Baghdad: Embedded Provisional Reconstruction Teams

Baghdad: Embedded Provisional Reconstruction Teams
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 31, 2007

A few days ago, I spoke with a U.S. official working for one of the new embedded provisional reconstruction teams (EPRTs) in Iraq. Last year ten provisional reconstruction teams (PRTs) were created throughout the country to operate parallel to the military. Each PRT was headed up by a foreign service officer; had a deputy from the U.S. Army; had at least one member from USAID; and had a bilingual, bicultural advisor (fluent in Arabic with a background that allows him to understand the Middle East). Typically there would be about ten people total working for a PRT. The PRTs were designed to further the U.S. mission in Iraq by helping to advance the political process of reconstruction in a variety of ways. Top-down change was characteristic of the PRTs: they would work with such political entities as city councils and the policymaking portion of a city's department of public works.

The EPRTs are different. Rather than operating separately from and parallel to the military, they are embedded within the military structure. Six EPRTs operate in Baghdad, three in Anbar, and one in Babil. Their structure is similar to that of the PRTs (run by a foreign service officer, featuring a U.S. Army deputy, a USAID member, a bicultural advisor, and other staffers) but rather than functioning in the top-down manner of the PRTs, the EPRTs are designed to make more of a difference at what the official called the "granular" level. That is, the EPRTs are integrated into the military's tactical operations, and are designed to advance reconstruction efforts on a street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood basis. I previously noted that the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery (with which I was embedded) has four lines of operation in the districts it patrols: security, governance, economy, and essential services. It is at this tactical level -- the level of how these lines of operation can be furthered -- that the EPRT is supposed to have an impact in helping to set the course for the units with which it works. The EPRTs help set this course all the way down to the platoon level.

The source working with the EPRT said that their job is as much "problem avoidance" as anything else. Moreover, because the EPRTs have only been active in Iraq for about six weeks, it's too early at this point to assess their effectiveness. However, I'll be interested to check in with people working with the new EPRTs several months down the line to see how this intriguing idea is working in practice.

Thanks to Public Multimedia Inc. for its assistance in organizing my embedded reporting from Iraq. You can support my embed and independent reporting through donations to the Counterterrorism Foundation.

Service Support… It Ain’t as Easy as it Looks

Service Support… It Ain’t as Easy as it Looks
2BT Newsletter: Daggers Edge V1, Iss14
1st Lt. Chris Lowry
May 30, 2007

Flashback: So there we were, southern California at the National Training Center (NTC). This was supposed to be the ultimate test of our platoon. It was supposed to be the culmination of all of our training as a Forward Support Company (FSC). We were wellrehearsed and trained to standard in all aspects of Service Support, everything from vehicle load plans to Combat Logistic Patrol (CLP) battle drills. According to NTC standards we did exceptionally well. We were ready for deployment… Or were we?

Fast-forward to present day. As you may have already guessed, things did not turn out the way we had planned. Instead of running CLP, we were instructed to do something that none of us had ever done before. We were told that we were to be one of the battalion’s infantry platoons.

I know what you are thinking, “what does a service support platoon know about operating in the combat arms world?” Well, to be quite honest, we did not know much at the time. We had been training for the past year and a half doing nothing but combat logistic patrols. We had to cram a year of training into a little less than 10 days, because we were to augment an infantry company as it conducted route reconnaissance and observation missions for Arrowhead Strike IX. Since we were only operating at night, it was mandatory that we work only in blackout conditions. Luckily, we were already well trained in night operations from conducting our CLPs, so we incorporated that experience into our new mission of dismounted patrols. We went straight from the crawl phase to the run phase and were expected to function as a fully-trained infantry platoon. The standards were set forth by the infantry company Commander we were to operate under, all we had to do was meet them.

On the first night of operations, I could tell the guys were a little nervous and to be quiet honest, I was nervous myself. I had butterflies the size of a 10K generator flying around in my stomach. It felt like the night of the big game, and for us it was the big game. This was the time to show all those people who think the service support branches should be “in the rear, with the gear” that we could hang with the big dogs. And you know what? That is exactly what we did. We ran with the big dogs and not only met the standard, but exceeded it on multiple occasions.

