In a way, state Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, hopes the provincial government in the Anbar Province of Iraq operates like the Illinois House. Watson, deployed to Iraq as a staff sergeant with the Marine Reserves, knows that things aren’t always perfect at the Statehouse. But there is a structure.

“We take so much for granted,” Watson said by telephone Thursday from his camp just outside Fallujah, where several thousand members of the military are housed.

At the provincial council in Iraq’s Anbar Province, “They have no institutional knowledge — I mean none whatsoever,” said Watson, whose job with his civil military operations unit is to help rebuild local and provincial government. His big responsibility so far has been to produce updated bylaws torecommend to that council.

“Basically, after looking at the bylaws they had, I downloaded the (Illinois) House rules, and started going through them, line by line, and kind of picked the things that I thought were applicable to here,” Watson said. “We are trying to build from scratch.”

However, Watson said he’s been impressed by the resilience of Iraqis in the new governmental structure, including the 51 people in Anbar’s governing body.

“Every member of the provincial council has either lost a family member or had somebody wounded by insurgents because they don’t want them to support the new government,” Watson said. “I think about that when I go to the chamber — what would I do if I was put in that box? And it’s amazing that they still push on.”

But attacks on politicians’ families seem to have ceased, he said.

In general, he said, “It’s a lot calmer than I thought it would be. Especially when you’re inside the base. ... It’s very safe.”

Leaving camp for periodic flights to the provincial capital of Ramadi requires wearing full combat gear, including a pistol and rifle. On base, however, camouflage outfits can be worn, and troopers usually carry only their pistols.

Three 100-degree days made Watson worry what temperatures would get to before his 270-day mission ends in September or October. But it is “pretty nice right now,” he said, in the mid-80s.

Other people in his unit are working on education, women’s engagement, economic development and infrastructure.

The Anbar governor and provincial council chairman both spoke at a recent women’s forum, and the provincial council has seven female members, Watson said. He doesn’t expect American-style equality of the sexes to sweep over Iraq, and “people will be critical of that, but the alternative is what it was — which was nothing,” he said.

Watson, 42, said his workdays usually start at 7 or 8 a.m. and often go into the wee hours of the morning.

While there aren’t such distractions as mowing the lawn and paying bills, he said, “you miss your family first.”

“Being out here, again, is a reminder of how good we have it – going to a movie, ordering a pizza. There’s lots of things that you miss.”

Watson said he talks by phone with his three children about once a week, and the family exchanges e-mail. He also gets daily e-mails from his office. Lawmakers of both parties handle office hours for him and watch out for his district.

The bipartisan show of support “shows me that, given the right people, things can be different,” he said.

He thanked people who have sent e-mails, letters and packages.

“I think I’ve received 26 care packages since I’ve been here, so I share them with a lot of the other Marines,” he said. “I catch a lot of static about it — until I start to share. Then it’s all good.”

Watson’s goal is to have bylaws operating by May. He also hopes to find funding for professional staff members for the provincial council, such as a clerk, parliamentarian and researchers.

“I will never take my staff for granted again — not that I did before,” he said.

While he said he couldn’t comment much when asked his thoughts about how long U.S. forces should stay in Iraq, Watson said Americans “have a sense that the clock is ticking,” and they want to get as much done as they can.

“My fear would be is if we pulled out too early, and I can’t define early, that we could have to deal with this troubled area for a long, long time,” Watson said. “But I also understand ... people are losing patience.”

“I look at it like this,” he added. “I’m going to be here till September (or) October, and I want to do the best I can to try to help at least this part of the country function as well as it can.”

Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540.