Army Staff Sgt. Danny Benavente has seen the carnage in Iraq, and it troubles him.

What good can come of this, he often wonders.

As soldiers on foot patrol in a war zone, Benavente and his team are assigned to assess the damages and find answers. In a country laid waste by insurgency, it is often difficult to achieve any semblance of stability.

While the repairs to war-torn cities and towns are long and costly, Benavente and his unit nonetheless remain active to promote the peace, express hope and deliver basic supplies to struggling and impoverished neighborhoods.

It is a difficult mission, especially for the 26-year-old Benavente, who is half a world away from his family and civilian duty as an Auburn police officer.

“Our mission is to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people,” said Benavente, a team leader for the Army Reserves’ 448th Civil Affairs Battalion, Alpha Company. “We’re doing everything and anything. … It’s a hectic job. There’s not an exact definition of what we do.

“We have to fight and be politically correct and culturally aware.”

Benavente’s unit wears many hats, conducting a wide range of duties – as infantrymen, goodwill ambassadors, humanitarian and medical assistance providers, repairmen and mentors.

They hope to make a difference in a prolonged mission to help a nation regain its feet.

U.S. relief forces have been instrumental in mending not only infrastructure but relationships. Still, many Iraqis dislike Americans and their occupation.

Benavente understands this. Yet he is willing to extend a helping hand and change perceptions – beginning with Iraqi children.

“These kids are poor. They don’t have much,” Benavente said. “If you can give them something that could change their minds about us … that Americans are helping them, that they are not the devil … it could mean a lot.

“If we do that, then we have won the war,” Benavente continued. “If you go out and destroy these people, it will leave a bitter taste in their mouths and you won’t (win the war). We’re trying to help the kids as much as we can. The Iraqi children are the wave of the future, and education is the key.”

To promote the effort, Benavente and his special operations unit are attracting help and donations. In particular, Benavente has been working on a project to help displaced schoolchildren, who lost most of their school to a bombardment in a city north of Baghdad.

Auburn joins the effort

Several organizations have stepped up. Even the good people of Auburn have joined the crusade.

Local children also are participating.

At Benavente’s urging, fourth- and fifth-graders at Arthur Jacobsen and Lakeland Hills elementary schools wrote letters to Iraqi children to promote goodwill.

The letters also have brought perspective to Auburn students. In Micala Root’s fifth-grade class at AJ, students discussed what to write about in the letters and the hardships the Iraqi students were experiencing.

One of Root’s resourceful students, Emily Howarth, went a step further. She led a successful, two-week pencil drive at the school. She made a poster, encouraged students to donate, even brought collection bags to the school and visited classrooms to remind them about the campaign.

“She showed great empathy and thoughtfulness in realizing the difficulties the Iraqi students were facing,” Root said. “And she showed leadership and organizational skills in designing and implementing the campaign. She needed very little assistance from me.”

Said Howarth: “It felt very nice to know that we can help those who need it.”

The City of Auburn, the police department and businesses have also been supportive to the cause.

“I never expected this,” Benavente said of the contributions from home. “It was just a thought, and now it’s a reality.”

Benavente expects the Auburn care package to arrive soon as his unit continues its work in Iraq. Benavente and his unit are deployed on similar missions throughout the world. Iraq just happens to be a humanitarian aid priority.

Benavente, who has been in the service for eight years, is expected to return home in two months, completing his third deployment with the Army and his second tour of Iraq. He is looking forward to seeing his wife, Lani, and fast-growing 2-year-old daughter, Keira.

For Benavente and his unit, the sacrifices have been great but the work is rewarding.

“We do this because we like it, we do it because we care,” Benavente said. “It is our duty.

“People ask us, ‘Why don’t you get out?’ But we found the Army. … The Army has been good to me. We want to serve our country and help people out,” said Benavente.