The leader of Schofield Barracks' 3rd Brigade Combat Team says the changes that have occurred in northern Iraq have been “;amazing.”;

But Col. Walter Piatt said “;there is still a threat. The threat really is the threat to the stability that we worked so hard for.”;

During a 30-minute phone interview from his headquarters at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, the commander of the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd “;Bronco”; Brigade Combat Team recalled what he told his soldiers before they left for Iraq last October, a year after they returned from the Middle East.

“;Last time, we won the fight,”; Piatt said. “;This time, we have to win the peace.”;

The 3rd Brigade left for northern Iraq in August 2006 and was kept there for 15 months, returning to Wahiawa in October 2007. Thirty-six soldiers serving with the 3rd Brigade and other Schofield Barracks units died during the nearly 15-month deployment. It was its second overseas deployment; the first was in January 2004 when it was sent to Afghanistan.

Piatt said the threat in Iraq “;is a very focused threat to try to divide the population from its own government and also from the coalition forces to try to destroy the gains we made.”;

However, Piatt, who was the operations officer for the 4,000-member brigade during its first Iraqi deployment in 2006, said it is not a large threat.

“;It is not one which the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army can't handle,”; Piatt said. “;Nevertheless, it is a sophisticated threat that can really steer the perception of the populace against the government if not totally defeated.

“;We have to focus on where the roots of insurgence still exist ... the pockets of poverty that are not getting benefits from the government.

That is where we need to focus our efforts so that everyone gains and no one is susceptible to insurgent influence.”;

For the second time, the 3rd Brigade is responsible for an area the size of West Virginia, including the provinces of Salah ad-Din, which has about 1.2 million people, and Kirkuk, where 1.5 million people live.

Piatt believes that compared to 2006, “;there is a new sense of freedom in these provinces. People enjoy the security that has been fought so hard for. They feel like they have gotten their lives back and that their country is returning to something much better that it ever was.”;

On Thursday, a Status of Forces Agreement replaced an United Nations Security Council mandate which restored full Iraqi sovereignty. This means military missions such as weapons searches, neighborhood patrols and spot checkpoints once conducted unilaterally will transition to joint operations or require Iraqi approval.

Since December, Piatt's brigade has coordinated its military operations with soldiers of the Iraqi Army's 4th and 12th divisions in anticipation of the new security agreement.

Piatt said the next major milestone will be the provincial elections that will be held Jan. 31 in 14 of the 18 provinces in Iraq.

The newly elected provincial councils then will select governors and deputy governors. That will be followed by district elections in late spring,

In Piatt's sector, only the province of Salah ad-Din is participating in the elections.

However, unlike past elections, it will be the responsibility of the Iraqi Security Forces to provide security for the 275 polling places in Salah ad-Din. The role of the 3rd Brigade and other coalition forces will be to help develop the security plan.

About 4,100 soldiers of the 3rd Brigade began their mission in Kirkuk and Salah ad-Din in November.

In both provinces, Piatt said that people are going to markets and to work and drive on their roads “;free of fear for the first time. ... People are getting on with their lives. The roads are open and free for traffic. You see Iraqi policemen in uniform - proud to be a policeman.”;

The brigade commander said he was even told that this was the first time people in his area celebrated Eid al-Adha, “;the festival of sacrifice,”; in early December “;since the early 1970s.”;

In 2006, Piatt said “;it was still very, very dangerous,”; especially driving on the roads because of threat of homemade bombs.

The priority then centered on security, Piatt said. “;Now the priority has shifted to governance and economic development.”;