About-Face: Critics warm to the surge.

About-Face: Critics warm to the surge
National Review Online
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Sept 7, 2007

Daveed was previously embedded with B Battery several months ago. The article's focus is more public perception of how the war is going - no new information about 2-32, but mentions his time with them.

Soldiers Lend a Hand in School, Governance Building Renovations

Soldiers Lend a Hand in School, Governance Building Renovations
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System
BlackAnthem Military News
1st Lt. Brian Cooke; 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery
09.05.2007

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. 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 Iraqi 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, 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.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: August 27 - Sept 2
Slides: 32, 33, 34

Task Force Patriot Awards Ceremony

• LTC Lawson pins on 1SG Johnson's Army Commendation Medal.
• SGT Theodore stands ready to be recognized as the Brigade NCO of the Quarter
• The Task Force assembles around the Battalion Commander for a review of its first six months in Iraq

Alpha Batter leads checkpoint improvement operation

• Operating under the cover of darkness, 2nd platoon, Alpha battery conducted a checkpoint improvement operation in conjunction with elements from 299th Forward Support Battalion and 2/5/6 Iraqi Army. The operation was part of a larger effort to standardize all Iraqi Army checkpoints in Yarmouk and Hateen.

Task Force Patriot promotes five non-commissioned officers

• LTC Lawson promotes David Francis and Daniel Thompson to SSG
• Lawson promotes Omar Rosado and Travis Ueke to CPL
• LTC Lawson promotes Jilberto Herra to MSG

Security Developments

Round-up of daily violence
McClatchy Newspapers
2 September 2007
Hussein Kadhim

Around 8 a.m., a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Yarmouk neighborhood (west Baghdad) near Tarfihi (entertainment) club injuring three policemen.