Multi-National Division Baghdad First Team...Team First Thursday, September 10, 2009 Louisiana engineers train Federal Police By Lt. Col. Pat Simon 225th Eng. Bde. PAO BAGHDAD I consider training with you very important, exclaimed one of the top commanders of the Iraqi Federal Police, Sept. 8, as he described how much his officers have benefited after receiving route clearance classes from Louisiana-based Soldiers. An enthusiastic Col. Ahmed, commander of the 1st Mechanized Brigade, 2nd FP Division, welcomed leaders of the 225th Engineer Brigade leader s to talk about continued partnership opportunities through training at the 225th Task Force Iron Claw Academy. I could see a difference in their jobs and they are doing very well, Ahmed told Brig. Gen. Owen Monconduit, commander of the 225th Eng. Bde. We need this training now more than ever because the enemy is changing tactics and finding different ways to attack us. The 2nd FP mans checkpoints and handles some route clearance missions throughout the inner city of Baghdad. At the leadership session, Ahmed mentioned the need for more route clearance and route sanitation training for his police officers to help safely clean up heavily traveled roadways filled with debris that could be used to disguise improvised explosive devices. I can see more people walking out and about, more activity, so there s a feeling of security, said Monconduit. So there s more that we can do to provide security training in that area. It gives Soldiers more confidence and 225th Engineer Brigade commander, Brig. Gen. Owen Monconduit (left), of Pineville, La., meets Col. Ahmed, 1st Mechanized Brigade, 2nd Federal Police Division, Sep. 8, to discuss ongoing partnership training for route clearance at Task Force Iron Claw Academy. 225th Engineer Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joe Major (left), of Ventress, La., greets Col. Ahmed, 1st Mechanized Brigade, 2nd Federal Police Division on Sep. 8 at Palm Grove during a meeting of leaders from the two units. Photo by Lt. Col. Pat Simon, 225th Eng. Bde. PAO Photo by Lt. Col. Pat Simon, 225th Eng. Bde. PAO capability. Ahmed is so pleased with the training at the engineer academy; he wants to send even more of his police officers, who are not engineers by trade, to learn route clearance tactics. Everybody faces IEDs on the roads, said Ahmed. They need to learn more about identifying security threats and spotting IEDs to prevent them from harming people. 225th Eng. Bde. instructors will continue training Iraqi police and Army Soldiers on the latest techniques of IED detection and destruction in the weeks and months to come. In fact, they are even planning train the trainer programs with the 2nd FP at their headquarters. I welcome you at any time. This is an open invitation for you and your crew to return. Treat this as your home, said Ahmed.
PAGE 2 September 10, 2009 Practice makes prefect in marksmanship Photos by Sgt. Joshua Risner MND-B PAO BAGHDAD We re training these guys up so they can become a recon platoon for the 6th Iraqi Army, he said. We re working on zeroing their weapons so they can become accurate when they engage the enemy. Spc. Zack Julien (center), from Bakersfield, Calif., assigned to D Troop, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, coaches a 6th Iraqi Army Division Soldier with the help of an interpreter during a zero range at Joint Security Station Salaam, here, Sept. 7. Dust kicks up as Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 6th IA Division fire at 25 meter zero targets during a range at Joint Security Station Salaam, here, Sept. 7. The Soldiers are instructed to make methodical shots to ensure the same sight picture. Spc. Joseph Salinas (left), from Queens, New York, helps his Iraqi Army counterpart figure out what adjustments need to be made on his weapon during a zero range at Joint Security Station Salaam, here, Sept. 7. The exercise is part of a larger training program intended to create a reconnaissance platoon. Salinas is assigned to D Troop, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. A 6th Iraqi Army Division Soldier situates his sandbags during a zero range at Joint Security Station Salaam, here, Sept. 7.
PAGE 3 September 10, 2009 Project managers keep up with mission By Sgt. Dustin Roberts 2nd HBCT PAO BAGHDAD U.S. military project managers who oversee significant civil capacity improvements in northwest Baghdad and Abu Ghraib gathered recently to discuss ongoing and future Iraqi infrastructure projects. Leaders serving with the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Dagger, 1st Infantry Division, and the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team Raider, 2nd Inf. Div., participated in an all-day course at Camp Liberty Sep. 3. Every quarter that we have been here in Iraq we have a daylong project management course to sustain and improve on the skill sets of our project managers and to train up new project managers as they come on board, said Maj. Andrew Attar, a native of Bristol, Conn., project management officer-in-charge, 2nd HBCT. This one was extra significant because our brigade is leaving after our 12 months here and the project management team from the new brigade was on the ground. We conducted the course with them so it was a shared training, shared lessons learned to get them to take full advantage of the techniques that we were able to develop over here and make sure they are continued and improved on. Attar said that in every course they cover core materials, such as adherence to legal standards, proper records management, file management, scopes of work development, how to write a scope of work and how to see a project from start to finish. Ultimately, it s not projects for the sake of projects. Our commanders have tactical objectives that they need to accomplish and our reconstruction efforts can assist in accomplishing and supporting those objectives, he said. Our job as project mangers is to be fluent experts in doing projects so we can apply those projects successfully to our commanders tactical goals on the battlefield. The goals of the Raider Brigade seem to be on line with the Dagger Brigade as the newcomers step up to the plate in the infrastructure arena. We are currently going to inherit the projects from [Dagger] that are active. We also are taking a hard look at the projects that are planned and most likely will incorporate once the battalion commanders and brigade commander are comfortable with the plan, said Capt. Talgin Lee Cannon, a native of Elkin, N.C., 4th SBCT. We will also generate our own projects. It will be business as usual in the non-lethal world. In the Dagger brigade s operational environment, leaders took a non-lethal approach to defeating insurgency by helping the Iraqi Government provide essential services and build civil capacity in neighborhoods. This mission is extremely important because it shows that the government cares about the people and in order to win, we have to be able to show that we are partners in everything, said Cannon. We will be partners now and we will be partners in the future. I hope we will have an impact on the infrastructure here. As the Dagger project managers pass the torch to the Raider Brigade, the leaders are making sure proper project management is taken seriously. In the 12 months here, the Dagger Brigade has proven itself to be very proficient in those types of endeavors, said Attar. We re all aware that the American taxpayers dollars are a precious resource; they need to be used accordingly to make every dollar count and to make sure that everything is being done the most efficient and effective way possible. Dragon Soldier leaves his mark at Camp Taji Photos by Pfc. Adam Halleck, 1st BCT PAO CAMP TAJI, Iraq Perry, Iowa, native, Pfc. Corey Smith a personal security detachment driver assigned to, 1st Dragon Battalion, 82nd FAR, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div., spent over a week of his free time painting a mural in Camp Taji, Sept. 5. I figured I d design a mural because this wall was blank and I wanted to paint something that represented my unit, explained Perry, Iowa native, Pfc. Corey Smith, who designed the mural to include the 1st Cav. Div. patch, artillery crossed cannons, an Apache helicopter, an M109A6 howitzer, an eagle, and Soldiers.
