By: 1st Lt. Joseph Malins
BAGHDAD — Some of the most meaningful and effective missions undertaken by the 5th “Longknife” Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center are humanitarian assistance missions.
During these missions, soldiers work with their Iraqi partners to distribute needed supplies and aid—such as food, blankets, shoes, school supplies and medical care—to the citizens of Iraq. These missions provide basic needs to the people of Iraq as well as positive interactions with U.S. forces and Iraqi security forces.
“We also work closely with the GoI to ensure that not only are [the Iraqi people] taken care of today, but that they will be provided essential services in the future,” said Sgt. Richardo Spence, a civil affairs non-commissioned officer with 5th Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., 2nd AAB and a Gahanna, Ohio, native. “We firmly believe that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime. Today we are giving them the fish while we teach the local government to fish for themselves.”
There are different kinds of humanitarian assistance. One of the most common types of missions is to distribute food, water, shoes and blankets to areas that lack these services to their families. Blankets and shoes are also given during the colder months when they are most needed. These missions provide the most basic level of subsistence for the people that receive it.
Longknife soldiers have also been handing out school supplies to schools in the Baghdad area.
Spence said parents often are unable to provide their children with basic school supplies, such as paper and pencils. These humanitarian missions are frequently conducted directly at the school and provide the U.S. forces and ISF a glimpse of the school’s condition. The squadron’s civil affairs personnel then work with the GoI to improve the school’s facilities.
One of the most beneficial humanitarian assistance missions is to provide medical support to an area lacking that service. During these missions, military doctors, such as Capt. Anthony Derencius, a physician assistant with 5th Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., 2nd AAB and an Oak Lawn, Ill., native, along with other military medical personnel, go to the community and provide medical treatment to its citizens.
“A little kindness goes a long way,” Derencius said. “It becomes somewhat contagious and before you know it, the Iraqi Security Forces will want to go out there again and do what they can to help out.”
All of these humanitarian assistance missions are useful not only because it helps the citizens of Iraq, but it also helps to combat terrorism in a variety of ways, Spence said.