by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SAMARRA, Iraq (September 23, 2006) –Paratroopers from North Carolina are replacing the Infantryman from Kentucky in Samarra, Iraq, this month.
Troopers from 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division are taking over where the Rakkasans from 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, left off at Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora located near the city of Samarra.
"We are going to continue to build on the great effort made by the 3/187th Infantry this past year" said Lt Col. Viet Luong, Commander of the 2/505th. "Our mission here is to take over the southern sector and help to enable critical [Iraqi Security Forces] capabilities."
Units have already begun patrolling the streets and participating in missions with the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion, which has been in place at Brassfield-Mora for about six months now. Soldiers of the 402nd have been showing them the ropes, taking them to the city of Samarra to locate soccer fields that are in need of repair.
"We were out scouting locations that needed to be cleaned up so that soccer fields could be developed for the children of the city", said Maj. Stuart Stoval of the 402nd. "The new Soldiers performed very well," added Stoval. "They did the meet and greet of local store owners and played with the children," he added. "They did all the right things while out on the mission," said Stoval.
Additionally, troopers of the 2/505th will continue training and mentoring Iraqi Army Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Seven, an Iraqi military installation near Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora. The goal is to help the Iraqi Soldiers become more independent and able to assume more missions on their own.
The battalion is also responsible for overseeing the training of the Iraqi Police in the area, facilitating reconstruction projects and assisting local government officials during the rebuilding process.
"We will continue to build a relationship with the people of Samarra," said Command Sgt. Maj. Brett Hagel-Pitt. "The citizens here need to know that the Government in Baghdad cares about them and that the Soldiers of the 505th care about them".