Dear Interested Readers,
Great trust and confidence continues to build for the Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Army among its citizens. A story of success and achievement is celebrated as the 3rd ID is replaced by the 10th Mtn Div. A huge story of a massive weapons cache uncovered in the al-Jazeera desert of thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions. Criminals detained or killed and many more weapons caches uncovered.
Joanna
__________________________________
Multi-National Corps
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
June 4, 2008
Iraqi National Police gain respect of villagers
By Lt. Col. Sam Davis, HQ NP MiTT and
Lt. Col. Mohammed, Iraqi NP deputy
MOSUL - The residents of Yarimjah, a neighborhood in southern Mosul, were apprehensive when the Iraqi NP arrived at 4 a.m., May 24. They had heard many rumors about the NP from neighbors and television.
What the neighborhood residents experienced was unexpected. The NP, under the command of Col. Muhsen moved into the area with exemplary discipline and courtesy.
Muhsen, a 42-year-old former Army officer, and his men rapidly searched every building within the neighborhood for illegal weapons and terrorists while minimizing the disruption to the residents. He requires each member of the unit to treat citizens with respect and dignity.
Fasial further explained he does not tolerate any misconduct by his men, and will fire those who are involved in the slightest offense. This sets a high moral climate for his unit. The villagers complimented Faisal's methods.
"They treat us like brothers, and the NP are the best force that has come into this area," said resident Moustafa.
Faisal's approach appeared to have made a positive impression on adults and children. Omron, standing beside his young son said, "If you asked my son, he would join the NP right now!"
Col. Muhsen listens to concerns of a villager.
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ISF, MND-B Soldiers engage criminals, take weapons off streets
BAGHDAD - June 2, in the Risalah area of Rashid, Iraqi NP found 18 AK-47s, a 60 mm mortar round, 4,840 PKC rounds and a radio.
In the Huriya area of Kadamiyah, IA Soldiers seized 55 AK-47s and 4 sniper rifles.
Soldiers from 4th BCT, 10th Mtn Div were attacked with small-arms and machine gun fire in the Shawra Uldir area of New Baghdad. They defended themselves and killed 2 criminals.
Later in the day these same soldiers were attacked with RPGs and small-arms fire in the same vicinity, again defended themselves and killed two more criminals.
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MND-N Soldiers detain criminals, uncover caches in separate operations
TIKRIT - Soldiers from the 1st BCT, 101st Abn Div (AASLT), conducted multiple ops in the Salah ad-Din Province over the weekend, resulting in the capturing of individuals suspected of insurgent activity, the uncovering of weapons, and ammo caches and foiling of IED emplacements.
The 1st BCT, 101st AD Soldiers in Balad continued to reap the benefits of successful reconciliation over the past several weeks as intel tips from local citizens led them to 2 more caches over the weekend. These caches consisted of mortar rounds, homemade explosives, RPGs, assault and long-range rifles and ammo, as well as communication devices commonly used to detonate explosives.
In the northern portion of the province, a source-driven op yielded the detention of 7 individuals suspected of insurgent activity in and around Bayji. Five of the individuals were on the CF key individual list.
Also near Bayji, IP foiled an insurgent attempt to emplace an IED in the restive city of Siniyah. "The IPs in the greater-Bayji area have been extremely attentive to IED emplacers on the roads here," said Lt. Col. Peter Wilhelm, 1st Bn, 327th Inf Regt cmdr., whose battalion is responsible for the Bayji area. "Their vigilance is crucial because CF cannot be everywhere."
In al-Rega, near Samarra, the site of a large cache find last week, Iraqi SF and MND-North Soldiers acted on a tip from a local citizen and found a small cache consisting of 155mm artillery rounds and a mortar round.
In the southeast portion of the province, near Yethrib, another source-driven joint raid resulted in the detention of a man after searching his home and uncovering explosives and miscellaneous weapons.
According to MND-N Soldiers near Yethrib, recent gains in security are attributed to the noticeable difference in the confidence and resolution of the ISF through routine joint ops and the establishment of a Joint Security Coordination Center in Yethrib, which opened June 1.
A Soldier from 1st BCT, 101st AD searches for a cache near LSA Anaconda. The battalion credits the success in their area to the competency of Iraqi SF and the local citizen's willingness to work with them.
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Iraqi source leads Soldiers to massive cache west of Samarra
TIKRIT - An Iraqi source-driven search in the al-Jazeera Desert west of the city of Samarra led Soldiers to an underground storage room containing thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions, June 2.
