...a Principal Rich Appel

As a principal in Wisconsin, decisions are not life and death, but on January 7, 2003, I was called to active duty in Iraq. Once I left Chilton Elementary School for Ft Bragg, my responsibilities as an educator took on a new dimension.

I spent 12 months restoring essential services in Iraq by bringing water, electricity, paint, desks, windows, and doors to the decimated schools 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, in the Qadisiyah Provinces. As a civil affairs commander, my teams and I were responsible for rebuilding the educational system of 527 schools and 183,000 students.

It's a huge job. We had to literally start from scratch to get basic items like paper, pencils, erasers, and chalk to the buildings for staff and students who had gone without for too long. Along with the school projects, we worked daily to reestablish every aspect of services that you can imagine as we helped the Iraqis try and get back to a way of life that they deserved.

The daily temperature in Iraq rages at 122 degrees Fahrenheit on average and it was common on a summer day to see the thermometer arrow go all the way around and exceed the numbers on the scale. And once the twenty pounds of body armor is added, the afternoons are too hot for work. To give you an idea, my typical lunch for the first four months, Lipton's Soup, could be made with bottled water - no microwave required!

I have been a principal for nine years, and an army reservist for 17, and I think people would be surprised at how many non-educational issues I deal with at Chilton Elementary that directly impact students’ educational performance and their day-to-day school experience. I work with the emotional and home-life issues that directly impact educational performance.

I love my job as principal. No two days are the same when you have 420 students that are growing and learning. Whether running a school or running a Civil Military Operations Center, a day in the life of a principal or army major is never routine.

While in Iraq some decisions had immediate impact on life or death both for my own troops as well as the Iraqis I worked with, but just as in Chilton, I had to be ready for anything. One day I escorted $250,000 to the bank (with armed guards) to supply the payroll for teachers who hadn't been paid in two months. Teachers earned between $5 to $20 per month when we arrived, but soon were earning between $120 to $540 per month. Other days, desperately hopeful Iraqis would bring us sick children or photos of loved ones who had been taken by Saddam's security forces years earlier, hoping that somehow, someway we could help them find their bodies in one of the many mass graves. Some days were very frustrating as you looked in their eyes and tried to give them hope.

Leadership skills come in different forms, and in Chilton the bulk of my school day as a school principal is also structured around other people’s needs. I meet with parents when they are upset about a situation at school, deal with kids for good and bad things that arise throughout the day, and collaborate with a staff of more than 50 teachers. Scheduled or not, my day shifts when a student misbehaves, a teacher needs me for a question or issue, or a parent wants a conference, along with continually looking ahead for improvements through instruction and curriculum in order to help our children be successful. It is a rewarding job—where else do daily thank-yous come in the form of hugs from kids with ketchup on their hands?

I had many dangerous moments in Iraq and unfortunately had many friends and colleagues who were killed—one of whom was my former student from Tipton, Iowa, when I taught there from 1988-95 - Sgt. Aaron Sissell - and that was the most difficult part to deal with. The tough times continue as my translator Eman Hameed was murdered on September 19 by Sadr’s forces hoping to scare good Iraqis away from working with the coalition forces. She was a brave 28-year-old third-grade teacher who spoke great English and worked hard to bring freedom to her country and especially the children.

The tough experiences do jump out at me, but the majority of my days were positive and extremely rewarding. The Iraqi people that I dealt with were unlike what you see on your nightly news as they were hospitable and very appreciative of us being there helping them. Twice a month I wrote an article for my hometown newspaper and my students at school. Community thanks came in the form of action: they sent me over 250 support boxes filled with clothes, school supplies, candy, and toys for the Iraqi kids. The community and school supported my family and their principal/soldier beyond all expectations through their actions and kind words.

My experience in Iraq was the most challenging and rewarding year of my life. Not all of it was good, but all of it was incredible. I am proud when I see ordinary people doing extraordinary things by taking care of someone who needs their help—either a student, teacher, volunteer, parent, or military personnel, you name it—there are great people out there doing great things for others just because they care and want to make a difference.

A part of me remains in Iraq with the good people and especially the children. Like my own kids here in Chilton, they are my kids too. If asked, I’d go back tomorrow to continue our work to help them grow up to know freedom and to be successful. Like our kids, they too, deserve that.

Richard Appel (BS '88/MA '95 - Educational Administration) has many fond memories of The University of Iowa as a Cambus driver, a member of Old Gold Singers, and as the Iowa mascot - that's right: a Herky - from 1984-1988. All of these experiences helped shape him into the leader that he is today.