Soldiers Lend Hand in Building Renovations By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke 2-32nd Field Artillery

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1 Telling the MND-Baghdad Story Thursday, September 6, 2007 Watchful Eyes Over Baghdad (Photo by Spc. Courtney Breton, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Spc. Joel Redman, a Soldier with 3rd Spearhead Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, watches for any enemy activity while flying in a UH-60 Black Hawk over Iraq on Sept. 3. Soldiers Lend Hand in Building Renovations By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke 2-32nd Field Artillery BAGHDAD Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers assisted with the renovation of a kindergarten and a neighborhood advisory counsel building in the western Baghdad neighborhoods of Hateen and Yarmouk, signaling the end of a pair of summer-long reconstruction projects. Task Force Patriot, the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, initiated reconstruction efforts at the Al-Tameen Kindergarten in Hateen and the Neighborhood Advisory Council headquarters in Yarmouk in late July. The Noor Baghdad Company started work at the Al-Tameen Kindergarten on July 21. Electricians re-wired the school to more efficiently distribute the power received from a local generator. See Renovation Page 3

2 News Page 2 September 6, 2007 Sheiks Meet to Reconcile in Western Rashid Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons 4-1 Inf. Div., Public Affairs BAGHDAD Sheiks and other influential men of the western Rashid District met at Forward Operating Base Falcon Sept. 3 to discuss the best way toward peace. This is the first time since the fall of Saddam that Jayesh Al-Mahdi, Coalition Forces, Sunni leaders and Iraqi Security Forces commanders have come together to talk of their differences, said Lt. Col. Patrick Frank, 1st Black Lions Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment commander and host of the meeting. Black Lions are proud of our ISF partners and work hard with the National Police, 1-1 and 1-3 Mech., and our Iraqi Army counterparts and work with all three to provide excellent security to West Rashid, he said to the group of prominent Sunni and Shia Iraqis. During the meeting, Frank talked about JAM s beginnings and how it was created to protect the Shia population from Al Qaeda. He also added that if the fighters linked to the organization followed Moqtada Al-Sadr s call for a sixmonth cease-fire, the district would be better for the peace-loving citizens. We must wrestle with the issues facing West Rashid, the Cuba, N.Y. native said adding that the Black Lion area of operations contains almost a third of a million people. A large part of the population of Baghdad falls within the leadership of the people in this room. Frank told the group that $23 million has been spent to help West Rashid, but more would come only if the violence in the area ceased. The chairman of the Rashid District Advisory Council also was in attendance, telling the assembled leaders that they must look to Iraq s future. I am proud to be here, but we cannot build this country if we are fighting. Sheiks, imams and National Police have to come together to build this country, said Sabeeh Al Ka abi. We must be determined to go forward. Iraqis have a lot of courage and all must support (efforts to reconcile). Let s forget about Sunni and Shia, let s think about Iraq. The chairman of the Furat Neighborhood Advisory Council agreed. We must step forward as one man, Ahmed Abu Mustafa said toward the end of the meeting. Let s go forward. Arabic Phrase of the Day ta ira amudiya Defined: helicopter Iraq 3-Day Weather Report Today High: 113 Low: 85 Tomorrow High: 112 Low: 86 Saturday High: 110 Low: 85 Commanding General: Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr. Public Affairs Officer: Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl Command Information Supervisor: Master Sgt. Dave Larsen Senior Editor: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin Editor: Spc. William Hatton Staff Writers: Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, Spc. L.B. Edgar, Spc. Shea Butler, and Spc. Ben Gable Contributing Writers: 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 1st Class Robert Timmons, Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, Spc. Courtney Marulli Contact the Daily Charge at VOIP , DSN or e- mail david.j.larsen@mnd-b.army.mil. The Daily Charge is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the Daily Charge are not necessarily official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 1st Cavalry Division. All editorial content of the Daily Charge is prepared, edited, provided and approved by1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs Office.

