The Latest Successes In Iraq

Been awhile since anyone looked at what was going on in Iraq. Three years ago it was all the left could talk about since it was going badly. But now that it’s going well, all the success is ignored.

So on to some news from Iraq. First some infrastructure stuff:

Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq focuses on future: operations, maintenance, sustainment

With more than 4,400 projects completed, and many major reconstruction programs of the Gulf Region Division (GRD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, concluding, GRD’s Operations, Maintenance and Sustainment (OMS) program is gaining ground and increased significance.

The OMS program is aimed at supporting the U.S. Embassy’s goals to ensure the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people are properly prepared to operate and maintain the country’s new infrastructure, and assume responsibility for the nation’s continued reconstruction.

The focus began to morph in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, according to Steve Rivera, deputy of GRD’s reconstruction division. “We began to see indications that focus was moving away from brick and mortar construction and towards training initiatives. We saw this reinforced when Ambassador Crocker and Gen. Petraeus, testified in front of Congress,” he said.

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“For every facility that GRD completes there is a letter of acceptability signed by the government of Iraq,” Rivera explained. “Included in that agreement is a letter of sustainability, where the government of Iraq agrees to take responsibility of operations and maintenance (O&M) for the facility. That willingness to take responsibility for O&M is part of the cost-sharing agreement between Iraq and the United States.”

Iraqi Army’s General Transportation Regiment Conducts First Port to Depot Mission

The Iraq Army General Transportation Regiment achieved a major milestone by completing its first port to depot mission. The GTR transported Serbian equipment, consisting of body armor and plates, from the Port of Umm Quasar to Taji National Depot March 09. This is the first time the GTR has utilized elements from three or more companies. The mission entailed 42 vehicles to including a security element. This convoy signals the completion of one of the two main missions required of the GTR.

Iraqi Col. Mohammed, Commander, General Transportation Regiment said, “This is a great day for the Iraqi Army and a great day for the GTR!”

US Army, Lt. Col Paul Scheidler, RSG Senior Advisor added, “This move is important since it demonstrates one capability of the two main GTR missions.”

The GTR stood up in September 2008. The establishment of the GTR is critical to the foundation of a viable distribution system throughout Iraq. The GTR will enable the flow of supplies from ports to depots, 4th line support, and from depots to location commands, 3rd line support, for further distribution to the Divisions and below.

Kirkuk silo upgrades to boost region’s agriculture, economy:

Kirkuk has started a new construction project that will help the province more efficiently manage its agricultural production. The project was commemorated by a ground-breaking ceremony March 10 to expand the capability of the grain silo in Kirkuk city.

The renovations will drastically improve the capacity of the Kirkuk grain silo, which is expected to assist farmers in future droughts.

“Kirkuk is one of the major centers of the growth and production of grain,” said Jim Vancura, senior agricultural advisor for Forward Operating Base Warrior’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. “This silo really is a key node in agricultural production in Kirkuk province.”

The present production level at the silo is 35 metric tons of grain per hour.

“We are trying to bring (the production level) up to a 100 metric ton-per-hour capacity, which will enable them to process more grain over a shorter period of time,” Vancura said.

Kalamat Village now has fresh drinking water:

A local boy fills water jugs for his family at the water filtration facility ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kalamat Village, Iraq, March 9.

Thanks to an Iraqi Commanders Emergency Response Program water filtration project, residents of Kalamat Village now have clean drinking water at the flick of a switch right in the heart of their village.

Previously, village residents had to travel eight kilometers on dusty dirt roads to fill plastic containers with drinking water in nearby Badra.

“We want to thank Coalition forces and the Iraqi company that provided the filtration system,” said Jameel Bashar, a Kalamat resident. “Now we can drink really good, clean drinking water.”

The project began when a civil affairs team visited the village and asked the sheikh how they could help. That team was replaced by Civil Affairs Team 641, who continued the effort.

“This village needed a lot of help, and the sheikh explained the difficulties of getting drinking water to the village, especially when it rains in the winter, which sometimes washes out the road,” said Capt. Eric Currence, CAT 641 commander.

To commemorate the completion of the $59,000 project, Currence and Bashar, the sheikh’s brother and representative for the village, cut the ribbon on the facility March 9.

Fourteen new tractors given to Lutifiyah farmers:

Baghdad Soldiers presented 14 new tractors to local Sheiks from the Lutifiyah Nahia during a ceremony held at Combat Outpost Meade March 5.

Each Arma Trac 602 tractor should help to cultivate an area over 25,000,000 square feet.

Troops from Task Force 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division used funds from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program to purchase 14 new tractors.

“When we were first asked [by the Lutifiyah council], we immediately wanted to help,” said Lt. Col. Michael Mammay, commander, TF 4-27 FA. “Agriculture is very important in helping this area.”

Since November, the battalion leadership has worked on transporting these tractors from Turkey to the farmers who need them. Throughout the effort, the council has continued to help the Coalition forces daily in their efforts to secure a safe Iraq.

