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By Staff Sgt. James R. Matthews
Company C, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion
COMMAND OUTPOST 6, Iraq – When people think of Iraq, they often think of a far off land where Soldiers patrol volatile neighborhoods and try to avoid improvised explosive devices on the roads. Some paratroopers of the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, are facing an additional challenge during their current deployment. In addition to combat operations, paratroopers at Combat Outpost 6 are getting first-hand experience with the reconstruction and civil-military operations in Iraq.
Over the last year, coalition forces have fought alongside Iraqi security forces to provide Iraqi citizens with a free and safe Iraq. In many of the areas where security has been established and the Iraqi government has assumed autonomous rule, coalition forces have begun to focus on other needs of the Iraqi populace. This focus has found its mark in an area the Army calls civil-military operations.
Staff Sgt. James Matthews, the non-commissioned officer in charge of CMO for COP 6 explains, "CMO allows us the opportunity to interact with average Iraqi families while providing assistance to the villages that will have long lasting effects. We have distributed over five and a half tons of seed for local farmers, and are in the process of building wells and water treatment facilities in about a half dozen villages. Several of the local sheikhs have expressed concern over the road conditions, and we have also begun to plan some road repair missions that we hope to complete in the next few weeks." Capt. Mike Donahue echoes that coalition forces must provide a vital CMO link and fill a void in essential quality of life support until these services are fully operational by the Iraqi government.
Over the past couple of months, the paratroopers of COP 6 continued to build rapport and success with the local sheikhs. Initially, Matthews and Donahue arranged a weekly town hall meeting for all of the local sheikhs to interact. This meeting allowed tribal and village sheikhs the ability to voice their concerns from both a local and a regional point of view. Executive Officer 1st Lt. Levi Lewellyn explains, "At first the sheikhs were very skeptical of our intent to provide aid and support to the villages. The meetings lasted for three or four hours, and contained more complaints than conversations. Recently it has gotten much better, and our meetings have grown larger than we ever imagined. The sheikhs want to work together for a common goal, and are now more optimistic to our involvement than pessimistic."
These meetings started nearly three months ago and were originally attended by only five sheikhs. "The last town hall meeting had a little over 40 sheikhs in attendance. I am amazed at how quickly word has spread through the villages, and the response that we've received from the local community has been incredible." Matthews said. This increase in attendance is not the only tangible result these Paratroopers have received.
"The cultural differences are much smaller than I thought they would be. I guess everyone just wants the same type of life even if they are from two different continents.
"I've really learned a lot over here," said Pfc. Brandon Kleiser. "This is right up there with rebuilding Germany and Japan sixty years ago. We could have walked away then, just like now, but who knows what we would have lost by doing that. I think we'll see a huge benefit in the future due to our daily on the ground efforts today."
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2007 17:24 |
| Story ID: | 14497 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 66 |
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