3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

Courtesy Story

MOSUL, Iraq — Iraqi villagers in Rabi'ah and its surrounding areas have come to welcome and enjoy the Soldiers that visit them regularly.

Troop B, 6th Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd "Greywolf" Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division has spent the last three months building relationships with Iraqis in northern Iraqi through humanitarian assistance.

"These operations are forging a bond among the Iraqi people and Troop B," said 1st Lt. Clint Long, the platoon leader for 1st Platoon, Troop B.

As Troop B began meeting with local village leaders and Iraqi security forces a common theme emerged, the need for food and supplies for many of the villagers. The troop started distributing humanitarian aid goods in villages throughout their area of operations after identifying this need.

Meetings with the local leaders are the key to finding out where humanitarian assistance is needed, said Long. "We have a healthy relationship with our local Iraqi neighbors and understand some of the hardships that many Iraqi families face on a daily basis."

Through these meetings and the humanitarian assistance drops that have followed, both the Iraqis and Troop B have come to understand the importance of these goods to the local villages.

"These bags are a real kick-start to a family that barely meets basic needs," said Long. "The Soldiers of B Troop are taking the time to make a difference in the local Iraqi communities and our local Iraqi neighbors have all shown a positive attitude toward the Soldiers for their efforts."

To date, Troop B has delivered more than 100 bags consisting of basic food supplies, flour, rice, cooking oil, sugar and salt to 10 different villages in their area of operations.

The Soldiers of Troop B also feel like these distributions have forged friendly relationships with the villagers and given them a sense of accomplishment.

"I feel good [about the distributions]. You can see how happy the local villagers," said Pfc. Stephen Smith, a Soldier from 1st Plt., Troop B. "Most of the villages now seem friendly towards us when we visit them again."

Troop B plans to continue helping the villagers in Rabi'ah. For them, these missions build a lasting positive relationship with the local populace, one distribution at a time.

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