Dear Interested Reader,
Our soldiers participate in training the Iraqi Border Patrol, who in turn will become the trainers. Sons and Daughters of Iraq register with the GOI, and will begin receiving a salary beginning Oct. 1. The first of 13 IP stations open in Salah ad Din province. Sheik Taha of the Al Jehaishi tribe vows support for the GOI. Enjoy a wonderful human interest story about helping the very poor of Iraq with clothing, food and toys for the children, as well as U.S. Airmen being adopted by Iraqi Airmen, who very much appreciate our efforts and sacrifices. Many criminals detained, as well as weapons caches seized.
Joanna
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Sept. 23, 2008
Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
Nice Fit
A U.S. Army Soldier interacts with an Iraqi child during a routine patrol in Mufriq. The Soldier is from 1st Bn, 38th Inf Regt, 4th BCT, 2nd ID.
Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller
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U.S. Soldiers Train the Trainers with Iraqi Border Patrol
By Spc. Cynthia S. Teears
Sgt. 1st Class Brian Motter demonstrates how to get the Soldiers on-line with arm signals instead of talking during tactical movement, at the Iraqi Border Police Leaders Academy at COP Heider, Aug. 26, 2008.
COP HEIDER — Mounds of loose dirt span the horizon for miles. A group of Soldiers move tactically through the night while looking for signs of illegal border crossing. In the distance, a group of lights shine from a nearby Syrian town. Soldiers look for vehicles moving along a Syrian border road and report suspicious activities.
The small team must be sure vehicles do not suddenly turn toward the border to pose a threat to a guard post nearby. This is what Iraqi Border Patrol trainees experience while patrolling the border between Iraq and Syria.
The Border Transition Team will take the class out on night patrols during the 5-day Iraqi Border Police Leaders academy. The goal during this training course is to train a new group for the Iraq Border Patrol. In turn, the new group will train the next group.
The Iraqi Border Patrol trainees are taught everything from AK-47 disassembly and assembly, dismounted and mounted patrolling, react to enemy contact, looking for signs of personnel illegally entering the country and how to react as a Border Patrol Officer, said Sgt. 1st Class Brian Motter, the ops sgt in charge for the Border Transition Team-4231, also known as the Guardians.
“Do you see the vehicle first or hear the vehicle first?” asked Motter during some classroom instruction. “You hear the vehicle first. Little things like that can save Soldier’s lives,” Motter concluded.
The IBP officer is a 1st Lt in the IBP and has been in this job for 5 years. He has seen the security in the area increase, and the relationship with the U.S. has improved, because the IBP understand what the U.S. Soldiers are trying to do, the officer said.
“Thank you very much for the training,” the IBP officer said. “It is good info for us to train our Soldiers.”
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Sons, Daughters of Iraq registration wraps up in Adhamiyah district
BAGHDAD - The last of nearly 2,900 members of the SoI and Daughters of Iraq were officially registered with the GoI, Sept. 20 in the Adhamiyah district of northern Baghdad.
The men and women made their way to COP Apache in northern Baghdad to have their paperwork processed and info entered into a database to facilitate payment of their contract once the GOI takes control of the program Oct. 1.
With the assistance of the Sons and Daughters of Iraq, as well as efforts of Iraq SF and CF, markets are thriving in Adhamiyah. Residents enjoy the improved security and stability of this northern Baghdad district.
This was the final day of a 5-day process to register the nearly 3,000 members. In the coming months, as the GOI begins to transition away from the SoI program, the plan calls to shift up to 20% of the group to the Iraqi SF.
"There will be some that will get GOI jobs, the rest, we're going to try to transition them into civilian employment," said 1st Lt. Robert Bone, Iraqi SF coordinator, 3rd BCT, 4th ID. "This process allows the GOI to get the info for all the SoIs to be able to put them on the payroll. Just like an enlistment in the Iraqi Army," Bone said.
A Daughter of Iraq member has her paperwork checked while registering with the GOI.
(Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott)
Spc. Joshua Bales, an infantryman with Co B, 1st Bn, 27th Inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, takes a photo of a SoI member to enter him into a database of all SoI members in the Rashidyah Nahia, northeast of Baghdad, Sept. 3.
(Army photos by Sgt. Brad Willeford)
Pfc. Joshua Cole takes a retinal scan of a SoI member during a process to create an accurate database of all the SoI members in the Rashidyah Nahia. Cole serves as an infantryman with Company B.
