Photo By Master Sgt. Opal Vaughn | Sgt. John Humphreys and Staff Sgt. Miller Grove, both with 2nd Battalion, 8th Field...... read more read more
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By Spc. Opal Vaughn
14th Public Affairs Detachment
DIYALA, Iraq - With elections only a day away, tension seems high within the surrounding province of Diyala, Iraq. Even though Iraqi security forces and coalition forces have been working round the clock to ensure the safety and security of Iraq's people on Election Day, security measures are still being reinforced.
"We're out here checking all of the election sites," said Staff Sgt. Miller Grove, a squad leader with Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
"We're making sure none of these sites have any explosives hidden in them so that these elections can go smoothly," Grove stated. "We've been doing this by sending in the military working dogs which can detect possible explosives, remnants of explosives and then we go in and get an overall view of the polling sites."
Grove continued, "This is the first time we've gone out to secure election sites for the upcoming elections. This isn't actually our area of operations, its 1-5 Inf. We were asked last minute to cover down on their sites so we are assisting them in their efforts to secure the different polling sites."
Several locations have been selected throughout the Diyala province and securing every one of them includes round the clock security by ISF and CF.
"We conducted a meeting with head leaders from both ISF and CF about the upcoming elections," said 1st Lt. Jeb Townsend, commander, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1-25th SBCT. "They talked about adding more security to check points and having more IPs in village areas that did not have any security at all on Election Day."
"Securing each election site for Election Day is very important," Townsend stated. "CF and ISF are working together and are each tasked out to maintain security until the elections are complete. The guidance we have received is that coalition forces are not to be directly involved in the security of the elections centers. It's supposed to be Iraqi government, Iraqi security forces lead so we will be on constant patrol to let our presence be known for any type of security needs."
Utilizing military working dogs in the field has proved to be an asset in securing the election sites for voting, as well.
"Astra is here to point out any possible improvised explosive devices that may have been placed in the school," said Spc. Pamela Gibson, a dog handler with Warhorse Kanine, 1-25th SBCT.
Astra is one of many military working dogs which assist both the ISF and CF on various missions to eliminate the threat of any possible explosives in the area, Gibson stated.
"We have her here as a deterrent," Gibson stated. "We're searching the buildings that they're using for the upcoming elections and making sure they are safe to enter before the people go in and do all their voting."
Maintaining a presence is very important, Gibson said.
"Astra responded earlier on a RPG canister, which means her presence is needed. The military working dogs can detect a little bit or a lot. It's nice to know they are there and they are helping to keep everybody safe."
| Date Taken: | 01.25.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 02.10.2009 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 29861 |
| Location: | DIYALA PROVINCE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 321 |
| Downloads: | 299 |
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