Major Sargis Sangari served as a civil affairs team leader with the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion in Al Anbar Province from August 2006 to June 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Al Anbar Province, Sangari supported AOB 540, the operational detachment alphas, 5th Special Forces Group and the brigade combat teams. After assessing the area for civil affairs activities, the unit was hit by improvised explosive devices the first two times they were on a convoy. The wife of the intelligence officer for one of the Iraqi police chiefs the team was working with was in the taxi in front of their first convoy vehicle during one of the convoy attacks, and they saved her life. Based on their actions, the police chief was willing to start working with the team. The team interacted with local leaders, mayors, tribal leaders and tribal sheiks in addition to the local leaders the team prior to them had established relationships with. Sangari discusses the assessment and where they could improve coalition influence. The team had some difficulty because some of the mayors had moved to Syria or Jordan for safety. It was believed one of the mayors in the area was an open member of an al-Qaeda-associated group. Sangari discusses how he assisted the village with identifying and electing a new mayor and the progress the new mayor has been able to complete. He also talks about the difficulty trying to keep the credibility of the police chief when the enemy is turning off the electricity and water supply, in addition to not allowing food distribution to arrive in the area. Sangari discusses the time he spent working with the mayor and police on a personal level and further develop their relationship on their terms. In the end, the extra time paid dividends and developed a level of trust which allowed assistance in the way of civil affairs projects.

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