Photo By 1st Sgt. Brent Williams | Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Brister, platoon sergeant from Baton Rouge, La., stands point...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Brent Williams
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - The information flyer informs the Iraqi man that the suspect is wanted for crimes committed against the Iraqi people. The award for arresting this terrorist, $10,000, will be paid immediately if the information provided leads to the arrest of the reputed special groups cell leader known to operate in southern Baghdad.
The Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, working with Iraqi security forces, continue to distribute information flyers and posters that encourage Iraqi citizens to join in the fight against special groups criminals and terrorists.
The national police of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Bde., 2nd NP Div., attribute a large portion of their success in detaining Baghdad's most wanted criminals to the information dissemination campaign, said 1st Lt. Ben Hartig, a platoon leader from Concord, Calif., assigned to the 4th Bn, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.
"They really get on board with it," said Hartig, a graduate of the United States Military Academy, Class of 2006. "The NPs are big fans of the [information distribution] and credit their success in detaining bad guys to getting pictures of [enemy] faces out to the public, and having the tip line phone numbers on those handbills."
During the Muslim observance of the month of Ramadan, the platoon of U.S. Soldiers use a different approach during combined operations and security patrols in the Bayaa and Aamel communities of the Rashid District in southern Baghdad, he explained.
Conducting more night patrols and focused area patrols around the busiest parts of the day, morning and night, the unit has modified its patrol schedule to accommodate for the Iraqi people practicing the customs of Ramadan, said Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Brister, a platoon sergeant from Baton Rouge, La., assigned to Co. D, 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regt.
"During Ramadan, since the Iraqis pray and fast during the day, we observe, and try to respect their religion here, pushing our operations out through the night, when they are going to be most active," Brister said.
"If we come out at night, people are more apt to greet and talk to us, because they have eaten a meal once the sun has set," he explained. "It helps out with us doing our information [dissemination]; let's the people know that we really care about them."
The unit's basic understanding of language, culture and customs helps to build relations with the Iraqi people, said Sgt. Julio Tirado, an infantry team leader from Catalina, Puerto Rico.
"We have to understand first that this country has different customs than us, especially in the religion," explained Tirado, who is assigned to Co. D, 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regt. "It is so different; it is very traditional."
The platoon continues to conduct patrols and joint patrols with national police to ensure that al-Qaida in Iraq and militia elements stay out of Rashid, said Tirado.
The Soldiers regularly inspect checkpoints and assist local Iraqi security forces leaders in the training and professional development of their troops, he explained.
Brister said that he agrees it is a calculated risk to change standard operating procedures for Ramadan, but the fact is that there is still a combined presence of ISF and coalition forces in the neighborhoods.
The support of the Iraqi residents in the Rashid District also helps to reinforce the stability that the district, home to approximately 1.6 million Iraqis, currently enjoys, said Brister.
"We're to the point here now, where we have developed a pretty substantial source network between our local national sources and the national police here, and we get a 'heads-up' whenever anything moves," he explained.
Iraqi NP patrol leader, 2nd Lt. Adel, says that the Iraqi people in his sector appreciate the work of the 2nd Bn., 5th Bde., 2nd NP Div.
Adel also said that handing out flyers and handbills helps keep the people informed of the current situation in their community.
The Soldiers of Co. D, 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regt., have been distributing flyers, hanging posters and working with the National Police for the last three weeks, said Spc. Brandon Josey, from Denver, N.C.
The NPs continue to distribute the information products and keep stacks of flyers to hand to drivers who pass through their checkpoints.
"Handbills are important, helps the community in our area know about what we're doing; and what's going on with the insurgency here," said Josey, deployed for his first time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It will be one year in October, since the company first deployed to Baghdad, he said, and since that time, the unit has worked throughout the Rashid district and Baghdad, said Josey, who serves as an M2 Bradley gunner and infantry dismount.
During the past 11 months, the Soldiers have served in some of the most volatile areas of the city, patrolling in the Saydiyah community of Rashid and Baghdad's Sadr City, he explained.
"We've watched the security with the Iraqis evolve from a little to a lot," Josey said.
"In Saydiyah, we made a huge impact," he added. "When we first got there, there were [significant activities] everyday, and now the Iraqi army's in Saydiyah, and is pretty much running the place."
Working in areas, like Doura, where there primary mission was to train ISF, helped introduce the Soldier to his Iraqi counterparts.
"Overall, I think they do a really good job for what little they have," he said.
The company's current mission is to help the communities, explained Josey. They have been accomplishing this task by issuing microgrants to local business owners, keeping the community informed and interacting with the people.
The 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regt., is part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed out of Fort Stewart, Ga. The "Tuskers" Bn. is currently deployed to Forward Operating Base Falcon, attached to the 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., in support of OIF and MND-B.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2008 12:20 |
| Story ID: | 23512 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 426 |
| Downloads: | 388 |
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