Civil Affairs seeing security progression in Mosul

Photo By Staff Sgt. Melanie Trollinger | 1st Lt. Glen Taylor, Company D, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, Mosul Reconstruction...... read more read more

Photo By Staff Sgt. Melanie Trollinger | 1st Lt. Glen Taylor, Company D, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, Mosul Reconstruction Cell, 130th Engineer Brigade, talks to a school caretaker during a project oversight patrol in Zanjili neighborhood, Mosul, Iraq, Nov. 11.  see less | View Image Page

MOSUL, IRAQ

11.26.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Melanie Trollinger 

130th Engineer Brigade

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CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq — When members of Company D, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion first began assessing Zanjili neighborhood in Mosul, the area, a long time insurgent stronghold, wasn't safe to drive around in.

Months later, the Civil Affairs team, escorted by Iraqi federal police, walked the neighborhood market place, interacting with residents and shopkeepers during a joint project oversight patrol.

Zanjili, one of the largest neighborhoods in western Mosul with about 30,000 residents, is steadily improving under the watchful eye of the IFP battalion responsible for security in that area.
According to 1st Lt. Glen Taylor, a team leader with Co. D., 401st CA Bn., from Buffalo, N.Y., security improvements have provided economic growth and beautification of the neighborhood and residents are increasingly confident in the IFP's ability to take care of them.

"The federal police here understand you can win people over more with a kind word than by kicking doors in. It's also one of the few places in the city where the police act like the police as we know them in the U.S., instead of like Soldiers," Taylor said.

Many of the IFP are former Iraqi army members with little or no police experience. Taylor believes the Zanjili IFP commander's understanding of the police role has contributed significantly to the increased stability of Zanjili.

Gaining the trust of local residents has been a long process. The IFP commander ensures direct access for residents to call him if they feel one of his police officers has mistreated them or done something wrong. The IFP's have also taken an active role in cleaning up the neighborhood. Their presence is reassuring to locals who now know the police are concerned for the neighborhood's safety and prosperity.

"The IFP's in Zanjili don't just do police work," Taylor said. "They take part in small scale reconstruction, painting curbs, planting flowers, clearing rubble. The area looks a lot better than it did several months ago."

Taylor, whose team is assigned to the Mosul Reconstruction Cell, 130th Engineer Brigade, said other improvements in Zanjili, aided by the MRC, has increased relations with the local community due to improved quality of life and economic growth. A recent MRC sewer project alleviated a problem of standing grey water in the busy streets. Aesthetically improving the area, the new sewer also provided a cleaner, healthier environment for residents, who said they appreciated what the Government of Iraq and U.S. Forces have done for them.

With not only essential items like meat, grains, fruits and vegetables for sale along the market streets, but what Taylor terms "luxury items" such as toys, shoes and colorful handbags, a sense of normalcy is returning to Zanjili. At a small pharmacy, Taylor visited with the pharmacist, who said his business is doing very well. The team leader sees this as one more positive sign of economic growth in the area.

Interacting with residents and shop keepers in the busy market place, most locals greet the U.S. forces and IFP's with friendly smiles. Taylor said it's difficult to gauge their sincerity at times, but he believes residents are more comfortable with the U.S. forces and the IFP than when he first visited the neighborhood in September.

"A question I don't like asking because you never know if you're getting an honest answer is how residents feel about seeing US. forces rolling through their neighborhood with federal police escorts," Taylor said.

One shop owner, a 13 year old boy who runs a restaurant, enthusiastically talked to Taylor. When asked how he felt about seeing U.S. forces in his neighborhood, he replied he wasn't scared or surprised to see them and he was, in fact, happy to see them working with the IFP. He commented that his business is doing well because of security improvements and he can now support his family.

"It's amazing he runs a restaurant by himself. Even though he's so young, he's probably the man of the house. This is the kind of stuff I like to see when I go out, people doing well, their lives improving," Taylor said.

With the strong IFP presence in Zanjili and police officers providing more than security to the area, residents, weary and mistrustful at first, are showing confidence in the IFP's ability to do its job. The Civil Affairs team and the MRC will continue monitoring the area, recommending and aiding projects to improve the quality of life for Zanjili residents.