3 Page 3 News September 6, 2007 Renovations to School, Governance Building Providing Bright Future for Baghdad Citizens New From Page 1 Plumbers replaced hundreds of meters of piping and installed new toilets and bathroom fixtures throughout the school. Contractors re-tiled every bathroom, repaired cracked and crumbling tile floors in the hallways and classrooms, and painted the entire interior of the school. Day-laborers removed the trash and debris which had accumulated on the school s grounds and cut down overgrown vegetation. The contracting firm also removed rusted out playground equipment and replaced it with new, safer equipment. The task force will mark the beginning of the new school year and welcome students back with a cooperative medical engagement, in which U.S. and Iraq Army doctors will provide a free medical screening to all returning students. The event is currently scheduled for late September. From July 23 to Aug. 21, (Photos by Sgt. 1st Class Garner Lambert, 2-32 Field Artillery Regiment) A renovated recess area and new playground equipment now await students at the Al- Tameen Kindergarten. The 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, initiated reconstruction efforts at the Al-Tameen Kindergarten in Hateen. the Noor Baghdad Company also worked to repair and revitalize the headquarters of the Yarmouk Neighborhood Advisory Council. Workers fixed a sewage leak in the bathrooms and replaced pipes, toilets, and faucets. They also re-wired the electrical system, painted the interior of the building and removed dead and unsightly vegetation from the NAC s front courtyard. Part of being in government means empowering the people, said Lt. Col. Mike Lawson, commander of Task Force Patriot.. In spending the money to renovate the Yarmouk NAC, we ve given the NAC the ability to better engage their constituents. We ve empowered the NAC to go out and do likewise. Task Force Patriot will mark the re-opening of the Yarmouk NAC building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and subsequent cooperative medical engagement, which will be presided over by Dr. Faleh al-mansour, the chairman of the Yarmouk NAC. Weeds and grass threaten to overthrow the dilapidated playground equipment at the Al-Tameen Kindergarten prior to the start of the renewal project.

4 Page 4 Feature September 6, 2007 Attack Aviation Units Welcome New NCOs By Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs CAMP TAJI, Iraq Soldiers deployed to Iraq may be too busy to think about Army traditions. The leadership from two attack aviation battalions, however, ensured that two dozen Soldiers recent induction into the Noncommissioned Officers Corps was something they would remember throughout their careers. The new noncommissioned officers from 1st Attack and 4th Guns Battalions, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, were inducted into the Noncommissioned Officer Corps in an Aug. 25 ceremony at Camp Taji, Iraq. The guest speaker for the event, Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Joseph, the senior noncommissioned officer for the 15th Sustainment Brigade, told the new leaders that they had taken a big step. Soldiers will look to you, their leader their sergeant, for direction, Joseph said. This induction ceremony is indicative that you have entered the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. By becoming sergeants the Soldiers had gone from being led to being leaders, and the promotion means more than a raise in pay, Joseph said. You re responsible for America s sons and daughters, and it is a sacred trust the American people charge us with, he said. We must always be a Noncommissioned Officer Corps that leads by example, trains from experience, enforces the standards, takes care of our Soldiers and equipment and (adapts) to the change in environment. We must train our Soldiers in wartime and in peace. We must coach and mentor Soldiers for their next level of responsibility, and we must care for them and their families, he said. You are charged with building and strengthening the team and accomplishing your assigned mission. The tradition and formality of the induction ceremony brought to light the significance of becoming a sergeant, said (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Soldiers from 1st Attack and 4th Guns battalions, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, recite the Noncommissioned Officer Creed at their NCO induction ceremony Aug. 25 at Camp Taji, Iraq. More than two dozen Soldiers were welcomed to the NCO ranks during the ceremony. Sgt. Jeremy Stallard, 4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion. It was a great way to welcome Soldiers to the NCO Corps, the native of Clintwood, Va., said. It really showed me the level of responsibility given to a sergeant. This is your senior officers and senior NCOs way of saying how much responsibility they have given you and how much they trust you. Stallard said he didn t take Joseph s words lightly. An NCO s main responsibility is to teach Soldiers and take care of Soldiers, Stallard said. A lot of my NCOs had a big impact on me, and now it is my job to help younger Soldiers. The ceremony was an honor that not all Soldiers get when they become sergeants, according to Sgt. Raeanne Rodriquez, 1-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, a native of Simi Valley, Calif. I got a lot of feedback from my NCOs about the ceremony, and many of them said they didn t get something like this when they became NCOs, she said. Reaching the rank of sergeant wasn t always one of Rodriguez s goals. I was a trouble maker, she said. After a while of seeing my peers have more responsibility placed on them, I realized I had to straighten up. When she earned her stripes in April, her life changed immediately. Being an NCO is challenging, she said. You go from being lower enlisted to the next day being an NCO with more responsibilities. Some days you have to make split decisions. I enjoy taking care of Soldiers and training them to be our next leaders. The role of the noncommissioned officer hasn t changed much over the years, and it s a role that Stallard said he is excited about taking on. I like military history the history that the NCO Corps has, Stallard said. It goes all the way back to the beginning of the Army. It s great that I and other NCOs are part of something that has been going for hundreds of years and will continue for many more.

