Fort Riley ? Capt. Mike Squires forms up members of “Bandito Charlie” Company and begins a dry run through a training course.

“Hop in the war wagon,” said Squires, motioning toward the back seat of a desert-brown Humvee.

That Humvee already has been to Iraq. It still carries scars from an IED, or improvised explosive device, that was along a roadside.

“It was probably a 155mm artillery shell,” Squires adds matter-of-factly. “Fortunately, everybody was all right.”

The 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Brigade and the rest of the 1st Infantry Division, the famed “Big Red One,” expects to return to Iraq in a few months. It is the second yearlong stint for about 40 percent or more of the soldiers in the brigade.

About 3,400 Fort Riley soldiers currently are in Iraq. Those now training for a second tour don’t show much fear about returning.

But some of them talk about the “suck factor” – working long hours, enduring extreme heat and having to take showers with bottled water. Some of them wonder when Iraq’s military will be ready to fend for itself.

A top Army official said Thursday that only one Iraqi battalion was capable of combat, dampening hopes that the Americans could be ready to start reducing their numbers.

“Before, we were the law. The buck stopped with us,” said Sgt. Jon Smith, of the 1st Battalion, 34th Armor. “I’m still waiting for them to take a little more ownership in their country.”

Spc. Greg Lee mans a M-B240 machine gun in the back of a Humvee during training at Fort Riley on Thursday. Lee is with the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which is getting ready for a second tour in Iraq.

Some critics have compared Iraq conflict to the lengthy and ultimately unpopular Vietnam War.

Brigade commander Col. Bart Howard prefers a comparison with the American Revolution, seeing a parallel in troops first winning a war, then building a nation and then protecting its borders.

Parts of the 1st Division can trace their history to 1776, and one artillery company was organized by then 19-year-old Capt. Alexander Hamilton. The division has fought in every war except Korea, and soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry were among the first ashore at Normandy in World War II.

And Maj. Gary Belcher, who coordinates military operations with civilian authorities, said: “In World War II, it was, `Let’s kick the Nazis’ (backside) and get home.”‘

Recent training involved soldiers being discriminating in picking targets – even as they traveled in a vehicle with mounted M-240B machine guns, which can fire up to 10 rounds a second.

The exercise simulated what could happen if a group of Iraqi civilians are agitated after propane supplies run out. They aren’t seen as angry at the Americans, just wanting their fuel.

A convoy of eight vehicles heads toward the crowd. Suddenly, mechanical “insurgents” pop out of the crowd firing at the soldiers. Down the road, a simulated roadside bomb detonates complete with simulated injuries for a soldier. More mechanical insurgents on foot and in vehicles pop up and begin firing.

The 1st Brigade will be more seasoned on its second tour, of course. When the brigade went to Iraq in 2003, 10 percent or less of the soldiers had combat experience.

“There isn’t any clear front line,” Howard said. “It’s not like Desert Storm. We know Iraq is going to be a long rebuilding process.”

That still involves rooting out insurgents, training the Iraqi national guard, rebuilding infrastructure and establishing a stable civilian government.

What’s different now is a year’s worth of preparation time. Belcher said the brigade had only 35 days to prepare for its first tour in 2003.

At the time, the brigade expected to go to South Korea. Soldiers went from training on armored vehicles to learning how to detect bombs and protect convoys.

“The big change for the Army in the last few years is there’s emphasis on being marksmen,” said Howard. He added that whether someone is a mechanic fixing tires in the rear or raiding buildings, “Every soldier is an infantryman.”

In 2003, Squires’ “Bandito Charlie” Company went to Ramadi in western Iraq, still an active insurgent area. He’s not sure whether the unit will be heading there again or how much progress the Iraqi army has made toward defending itself in the past year.

Squires said soldiers staying in the Army after one tour in Iraq know they will have at least one more, adding, “Most of the guys I’ve talked to aren’t really afraid of Iraq.”

But later, he acknowledged, “I’m pretty sure sometime in the next year an IED will go off. That’s a hard threat to defend.”

Smith said soldiers are accustomed to the threat. His question is when Iraqis “take a little more ownership in their country,” giving the government credibility and speeding a U.S. withdrawal.

Lt. Alex Moore described a common soldier’s view: “I’m helping you run your country, but I’m still the boss.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s unit is trading Abrams tanks for much lighter armored Humvees for a year. His wife is facing the same fears she did during his first tour.

“She knows what to expect, but that doesn’t make her happy about it,” Smith said.