BAGHDAD — An Iraqi army soldier was recognized with a certificate of appreciation and a wooden plaque with the Raider logo March 20 for performing above and beyond the call of duty.
Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, presented the certificate and plaque to Jundi Ahmed Jawad Kadhim for finding a suicide vest during a routine mission in the Baghdad area. The title of Jundi is the IA equivalent to the U.S. Army rank of private.
In December, during a patrol and security search, Ahmed approached a local home and asked the owner if Soldiers could search the building. The man was irritated, said Ahmed, assigned to 54th Bde., 6th IA Div.
When Ahmed began the search, he noticed there was a mattress on the floor with a screwdriver nearby. Upon moving the mattress, he found a door leading down to a basement. The search team opened the door, and found a man in a suicide vest hidden in the secret basement, and detained him, Ahmed explained.
"I urge my fellow [IA] soldiers to work extra hard to get rid of the bad people and make Iraq safe," said Ahmed.
By recognizing the outstanding achievement of Iraqi soldiers, members of the 54th Military Transition Team hope to inspire other IA soldiers
"We want to set an example to senior leadership of the IA to give recognition to lower ranking soldiers to urge them to do a good job," said Capt. James Falls, the operations advisor officer in charge of the MiTT attached to 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div. MiTTs have assisted 54-6 IA Div. throughout the last seven years.
"We are trying to show them that in the U.S. Army there is respect of all Soldiers regardless of rank, and recognition and respect can be used to motivate basic Soldiers as well as officers to perform above-and-beyond the normal call of duty," said Falls.
The 2nd Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Terrence Braley, presented Ahmed with a certificate of appreciation and a custom plaque with the Raider symbol for his exemplary performance.
"This recognition means a lot to me," said Ahmed. "It shows that the Americans appreciate a good job, and makes me want to work even harder in the future. It shows that we are working as one team."