First Platoon / G Company is now a full-time maneuver element, conducting the full spectrum of “combat arms” missions. We do everything the combat arms guys do with not only less training, but different equipment and a variety of different MOSs. We all have different types of backgrounds and schooling within the platoon. We have communications specialists, truck drivers, mechanics, and cooks, as well as fuel, wrecker, and crane operators. Some might look at that as a disadvantage, but I look at it as a major advantage. We are a wide assortment of Soldiers put into an extraordinary situation, but we have risen to the challenge and exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad (The Fourth Rail)

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad
The Fourth Rail
By: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 29, 2007

Journalist Daveed Gartenstein-Ross was embedded with Pat's group --

U.S. strategy is not just military in nature. Rather, it is designed to eliminate some of the underlying conditions that sap the average Iraqi’s faith in the country’s civil society. For example, in the districts that 2-32 patrols -- Yarmouk and Hateen -- there are four lines of operation: security, governance, economy, and essential services. According to Major Brynt Parmeter, who works at the brigade level, the overall goals are to reduce sectarian fighting, increase the Iraqi security forces’ capabilities, and improve local government to empower it to provide the services that Iraqis need. The Iraqis lack a number of essential services. Right now the U.S. focus is on food centers, financial institutions, fuel, and medical needs—but the Iraqis are also lacking in trash collection, reliable sewers, electricity, and other services. The effect of the lack of essential services on Iraqis should not be underestimated. Gas cost 5 cents a liter under Saddam Hussein; now the official price has skyrocketed to about 70 cents a liter. But in practice it is far higher than that: according to Lieutenant Patrick Henson, there is only one government-run gas station in the Yarmouk district. When the long lines around the station are coupled with security concerns, it should come as no surprise that many Iraqis buy their gas from the black market, where prices can reach $2 a liter. In other words, Iraqis may be paying more for their gas than Americans -- and the average Iraqi income is substantially lower than the average American income.

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad (The Fourth Rail)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk (part1)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 25, 2007

On May 23 and 24, I went on a couple of evening patrols in Baghdad's Yarmouk administrative district. I went with a platoon from the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, with which I am embedded; they are working with the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division while in Iraq. The battalion of which 2-32 is a part is responsible for a large section of northwest Baghdad, which includes a couple of districts that have been hot lately, Kadamiyah and Mansour. But the districts that 2-32 patrols -- Yarmouk and Hateen -- are relatively quiet. The most dangerous aspect of patrols in those districts is the drive to reach them.

In a briefing earlier this week, I learned that 2-32 has four lines of operation: security, governance, economy, and essential services. During Wednesday night's patrol, the main objective was for the soldiers to introduce themselves to Iraqis on a couple of blocks and get the residents to fill out security surveys with basic information about themselves. The troops would also speak with the Iraqis, with the help of a translator, asking about their basic needs as well as follow-up questions geared to ferreting out a possible insurgent presence in the neighborhood.

On Wednesday's patrol I caught my first glimpse of Baghdad outside the wire in the daylight. The fact that a war is raging in this city is apparent at first glance, yet life goes on. Some of the areas we passed were composed of abandoned ruins and burned-out shells of buildings -- areas where nobody should want to set foot, not even in the daylight. Other areas were residential, with large handsome estates right next door to bombed-out buildings that must have been equally handsome years ago, before the American invasion. Some Iraqis walked down the streets casually, some were standing and conversing. Some -- particularly those with kids -- waved at the American Humvees as they passed, while others glared with manifest anger. All of the women I saw on the streets wore either burkas or heavy hijabs, and had male escorts. Although the roads themselves were relatively clean (almost certainly to reduce the chance of an IED attack), the sides of the roads were littered with trash.

I was told that there are subtle signs of whether a neighborhood is safe. One of the signs of a safe neighborhood is the presence of kids, and there were a large number of kids running around in the first neighborhood we visited. Some of the soldiers secured the street to make sure we didn't get ambushed, while the platoon leader, the translator, and a few soldiers went into houses to speak with the residents. While having a bunch of heavily armed American soldiers show up at your door unannounced must be a shock, the translator (who identified himself only as "Mo") did a good job of explaining what was going on to the residents. In every instance, the troops were invited in without incident.

At the first house we visited, the Iraqi men immediately said in English: "This is good neighborhood! It is safe neighborhood!" Lieutenant Kevin Mills of 2-32 would later tell me that this is the first thing Iraqis always tell them, "even if they're right next door to a couple of bombed-out buildings." He noted that for many, claiming the neighborhood is safe is a matter of honor: often it's only in the second or third line of questioning that you get a better read on the actual security situation, such as the fact that they heard mortar fire nearby or that a lot of strange men have been going in and out of a neighboring house at odd hours.