The improving security situation and decreased attacks against Coalition forces, Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi people, and it has allowed the local government of the Lutifiyah Nahia to continue improving the economy for a better quality of life. The tractors will allow local farmers to grow crops and contribute to the stability of the Nahia.

Some warfighting stuff:

Hundreds Graduate From Iraqi Warfighter Training Course :

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Hughe McNeely, the deputy commanding officer with the 2nd Cavalry Division, 1st Brigade Combat Team, takes time to talk to local children while on patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq, March 11.

More than 600 Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 15th Brigade, 12th Division graduated from an intense month long Battalion Collective Training, or Warfighter training at the K1 Regional Training Center here March 12, 2009.

According to Iraqi Army Staff Lt. Gen. Husayn Jasim Dohi, deputy chief of staff for training, the soldiers received small and intermediate weapons training, IED awareness and prevention training and check point procedures training. The battalion also practiced patrolling in a MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain), that simulated a village with homes and a hospital. The soldiers also had ethics training. “Good training without values is not good. You become an army of criminals and the people don’t respect you,” Husayn told his officers.

The Warfighter training course will be taught to Iraq’s soldiers in a process that will bring a single standard of professionalism to the army, according to U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq Joint Headquarters Army Advisory Training Team. Speaking during a briefing with senior Iraqi and Coalition officers, Salazar reminded the group that, “The training is hard. It’s supposed to be hard; you are supposed to get dirty. We’re not here to make it easy. We’re here to train soldiers.” Husayn agreed and quoted an old Iraqi saying, “Follow the man who makes you cry, not the man who makes you laugh and you will be stronger for it.”

Some law enforcement stuff:

National police train to protect Iraq’s people, resources:

U.S. Army Capt. Michael Langan of national police Transition Team “Team Tomahawk,” instructs police from the 2nd National Police Battalion, Basrah Brigade in proper detainee searches at the National Police headquarters’ in Rumaylah, March 11.

Spc. Paul Cuellar, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, has been working at a local movie and supply shop. As part of the Iraqi Business Initiative, he provides escort and force protection in order to encourage Iraqi self-reliance. During his time at the shop, Cuellar has made new friends with the shop workers, giving a great impression of U.S. Soldiers to the local population.

The 2nd National Police Battalion, Basra Brigade patrols the roads and pipelines that move Iraq’s oil resources daily, and on March 11 at their Rumaylah headquarters, they trained to improve their police officer skills.

Their day started with running as part of their physical conditioning program prior to getting into the day’s training, which included effective search of detainees and evidence collection.

Searching detainees and collecting evidence at the scene can be essential for safety and for establishing culpability of those who would steal or disrupt the peace in the NP’s area of responsibility.

The mission of the 2nd NP Battalion is to protect the Iraqi oil infrastructure and secure the highways in their sector, which spreads to as far north as the Euphrates river and southwest of the city of Al Zubayr. This includes protecting oil for in-country use and oil for export that converges at Ramaylah and goes on to Al Faw for international exportation.

Mahmudiyah judges, Iraqi Police meet to discuss rule of law:

Mahmudiyah Iraqi police take notes while listening to Iraqi judges from their district during a training meeting held to teach the IP investigative techniques and the criminal justice process in Mahmudiyah, March 12. The meeting was the first between the two groups.

Iraqi judges from Mahmudiyah met with local Iraqi Police to learn proper investigative techniques in order to protect human rights and adhere to the rule of law at the Mahmudiyah public library in Mahmudiyah March 12.

Brig. Gen. Abed, Mahmudiyah IP district commander, and Brig. Gen. Talib, IP battalion deputy commander, brought 40-50 IP to the conference with judges from the Mahmudiyah court house. The meeting was the first between the two groups.

“This was a historic event for Mahmudiyah, and a true sign of progress that the IP and [Iraqi judges] were talking to each other. Investigative training for the IPs has been conducted successfully in other provinces, but this is the first time that it has happened in Mahmudiyah and it shows what can happen when there are good security conditions in the Qada,” said Capt. Jamie Rodriguez, Judge Advocate General attorney, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division- Baghdad.

Another goal of the conference was to start a dialogue between the local Judges and the IPs in the Mahmudiyah area, with the desired effect of having more arrests and convictions based on good forensics and police investigation. The IP currently have many new recruits who may not understand proper evidence collection techniques, and don’t communicate with the judges.

Some healthcare stuff:

Diwaniyah welcomes new Primary Healthcare Center

Iraqi soldiers from the 8th Division, Iraqi army, unload a simulated casualty from a UH-60 Blackhawk during air assault and medical evacuation training on Camp Echo, Iraq, March 12. The soldiers train constantly to maintain their combat readiness.

Local townspeople, Iraqi and American officials joined together March 8 to mark the opening of the new Al Jumhoury Primary Healthcare Clinic in Diwaniyah.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Abdulameer al-Obaidy, Diwaniyah’s director general of health, thanked the local Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division (GRD), and the Iraqi contractor for their efforts in building such a quality facility.