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MND-B Soldiers, ISF capture SG criminals with SoI help, seize cache in Baghdad's Rashid district
FOB FALCON - Around 9:30 a.m., SoI members flagged downed Iraqi NP, to inform them of 2 individuals emplacing an IED on the roof of a house in the Doura community Sept. 20. Upon searching the area, detained 2 known Special Groups criminals suspected of placing the IED, which consisted of a 57 mm rocket rigged with an improvised timer and initiator device. The detainees are also suspected of carrying out a similar attack against ISF in August.
About 7:30 p.m., Soldiers of HHT, 7th Sqdrn, 10th Cav Regt, 1st BCT, 4th ID, acting on intel info, conducted a target raid in the Hadar community of Rashid, capturing a reputed VBIED maker.
At approx. 12:30 a.m. Sept. 21, Soldiers of Co C, 1st Bn, 22nd Inf Regt, 1st BCT, 4th ID., discovered a weapons cache while investigating a tip from a SoI. The Soldiers immediately notified an EOD unit after they discovered 4 57 mm rockets, 9 60 mm mortar rounds, 2 RPGs, 2 RPG boosters, an illumination round, a grenade fuse, 300 12.7 mm rounds, 200 7.62 mm rounds, and IED-making materials.
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NPs, U.S. Soldiers detain suspected criminals in Baghdad
BAGHDAD - Sept. 21, Iraqi NP and their U.S. Soldier partners from 2nd Bn, 30th Inf Regt detained the 4 suspected criminals during an op at approx. 3:30 a.m. in the Beladiyat area of New Baghdad.
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First of 13 Iraqi police stations opens in Salah ad Din province
TIKRIT - The first of 13 local police stations opened its doors during an IP station validation ceremony in Salah ad Din province, Sept. 16. Dozens gathered in the midst of a dust storm to mark the opening of the al Answar Police Station in the town of al Secour, part of the Tikrit police district.
The al Answar station is the first to be validated by CF and join the fight to secure Iraq's streets with 13 more stations in the province scheduled for validation in the next several months, said Capt. James Bloom, 1st BCT, 101st Abn Div provost marshal.
In order for a station to get validated, it must meet certain criteria where it no longer requires Coalition support in the areas of training, logistics and basic police skills. A station requiring a great deal of logistical and training support from their Coalition partners is rated as a 4, while stations demonstrating a high level of competency in logistics and community policing are given a rating of 1, said Bloom.
The Answar station rated high marks from its police transition team mentors, who assessed the station's readiness on a scale of 1 to 4. "Overall, the Iraqi public believes that the IP are a force that can and will protect them," said Bloom, who attributes the decline in violent attacks in Salah ad Din to a more confident, proactive police force.
The province has more than 15,000 active policemen walking the beat and approx. 117 police stations that have been mentored by the 1st BCT's Police Transition Teams during the past year.
An IP keeps an eye out during the opening of the al Answar Police Station.
(Army photo by Sgt. Rick Rzepka)
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Sheik Vows Support to Government of Iraq
By Pfc. Adam Carl Blazak
KHARMAR — When he speaks, they want to listen. That is how respected Sheik Taha is to his people of the Al Jehaishi tribe. So when Iraqi Soldiers stopped by to deliver food and water to his village, Taha delivered an unprecedented speech.
Addressing many of the village head-of-households, Taha, surrounded by Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, publicly declared his support for the GOI, along with the Iraqi SF and CF.
“Having this [food] campaign only brings us closer to the GOI,” Taha told the men and women present from his tribe. “We support the SF and GOI. We know this, because we have never had any activity against the govt in our village.”
After his speech, Taha helped the IA in distributing more than 100 boxes of food along with bottled drinking water to the poorest households in his tribe. The food drive comes after Iraqi and U.S. forces led a medical campaign in the village just weeks ago. One of the villagers at the food drive was 40-year-old Thiab Ali, a husband and father who struggles to make ends-meet. “The boxes of food are important, because there are a lot of poor families who can benefit from them,” he said. “We thank the GOI and SF for the help they continue to provide us,” Taha mentioned. The Iraqi Army, by providing security to the village, has gained the trust and respect of the tribe. “We understand the importance of gaining the trust of the people,” one IA Soldier said. “The more people trust us, the more we can move forward as a country.”
