Dear Interested Reader,
New micro-power generators bring additional electricity to Diyala. The 371st Sus. Bde. are determined to help preserve Al Asad's cultural, historical Oasis. 20 munitions caches seized west of Baghdad, while many suspected terrorists are detained. Many schools will open newly renovated, thanks to the 25th FA Regt. & Task Force 1-6. IP officers graduate from the "Steel Trainer" program, thanks to the Mortar Plt. "Steel."
Joanna
__________________________________________
Oct. 6, 2008
Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
Diyala Leaders Bring Power to People
By Sgt. Grant Okubo
FOB LOYALTY — Community leaders brought additional power to the people of Diyala when they unveiled new micro-power generators in the Karadah District of eastern Baghdad, Sept. 30.
Ali Abdilzahara, president of essential services for the Zafaraniyah area, cut the ribbon to mark the momentous event; the generators will provide power to 300 Diyala households for up to 12 hours a day.
Sabah Alrobaiey, neighborhood council chairman of Diyala, and Soldiers from 5th Bn, 25th FA, 4th BCT, 10th Mtn Div, were on hand to help Diyala residents celebrate the occasion.
Feedback from Diyala citizens has been very positive. Now, instead of just 1 or 2 hours of power, a family can enjoy approx. 12 hours of power a day, said Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Allen, effects NCO in-charge for 5th Bn., 25th FA Regt. CF are projected to hand over full ops of the project to local officials in 3 months, he added.
The micro-power generators are one of the key projects for the area essential services council. Other projects include hospitals and schools. Allen said he hopes that future essential services projects, including a recent partnership between the GOI and General Electric, will provide new generators as part of a more permanent solution to Iraq’s power issues.
“It will only get better from here,” said Maj. Robert Machen, EO for 5th Bn., 25th FA Regt., from College Station, Texas. “Just as it has in our own country, it will take constant supervision, constant mgt. and constant good governance to make it work.”
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Soldiers Preserve Al Asad’s Cultural, Historical Oasis
By Charlotte Martinez
AL ASAD — The oasis at Al Asad was once believed to be the biblical “Abraham’s Well.” Though research has proven otherwise, the importance of the oasis still holds a rich historical and cultural significance to the people here.
For most Soldiers serving here, it’s hard to imagine a small pond with lush green life around it in the middle of this sand-filled country. However, this oasis is located on the border of Camp Mejid on Al Asad Airbase, and is home to several species of wildlife.
According to Maj. Randel Rogers, the plans and policy officer for support ops, 371st Sustainment Bde and an avid naturalist, it was believed that Abraham and his family stopped at the Al Asad oasis and camped there during his journey; however, through the years it has been proven that Abraham actually stopped in Canaan which is located on the western shore of present day Turkey.
Through the centuries, the oasis at Al Asad has remained and was a stopping point for the Bedouins during their travels. It wasn’t inhabited until around 1920, when a group of families built a village, planted date palms and started a small community.
According to Rogers, Saddam Hussein had the villagers that were in the area evicted so he could build Al Asad Airfield in 1985. Some of the settlers were able to hide around the oasis, but when the base expanded in 1995, the rest of them were forced to leave.
Since the arrival of CF to Al Asad, several efforts have been made to keep the area clean. Since he has been deployed to the area, Rogers has worked to gain awareness for its protection and preservation. “I’ve always been interested in watching wildlife,” Rogers said. There are several clean-up efforts currently in place and, eventually, Rogers would like to see the historical and cultural sites in Iraq handed over to the Iraqis.
Rogers said that he is currently working with a group called Nature Iraq, a non-governmental organization dedicating itself to the restoration of Iraq, to take the lead on cleaning efforts and continue the cultivation of the palm groves. Rogers said there are close to 70 different species of birds, about 3 different species of canines, between 15 and 20 types of dates from the palm groves and several other types of plants, animals and other wildlife living in the oasis, and it is important to protect them.
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MND-B Soldiers seize 20 munitions caches west of Baghdad
BAGHDAD – MND – Baghdad Soldiers seized 20 weapons caches during an op known as “Gimlet Tidal Wave” west of Baghdad, Oct. 4.
Soldiers from Co C, 1st Bn, 21st Inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, seized the mass array of caches while conducting clearance ops at approx. 10:30 a.m. near JSS Nasir Wa Salam in west Baghdad.
The munitions seized included more than1,700 mortar rounds, 503 mortar fuses, 3 rocket launchers, 6 rockets, a 107mm rocket, a 76mm rocket, 52 Dishka rounds, 20 .50-cal. rounds, 6 5-gallon buckets of homemade explosive material, a 55 gallon of unknown substance, an unknown IED, an IED made from 2 133mm mortars, a high-explosive dual purpose 40mm round, a cell phone and 9 SA-7 heat-seeking, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles.
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MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
Ten suspected terrorist detained by Coalition forces (Baghdad)
BAGHDAD – AQI ops in northern and central Iraq were further disabled Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, as CF rounded up 10 suspected terrorists.
Oct. 3, in Quayyarah, about 54 km south of Mosul, CF detained 2 suspects while targeting an alleged terrorist courier believed to be connected to regional AQI leadership.
During 3 coordinated ops Oct. 4, in Sulayman Bak, about 81 km SE of Kirkuk, CF detained a wanted man and 6 additional suspects. The wanted man, who identified himself to forces during the op, is believed to have connections to suspected terrorist operatives in the area.