PAGE 4 September 10, 2009 On This Day In History September 10, 1897 MND-B Pic of the day! First DWI arrest is made 1897 Even without Breathalyzers and line tests, George Smith s swerving was enough to alarm British police and make him the first person arrested for drunken driving. Unfortunately, Smith s arrest did nothing to discourage the many other drunk drivers who have taken to the road since. Although drunk driving is illegal in most countries, punished by heavy fines and mandatory jail sentences, it continues to be one of the leading causes of automobile accidents throughout the world. Alcohol-related automobile accidents are responsible for approximately one-third of the traffic fatalities in the United States--16,000 deaths each year, and also account for over half a million injuries and $1 billion of property damage annually. Photo by Sgt. Waine D. Haley, 30th HBCT PAO BAGHDAD Pfc. Darrell Harden, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, takes a break from his normal duties to put the brigade s mark on a T-wall barrier in front of the unit s headquarters at Forward Operating Base Falcon recently. Famous Feats of Chuck Norris Did you know? Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
PAGE 5 September 10, 2009 Quote For Today Words may show a man s wit, but actions his meaning. Benjamin Franklin Iraq 3-Day Weather Report Today 108 F 79 F Tomorrow 106 F 77 F Saturday 105 F 80 F TRIVIA TIME!! How would it be possible in a baseball game for a player to hit a homerun with the bases loaded, but to have only one man, the batter, score? Cav Round-Up radio newscast available MND-B PAO BAGHDAD The Cav Round- Up is a three-minute radio newscast from Baghdad covering military units and events across Multi-National Division Baghdad. Today s Cav Round-Up # 151 was produced by Sgt Erik Fardette, MND-B Public Affairs Office. The September 9 newscast includes the following two stories: Last Issue s Answer: 1936 1. Micro grants help stimulate Iraq s economy. Story by SGT Stephanie Logue As security continues to improve in Iraq the economy rapidly expands which make it hard for smaller companies to compete with those larger companies. The American government sometimes provide assistance to them through microgrants. 2. Joint project spans the Tigris River. Engineers have complete a bridge that crosses the Tigris River. The bridge was erected to shorten the trip for troops going from and coming to Taji. NIPR LINK: Cav Round-Up SIPR LINK: Cav Round-Up Check out more news at the 1st Cavalry Division s homepage: www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/ Trigger s Teasers The objective of the game is to fill all the blank squares in a game with the correct numbers. There are three very simple constraints to follow: Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order. Every column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order. Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9. Every Sudoku game begins with a number of squares already filled in, and the difficulty of each game is largely a function of how many squares are filled in. The more squares that are known, the easier it is to figure out which numbers go in the open squares. As you fill in squares correctly, options for the remaining squares are narrowed and it becomes easier to fill them in. Yesterday s Answers Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs Office Commanding General: Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger Public Affairs Officer: Lt. Col. Philip Smith Public Affairs Chief: Master Sgt. Nicholas Conner Editor: Staff Sgt. Peter Ford Staff Writers: Sgt. 1st Class Ron Burke Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell Sgt. Joshua Risner Sgt. Jon Soles Spc. Laura Johnson Spc. Phillip Adam Turner Spc Howard Alperin of the U.S. Army. Contents of The Daily Charge are not official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of the Army, or the 1st Cavalry Division. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the Army, the 1st Cavalry, or The Daily Charge of the products and services advertised. All editorial content of The Daily Charge is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the Multi-National Division Baghdad Public Affairs Office. Do you have a story to share? The Daily Charge welcomes columns, commentaries, articles, letters and photos from readers. Submissions should be sent to the Public Affairs NCOIC nicholas.conner@mnd-b.army.mil and include author s name, rank, unit and contact information. The Daily Charge reserves the right to edit submissions selected for the paper. For further information on deadlines, questions, comments or a request to be on our distribution list, email the Editor at The Daily Charge is an authorized publication for members howard.alperin@mnd-b.army.mil