Ahmed A. Razak, a senior Iraqi deputy resident engineer with GRD, pointed out that the state-of-the-art clinic includes four doctors’ offices with adjoining exam rooms, two dental exam rooms, an x-ray room, a laboratory, a pharmacy, two treatment rooms, and a classroom. “It is designed to provide basic medical care for this neighborhood’s 15,000 residents, and offers advanced diagnostic and monitoring capabilities for acute and chronic illnesses,” Razak added.

And education:

Rusafa officials celebrate school renovation

Iraqi national police carry supplies into a school in Shawra Wa Um Jidir, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 8. Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, are visiting local schools to distribute supplies.

Iraqi schoolboys line up to receive book bags from Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in Shawra Wa Um Jidir, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 8. Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers are visiting local schools to distribute supplies.

District leaders, school administrators, Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad paratroopers celebrated the completion of a school renovation March 3 in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad.

Faysal Jasim Mohammad, Rusafa Deputy District Council Chairman, along with Al-Moutasam Kindergarten officials, commemorated the reopening of its school with a party. Mohammad cut a ceremonial ribbon to officially reopen the school.

Following cheers and applause, attendees walked through the school to see the improvements made. ISF, along with paratroopers assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attended the event as a sign of partnership with the district of Rusafa and its citizens.

The construction of a new art facility was the main project in the school’s revitalization efforts. Other refurbishments included fixing plumbing and electrical systems, replacing classroom doors, installing new windows and painting the facility.

And finally the various successful operations performed by our troops and the Iraqi army:

Iraqi Army uncovers weapons cache in Diyala

Soldiers from the 18th Iraqi Army Brigade, 5th Division, working alongside U.S. Soldiers with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, uncovered a weapons cache in Diyala province, Iraq, March 5.

The cache included 47 blasting caps, 36 pressure plates,10 pounds of homemade explosives, nine rockets, two bags of propellant, and two hand grenades.

The cache was discovered while Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces investigated a site where a cache was previously found.

“This discovery marks a significant step forward for the Iraqi Army,” said 1/25th SBCT spokesman Maj. Chris Hyde. “With every cache they find, Iraqi Security Forces become better and better at maintaining a consistent and comprehensive appraisal of their area of operations, particularly when monitoring historic sites for weapons caches.”

ISF discover explosive in Kadhamiyah

After receiving a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen, Iraqi Security Forces discovered an improvised explosive device March 10 in the Kadhamiyah district of northwest Baghdad.

Officers from the 2nd Unity Battalion discovered the IED beneath the driver’s seat of the Iraqi citizen’s vehicle at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Another Kirkuk weapons cache discovered

A team of Iraqi and U.S. Army Soldiers discovered a weapons cache near the village of Thalaw, March 6. This was the second cache discovered in Kirkuk in less than a week.

The weapons cache included grenades, rockets, 82mm and 60mm mortars, a machine gun, a rocket propelled grenade launcher and various types of small arms ammunition.

The cache was safely disposed of by a joint Iraqi and U.S. Army explosive ordinance detachment team.

“What was really impressive was how prepared the Iraqi Army Soldiers were,” said Cpt. Cory Clayton, company commander, E Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “Their analysis was detailed and accurate; they conducted very professional rehearsals and found two of the three holes using their own equipment.”

IA mission finds caches, known bomb maker

Iraqi and Coalition forces detained a known bomb maker and discovered hidden weapons in the village of Murbat-Garha March 7.

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According to Lt. Col. Andy Shoffner, commander, 4th Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt , the IA and CF had warrants for suspected insurgents wanted by the Government of Iraq. The force was also searching for hidden weapons caches that might be used for insurgent activities in the region.

“The IA went into the village, cordoned off the town, and detained10 individuals as they were attempting to flee the town,” said 2nd Lt. Gen Mui, assistant operations officer, 4th Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt

“One of the individuals captured was on the wanted list,” said Shoffner. “He was a known bomb maker and was wanted by the government in Baghdad as well.”

The Soldiers also uncovered a weapons cache from an irrigation ditch in a farmer’s field which contained a 120 mm artillery round, an automatic weapon and a video.

The IA planned and executed the operation, which showed their progress at conducting military operations with minimal support from CF.

Saqlawiya Provisional Security Forces find multiple caches

Saqlawiya Provisional Security Forces discovered multiple weapon caches during a two-day, partnered cache sweep northwest of Fallujah with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, March 8 and 9.

The eight total cache sites yielded 165 grenades and rockets, nearly 40 mortar rounds, 14 artillery rounds, several hundred rounds of small arms and anti-aircraft ammunition, more than 225 pounds of rocket propellant and explosives, various weapons accessories, and a large stockpile of components normally used to create roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices.

All this news from the last seven days. None of it you would know about unless you purposely went and dug for it.

Curt

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