But this really did seem to be a safe neighborhood. The kids came right up and spoke to us with the raw enthusiasm that small children can have. When they realized that I spoke some Arabic, a throng of about five kids surrounded me. We made basic conversation, but mainly they asked me to give them things. The first thing they wanted was a football; when they realized I didn't have one, they decided they could settle for a lesser ball, and asked for a baseball. They then asked for money, for my helmet, for my anti-ballistic goggles.

The people in both of the neighborhoods we visited Wednesday were friendly. The neighborhoods were cosmopolitan, with a mix of Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. A couple of men we encountered claimed to have been generals in the old Iraqi army. ("We run into a lot of former generals," one U.S. soldier told me. "They must have had a lot more generals than our military does.") I particularly enjoyed watching one of the servicemen, Specialist Rene Hernandez, interacting with the Iraqis. One of the other soldiers explained that Hernandez was on his third tour in the Middle East and could speak enough Arabic to joke around with Iraqis. When I drew a bit closer to investigate, I found Hernandez speaking a mix of Arabic, English, occasional Spanish, and often just plain gibberish -- at one point impersonating a donkey, which drew raucous laughter from the young men he was speaking with.

(continued..)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk (part2)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 25, 2007

The residents had a standard battery of complaints in both neighborhoods we visited. Trash wasn't being picked up; the residents weren't receiving electricity from the city and had to rely on private generators; the price of gasoline was skyrocketing (it was 5 cents a liter under Saddam Hussein, and is now up to 70 cents a liter). I asked one of the platoon's senior men what they would do about these complaints, and he said that they would probably contract out things like trash collection and other services. Consistent with their goal of growing the country's economy, their preference is to contract these jobs out to Iraqis wherever possible.

The soldiers were proud of the difference they had made in the areas they were patrolling. Sergeant Vince Passero said that if I had been here when they first arrived in February, I would see how pronounced the change was: when they first arrived, there were more IEDs, more attacks, and the areas were less safe.

That first day of patrol, of course, does not represent the full picture of Iraq. According to recent opinion polls, about 60% of Iraqis think it's okay to kill U.S. troops. The second day of patrol provided a bit more of a glimpse of that other side of Iraq, as we were targeted by small arms fire a couple of times. The shots were far off the mark the first time; the second time, hours later, a bullet fired at us near the JSS ricocheted off a concrete barrier about eight feet away from our Humvee.

The people we encountered on the second patrol were also more distressed than the Iraqis we ran into the first night. One man, a white-haired gentleman who looked to be in his mid-fifties, had just lost his brother. "Iraq has no government, no government," he said emphatically. "In two years we are all dead. Nobody will protect us." Others spoke of the deteriorating security situation -- a point that was underscored when the soldiers tried to get information about a recent mortar attack that seemingly originated nearby. Most of the residents could provide nothing useful, explaining with a shrug that they hear mortars fired all the time.

At one point that night, we heard the sudden crackle of gun shots a few blocks away. Heavy gunfire continued for a short time, at least 20 to 30 seconds. After a quick effort to assess whether we were being attacked, the soldiers quickly determined that it was the Iraqi army firing their guns. "If they see something they don't like, they usually just fire their guns straight up in the air, sometimes for a very long time," one of the soldiers told me. "We've tried to get them to do it differently, but they haven’t listened to our tactical advice."

In a briefing on Thursday, Ambassador John Bennett told me that while many larger factors will determine the future of Iraq, patrols occur at a granular level. Wednesday and Thursday were a chance for me to step back from the big picture and get a better look at that granular level.

Thanks to Public Multimedia Inc. for its assistance in organizing my embedded reporting from Iraq. You can support my embed and independent reporting through donations to the Counterterrorism Foundation.

The Back-Street Front Lines

The Back-Street Front Lines
US News and World Report
By Linda Robinson
Posted 5/20/07

BAGHDAD-Since the Baghdad security plan began on a rolling start in February, many neighborhoods have been cleared of insurgents by U.S. soldiers in armored Stryker vehicles. The second, "control" phase is underway in many areas. "We are very good at clearing areas," says Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of the division carrying out the plan, "but that does not count for anything unless you hold it afterward. This time we have forces in place to stay."

