Video: Iraqi Auxillary Force Recruiting Drive (unedited footage)

Video: Iraqi Auxillary Force Recruiting Drive
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Date Taken: 11-29-2007

DVIDS page
Direct Link to Video

Interviewee(s):
• Spc. Justin Henckel (US)
• 1st Lt. Neal Rice (US)
• Capt. Jason Morgan (US)

B-roll made of "Iraqi Auxillary Force Recruiting Drive" in the package section of an Iraqi auxiliary force recruiting drive. Scenes include the processing of Iraqi citizens, medical screening, background checks, Iraqis taking a fitness assessment and interviews. Produced by Sgt. Marie Exley.

Video: Iraqi Auxillary Force Recruiting Drive (finished video)

Video: Iraqi Auxillary Force Recruiting Drive
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Date Taken: 11-29-2007

DVIDS page
Direct Link to Video

Video Location:
IQ||Yarmouk

Interviewee(s):
• Spc. Justin Henckel (US)
• 1st Lt. Neal Rice (US)
• Capt. Jason Morgan (US)

Package of an Iraqi Auxiliary Force recruiting drive in Yarmouk to try and become Iraqi police. Also see "Iraqi Auxiliary Force Recruiting Drive" in the B-roll section.

Iraqis Line Up to Join Auxiliary

Iraqis Line Up to Join Auxiliary
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons
11.27.2007

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It has been a long, hard deployment for the Soldiers serving in Iraq. Threats of improvised explosive devices, snipers and chaos seemed to hide around every corner.

Yet through it all, the rates of attacks against coalition forces and their Iraqi counterparts are dropping. The Associated Press reported U.S. commanders as saying violence is down 55 percent since the surge of 30,000 troops arrived in the city.

Is this decrease a matter of more Soldiers patrolling the troubled streets of the Iraqi capital or is it because more Iraqis are standing up to the extremists to take their part and end the cycle of violence?

Amid the myriad reasons for the decrease, one thing is certain; Iraqis are lining up by the hundreds to join Iraqi police auxiliary forces.

These forces, though paid less than Iraqi policemen and may one day becoming full-fledged police officers, are tasked with protecting their own neighborhoods or muhallahs.

On Nov. 17 and 19, troops from 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment along with their Iraqi security forces brethren held recruitment drives to sign up these volunteers in the Hateen and Yarmouk neighborhoods.

At the Nov. 17 drive, sponsored by Battery A, over 175 recruits volunteered, while at the Battery B drive in Yarmouk, 47 went through the recruitment.

“It is extremely important,” said Dana, Ky., native Sgt. Michael Webb, a petroleum supply specialist from Battery A, 2nd Bn. 32nd Field Artillery, who manned the final out processing station at the event. “We are giving back to the Iraqi people. It is very important for them to help take care of themselves.”

During the drives, the recruits had to pass through a security checkpoint, a brief medical screening, a biometrics check, an interview with local ISF commanders and a physical fitness test before they could see Webb to get their final processing.

“This was planned for a couple weeks,” the 32-year-old said. “We have been able to move people through efficiently through good communications.”

He added that there was a good deal of interpreters at the event which helped speed it along.

One of the most important steps in the process was ensuring no recruits had a suspicious background.

“We do biometrics checks to see if they come up on any list,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Guiffre, a military policeman with the 401st Military Police Company who oversaw the taking of fingerprints and retinal scans. “This helps eliminate those you don’t want as a policeman.”

The data gathered is put into a computer database which checks to see if the person is who they claim to be and if they are suspected of criminal activity.

The Waterbury, Conn., native whose unit helps train Iraqi police officers said it is important for Iraq to have a good strong police force.

“You don’t have a totally free society with the Iraqi army pulling security,” he said. “Let the police take care of the towns and let the army take care of the country.”

To ease any sectarian tensions, any male over the age of 17 was allowed to volunteer regardless if they were Sunni or Shia.

“Everybody is allowed to volunteer as long as they live in the area,” said Bloomington, Ind., native, Staff Sgt. Patrick Whaley, the battalion’s Civil Military Operations platoon sergeant. “This is a good step in the right direction for the Mansour area, especially Hateen. It gets the locals working with the (Iraqi security forces) as they police their communities.”

The 37-year-old father of a 19-year-old private said during the Hateen recruitment drive that a few months ago the idea of this many people showing up would have been laughed at.

“We had over 175 people show up today,” he said. “Six to seven months ago you wouldn’t even have had half that many.”

While the numbers seem small compared to larger neighborhoods like Saydiyah or Doura where the numbers reached up into the high hundreds, the IPA will soon hit the streets to help rid the city of criminals.

Guarding Principles

Guarding Principles
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons
November 25th, 2007

guarding principles

Newaygo, Mich., native Spc. Ron Lethorn, a 30-year-old cannon crew member with the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, personal security detachment, stands guard as Lt. Col. Michael J. Lawson speaks to local Iraqis during an Iraqi Police Auxiliary recruitment drive in Hateen Nov. 17. The 2nd Bn. 32nd Field Artillery is currently attached to the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, but is an organic part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div. based at Fort Riley, Kan.

Platoon Sells Itself to Help Iraqis

Platoon Sells Itself to Help Iraqis
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons
11.26.2007

to help iraqis 20071126

The Iraqi children come up to the Americans with broad smiles on their faces. Some ask for soccer balls like thousands of other kids across the country, but some of these just wanted to talk with the heavily-armored troops who have brought calm to their little corner of the Iraqi capital.

