Though U.S. troops have been fighting wars on two fronts for the past 6 1/2 years, the conflict in Iraq has dominated the spotlight for most of that time.

The war in Afghanistan generally took a backseat as the world focused on the American occupation of Iraq - until recently.

Now it is the escalating violence in Afghanistan that is attracting the headlines - and the attention of world leaders - while the military operation in Iraq is turning into today's forgotten war.

So are the Chippewa Valley troops deployed in Iraq - most for at least the second time - bothered by the lack of attention this time around?

Not in the least, said Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Rosemore of the Eau Claire-based 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry.

"The guys getting the press are the ones getting the action," Rosemore said last week while visiting his wife and three teenage daughters in Altoona as part of a two-week leave. "The fact that we're not in the news tells me we're being successful."

The big stories about Iraq now tend to focus on the timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, and that's just the way Rosemore and the roughly 600 National Guard troops in the battalion want it.

In fact, preparing the Iraqis for that transition has been a primary focus for the western Wisconsin troops, who are serving as part of the 3,200-soldier 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in the largest deployment of Wisconsin Army National Guard forces since World War II.

A central task for many of the soldiers involves establishing a corrections training center. The $28 million facility recently graduated its second class of Iraqi corrections officers, bringing the total number of graduates to more than 850 since July 1, according to a report by Lt. Col. Tim Donovan, spokesman for the 32nd Brigade.

Soldiers from the 128th are working to ensure Iraqi corrections officers are trained and ready to operate the facility on their own by early 2010. Early indications are that the Iraqis are up to the challenge.

"They're doing a great job," said Rosemore, who was scheduled to head back to Iraq on Saturday. "We're at the point now where we just stand off and monitor that everything is going in the right direction."

Troops from the 128th also helped with transferring 2,600 prisoners from Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib before a prisoner abuse scandal involving U.S. soldiers, to another location after a large riot.

Other 128th troops focus on jobs such as providing security for high-ranking military officials, moving detainees, serving as an immediate reaction force and supporting Iraqi courts, including the nation's high tribunal.

Meanwhile, soldiers from the Chippewa Falls-based 829th Engineer Company, also part of the 32nd Brigade, have been building components for a new detainee housing unit at Camp Cropper and administering what is known as "health care at the wire" for more than 3,000 detainees at the site.

In general, the current missions of 128th soldiers are more strategic than when the unit mobilized to Iraq from November 2004 to October 2005 and spent a lot of time kicking down doors and battling insurgents.

"Now we're a pretty big part of being able to transition control back to the Iraqis and having U.S. troops eventually pull out," Rosemore said.

The new mission leads to accomplishments that are both identifiable and satisfying.

"We can walk away from this thing, and it will be easy to measure what we've done and see that we've been able to really make a difference," Rosemore said, noting he's been particularly impressed by how young soldiers in their teens and early 20s have risen to the challenges.

Of course, the improved security situation, in addition to being a huge relief to the soldiers and their families back home in Wisconsin, is what allowed the mission to move forward.

"It's still a combat zone, but you generally feel pretty safe," said Rosemore, 40, who for the first time in his 23 years in the National Guard has enjoyed logging on to Facebook almost daily during a deployment to stay in touch with friends and family.

Still, random rocket attacks, roadside bomb explosions and suicide bombers offer regular reminders of the risks. Any complacency was shattered about two weeks ago when a rocket struck a sleeping area inside the base complex near Baghdad International Airport, where most of the 128th troops are stationed, Rosemore said.

No 128th soldiers were injured in the attack, but some U.S. troops weren't so lucky. The local battalion hasn't suffered any casualties during this deployment.

The ethnic rivalries that fuel much of the violence in Iraq are frustrating for U.S. troops, Rosemore said, as insurgents aim to weaken the same Iraqi governmental institutions the Americans are trying to prop up.

"We're a pretty young nation, but we've had the luxury of having to live with each other for quite awhile," he said. "Our diversity is hugely magnified when you go to an area that's been so isolated."

Eventually, Rosemore hopes the Iraqis will figure out how to live together peacefully as well.

Success is difficult to define in such trying circumstances. For Rosemore, it will be enough to know that Iraqi civilians no longer are living in fear of a brutal dictator and that the country's fledgling government can stand on its own.

"They're pretty darn close right now," he said. "The only time we intervene is when they request our assistance."

With about three months left in their deployment to Iraq, the troops from the 128th are beginning to look toward their return to U.S. soil at the end of eight months in the scorching Iraqi desert. They enjoyed a rare cool spell last weekend when temperatures dipped below triple digits, with highs only in the upper 90s, Donovan reported.

As for what U.S. troops will leave behind when most of them are expected to be out of Iraq by 2012, Rosemore sounded cautiously optimistic.

"We went in and fought for their freedom, and now we're kind of handing it over to them, and they're trying to figure out what to do with it," he said.

While he doesn't expect democracy to look the same in Iraq as it does in the U.S., he does anticipate some form of democratic government will be operating in the country.

"Our democracy has been boiling and bubbling for over 200 years, and we're still far from perfect," Rosemore said. "We can't expect theirs to work smoothly overnight.

"I think they'll do fine, but it will take some time."

Lindquist can be reached at 833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com.

Did You Know?

n Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Rosemore visited Washington, D.C., Oct. 6 to accept the Walter T. Kerwin Jr. Award for Readiness and Training on behalf of the Eau Claire-based 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry. The award recognizes the top battalion in the U.S. Army National Guard.

n As of Friday, 4,352 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

n As of Friday in the Afghanistan theater, which also includes Pakistan and Uzbekistan, 796 members of the U.S. military had died since the war began in October 2001, the Pentagon said.

Virtual Tailgating

Many 32nd Brigade soldiers will join thousands of family members today in a virtual tailgate party. Families will gather at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison for an event called "Tailgating With The Troops," and soldiers will join them over the Internet from seven locations in Iraq.

The Packers-Lions game will be shown at the arena and will be broadcast in Iraq by American Forces Network. The noon kickoff in Green Bay will happen at 8 p.m. Iraq time.

On the menu in Madison will be standard tailgate fare, donated by sponsors from around the state. In Iraq, the soldiers will create their own tailgate atmosphere with whatever their various locations can provide. Beer won't be on the menu in Iraq, though, as alcohol is prohibited in combat zones.