Photo By 1st Sgt. Brent Williams | Cpl. Teigan Crone, civil affairs specialist, assigned to CA Team 15, Company D, 404th...... read more read more
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Sgt. 1st Class Brent Williams
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers witnessed Iraqi orphans from schools throughout western Rashid perform patriotic folk songs and skits for local community leaders and Iraqi security forces as a show of support and celebration for Iraq's growing independence and as part of an observation of the Islamic holiday of Ashura, at the Jihad Neighborhood Advisory Council Building Jan. 3.
Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, attended the special event hosted by local governance leaders and Iraqi security forces, and brought a little morale of their own to the orphans gathered at the Jihad NAC Hall in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad.
The Soldiers of Company C "Copperhead" hope that events such as the celebration will eventually build a rapport between the Iraqi people, the local governance and the ISF, said 1st Lt. Jason Behler, an armor platoon leader from Houston.
"It is part of the transition of security responsibilities," said Behler, assigned to Company C, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt. "It's a transition to get the Iraqi people to not only trust their local government, because this is a joint operation between the Iraqi army and local governance, as they give to the kids, care for their own people."
The recent assumption of responsibility for security operations in Iraq with the implementation of the Security Forces Agreement Jan. 1 also means providing stability and support for the Iraqi people, Behler explained.
Taking care of Iraq's citizens will prove to be beneficial to the ISF over time, as Iraq's soldiers and police officers build upon the security gains made during the last year, he said.
"The experience, they have to learn on their own; it is going to be new and different for some of them," he said. "... but they are going to learn, and become comfortable in their new roles."
2nd Lt. Yasir, a platoon leader from Mosul, assigned to the 1st Bn., 53rd Bde., 14th IA Div., said that events like the celebration is another step toward the ISF taking real responsibility for their country and its people.
"Very soon, you will see us going to the people and interacting with them," Yasir explained.
The transformation will take time, said Yasir, but the coalition forces will see good results as the ISF work to endear themselves to the Iraqi people.
"What we went through and what the Iraqi children and women have gone through during the war has really devastated them – and almost destroyed us," he said. "This is what we see here: the very first steps to rehabilitate everyone. We are in the right place, and these are the first steps in a very long journey."
The IA soldiers will do everything possible to show the citizens of Rashid and Baghdad that the ISF are human beings capable of caring and serving the Iraqi people, said Yasir.
The situation in Iraq has changed dramatically during the past couple years, which has changed the role of the combat-arms Soldiers, said Sgt. William Thomas, III, who hails from Orange County, Va., and is assigned to 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.
"We set up local governance meetings, talk about problems and fix problems, and we do this together with the IA, the Iraqi police and the Sons of Iraq to get everything unified and bring the country together," said Thomas, who is currently on his third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Combat units and company commanders are taking more of a lead role in civil military engagements and are making an impact within the Iraqi communities, said Staff Sgt. James Ossipov, civil affairs team leader, part of CAT 15, attached to the 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.
CA Teams working at the company and platoon-levels enabled the maneuver units to be more proactive in getting the ISF to take more responsibility within their communities, said Ossipov, who also said that he is more optimistic about Iraq today than his previous deployment in 2005.
Events such as the makeshift celebration at the Jihad NAC Hall is an excellent opportunity for the NAC leaders to provide for their people, build morale for the children and offer a helping hand to the schools and their teachers, he explained.
"It's a feel-good kind of mission," said Ossipov. "We're obviously not going to solve any problems today, but since we have the capabilities to do something nice, we do what we can."
The CA Team of specialists, part of Company D, 404th CA Bn., a U.S. Army Reserve unit, stationed out of Fort Dix, N.J., gathered the school bags and supplies, toys and foodstuffs for the armor company to give to the Jihad NAC and Iraqi army soldiers of the 1st Bn., 53rd Bde., 14th IA Div.
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2009 03:14 |
| Story ID: | 28447 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 228 |
| Downloads: | 183 |
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