Another wanted man was captured during a CF op in Sabah Oct. 4, about 95 km west of Kirkuk. Reports from detainees already in custody pointed forces to the man, who is believed to be a member of a terrorist group associated with AQI and have links to its regional leaders. He too identified himself to CF.
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Listening to Locals
Army Maj. Ben Hastings, attached to the 12th Cav Regt, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav Div, speaks with a local national during a humanitarian mission in Haqim, Iraq.
Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Christopher Hubenthal.
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Local leaders reopen renovated school in eastern Baghdad
By Sgt. Grant Okubo
FOB LOYALTY - Local leaders and residents officially opened a renovated school in eastern Baghdad's Karadah district in a ribbon cutting ceremony, Sept. 30.
Approx. 1,000 students will walk through the gate of the renovated school when the school year begins Oct. 7. Soldiers from 5th Bn, 25th FA, 4th BCT, 10th Mtn Div, who assisted in the project, joined in the celebration.
Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Allen, effects NCO in-charge for 5th Bn., 25th FA Regt., said there were several improvements to the school, including a new bathroom and a power
generator.
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IP officers qualify to train their peers
By Cpl. Dustin Weidman
BAGHDAD - Twenty IP officers graduated the "Steel Trainer" program in Nasser Wa Salam, west of Baghdad, Sept. 25.
The Soldiers of Mortar Plt "Steel," 1st Bn, 21st Inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th Inf Div, began "Steel Trainer" as a train-the-trainer program. Only the best officers from local stations are selected to attend the 6-week program. "These were the best IPs from Abu Ghraib," said Staff Sgt. Gary Strickland, section sgt for the Mortar Plt. "Now that they have graduated Steel Trainer, they are even better."
The goal of the program is to train the selected IP officers and in turn, they are able to return to their station and train fellow officers what they learned in the program. The course included training on checkpoint ops, clearing houses, making arrests, and searching for weapons and IED materials.
"These are some of the best IP in Abu Ghraib," said Brig. Gen. Kareem, at the graduation ceremony. "With what they have learned over the past 6 weeks, it will help to improve security in Abu Ghraib."
Staff Sgt. Gary Strickland, section sgt for the Mortar Plt, 1st Bn, 21st Inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, awards an IP officer with the green tab of leadership to signify that he has completed the "Steel Trainer" program.
(Army photo by Cpl. Dustin Weidman)
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Citizen tip leads IA to HBIED in Abu Ghuraib
BAGHDAD - Oct. 4, IA soldiers discovered a large amount of homemade explosives rigged to destroy the home. With the support of Soldiers from the 1st Bn, 21st inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, seized the explosives and removed them from the area for safe disposal.
Throughout the month of October, IA is conducting Op Khahfahsh in Abu Ghuraib. The op is focused on targeting and capturing terrorists and criminals responsible for violence directed against displaced families returning to the Abu Ghuraib area.
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Schools ready to open in Sadr City
JAMILLA - This year the children of Iraq will have safer, refurbished schools thanks to the work of Renegade Soldiers. Before Co A, Task Force 1st Bn, 6th Inf Regt, arrived in Sadr City's Jamilla neighborhood, the schools here were not even used for classes; militants were using the grounds as makeshift hiding places and torture cells. At the few schools that remained open, militants would kidnap children as they went to or from school and hold them for ransom.
"The schools in Jamilla were places of terror, not places of learning," said 2nd Lt. Nicholas Boykin, Co. A, TF 1-6, 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Div, which is currently attached to 3rd BCT, 4th ID.
Before repairs could begin, the neighborhood needed to be secure. As Task Force 1-6 arrived in Jamilla, Soldiers immediately improved the security and began chasing the criminals and militants out. The wall built by Renegade and the other companies in the Task Force isolated Jamilla from the rest of Sadr City, scaring many of the militants out of the area and allowing the economy and civil society to flourish. As Soldiers prepared projects to rebuild and refurbish the schools in the area, Renegade Soldiers saw just how bad things were at the schools of Jamilla. There are 12 schools total, ranging from kindergarten and elementary schools to all-women schools and high schools in Jamilla.
While some of these schools were in fairly good condition, others were in near shambles. Almost all of them had no electrical power and no a/c, which is something essential no matter what time of year in Iraq. The desks were broken, the walls were crumbling and bullet holes could be found punched through the windows and rooftops.
For the repairs to begin, MND-B Soldiers conducted a variety of escort missions to bring personnel from the Civil Affairs Team, Task Force Gold, and from the GOI's Ministry of Education to scout out conditions on the ground.
After a complete assessment had been made, TF 1-6 initiated projects to completely overhaul the structures. Renegade Soldiers watched as all of the schools underwent a transformation. Govt-hired Iraqis went to work and replaced wire and electric facilities, installed a/c units, desks, dry erase boards, new playground equipment and repainted the inside and outside of the schools.
"The rebuilding and transformation of the schools was like night and day. It really showed the neighborhood who was on their side, trying to make Jamilla a better place," said Sgt. Mario Braxton, Co. A, TF 1-6. For long-term development in Iraq, the school projects form the cornerstone of Renegade's efforts to improve the lives of the Iraqi people.
Al-Wadi School in Sadr City's Jamilla neighborhood.
(Army photos by 2nd Lt. Gordon Bostick)
Al-Wadi School.
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