These are the children at the Daklea Market in Baghdad and on Nov. 18 Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment’s Civil Military Operations platoon were there to take a census of sorts among the shop owners.

The platoon was finishing up documenting all the shop owners in the area. That day they catalogued the last shops.

“It’s all about sales,” said 1st Lt. Quinn Robertson, the platoon’s leader from Richmond, Va., who sold stocks before joining the Army. “It’s all about selling yourself. That’s how you talk to them.”

Robertson’s strong background in the business world and his time as a battery executive officer and battalion intelligence officer have served him well with the platoon he said. He said it gives him the chance to help reintroduce the Iraqis to the process of rebuilding their nation.

“It’s all about the relationship building,” he said after meeting and greeting various Iraqis at the market. “They don’t come from the same backgrounds as we do, so we are reintroducing them to the process – the who and where you get the money from to get things done. The way you talk to them goes a long way.”

The CMO platoon, which was created in September was the brainchild of former Civil-Military Officer, 1st Lt. Alex Barnett, who saw its creation as a way to free up combat power, said Lancaster, Pa., native 1st Lt. Neal Rice, the battalion’s civil military operations officer.

“Before we had the platoon, line platoons were escorting us all over the battlefield,” the 27-year-old said. “CMO became such a big part of our mission that we were getting inundated. So the commander said, ‘Let’s get a platoon.’ Now CMO has freedom of movement anywhere in the area of operations.”

The platoon made up of various military occupational specialties including administrative, medical, infantry and cannon crewmembers has helped calm a once restive market.

The battalion, and the platoon, brought a religious leader over to their side with signs of progress Robertson said.

“He was not exactly on the fence,” he said. “But we brought him onto the fence then our actions brought him over. We asked if he was the power in the neighborhood and he said, ‘Yes.’ So we put him together with the neighborhood council. With the NAC and him together the bad guys could only take him so far.”

And the neighborhood began to steadily improve, he added.

Besides helping get the Daklea Market back on its feet the platoon is tasked with “getting sewage off the streets, getting the pumping stations working, assessing schools and assisting the Iraqi police auxiliary in Yarmouk,” said Staff Sgt. Patrick Whaley, an infantryman from Bloomington, Ind., and CMO platoon sergeant.

The platoon also helped with IPA recruitment drives in Hateen and Yarmouk.

But, the success of the platoon goes back to one thing, Robertson said.

“It’s all about relationship building,” the 33-year-old five-year Army veteran said.

‘Like a Pit Crew,’ Mechanics Keep Batteries Firing

‘Like a Pit Crew,’ Mechanics Keep Batteries Firing
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons
11.26.2007

mechanics 20071126

To support Operation Iraqi Freedom all units, whether infantry, engineers, armor and even artillery, have been called on to fill non-traditional roles and hit the streets.

Such is the case with the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, a part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division back at Fort Riley where they call home, but while deployed are attached to the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. They have traded in their howitzers for Humvees so they can mingle with the residents of Hateen and Yarmouk.

While the artillerymen walk the streets, of arguably one of the quietest neighborhoods in the city, mechanics at base camp keep the battalion’s wheels to the road.

The troopers of Company G, 610th Brigade Support Battalion, the “Proud Americans” forward support company, don’t just wait for vehicles to break down: they provide all types of support for the battalion including recovering disabled vehicles and getting them repaired for the next mission.

“It’s important here to keep the trucks on the road,” said Vero Beach, Fla., native Chief Warrant Officer Richard Jones, who heads the company’s mechanic shop. “We are here 24/7; after the mission is over and the (after action reviews) are done they bring their vehicles here to see if anything is broken.”

While the battalion had to change its focus from pounding the enemy with high-explosive shells to pounding the streets, the mechanics had to learn on the fly how to assess and fix the different style of Humvees used here.

“They didn’t have a lot of experience in these types of vehicles,” the 16 and half year Army veteran and father of three said. “But we have an outstanding bunch of mechanics here. It took time learning to troubleshoot the vehicles. The vehicles are different from that in the rear, they have different electronics and generator systems.

“It took a good 90 days for them to get used to the (M1151s) – now they are a regular pit crew.”

M1151 Humvees are the latest generation of Army vehicles which are built with heavier armor and sturdier drive trains than older models.

“The M998 Humvees we worked on at Fort Riley were a little different,” said shift supervisor Sgt. Thomas Shulte, a 29-year-old from Detroit. “They don’t have all the armor on them and it made it a lot easier. In the 1151s, a lot of stuff is packed into the work area. It’s much easier to work on once you know what you are looking for.”

Schulte, who took up fixing cars as a hobby, said the mechanics rotate between working the day shift and night shift. “There is a non-commissioned officer and several Soldiers here at night.”

During the dayshift, the Soldiers concentrate on routine servicing of vehicles, ensuring preventative maintenance checks and services are done on the trucks before they are dispatched and any other problems the trucks may have.

When doing routine maintenance, the Humvees are examined top to bottom, front to back, as the mechanics look for anything out of the ordinary.

“We make sure there is no dry rot,” Schulte said. “In these conditions the ball joints fail and tie rods bend. In this environment they fail a lot.”

Even with that challenge, Shulte and his team are proud of what they do and look forward to rejoining the rest of the Dragon Brigade once they redeploy.