Rockville native helping with Iraq’s future

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo Army Maj. Lawrence Chinnery, who grew up in Rockville, stands outside Hotel Al-Rasheed in Baghdad.

Army Maj. Lawrence Chinnery is an operations research analyst staff officer with the Strategic Effects, Economics Division, which means he helps monitor and influence the political, military and economic aspects of reconstruction. Chinnery, 41, oversees issues like agricultural and business development, oil and electric matters, bank restructuring, and humanitarian assistance.

Interacting with Iraqi citizens and watching them rebuild their country with help from the United States is fascinating, Chinnery said.

‘‘They’re at great personal risk attempting to put their country back together and doing the best that they can,” Chinnery said. ‘‘It’s wonderful to see this.”

Chinnery’s office is in the heart of the ‘‘green zone,” which is a highly protected two-mile area in Baghdad where the Iraqi government and U.S. Embassy are located.

Chinnery arrived in Iraq a few days before the country’s January legislative election and expressed awe at the democratic progress marked in purple on the fingertips of new voters. After being under a tyrant’s heels for 35 years, the people are starting the country from scratch, he said.

‘‘This is what our country did 200 years ago ... and they’re going through that process right now,” he said. ‘‘It’s another taste of democracy. It’s utterly fantastic.”

Chinnery expressed confidence in the country’s progress and said he can’t wait to return in five years with his family.

‘‘I’m very proud to have been able to come out here and support the cause,” he said.

Helping restructure a war-torn country keeps Chinnery working long days, but when he does have a few moments of down time he tries to fit in some fitness training, reading and even a little singing.

There is a small area the military personnel call the beach where they get together once a week and belt out some tunes to the sound of a guitar, he said.

‘‘It’s not like band-quality stuff here. It’s just guys sitting around blowing off some steam,” he said with a chuckle.

E-mail is his main channel of communication with his wife and two sons, ages 9 and 13. But every Sunday night he gets to hear their voices over the telephone for about 30 minutes, he said.

His family lives in Fort Rucker, Ala., where Chinnery was stationed before going to Iraq. He anticipates returning by January.

A graduate of the county’s former Charles W. Woodward High School, Chinnery enlisted in the military when he was a freshman in college and has been in the service for about 20 years. Although he left for a few years and got married, he decided to return, he said.

‘‘I missed the camaraderie, friendship, opportunity, mission and sense of purpose the military provided,” he said.