Telling the MND-Baghdad Story

Transcription

1 Telling the MND-Baghdad Story Wednesday, July 18, 2007 (Photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, visited Multi-National Division - Baghdad service members at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad July 17. Pace focused his visit on thanking troops for their service and took some time to answer the troops questions and concerns as well. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Thanks Soldiers Face-to-Face in Iraq By Spc. Shea Butler 7th MPAD CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, visited Multi-National Division - Baghdad service members here July, 17. To kick off the meeting, in true Cavalry tradition, Pace was presented with the 1st Cavalry Division s branding iron by First Team leaders as a thank you for visiting and for his service. I can think of a couple people I could use this on, Pace said jokingly referring to the branding iron. As the laughter died down in the division s conference room, Pace moved on to discuss business. The most important thing I want to do is to say, Thank you, to you, Pace said. What you are doing here is making a difference. You know that. You see it. I get reports about it and I get back here (Iraq) about every three months. I can tell a difference every time I come back. Spc. Doug Morgan, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, attended the meeting with Pace and agrees that things are getting better. There have been many changes since my first tour in I have to say the biggest changes have been in the safety department, Morgan said. When we rolled into Baghdad in 2003 there were no armored vehicles. Now all humvees have to have armor to leave the FOB (forward operating base). That s quite a change and a lot safer for all of us. Pace turned the floor over to the See General Page 4

2 News Page 2 July 18, 2007 U.S., Iraqi Troops Uncover Homemade Explosives By 1st Lt. Andrew Coody 1-64 Armor Regiment BAGHDAD Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers, working together with Iraqi Army troops, discovered two caches totaling approximately 700 lbs. of homemade explosives in the early morning hours of July 15. The 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment made the cache finds during Operation Purple Haze, part of an ongoing effort to establish security in the western Baghdad Jamiya a neighborhood. The homemade explosives, lb. bags, were found in an abandoned house along with ball bearings and detonation cord. An explosive ordnance disposal unit conducted a controlled detonation of the one bag of homemade explosives at the site of the discovery. The bag was torn and the explosives were leaking, making the bag unsafe for transportation. All other items in the cache were removed from the house prior to demolition. In a separate raid during the same operation, a smaller cache of munitions and weapons was discovered. Two machine guns, one AK-47 assault rifle and a variety of knives, grenades and other (Photo by 1st Lt. Juan Ortiz, 1-64 Armor Regiment) Bags filled with homemade explosives were found in an abandoned house during Operation Purple Haze, conducted by members of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Company B, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment in a western Baghdad neighborhood July 15. small explosives were uncovered in a second abandoned home in the neighborhood. Arabic Phrase of the Day dirham Defined: Iraq 3-Day Weather Report Today High: 111 Tomorrow silver coin High: 113 High: 113 Friday Commanding General: Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr. Public Affairs Officer: Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl Command Information Supervisor: Master Sgt. Dave Larsen NCOIC, Print Production: Sgt. Michael Garrett Editor: Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma Staff Writers: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, Spc. L.B. Edgar, Spc. Shea Butler, Spc. William Hatton and Pfc. Ben Gable Contributing Writers:.1st Lt. Andrew Coody and Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 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 Baghdad in Brief Car Bomb Attack Foiled CAMP TAJI, Iraq A phone call to the Adhamiyah Joint Security Station and residents of the eastern Baghdad district helped foil an attempted car bombing July 16. The Adhamiyah JSS received the call, providing the location of a possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in the area. Elements of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division and 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment investigated the area. When the troops arrived at the scene, approximately thirty residents identified a parked vehicle as a possible car bomb. The explosives were removed from the vehicle and safely detonated without injury or damage to the community. The Iraqi citizens took ownership of their future by alerting the Coalition Forces to this potentially disastrous car bomb, said Lt. Col. Jeffery Broadwater, commander of 3-7th Cavalry. This is what it will take to ensure a peaceful Iraq, free from terror and oppression. Explosion Kills Iraqi, Leaves Two Wounded CAMP TAJI, Iraq One Iraqi was killed and two others wounded in an early morning explosion in eastern Baghdad July 16. An explosion in Baghdad s Adhamiyah District at approximately 6 a.m. killed one Iraqi resident, wounded two others and set a building on fire. Elements of the Iraqi Security Forces and the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment investigated the site and treated the two wounded residents. The Iraqi Security Forces called in emergency vehicles to extinguish the fire. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. News July 18, 2007 Not Bad for a Bunch of Sappers By Pfc. Benjamin Gable 7th MPAD (Photo by Pfc. Benjamin Gable, 7th MPAD) Soldiers from the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, are awarded coins in formation from Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, deputy commanding general for support with the Multi- National Division-Baghdad and 1st Cavalry Division at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad July 16. The Soldiers volunteered to build a new medical warehouse facility. CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq Members of the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, celebrated the opening of a new medical warehouse facility here July 16. Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, deputy commanding general for support for Multi-National Division- Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division, helped cut the ribbon signifying the completion of the project. Brooks addressed the Soldiers and commended them for a job well done, before taking a tour. Not bad for a bunch of sappers, Brooks said to the Soldiers. Construction on the new medical warehouse began May 28 after the old one burned down earlier this year. The new facility provides more office space for the Riva Ridge Medical Center, in addition to the extra storage space for medical supplies. The warehouse, built from the ground up by 24 Soldiers, comes complete with electricity, air conditioning and internet capabilities. The Soldiers of the 510th Engineers volunteered to construct the building, though it s not their usual line of work. The sappers normally participate in route clearance and demolition tasks. Instead of blowing things up, this time, the Soldiers mission was to build. The 510th is the only vertical construction company within MND-B. The unit has built several joint security stations and Coalition outposts. These guys have had only on-the-job training since getting here, said 1st Lt. Kevin Thomas, an engineer officer with the 510th. Thomas said the warehouse was completed on time and was built to standard by the Soldiers. He said it was a great chance for them to test their abilities. They were all eager to accomplish the mission, and now they are excited to see the finished product, Thomas said. The warehouse is the first the engineer company has built on the Victory Base Complex. The new facility offers more storage and office space in to the Riva Ridge Medical Center.

