MOSUL, Iraq (Feb. 26, 2006) -- Teachers at the Al Abed Primary School grimaced at the scene. Students were calling out of turn and getting out of their seats. Had all discipline broken down?
In reality, school rules were briefly relaxed because of a few special visitors from the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion and the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry who carried in boxes of school supplies " pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, erasers, folders, and comic books " for the boys of Al Abed School. The girls of Al Abed School received similar packages from Operation Iraqi Children earlier in the month. The boys were excited to finally get some supplies of their own.
The school, in the Palestine neighborhood of Mosul, splits classes in order to accommodate all of the students in one day. Four hundred girls attend classes in the morning while 340 boys study in the afternoon.
"This is a good way for the community to see with their own eyes that we are there to support the community," said Maj. Roy A. Outcelt, team leader, 401st Civil Affairs Team Alpha, who was on site to assist the Iraqi Police.
The school instructs children from 7 to 12 years of age. In the last year, Operation Iraqi Children provided supplies to more than 200,000 Iraqi schoolchildren.