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Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq
Public Affairs Office
Phoenix Base APO AE 09348
Helping out one by one
Contact: [email protected]
BAGHDAD – Shortly after arriving at the Multi-National Security Transition Command (MNSTC) in Baghdad, U.S. Navy Ensign Jon Burrow saw pictures of military members passing out food and clothing to Iraqi families. While looking at the photos, he thought, “I want to do that!” He researched how he could become part of something as meaningful like helping those in need. Burrow contacted the Rough Riders, a unit that provides security to convoy ops and the ones responsible for starting this humanitarian effort along with the MNSTC-I chaplain’s office, and he immediately took over the program.
Now, with the joint effort of MNSTC-I personnel, this project has become just one of many types of humanitarian efforts reaching out to the Iraqi community. “We’re showing we are here to help in any way we can”, said Burrow.
Many Iraqi families struggle constantly in order to survive not only war, but the day-to-day living conditions. In a poor side of the International Zone, four families live in extreme poverty. They live in a building with a collapsed roof, a place that would be considered uninhabitable in other countries. Here, however, it’s a safe haven for these families who don’t have the economic means to build or rent a house. Their economic status is so deteriorated they can’t even afford to go to a grocery or clothing store to purchase basic necessities.
Volunteers from the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team receive all kinds of donations for these needy families from family, friends and other concerned citizens. Once they have collected and organized the boxes of donated items, the volunteers travel to the most impoverished areas and give away basic, valued necessities like clothes, food, water and toys for the children.
Army Sgt. Elizabeth Mason has assisted in these efforts several times. She said one of the best parts of going on these trips is the kids, “because they are very grateful and happy to get things.” Mason enjoys seeing the smiles when they get something they can’t otherwise afford. She said the reason she likes doing this is because it gives volunteers a sense of positive purpose here. “Doing those things make us see the good that is being done here.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION VISIT: WWW.MNSTCI.IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL .
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Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq
Public Affairs Office
Phoenix Base APO AE 09348
Fledgling Iraqi nation in good hands
Commentary by Staff Sgt. Don Branum
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD – The future of Iraq is in good hands -- the hands of Iraqi airmen who are determined to build and defend a new future for their children.
A photographer from our public affairs team and I flew to Taji Air Base, Sept. 11. We weren't entirely sure what to expect as our UH-60 Blackhawk touched down on Taji's short runway, but we met up with a U.S. Air Forces Central video and photo team and got straight to work.
What we saw were Iraqi airmen dedicated to rebuilding their air force and their country. In less than 2 years, they've grown a helicopter force from a handful of pilots to 4 complete flying sqdrns, including one special ops sqdrn. They maintain, train on and fly their own equipment -- Mi-17 Hips and UH-1P Hueys. American Airmen assigned to the 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Sqdrn step in to help when needed and offer tips based on how the U.S. Air Force operates.
It's not a perfect system. Airmen on both sides have to overcome the language barrier. Many of the 770th AEAS' Airmen have learned some Arabic since arriving about 5 months ago, and many of the Iraqi airmen speak at least some English. What's more, the Iraqis have an eagerness to learn that easily overcomes any barriers. "The younger Iraqis come to us on a daily basis and ask us, 'Please sign us off on this task,'" said Tech. Sgt. Lee Everhart, an Mi-17 air adviser with the 770th AEAS who is deployed from the 653rd Combat Life Support Sqdrn at Robins AF Base, Ga. "It's unbelievable how far they've come in the 5 months we've been here."
The Iraqi and American Airmen share a close bond due to spending time together both on and off duty. The Iraqis gladly share their meals, and the Americans just as gladly share info and expertise. I spoke with an Iraqi helicopter pilot, Lt. Col. Ahmed. He is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War and both conflicts with U.S. forces and rejoined the IAF when the govt reconstituted it.
He and his airmen have adopted the Americans with whom they work. The Iraqi people now understand that Americans came into Iraq to save its people from a regime that destroyed their fortunes, their culture and their lives, Ahmed said. "We are grateful for the Americans and their families back home," Ahmed said. "Their families miss them when they come here. They're still in our memories and hearts. We will never forget them, and we hope to see them another time as tourists in our country."
Ahmed is one of many Iraqi airmen working to rebuild Iraq as a free nation. I look forward to the day not far in the future when his vision is a reality.
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