by Spc. James P. Hunter
MNC-I PAO
Through the early morning hours, Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment made their way toward their objective in the Iraqi Family Village in Baghdad.
They cleared a number of buildings and secured an area within the village, enabling a second wave of U.S. troops, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, to come through.
They set up concentine wire around their objective and blocked off the main roads leading into the village.
Local Iraqi families started to gather quickly in the area because of the presence of U.S. troops.
U.S. military vehicles pulled into area, dropping off pallets of boxes and bottles of water.
Children sat in angst, watching as U.S. troops and local nationals pulled boxes from the pallets and downloaded them in the community counsel member's building.
As apart of Operation Top Gun Light, U.S. troops delivered enough meals to feed 600 families, feeding a total of 520 families, in the IFV in Baghdad, Friday.
Soldiers with the 2nd Bn., 137th Inf., 1st Bn., 320th FA Bde., and 4th Infantry Division, secured the outside perimeter, setting up a cordon, and searched each Iraqi family coming into the area to receive a meal while Iraqi Army soldiers controlled the inside security.
Inside, the community counsel members checked the Iraqis identification cards and handed each family a box of food and water.
The operation helped establish a relationship between Coalition Forces and the Iraqi citizens and also strengthened the relationship between the IFV locals and the community counsel members, said Lt. Col. Rafael Torres, 1st Bn., 320th FA Bde.
"I think what we have done is established the opportunity and trust of the local nationals," Torres said. "In the future, we will look for other ways to bring in clothing as the winter comes, utilizing the counsel members."
Mustafa, a 17-year-old interpreter, said the area has limited electricity each day. The water is bad and food is sometimes scarce.
"The people of Iraq, when they see American Soldiers, feel safe," he said. "They are here to help us and defeat terrorism. The American Soldiers are here for our freedom."
The IFV is important because it is a buffer zone between Victory Base Complex and Al Maria, said Torres. In the last six months, Al Maria has increases in sectarian violence activity.
"With us maintaining a relationship with the locals and cooperation with them, the security establishes a buffer zone," he said. "Really, the relationship is critical for the battalion's mission as well as the mission of securing Victory Base Complex."
The families within the village are self-contained, Torres said.
"With all the sectarian violence, this village has trouble going into Al Maria and Al Farat," he said. "So all the help they can receive from us is a good thing."
"But again, as we transition the Iraqi Security Forces, it's important that we as a coalition and a battalion level organization involve the local nationals a much as possible," he added. "And in the last six months we've been able to embed with the counsel members and now all projects go through them. Using them brings credibility to their position."
Under the old regime, Iraqis weren't able to operate as a small entity as a village would in the United States with counsel members and mayors, Torres said.
"This is a first step in working in that direction, which really nests our tactical objectives with the operational objectives of the coalition here in Iraq," he added. "They're now starting to stand up their structure as an organizational village or counsel. Although we don't recognize them as a counsel, we want them to have the legitimacy as a group of planners and leaders to better the community as well as taking care of their sick."
Now, there are nine members of the counsel, and when they speak, the community reacts, Torres said.
"One of our objectives was to bring the governance to the local communities at the tactical level," he said. "We've been very successful in that area."
He believes the operation was satisfying for the Soldiers just as much for the Iraqi citizens.
"There isn't a Soldier out here today (thinking) he didn't do what he came here for," Torres said.
He went on to say the operation truly justifies why American and Coalition troops continue to fight insurgency throughout Iraq and sacrifice for their country everyday.