Telling the MND-Baghdad Story

Transcription

1 Telling the MND-Baghdad Story Monday, April 16, 2007 Keep looking! (Photo by Sgt. Robert Yde 2-1 Cav. Public Affairs) Spc. Jason McCartney (foreground) and Sgt. Michael Schmieder, both with Task Force 1-14 Cavalry, attached to the 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div., search a home in Diwaniyah, Iraq April 11 during Operation Black Eagle. (See story page 4) Diwaniyah "returning to normal, step by step" 4-25 Inf. Public Affairs DIWANIYAH, Iraq - "There is no fighting going on in the city at this time," said Qadasiyah Province governor Hamza during a press conference here April 13. "The city is returning to normal, step by step." The provincial governor, coalition and Iraqi commanders and government representatives met with the media to provide updated information to the public about the progress of Operation Black Eagle. "The local government and Iraqi Army along with Coalition Forces have been able to begin providing aid, food rations, fuel and other services to those who are in need," Hamza told the press. "Health, water, sewage and other departments are working and providing services. "It isn't to the point we want, but it is a good start and it is getting better all the time," the governor said. "Every school and government facility will be open Monday." Security in and around the city has improved, the governor added, and he praised the populace for supporting the security operation. "The only way our city will get better is through a joint effort with our friends in the Iraqi Army and coalition," said Hamza. "I want to thank the citizens for their help and support. They are helping us, helping the city and helping themselves." Efforts are on-going to improve the security situation in Diwaniyah, according to the commanding general of the 8th Iraqi Army Division, Maj. Gen. Oothman Faroud. "Yesterday we toured the city for about four hours," he said. "We decided to establish two additional check points in See Diwaniyah Page 3

2 Commentary Page 2 April 16, 2007 A note to the troops from the First Team s commander To the Soldiers of Multi-National Division-Baghdad: On April 11 the Secretary of Defense announced a new policy extending the length of deployment tours for active duty U.S. Army units in Iraq up to 15 months. I, like most of you, learned of this after Secretary Gates was forced to publicly announce the policy change. I share Lt. Gen. Odierno's regret that we were not able to share this important information with you and your families through command channels prior to the public announcement. The shift to a 15-month deployment cycle is part of the Army's decision to sustain our capabilities here while ensuring all units get 12 months at home station between tours for training, reset and time with their families. The goal of the policy change is to provide better predictability and sustainability in how our forces are deployed. Our extended service will help to maintain the progress and momentum we've gained and will benefit the Army and our country during this time of war. The details of how this new policy adjusts individual unit rota- (Photo by Staff Sgt. Mary Rose) Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr. CG, MND-B tions will be passed through the formation and our rear detachments as soon as we know them. This extension is hardest on our families and loved ones. They shoulder a commitment to our nation with dignity and resolve along side us. Rest assured that our dedication to them stands firm. We will not fail them and will continue to do everything possible to care for them as they serve and help to defend our nation. Stay confident in your training, your fellow Soldiers, your leaders and our mission. You are getting results here every day on freedom's frontier. Your efforts to protect the hard fought freedoms won by the generations before us represent the highest traditions of military service. The American people deeply appreciate and respect your noble efforts here. Your service and sacrifice serves as a shining example of all that is good and right with our nation. They are very proud of you, and so am I. FIRST TEAM! Sincerely, Joseph F. Fil, Jr. Major General, USA Commanding Arabic Phrase of the Day asnaan Defined: teeth Iraq 3-Day Weather Report Today High: 79 Low: 57 Tomorrow High: 82 Low: 61 Wednesday High: 86 Low: 66 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. Shea Butler Staff Writers: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, Spc. L.B. Edgar, Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, Pfc. Ben Gable, Pfc. William Hatton Contributing Writer: Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, Sgt. Robert Yde 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 by the 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs Office.