Most of the 37 combat outposts and 29 joint security stations (JSS) planned for Baghdad have been set up. Concrete barriers are being erected in markets and seven neighborhoods, along with other traffic and population control measures. Fil's deputy, Brig. Gen. John Campbell, choppers around the city monitoring progress daily. "Everyone agrees that the top priority is to get the violence down," he says.

The picture remains mixed. Sectarian deaths are down by half, but areas of the city remain violent, and the car bomb plague continues. Officials are debating where to put the fifth and final U.S. brigade when it arrives next month. If it is diverted to trouble spots outside Baghdad, some fear that will leave the capital-the declared main focus-with too few U.S. troops.

Sewage problems. A tour of several outposts found some well advanced and others still warding off attacks. A month-long clearing operation in West Baghdad has enabled soldiers to establish JSS Yarmouk in relative tranquillity. In northeast Baghdad, soldiers from 2d Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division arrived at JSS Sulakh in February. Two platoons of artillerymen rotate into the compound every four or five days. One platoon guards the blue-and-white police station while the other patrols with Iraqi soldiers and policemen. Capt. Andrew Artis and his men have finished sandbag defenses, but they have not yet figured out an answer for the stinking sewage system.

U.S. soldiers man an MK-19 grenade launcher on the roof at all times, but Artis credits frequent foot patrols with deterring the sniper who had targeted the police station. Many Iraqis are horrified that the Americans are working with the local police, who are widely mistrusted. But since the Americans moved into JSS Sulakh, a trickle of residents now approach the front gate to report problems.

Farther south, in Adhamiya, Lt. Col. Eric Schacht's 1-26 Infantry Task Force has had a much rougher time in this longtime haven for Sunni insurgents. In early March, Schacht's men set up JSS Adhamiya in the police station a few blocks from Baghdad's main Sunni mosque. A platoon rotates in every 24 hours. For three weeks the soldiers came under intense attack from grenades, molotov cocktails, mortars, and gunfire. They still receive fire daily, but an extra perimeter of concertina wire staves off grenades. With Shiite militias moving in, Schacht's battalion has suffered heavy losses since last August: 17 killed and 71 wounded out of 800 men.

Schacht tries hard to win over Adhamiyans. He meets regularly with the local District Advisory Council, but two of its past four chairmen have been killed, and a third was jailed for killing his successor. Schacht has also reached out to the senior imam at the mosque. But the Shiite-dominated Baghdad government refuses to pick up trash in the area, as evidenced by the garbage-strewn streets. Government rations of rice, beans, and coffee are not reaching Adhamiya. By contrast, across the Tigris River in the Shiite neighborhood of Kadamiya, streets are being paved, gardens planted, and sewage lines fixed.

The battalion will continue its daily patrols and meetings and small-scale fixer-upper projects such as repairing schools and clinics. But its grass-roots effort alone will not turn the tide. Schacht, who has served a total of 33 months here, offers a sobering assessment: "If reconciliation doesn't occur at the government-of-Iraq level, and resources aren't cut loose to help this part of the city, we will end up with the status quo." And that status quo, the inexorable asphyxiation of this Sunni enclave, might be the fate of Iraq writ large.

This story appears in the May 28, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: May 14 - May 20
Slides: 24, 25

2-32 FA Soldiers Train Their Iraqi Counterparts

Alpha Battery

CPL Vaughn Welcomes Addition to Family on R&R

Iraqi, MND-B troops discover abandoned house used for violence

BlackAnthem Military News
Iraqi, MND-B troops discover abandoned house used for violence
1st Lt Charles Bloomfield, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
May 19, 2007

Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces and Soldiers from the Multi-National Division – Baghdad discovered a “torture house” in the Yarmouk neighborhood of the Iraqi capital May 16. The house was one of two sites found that day containing evidence of criminal activity in the western Baghdad Mansour District.

U.S. Soldiers from Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, along with Iraqi troops from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, investigated a site where U.S. forces had previously discovered a weapons cache containing nitric acid, as well as other bomb making materials.

The troops revisited the site in hopes of another discovery and found some human skeletal remains in the yard outside of the house. Inside the house, the Soldiers found other disturbing signs as they continued their search.

An upstairs room had the tools and layout of an interrogation room. Two metal mattress springs were laid against the wall near bare electrical wires, a table with odd markings from fire and chemical burns and triangle racks were hung from the ceiling. This evidence, and knowledge of the area’s history of extrajudicial killings, led the patrol leader, 1st Lt. Patrick Henson, of Orlando, Florida, and his Soldiers to conclude that the house had been used for illegal detentions, and possibly for the abuse or interrogation of kidnapped victims.