5 Page 5 Feature September 6, 2007 Postal Clerks Deliver Pieces of Home to Soldiers By Spc. Courtney Marulli 2-2 Inf. Div. Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq Sorting through mail, inspecting packages and leaving Soldiers with a piece of home is all in a day s work for the Forward Operating Base Loyalty postal clerks. Sgt. Jeremy Carlile, a pipe fitter and plumber, and Spc. Melody Boettcher, an administration specialist are both reservists with the 461st Engineer Company but are currently deployed with the 747th Adjunct General Postal Company. Carlile, a native of Kent, Wash., is on his second deployment and said he volunteered to deploy to Iraq as a postal clerk. Boettcher, a native of Park Rapids, Minn., was chosen from her unit to serve as a postal clerk. Though they aren t working in their military occupation specialty, they still enjoy their jobs. I like knowing that we re here to help the Soldiers and provide a little piece of morale, she said. Carlile said he enjoys meeting those Soldiers. We become friendly with a lot of people, he said. It s like being in a community and filling an important part. Many Soldiers share a part of their lives while dropping off or picking up mail. Some stop by just to talk, he said. The least glamorous part of the job is remembering all the rules and regulations for civilian mailing, military mailing and other governmental agency regulations such as customs. Each agency adds a little flavor of what we can and cannot do, Carlile said. It s hard to remember all the rules, especially when we have to go through parcel mail and look for and find non-mailable items. Another aspect of being selected as postal clerks wass that Carlile and Boettcher were removed from their chain of command, which is located at FOB Rustamiyah. Carlile said as long as they stayed within the ground rules set by their chain of command they could make it work. Boettcher said they have great leaders but they were able to rely on the support of senior noncommissioned officers at FOB Loyalty if they needed that level of leadership in any given situation. But their leaders were always in touch. They are always a phone call away, Boettcher said. Since they had more flexibility to govern themselves, they coordinated their shifts so that one would work during the first half of the day and the other the last half. Our operation is seven days a week, Boettcher said. Our counterparts in the states work five days a week. Carlile said they also had to work more hours than the other postal clerks at FOB Rustamiyah because there are only two of them. We ve been open everyday since we got here except Aug. 5 because we didn t have power in the building, Carlile said. Boettcher said they stayed (Photo by Spc. Courtney Marulli, 2-2 Inf. Div. Public Affairs) Sgt. Jeremy Carlile (left), and Spc. Melody Boettcher, are both reservists with the 461st Engineer Company, but they deployed with the 747th Adjunct General Postal Company, which supports 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and its attached units. Carlile inspects a package for Sgt. Eugene Robinson (right), a native of San Diego, and a member of Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, while Boettcher processes his information. open for half the day on holidays and adjusted their schedules to ensure Soldiers on patrol could come and pick up their mail. They also worked around the schedule of mail shipments to the FOB. Carlile said this deployment was better than his previous one because he got to work in an air-conditioned office this time. I didn t have that the last time I was here, he said. I was outside everyday. Boettcher said she enjoys knowing that she has a purpose. I don t know if I could work in a civilian atmosphere because Soldiers here realize we are here for them as supposed to in the states a post office is taken for granted, she said.