3 Page 3 News April 16, 2007 Baghdad in Brief (Photo by Sgt. J.H. French 4-25 Inf. Public Affairs) Governor Hamza answers a question as Maj. Gen. Oothman Faroud, commander of the 8th Iraqi Army Division and Maj. Gen. Pawel Lamla, commander of Multi National Division - Central South, listen during press conference held at Camp Echo April 13 to provide an update to Operation Black Eagle. Diwaniyah press conference Diwaniyah From Page 1 key neighborhoods to ensure security for those areas. "We talked to a lot of people and all of them assured us of their support and thanked us for our help," the general continued. "We have also reestablished the flow of food and other humanitarian aid in to the city." The 8th Iraqi Army Division commander also discussed the reasons why coalition forces are still supporting his division in Operation Black Eagle. "We still depend on the coalition to provide technical support and expertise to help us find and remove [improvised explosive devices]," he told the assembled media members. "They have removed dozens since Black Eagle began. We also depend on their helicopters to give us air support, at times." Coalition support to Operation Black Eagle was headed up by the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, commanded by Col. Michael Garrett. Garrett praised the partnership created during the operation and the success of the mission. "We have arrested many of the men responsible for attacks against Diwaniyah and Camp Echo thanks to the help of the citizens of Diwaniyah," Garrett said. "If Maj. Gen. Oothman ever needs me, I will be here for him. If the people of Diwaniyah ever need me, I will be here for them and I will be here fast." Iraqi police officers are taking part in the security operation. Brig. Gen. Sadiq Jafar Ali, the provincial police chief, discussed his plan to improve the quality of the Iraqi police in the province. "We are preparing to hire an additional 3,000 policemen," he said. "We are receiving new equipment all the time and thanks to the coalition we are receiving excellent training." In a look to the future, Sadiq said he is optimistic. "All of these things will help the Provincial Iraqi Control process along," he said. The provincial governor said a small demonstration had taken place in town prior to the start of the press conference protesting the presence of coalition forces in the province. Hamza downplayed the event. "Less than 100 people took part in the demonstration," he told the press. "It is people like this that support terrorists and want to bring chaos to Diwaniyah. This is unacceptable. We need the Iraqi Army and coalition forces here. They are here to help." IA, IP, CF deny enemy territory in Buhriz BAQUBAH, Iraq - Iraqi Army, Police and Coalition Forces began continuous combat operations in southern Buhriz, a suburb of Baqubah, Iraq, Tuesday, to deny enemy safe havens and clear the area of Al Qaeda and other terrorist organization activities, creating a stable and secure environment for the people of the region. "Enabling the Iraqi Security Forces in their pursuit to rid the province of terrorists by conducting offensive operations inside the neighborhoods will secure the population and deteriorate the resolve of the enemy," said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander. "The ISF is doing this in coordination with the government of Diyala as they increase services throughout the neighborhoods. During the first day of operations, Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army and the IP Emergency Reaction Force, partnered with CF from the 5th Stryker Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, discovered more than five weapons caches, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and eight IEDs. The caches included several smallarms munitions, IED-making materials such as detonation cord, batteries and explosives; mortar rounds, mortar initiators and rocket-propelled grenade munitions. Wednesday, the Soldiers discovered a cache containing a mortar tube, more than 50 RPG munitions and cases of small-arms ammunition. A CF explosive ordnance disposal unit was on site to conduct controlled detonations of the caches and the discovered IEDs. The operation also resulted in the detention of five suspected terrorists, four of whom were associated with a cache and set up an enemy observation post.

4 Page 4 Feature April 16, 2007 Cavalry Troops making progress in Diwaniyah By Sgt. Robert Yde 2-1 Cav. Public Affairs (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Spc. Steven Reyes, with Task Force 1-14 Cavalry, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div., pulls security on the streets of Diwaniyah, Iraq during a search April 11. FORWARD OPERATING BASE ECHO, Iraq - After several days of continuous combat operations in Diwaniyah, Soldiers from Task Force 1-14 Cavalry, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, are now focusing their efforts on locating specific targets and performing clearing operations in different areas of the city while forming working relationships with the local population. Every day the Soldiers are in different neighborhoods searching for weapon caches and talking with the residents about the problems in the area. "We just picked this up," Sgt. Michael Gibson, a native of Angles Camp, Calif. said explaining his troop's new mission. "We were doing continuous combat operations out here when we first got here." Gibson and other Soldiers with Troop C focused their efforts in and around the city's market area during a multi-phased mission April 11. The morning started off with one specific target, as members of the "Bandit Platoon" began the day in search of a suspected militia member who had been identified as a high value target. "It was an intelligence-driven raid," acting platoon leader Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Bryant explained. "Initially, we were supposed to go to the house, and if he wasn't there, our instructions were to search the surrounding areas and try to find the target." Unfortunately, after searching the target's house and neighboring houses, Bryant and his Soldiers were unable to locate him. "We didn't find him and asked a lot of people in the area, but nobody had even heard of the name," Bryant said. "We searched the surrounding area and had no luck in finding him." After completing this first phase of their operation, the Soldiers transitioned into a clearing operation of the city's market area, with the help of troops from the 8th Iraqi Army Division. "We're not looking for anything specific; it's just a clearing [operation] for weapons contraband," Gibson said. "We're also trying to get our faces out there, hand out the tip-line cards and let people know we're here to help." The Soldiers focused in on this area because it was one of the more active spots during the first few days of their operations in city. "When we initially got into this city, we received a lot of contact from the south of the main street, which is Jumhori, and since we took a lot of contact from there, we decided to clear that area," explained Fort Worth, Texas native, Sgt. Michael Schmieder. As the Soldiers went from building-tobuilding and house-to-house, they seemed to be genuinely welcomed by a majority of the locals. After the Soldiers finished clearing one house, the owner shook each of their hands and welcomed them to Diwaniyah and told them he hoped they would be able to help improve the area. Bryant said that reactions like this have been typical. "These people are a little more open down here. Up there, they're afraid and intimidated," Bryant said comparing the people Diwaniyah to the people of his unit's old area of operations in Baghdad. "These people down here don't seem as intimidated, and if they know of some criminal activity or militia activity going on, they won't hesitate to share that information with coalition forces." Soldiers handed out tip-line cards at each house so that people who wish to report anything anonymously could do so, and according to Gibson several of the tips that they have received from locals have paid off. "We've been having a lot of cooperation," he said. "One of our other units actually found a cache where the people came up to them and told them that people had moved stuff out of a mosque and put it in the market. They found a lot of RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and a lot of EFPs (explosivelyformed projectiles)." On this day, however, not much was turned up, but according to Bryant that didn't mean that the mission wasn't a success. "We cleared and disrupted any activity in the area pretty well today," Bryant said. "Our commander's overall intent is not to necessarily kill or capture always, but to disrupt enemy [activity] and even though we didn't find a whole lot of weapon caches, I think we were successful in accomplishing our goal." Bryant said his platoon will continue to search and canvass the area over the next several days, and hopefully, with the continued cooperation from the locals, they will continue to be successful in their efforts to restore order to Diwaniyah. "These people are actually happy we're here and taking care of the city," Gibson said. "These people we're saying they were scared to go out into the streets before we showed up. It's a good feeling knowing that we're helping them out."

