Photo By Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger | Brig. Gen. Raheem, the Mansour District Iraqi police commander, hands out backpacks...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger
18th Military Police Brigade
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Brig. Gen. Raheem, the Mansour District Iraqi police commander, walked up and down rows of desks packed with smiling elementary age students at the Draya Elementary School in Harthiyah, Oct. 10, 2008.
His large smile seemed comforting to the several hundred kids, who were eagerly awaiting the new school supplies the Mansour Iraqi policemen were in the process of handing out.
"What is your name? How old are you?" asked Raheem, to students whom responded with beaming smiles.
After receiving backpacks packed with donated school supplies ranging from scissors to crayons the grateful students would kiss the hands of the IP who gave the gift to him or her, which is a great gesture of respect in Iraqi culture.
"Be good now," said Raheem with a smile before exiting the classroom and heading on to the next one.
Upon entering the next classroom the deliverers were met with students jumping to their feet and singing songs in both Arabic and English for their guests.
"This is awesome," said Capt. Eric Minor, commander, 463rd Military Police Company, and native of St. Peters, Mo., who partners with the Mansour District police. "We are finally getting to see the fruits of our labor."
The Multi-National Division – Baghdad military police unit, currently assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, has been working with the Mansour District police force since arriving in Iraq in early September.
Their mission while in Iraq is to mentor and train Iraqi police forces in their assigned area in order to move the IP force into a state of self reliance.
The 463rd Police Transition Teams working in the district are already seeing the IP force moving into a path of self reliance. They are taking the lead in daily operations such as community engagements like the event at the Draya Elementary School.
"We helped resource the event," said Master Sgt. Daniel O'Brien, a native of Dunedin, Fla., and member of the 463rd MP Co. "The IP really took the lead in handing out the school supplies to the kids."
The 463rd was able to resource the event after receiving donations from schools back at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where they are deployed from.
Progress South Elementary School in St. Peters, Mo., Fort Leonard Wood Elementary School and several Iraqi organizations helped by donating to the school; backpacks, scissors, crayons, folders, pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, as well as some candy the military police Soldiers managed to throw in.
Events, like the one in Harthiyah, are often used to build the trust and develop community relationships between the local populace of the security forces in the area.
"Events like this help shape the future of Iraq," said O'Brien. "The children and teachers were happy to have us there and welcomed us back when we left. This is a new Muhalla for the IP we wanted to make a good impression on the community."
The smiles from the children and gratitude from the teachers proved that the IP did leave a lasting impression on the next generation of Iraq.
"It is a great thing that the IP are moving into the area to provide security," said the principal of the school to Minor following the event. "At the local checkpoints the IP are treating us with respect and that really shows they are here to help."
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2008 08:47 |
| Story ID: | 25171 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 403 |
| Downloads: | 381 |
This work, Backpacks: Shaping the future of Iraq one smile at a time, by SGT Daniel Blottenberger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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