Expanding his investigation, Henson questioned the neighbors and learned that Coalition Forces had raided the house earlier this year, killing two men, but unusual activity had continued until the surge of forces into the Mansour District enabled security forces to clear many of the buildings in the vicinity.

While searching the suspected torture house, the Soldiers received a tip from a local Iraqi leading to another weapons cache nearby. At this second location, the troops discovered a weapons cache concealed in an air duct behind a picture hung on the wall. The cache consisted of 10 AK-47 magazines, more than 300 rounds of ammunition, three AK-47 assault rifles, an improvised grenade, a large roll of detonation cord, a camcorder, seven washing machine timers, three cell phones and numerous 9-volt batteries. Iraqi Army troops recovered one bag of ammonium nitrate and two propane tanks from the yard, as well.

Taking explosives, weapons and munitions out of the hands of extremists relies heavily on the support of each local community, said Capt. David Levasseur, public affairs officer for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.“

The Iraqi people are the key to our success,” he said. “Only their resolve and determination to help us by talking to security forces will allow us to deny anti-Iraqi forces places to hide.”

Levasseur added that the assistance provided to Coalition Forces in this predominately Sunni neighborhood demonstrates that its residents recognize their role and are committed to helping restore peace to their community.

U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Patrick Henson, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition, Vol 1, Issue 4

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition
Volume 1, Issue 4
May 16, 2007

Includes:

'Coach Gadson' by MAJ James MacGregor

'LTC Gadson, Calling the Plays'

'In The Shadow of His Wings' by CH Troy Parson

'Becoming a Platoon Leader' by 1LT Ryan Stidum

'A Finely Orchestrated Few' by 1LT John Nguyen

'Tip of the Spear' by Adam Wojcik

'Support From Home' by 1SG Frederick Johnson

'Keys to Retention' by SSG Danelle Magalit

'Service Support' by 1LT Christopher Lowry

Where the Sun Don’t Shine: HQ Platoon—The Unsung Heroes of the Battle

Where the Sun Don’t Shine
HQ Platoon—The Unsung Heroes of the Battle
2BT Newsletter: Daggers Edge V1, Iss13
1st Lt. Neal Rice
May 15, 2007

Headquarters Platoon, historically loathed as a duty position, is turning the tide. Never ending inventories, detailed battle tracking, mind boggling maintenance schedules and endless days within the confines of the Battery CP - all where the sun don’t shine - is finally paying off. With the help of Alpha Battery’s best in the business headquarters team, the world is beginning to recognize the added value of the ‘silent warriors’ of the Headquarters Platoon.

Every morning, not later than 0530, Sgt. Matthew Woodburn of Owego, NY, makes the trek from his sleep tent to the confines of the Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Command Post. Sgt. Woodburn runs the daily operations within the command post. A Chemical Specialist by training, Woodburn anxiously awaits the month that chemical protective masks are included in the cyclic inventories. As he runs the show for Alpha Battery, Woodburn dreams about his planned move to Lancaster, Pa., where he will finally become a citizen of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But for now, he has duties to tend to. With the help of his headquarters team, the Alpha Battery “Aces” are on the ball.

Soon after Woodburn’s arrival, the battery supply team punches the clock. Sgt. Michael Evans, of Concord, Calif., and Spc. Carlos Caraballo of Ponce, Puerto Rico, work tirelessly to ensure Alpha Battery has everything needed to accomplish any mission. Evans brings the cunning wisdom of a seasoned supply sergeant to the fight. There is no question, Evans’ work is essential in allowing Alpha Battery to meet any task. When he isn’t working his supply magic, Evans is thinking up new culinary creations. Schooled in hospitality management, he looks forward to enjoying his leave by preparing dinner with his wife, Nicole, a trained pastry chef.

Spc. Caraballo lets a little sun in. As the Alpha Battery Supply Specialist, he works hand in hand with Evans to track equipment, order supplies and keep the maneuver platoons well stocked with all they need to perform their tasks. More than that though, Caraballo brings a spirited and infectiously positive attitude to the team. To find the lighter side of the situation, the Aces need only call on him. On April 12, Caraballo and his wife, Ashley, welcomed the birth of their first child, Carlos Isaiah. The headquarters team and all the Aces have greatly enjoyed Caraballo’s pictures from home, showing the happy and healthy little one.

