he chose and this is part of it," Bruce said.
     It's a little comforting for Dad and Mom, Lorain, to know that Travis won't be on patrol and probably not in a real position where there are roadside bombs or suicide bombers.
     "But it is a war zone. He will have to fly in and out in helicopters once in awhile," Bruce said.
     With a laugh, Vires added that it can't be any more scary than driving on the beltway in and out of Washington, D.C. This isn't the first time for Vires to serve in Iraq.
     In 2006, he spent five months there at Balad Air Force Base. He knew he was due for a "remote," an assignment out of the U.S., so was informed several months ago he'd be returning to Iraq this year.
     In October, he was sent to Fort Sill, Okla., to train for this latest assignment.
     His wife is at home in Gulf Breeze, Fla., with their children, Sasha, 10; Tristan, 9; Nadia 7; and foster child Melanie, who is 16.
     Travis was a 1990 graduate of Chase County High School, after which he gained an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating in 1994.
     As a Second Lieutenant, he was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he met his future wife, Rebecca. There, he earned the rank of First Lieutenant.
     After two years there, he was assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked in logistics. He earned the rank of Captain and two of his children were born during that tenure.
     Three years later, he was transferred to Carbondale, Ill., where Vires taught ROTC at Southern Illinois University. The couple's third child was born.
     From there, he was assigned to Fort Belvoir, Va., where he attained the rank of Major. Three years later, he was moved again to Whiting Field near Pensacola, Fla., where his family currently resides.