By Lt. Col. Wayne Marotto
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq - More Sons of Iraq in Salman Pak Mada'in Qada received their first payment on Nov. 14. Since the pay activities began, more than 2,700 members of the SoI have been paid in the Salman Pak area by the government of Iraq.
The 1st Battalion, 35th Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division facilitated the payments at the brigade headquarters in Salman Pak.
The GoI assumed responsibility for the SoI program on Oct. 1.
The program began in the fall of 2007 and members were previously paid by the coalition.
Soldiers from Company C, Task Force 2-6 Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Div., monitored the progress of the Iraqi Army's paying the SoI members.
Many coalition leaders attribute the decrease in violence in Baghdad and other areas of Iraq to the SoI program. Coalition forces continue to work closely with the SoI and facilitate their transition to the security forces or other non-security sector jobs.
SoI payday activities for last month's work are planned to continue for another week to ensure that all SoI personnel are paid for their valuable service and contributions to the security of Iraq.