Earlier in the day, the Soldiers received info from local Iraqi SF of a large quantity of weapons and munitions located within a 40-ft. well in the desert near the city. The large room was revealed after numerous attempts to locate the cache. After digging six feet into the ground, Soldiers noticed a large crevasse leading into the room's entrance.
"What is unique about this cache was the large amount of serviceable munitions," said Capt. Chris Barlow, 2nd Bn, 327th Inf Regt. "Most of our cache finds turn up old, rusted weapons and munitions, but 90-95 percent of this cache consisted of readily usable and serviceable items. The security inside the population centers here has driven the people to offer up a wealth of intel. You have to have the help from the local citizens to be able to locate a cache in an area as desolate as this."
Among the thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions were over 300 rockets, a sniper rifle and various machine guns.
The entrance to a 40 ft. well.
A Soldier from 2nd Bn, peeks through a crevasse searching for weapons and munitions.
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ISF, Coalition forces destroy ton of weapons
FOB KALSU - Iraqi SF and CF destroyed a large weapons cache containing approx. 2,400 pounds of munitions, May 28 in Karbala province. The cache was discovered by a former mayor of Husayniyah, who
alerted the Karbala IP. The cache buried in 11 water storage tanks and various boxes.
"It's encouraging to see the IA and IP finding and recovering these large caches, and we will continue to assist them in the safe destruction of ordnance," said 1st Lt. Ryan Fisher, 760th EOD ops officer.
The disposed munitions included more than 1,000 mortars, 25 rockets, 33 blocks of C-4 and various other weapons.
The ISF partnered up with CF to dispose of munitions.
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10th Mountain Division assumes MND-C mission
CAMP VICTORY - A bright red and white flag with the words "Climb to Glory" now flies above MND-Center HQ,
symbolizing the transfer of authority from the 3rd ID to the 10th Mtn Div., June 1.
Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, cmdr of 10th Mtn Div, pledged support to the people of Iraq, pointing out the
division is committed to sustaining the advances in security that have been made in the region. He also said 10th Mtn Div will do all it can to help Iraq economically and politically.
"The courageous Iraqi SF will enjoy our complete support as they rid the area of the remaining extremist groups and provide the security the Iraqi people deserve," said Oates. "We pledge to do our best to assist our partners in building on the impressive security and economic gains made by Task Force Marne. With the cooperative attitude and true partnership of the Iraqi people, I believe we can continue to make Iraq safer so that the Iraqi people can chart their own political and economic destiny free or extremism and interference."
In his remarks, Austin applauded the many accomplishments of MND-C under the TF Marne banner. He said over the past year the division was able to block the entry of accelerants into Baghdad, provide better security for Iraqis and slow the spread of sectarian violence.
Since March of last year, Austin pointed out MND-C turned an AQI sanctuary near Arab Jabour into "an economic hope for the region. They provided 64 microgrants to the local businesses to help them get their doors open to the public, and because of the much improved security, the division opened a community center and several schools. The division's security efforts have reduced all forms of attack by 89 percent," he added.
Meanwhile, Lynch said his Dog-Face Soldiers are thankful and proud to have served the people of Iraq, but know they leave MND - C in good hands. "I know General Oates and the Soldiers of the 10th Mtn Div will take this mission to a higher level," said Lynch. "They are here to make a difference, and I'm sure they will."
Other division objectives include helping with economic development and governance, increasing security for the Iraqi people, and assisting with training and transitioning of Iraqi SF.
Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, cmdr., 10th Mtn Div, and Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore, uncase the division colors during a transfer of authority ceremony. Gen. David H. Petraeus, cmdr, MN -Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, cmdr, MNC-Iraq, as well as Iraqi government officials and military leaders, were on hand to witness the ceremony.
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IPs enforce security in MND-N
An IP with the Yaychi Police Force hands candy to a child in the Yaychi Market, May 27. They conduct community patrols routinely in their communities to build relationships with local citizens and ensure the citizens are aware that IP have an established security presence in the area and are there to protect the citizens.
Interacting with the children, Iraqi's next generation of leaders, helps establish a bond between the police force and its community members.
First Lt. Matthew Martinez, plt leader, 212th MP Co, 728th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Bde, oversees a discussion between an IP and a local vendor at the Yaychi Market, a border village near Kirkuk.
'Dragoon' plt leader, 1st Lt. Matthew Martinez, walks alongside teenagers during a community policing patrol with the IP Force.
Staff Sgt. David Ballard (left), squad leader, 212th MP Co., observes a discussion between an IP and local vendors. During the casual conversation, IP discuss conditions within the market, and security and community concerns in an effort to build trust and understanding between the citizens and police who provide security to the community.
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