Together, the Alpha Battery Headquarters Platoon is making a tremendous impact. When the headquarters runs smoothly, the maneuver platoons can focus solely on their immediate tasks. In Alpha Battery, the headquarters is smooth and the platoons are getting the job done.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: May 7 - May 13
Slides: 20, 21

UMT Wednesday Prayer Breakfast

CH Parson
1LT Neal Rice

Patriots Foster Relationships With Local Children

Cache found near JSS Torch

Cache found near JSS Torch
BlackAnthem Military News
By 1st Lt. Charles Bloomfield, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
May 11, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Soldiers in western Baghdad found a large cache of mortar rounds near a joint security stations May 9.

Once the cache was identified, Iraqi troops from 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division secured the area and waited for an Iraqi explosive ordnance team to inspect the site.

The Iraqi Army requested assistance from the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, located at Joint Security Station Torch.

1st Lt. Christopher Lowry, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., responded to the request for support with 1st Platoon, Company G and called for EOD support to work alongside the Iraqi forces. EOD determined that there were 46, 57mm mortar rounds.

The wired mortars did not have timers with them; however, a cache from the same location was uncovered last week that included the necessary timers to convert the rounds into roadside bombs.

EOD did not detonate the mortars on site due to the high risk of collateral damage. They removed the mortar rounds from the site for disposal.

Iraqi general touts area turnaround

Iraqi general touts area turnaround
USA TODAY
By Rick Jervis
May 8, 2007

BAGHDAD — Yassir Layth, 12, whose favorite sports are soccer and "push-ups," used to pedal his bike past human corpses each day on his way to school.

Today, the two-block path from his home to Nablus Primary School is not nearly as scary, he said. The shooting has stopped, car bombs have quieted and, most noticeably, the dead bodies have gone away.

"My friends were too scared to come to class, and so was I," Yassir said inside his classroom, crowded with other students. "Now everyone comes to school."

The school is in the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Yarmouk, which the Iraqi military showcased Monday as a sign the nearly 3-month-old Baghdad security plan is working. Yarmouk used to be one of the city's worst battlegrounds for sectarian violence, but a flood of Iraqi troops into the area has made things better, Iraqi Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta al-Mousawi said.

A large Iraqi army checkpoint, reinforced with blast barriers, mortar bunkers and concertina wire, stood at one of the main entrances to the area. Other streets had been blocked off. A large Iraqi armored vehicle, known as a Badger, was parked next to one of the public squares.

With support from U.S. troops, the Iraqi military focuses its efforts on specific, violent areas around the city. That is why some neighborhoods seem subdued, while nearby districts are engulfed in shootouts and car bombs, al-Mousawi said.

"We have a strategy. Now we're attacking the terrorists here," said al-Mousawi, flanked by a company of Iraqi soldiers and armored Humvees. "Then our strategy will shift to another district. It's step by step."

Several similar efforts to secure Baghdad have failed because violence flared up after troops rotated into a new area. Iraq's government hopes a recent increase of U.S. and Iraqi troop levels will help keep the peace in more neighborhoods.

Judith Yaphe, an Iraq expert at the National Defense University in Washington, described efforts such as the one in Yarmouk as "a sign of progress, but no one knows for how long (it will last)." Longer-term success "depends on how long we maintain the presence and how much progress the Iraqis make in reconciling their differences and establishing an effective government," she said.

Once an affluent area lined with plush villas and wide squares, Yarmouk became one of the deadliest battlegrounds in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion. Shootouts and explosions occurred nearly daily, residents said.

Husham Qassim said his neighborhood has become safer, though lack of electricity and clean water remains a problem. Two of Qassim's sons recently returned from Syria, where they fled from Baghdad's violence. "Thank God, it's better," said Qassim, 60, a retiree. "Now I can finally go to the market. We hope it stays this way."

Children at the Nablus Primary School down the street used to constantly dodge gunfire and car bombs on their way to and from school, said Widad Ahmed Azid, the school's headmaster. Students often located bodies on the streets around the school and ran back to their teachers to report them, she said. Last year, one student was killed by a car bomb explosion down the street. Half of the school's original 1,000 students fled Baghdad, she said.

The situation drastically improved after the start of the security plan, Azid said. The classrooms began to refill with students as the shootings and explosions stopped, she said.

