October 24, 2003

Exercising leadership
'My priority is to get everyone home alive'

BY MARCUS STERN
Copley News Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq - When Jeff Royer is in Springfield, he serves as a canine officer for the Springfield Police Department, working with a bomb-sniffing German shepherd named Lux.

Here in Iraq, Capt. Royer, 34, is the commanding officer of the Illinois National Guard's 233rd Military Police Company. He probably could use Lux's help here, where the biggest threat to him and his troops has become improvised bombs.

As the commanding officer of 156 members of the 233rd, Royer has one overriding concern.

"My priority is to get everyone home alive," he said Thursday.

It's been a busy two years for Royer's unit, which was activated in the wake of the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, to provide security at downstate Illinois airports. The 233rd then was dispatched on a humanitarian mission in Nicaragua, protecting a base camp in the mountainous jungles.

On Feb. 3, Royer learned that his unit would be activated in preparation for war in Iraq. Within 10 days, the troops had attended two days of training and were on the ground at the Guard's training center in Fort McCoy, Wis. After two months there, the unit was placed on a commercial charter bound for Kuwait, where the MP unit spent two weeks before making a dash to Baghdad just days after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Life since then has been an adventure: The 233rd set up a military compound, began patrols in the midst of chaos and looting and helped set up a new Iraqi police force for a city of 5.7 million.

"Logistically speaking, maintenance and parts have been a nightmare," Royer said. "Our mechanics have done a great job of keeping us running, but parts are coming in very slowly, especially tires."

Some of those serving under him in Baghdad are fellow members of the Springfield Police Department. They like to joke about having seniority over him back home.

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One such person is Sgt. Chris Cunningham, a friend as well as a co-worker.

Cunningham has been awarded an Army Commendation with a V device for valor. The decoration is one level below a Bronze Star. Cunningham won it here in Iraq for saving the life of his friend, fellow Springfield police officer and commanding officer - Royer.

The incident occurred when Royer and Cunningham responded to a call from an Iraqi police station reporting that it was under a grenade attack.

As their Humvee sped toward the police station, they passed through a crowded market. The gunner in the turret spotted a man in the crowed with a gun. Cunningham and Royer got out and confronted the man with the intention of seizing his weapon.

But the man pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed it directly at Royer. Royer and Cunningham were armed with M-16 rifles, but they were in the middle of a huge crowd.

To shoot their weapons risked killing or injuring bystanders

"Before I knew it, Chris body-slammed the guy up against a wall and knocked the gun out of his hand," said Royer.

Cunningham likes to joke that he acted on a promise to Royer's wife.

"She told him he was supposed to take care of me," Royer said. "He claims to fear her more than anyone else."

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Royer shares one of the burdens common among those in the company, having left his family behind on a Guard activation that likely will have the part-time "citizen soldiers" away from home for more than 15 months before they return next April.

His wife, Sonia, does crime analysis for the Springfield Police Department. His son, Justin, is 15 months old.

"The first time I saw him crawl was a picture," said Royer. "The first time I saw him walk was a picture. His first teeth, a picture. His first birthday was a picture. His first words were a recording."

Pictures of Royer's wife and child adorn the small room that serves as his home and office.

But in Iraq he has full-time responsibility for a larger family.

"It's overwhelming," he said. "There's so much on your mind all the time. I don't get a lot of sleep. I think about (the responsibility) all the time."

He lost 30 pounds during his first months in Iraq. His troops also have lost weight and been hardened here.

"A lot of them are in the best shape of their lives," Royer said.

He adds that the members of the 233rd "have far exceeded any expectation I ever had of them - not that my expectations weren't high. Their families should be very proud of them."

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The men themselves express warmth and admiration for their commanding officer. They awarded him a sword in recognition of his leadership of a company that has named itself Excalibur.

At first, they'd considered "Rock" as a name.

But they settled on the fabled sword King Arthur pulled from a stone.

"Drawn from the rock, a sword to bring peace to the kingdom," said Sgt. Robert Smith, who presented the sword to Royer.