Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Walter Van Ochten | A sick infant is held by her mother in the children's wing of the Tikrit Teacher's...... read more read more
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Sgt 1st Class Walter E. van Ochten
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
TIKRIT, Iraq (February 24, 2006) - One of the more productive ways the Iraqi Army fights the violence perpetrated by anti-Iraqi forces is by lending a helping hand to the Iraqi people.
With their trucks loaded down with boxes of medical supplies and toys, members of the Iraqi 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army, headquartered in Tikrit, pulled up in front of the Tikrit Teaching Hospital. They were there to donate some extra medical supplies that they could not use in their aid station.
It is important for the local community to see that there is a positive force in the Iraqi Army, said 2nd Lt. Michael Leiva, Fire Effects Officer of the Military Transition Team, 2nd Squadron, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, attached to 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division,
According to Leiva, these types of missions help foster public approval of the Iraqi Army. These extra activities are not their primary mission, but they do help out the local community as a whole.
"The Hospital administrators were very happy to see us. They offered us chi tea and wanted to sit down and talk with us. This really gave the IA a chance to show a good face to the people," said Leiva.
Once all the supplies had been unloaded, the IA members grabbed a big box of toys and school supplies and went to the children's ward of the hospital to hand out the toys. IA members then spent more than an hour visiting and playing with the sick children.
Most of the children smiled as the soldiers gave them toys. The older ones would often salute the soldiers, which brought big smiles to the faces of the men who where there trying to cheer up the kids.
The parents thanked the soldiers and were happy to see them.
According to Capt. Hase Brahim Mohamed, Iraqi 4th Division Operations Officer, this mission is important in that it shows the people that the Iraqi Army is working for them.
"It was a huge success for the IA," said Lieva. "They planned the whole thing. Having the IAs give out the stuff was awesome. That's our whole mission here. Helping out the community like that is a win for the IA and those they helped".
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2006 10:01 |
| Story ID: | 5516 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 21 |
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