5 Page 5 Feature April 16, 2007 Iraqi tankers go on their first mounted patrol outside the wire By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 1-1 Cav. Public Affairs CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Iraqi Army tankers from the newly-formed 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) took the lead on their first real-world mission performing a mounted patrol in their T-55 tanks on a major highway near Kem, Iraq April 12. The patrol which they conducted with Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment gave the Iraqi Army troopers the opportunity to actively search for insurgents who might be emplacing improvised explosive devices on the roads or performing other terrorist acts that endanger the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians. Leading up to this first patrol, the Iraqi Army tankers received training from Soldiers from the Company C "Cobras' of 2-8 Cavalry for more than three months. The training included maintenance on T-55 tanks; instruction on how to drive the tanks; gunnery on all the various tank weapons systems; and how to set up and break down traffic control points among many other blocks of instruction concerning combat operations. "They've really come a long way," said Capt. Nels Hanson, commander of Cobra Company. "We're hoping to empower them more and more each day and this week we'll continue taking them on more patrols. We'll do this for several days as we want them to gain confidence as they continue becoming more competent at doing this." Hanson said he sees this first patrol as a small step toward opening the doors of self-reliance for the Iraqi Army as they continue to take over responsibility for their area of operations which aids in the other transition efforts currently underway in Iraq. "Eventually, they will be able to fully take over in their areas of responsibility and it's a good opportunity to get more IA troops into the fight and less U.S. Soldiers into the fight," Hanson said, explaining the goal of eventually turning over the security of (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 1-1 Cav. Public Affairs) Following their first mounted patrol, Iraqi Army tankers from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) mounted on T- 55 tanks arrive back at Camp Taji, Iraq April 12. Iraq to Iraqis which will allow U.S. forces to eventually withdraw from Iraq. Hanson said one of the keys to the success were Iraqi platoon leaders who assisted the his Soldiers with training the Iraqi tankers. "Many of them had served in the Army under the previous regime," said Hanson. "We explained to them how we wanted to see the training conducted and they did an excellent job in executing the training and being involved in the day to day activities." Although, the day's mission was a short one and no insurgent activity took place, Soldiers who shared in this first mission for the Iraqi tank battalion said they could tell the Iraqi troops were on their game. "It feels good to share in this milestone," said Omaha, Neb. native Spc. Jason Aschenbrenner, a humvee gunner and infantryman with Cobra Company, who pulled security during the patrol. "The Iraqi troops just keep getting better at their jobs and they show that they really do care about the security of their people." A former drill sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Byer, now a platoon sergeant for Co. C, oversaw much of the training for the Iraqi soldiers. "We did plenty of training, but the key to being successful is showing heart in your training and that you genuinely care about the Iraqis and the training you're doing," said Beyer, who hails from Freeport, Ill. "I was really excited to see them in action for the first time, and I know they're going to be successful." Greensboro, N.C. native Capt. Wes Durham, who works with the military transition team for 2-8 Cavalry, tracked the progress of the mission from the 3rd Bde., 9th IA Div. (Mech.) headquarters and echoed many of Beyer's sentiments. "We're very proud of them, they're very motivated and we were happy to see them out there," said Durham. "Cobra Company did a great job training them and it went very well. The next step will be integrating them into more complex missions."