MND-B troops release 19 Iraqi detainees during ceremony

Photo By Joseph Rivera Rebolledo | Family members of an Iraqi citizen, and former detainee, hug him during a release ceremony April 24 at Combat Outpost Apache north of Baghdad. During the ceremony, 19 citizens were released after taking the oath in front of family members, government officials and friends, in which they committed themselves to obey the Iraqi constitution and its laws. The repatriation ceremony is part of the Iraqi reconciliation.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

04.25.2008

Story by Spc. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo 

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

By Spc. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

BAGHDAD — Multi-National-Division – Baghdad Soldiers hosted a release ceremony April 24 for 19 Iraqi citizens, former detainees, at Combat Outpost Apache.

The ceremony was hosted by 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and marked the end of detention for Iraqis, who have paid their debt to society for being associated with criminal activities in the Adhamiyah district.

The ceremony is part of the reconciliation effort in the district by the 3-7 Cav. Regt., which is attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

"It shows a great deal of unity among the Iraqi people, army, police and ourselves, and only together we will be able to reach sustainable security," said Lt. Col. Jeff Broadwater, a native of Radcliff, Ky., and squadron commander of the 3-7 Cav. Regt.

The citizens to be released were brought to the ceremony area at approximately 1 p.m., where family members of the former detainees invited to attend the ceremony waited for their loved ones. After making their entrance, the former detainees were received by their families and friends with hugs, kisses and candies tossed in the air, which is a way Iraqis celebrate. Once the newly released citizens greeted their families, the ceremony began with the Iraqi anthem and a prayer.

At the time of their detention, some of the detainees were linked with criminal and terrorist activities in Baghdad, which includes planting improvised-explosive devices and weapons caches, said 1st Lt. Jose Rivera, a native of Mentor, Ohio, who serves as the assistant adjutant with the 3-7 Cav. Regt.

The former detainees placed their hands on the Koran took an oath to support the Iraqi constitution and signed a commitment to not get involved in any further criminal activities.

There is consternation associated with releasing former criminals back into society, Rivera said, but it's all part of law, justice and a democratic society.

"Since they took the oath in front of their families, neighbors and police, the chances of having them committing a crime are less," Rivera said.

Lt. Col. Broadwater conducted the opening of the ceremony, while the oath and signature of the release was officiated by a local sheik and an Iraqi police official, which made the ceremony truly a combined event.

"The goal of the repatriation is to create a sense of community," Rivera said.

Once all the proceedings were over, the now free men received their release papers and left with their guarantors and family members.

• Date Taken: 04.25.2008
• Date Posted: 04.29.2008 10:51
• Story ID: 18876
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