As a state environmental officer for the Iowa Army National Guard at Camp Dodge, Chief Warrant Officer Howard Clegg of Madrid was sent to Iraq in September 2005 with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. During his stay, he and his combat team witnessed firsthand how important soccer is to Iraq’s culture and how little equipment the children had to play the game.

So Clegg asked his boss, Curt Madsen, environmental program manager for the Iowa Army National Guard, this summer for assistance in sending some soccer supplies. When National Guard employees contacted several Greater Des Moines businesses about making a donation, they were excited to help.

“I served in the military myself and am a veteran of Desert Storm,” said Des Moines Menace General Manager Alan Oatsvall. “It was one opportunity to give back.”

Des Moines Menace donated 120 soccer balls, Johnston Soccer club donated around 35 balls, Soccer Connections donated ball pumps and Kum & Go employees pitched in money to ship the equipment.

Although the donations have not yet led to creating a formal program in the main area where Clegg’s team is working, the town of Al Batha in southern Iraq, it has led to formal and informal games between about six teams. Clegg said they still are looking into initiating a town league.

In addition to boosting spirits, the soccer balls have been used as a safety tool by the soldiers. “We use the balls to break contact with crowds of kids that gather around our vehicles. When it is time for us to depart, we throw a ball and the kids all go chasing, which leaves us a free lane to depart the area.”

Madsen said it’s not uncommon to receive requests like this. About a year ago another soldier asked for backpacks and school supplies. “It’s people taking time to think of someone other than themselves,” he said.

Clegg has seen an effect from these small actions, which have not only helped the soldiers build relationships with communities they work in, but also have allowed them to enter other provinces, he said.

“It’s all about building relations over there to improve security,” he said through an e-mail. “The soccer balls are a way to show that we care about their kids, which leads to respect, which leads to better relations, which builds into a partnership, which creates the foundation for a safe environment that allows us to conduct really good projects that improve their lives. It sound simple, but a lot of time and effort goes into it and nothing moves real fast here, except the bombs.”