Major Paul Smyth was in Iraq just prior to the British handover.

His role saw him command a media team of 14 UK and US military staff who provide a window into the Al Basrah region, not only on behalf of the military but increasingly for the other government departments working there. This is his report sent to us in April.
 
A great deal has changed in Iraq since I was first deployed here as part of the media operations team back in 2003.

Back then we started pulling together our campaign plan just before the military moved across the border from Kuwait into Iraq. As the coalition forces built up their numbers so did the world's media. Handling in excess of 3,500 journalists from all over the world was the first big challenge but certainly not the last for the media operations staff spread out all over the region. 

Since then the British forces have been based in the south, just outside Iraq's second city Basra. Wars, sanctions and years of neglect under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship have taken their toll on the country. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and the British and coalition troops have worked hard to improve things.

An invaluable role

Media operations staff have played an invaluable role in communicating the military effort, not just for the international community but for the Iraqi people themselves. Without our ability to communicate and present the long-term aims and objectives, public opinion would be focused on the short-term effects and costs of the campaign that the media tend to focus on.

Five years ago, over 45,000 troops from the UK took part in the campaign. Now that number is just over 4,000 and they are supporting, training and mentoring over 40,000 Iraqi Army soldiers and Iraqi policemen who are providing security in the south east.
 
Having built up the capabilities of the Iraqi Army the British have more recently been mentoring all over the city, developing the military skills of their counterparts. The media team has also been mentoring the spokesmen and media ops staff of the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police Service as well as the Department of Border Enforcement.

The importance of mentoring

Mentoring is a key element to the work undertaken. The Iraqi forces have been in the lead for some time and it is important for their media staff to be developed as much as possible. They are fantastic at working with their own local and national media but need a helping hand to target the international media as well getting to grips with the ever changing technology available today.

In the five years that the British have been in Iraq much has changed. While most of our effort is centred on Basra, there has been work going on all over the region providing training and mentoring as well as reconstruction, development and governance projects. These are delivered by specialist teams made up of experts from the military as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department of International Development, as well the US Embassy.

Highlighting reconstruction and development

With the security situation better than ever before, we were able to highlight much more of the reconstruction and redevelopment work.

This is a key focus for us alongside the development of the 14th Division of the Iraq Army.

There is a cross government approach to communications and that is vital at this stage in the campaign.

As a result of the improved security we have been able to show much more of the city to visiting journalists so they can see the progress for themselves. One of the most startling differences now is the freedom of movement, allowing journalists to be taken pretty much anywhere.

Media events
 
Media events alongside the Iraqi security forces play an important part in the plan. One of the key events over the summer was the launch of a Joint Security Station concept, where police and soldiers work side-by-side throughout the city. Not only did we have to let the people of Basra know about the scheme, we also had a huge internal communications challenge educating the army and police.

The Joint Security Station launch took place in one of the most deprived areas in the city, which has been one of the most challenging areas for the coalition over the past few years.

The location was carefully chosen to start the campaign because it is one of the areas that really needs policing to work. There is no sewage system, limited water and the electricity supply is intermittent. On top of all that we had to be ready for any situation to unfold and we only had an hour on the ground to set up before the media arrived.

I chose to take off the body armour that we normally wear to soften the profile of the team and the British Commander who attended.

It is a small presentational detail but says volumes to Iraqis about how we perceive the improvements to security on the streets.

With it being my third time here, things are happening that are really encouraging. Oil production over the last six months of 2008 was at an all time high and trade through the port of Umm Qasr has tripled.

We prepared the Basra International Airport for the busiest time of the year, the Muslim pilgrimage of the Haj, which saw passenger numbers quadruple in December.

First in and last out
 
Iraq has a long way to go, and playing a part in its future has provided me with some of the most challenging work of my career. The media operations team are usually in from the start of any campaign and as things progressed in Iraq we were some of the last to leave too.