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The job for Decker and his unit -- 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, 2-37 Battalion -- includes conducting night patrols, staffing checkpoints, participating in a quick-reaction force, and finding and marking unexploded bombs and ammunition in neighborhoods.

Decker and his platoon of tankmates also trained Iraqi civilian guards to work their sector of Baghdad and have provided security assistance at what is considered the most important power plant in the city. The plant controls the nation's power grid.

Iraqi support

Those tasks have put Decker in contact with many Iraqis. Saddam City is a large slum area where mostly Shiite Muslims live. The Shiites were oppressed by Saddam Hussein, who is a Sunni Muslim. Thus, most people in the area welcome the Americans, Decker said.

"The kids are always waving, give us the thumbs up and saying ‘We love America,'" Decker said. "There are always people who give you dirty looks, but most people are generally happy we're here."

But that doesn't lessen the danger.

Not long after Decker arrived, a mine exploded, killing one soldier and wounding a second. But there have been no more such incidents in the 1st Armored territory since night patrols began sweeping roads and bridges for explosives.