4 Page 4 News July 18, 2007 One by One... (Photo by Spc. L.B. Edgar, 7th MPAD) Union City, N.J., native Staff Sgt. Galo Naranjo, a section sergeant with 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, leads Iraqi Army troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, during a search for explosive-making materials and unauthorized weapons in Adhamiyah July 12. General Says Thank You to Ground Troops General From Page 1 troops allowing them to ask questions. He didn t want to talk at the troops he wanted to talk with them, he said. I want to answer your questions about anything you want to ask about, Pace explained. As the floor opened up for questions, troops were a little hesitant about asking the first one. It took some encouragement to get the questions flowing. Alright, first one to ask a question gets a football, Pace encouraged. With the temptation of a football from the highest ranking military member questions started getting asked and the ice was broken. Predictably, many Soldiers asked questions concerning extensions and future dwell time. The leadership (in Washington D.C.) is committed to working toward shorter deployments and longer dwell time, Pace told the assembled service members. The eventual goal, he said, is to have 12 months deployed and 24 months of dwell time. Another Soldier asked the general what service members could do to bridge apathy and hit home with the American people. First of all, I don t agree with the word apathy. Apathy means that they (American people) don t care, Pace responded. The American people care deeply. I think they are just confused between what they hear from us (service members) and what they see on TV. Pace encouraged all service members, especially lower enlisted, to tell their individual story when they returned home. Tell what you saw, felt and did. That s how the real story gets told is by those who live, Pace said. As the questions wound down Pace shook everyone s hand and passed out coins to those in attendance. I want to make sure I give everybody one of my coins, Pace said. These things (the coins) go for about 5,000 bucks on e-bay, but by the time I give one to each of you today, the price will go down a little bit. It may be disappointing when you log on tonight to find out it s more like a buck and a half instead of 5,000, Pace joked. The point is, I really would like to take a moment to shake your hand, look you in the eyes and say Thank you. Service members stayed after the meeting to receive a coin and a personal thank you from Pace. It is refreshing to have a leader in such a prestigious position recognize the hard work that goes on a day-to-day basis, Morgan said of receiving a coin from Pace. It seemed to really give a boost to the Soldiers morale. He came across genuine and sincere and that impressed me most about his visit.

5 Page 5 Reaching Out July 18, 2007 Soldiers Get to Know Populace in Fira Shia By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 1-1 Cav. Div. Public Affairs FIRA SHIA, Iraq The Soldiers of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment are reaching out in operations to build relationships and trust with people living in the areas in which they patrol here. In one such outreach project, the troops from the battery conducted a census to gather an accurate assessment of population size and statistics on the area here while at the same time interacting with the local populace July 12. We grew accustomed to doing these types of operations in our last area and now we re in a place that is a farming village that hasn t had a lot of direct coalition interaction, said Capt. Robert Callaghan, the battery commander, who hails from Winterpark, Fla., and explained that interacting with the people of Fira Shia also helps in getting information that leads to finding insurgents as well as weapons caches. We ve been very successful in the area so far and the people have been very nice and cooperative. We re getting a feel for the population here, seeing how they re doing, and also talking to local leaders, said Sgt. 1st Class Marvin Lancaster, a platoon sergeant from Tuskegee, Ala. Along with collecting the census, the Soldiers handed out school supplies and Iraqi flags to the children living in the neighborhoods. Giving out school supplies is a good step toward defeating extremist ideologies that exist because it gives us the opportunity to reach out to the future of Iraq the children, said Spc. Mulkey, a medic from New Orleans. As we continue building trust with the people and make them feel more comfortable around us, they start opening up and are willing to help us find insurgents that may be working in their neighborhoods. Being from a country that was built on freedom, we re helping the Iraqi people to achieve their own successes in gaining the same freedoms that we have back at home, said Spc. Andrew Ramos, a field artilleryman who claims Ontario, Calif., as home. Although the census-gathering operation did not involve participation by Iraqi security forces, Btry. B troops said they have, in fact, been performing a lot more cordon and searches and other joint operations in their areas of operations in a partnership with Iraqi troops from the 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. One of our biggest tasks has been helping the Iraqi (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1-1 Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Spc. Clinton Egge, a field artilleryman for Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, and native of Houston, provides security as sheiks and community leaders from Aqar Qaf arrive for a meeting there July 12. Army to transition to doing their own security, said Pfc. Josh Wedding, a field artilleryman a native of Rushville, Ind. The IAs here have really been doing a great job. We went out on one recent mission with them and we were just getting to the objective and they had already accomplished the mission, finding caches and capturing detainees, added Wedding. They had wrapped things up so quickly that we were really amazed. Another major recent success for Fira Shia involved local area sheiks coming together to fight sectarian violence and begin the reconciliation process. For the first time, a couple of weeks ago, the Sunni and Shia sheiks came together and began discussing business and issues in nahia meetings, said Callaghan. It s good that they re talking now and it s a great step in the right direction. (Working at local levels to solve problems) is something that will help Iraq towards building its own independent nation, said Lancaster. We re getting involved in helping them serve their area so that they can eventually become self reliant and end the violence that has plagued them for so long. After taking a census of Fira Shia, the Soldiers drove to a meeting of local area sheiks from the Aqar Qaf neighborhood which encompasses Fira Shia. Aqar Qaf, which lies in southern Abu Ghraib also overlaps areas for which Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment are responsible. As such, the neighborhood meeting included Battery B and also involved the participation of leadership from Co. B, 2-5 Cavalry. In addition, the battalion commanders for both the 2nd Bn., 5th Cav. Regt. (Lt. Col. Kurt Pinkerton) and the 1st Bn., 37th FA (Lt. Col. Kenneth Kamper) helped facilitate this particular meeting. Some topics discussed at the meeting included how the villages can acquire generators that will supply power needs during national grid power outages; hiring contractors for projects within the villages; the hiring of teachers for village schools; the building of an Iraqi Police station for the Abu Ghraib area and water pumping stations among many other issues. It s good to have the multiple sides with both Shia and Sunni meeting to get the issues out there and say these are our concerns and this is how we re going to go about fixing them, said Callaghan, explaining that the Iraqi leaders in the Aqar Qaf nahia are on the path towards solving their own problems.