"As soon as you left the school, there were shootings, explosions; it was like a war zone," Azid said. "The situation has greatly improved. I only hope it stays that way."

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: April 30 - May 6
Slides: 24-27

Patriots Integrate at JSS Torch

Bravo Battery Soldiers Build Relationships With Local Citizens

LT Patrick Henson
PVT Johneric Brown

Gladiators On The Job

SPC Joseph Green
SPC Shawna Yost
Golf Company

Proud Americans Re-Enlist

SPC Terrill Welge
SPC Daniel Holtz
1LT Joseph Schoen

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition, Vol 1, Issue 3

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition
Volume 1, Issue 3
May 3, 2007

Includes:

'Amid the Iraqi People': by LTC Gregory D Gadson

'Troops Making Progress': by 1SG Frederick Johnson

'Patriots Receive Combat Patch': pictures

'Proud Americans Carry on Tradition of the Big Red One': 1LT Charles E Bloomfield

'Communication During Deployment': CH Troy Parson

'Building the JSS': 1SG John Ruiz

'A Look Into the Alpha Battery CP': 1LT Neal Rice

'Unsung Warfighters': 1LT Quinn Robertson

'Tip of the Spear': CPT Adam Wojcik

'Tribute to Mothers': CH Troy Parson

'Regimental Color Handover': CPT Jason Alexander

The ‘Patriot Pool’

The ‘Patriot Pool’
Daggers Edge Magazine Volume 1, Issue 12
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Richard Jones
May 3, 2007

There I was, standing in a small, square piece of desert with a swamp in the middle. A member of the Camp Liberty Mayor Cell told me that for a small price this could all be mine. My future home looked bleak, but we had trucks coming and vehicles to fix. It was time to get busy, so the mechanics got to work establishing the “Patriot Pool” for 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment.

After receiving 130 vehicles and 30 large shipping containers in a period of only four nights, the maintenance platoon quickly established repair facilities for the Patriots. The two maintenance tents were erected in no time, but lacked the necessary concrete pad for a floor. The search was on for aluminum Air Force pallets, and with the help of the Mayor Cell, we found enough to establish hardstand floors in both tents. Finally, the toolboxes came out and the Gladiators of Golf Forward Support Company were ready for action.

Action is what we got as the battalion had signed for an additional 18 HMMWV’s from other units on Camp Liberty. These trucks lacked additional armor and had been previously used only on the base. It was our mission to get these vehicles up to standard and back in the fight. 11 of the vehicles came to us in Non-Mission Capable status, with faults ranging from brakes and ball joints to air conditioners and engines. I issued the challenge and the mechanics were ready to meet it. Spc. Crane and the PLL crew quickly learned their way around the Victory Base Camp as they set out to chase down parts. Within just a few days, the list of deadlined trucks began to shorten. But as that challenge went away, another presented itself. The next task was to execute a regeneration process to refit and re-arm vehicles returning from combat patrols and make them ready to fight again on a moment’s notice.

The Gladiators had developed a system at the National Training Center, and now it was time to put the plan to use. The distribution platoon established Class I, Class IV, and Class V issue sites and the maintenance platoon manned the “Jiffy Lube” for checks and services. The Communication’s Shop set up an area in the motor pool to address all communication issues. Diagrams were drawn and briefed to key leaders and the maintenance battlefield was prepared. We were ready.

When combat patrols complete their daily tour of duty on the dangerous streets of Baghdad, their first stop is the motor pool. The vehicle crews are required to complete an after-action maintenance check and resupply their trucks with everything from ammunition to MREs. The mechanics move in, poised to handle any issue that might have developed during operation. At first, the vehicle crews were a little disgruntled since all they wanted after missions was to shower and hit the rack. Maintenance was the last thing on their minds. However, after seeing that regeneration ensured the timely repair and return to duty of their equipment by the next day, they realized the program was the way to go.

From receiving equipment, unpacking shipping containers, and setting up their maintenance fox holes, Golf Company has prepared for any mission that the Proud Americans and the Dagger Brigade sends their way. So bring your broken equipment and hungry Soldiers, because the Gladiators are ready to “Sustain the Fight!”

Moving troops into small Iraq bases adds risks

Moving troops into small Iraq bases adds risks
MSNBC.com
by: Associated Press
May 2, 2007

BAGHDAD - The roof is like many others in western Baghdad, except for the American soldier hiding behind sandbags, training his rifle on the street below.

Outside the house, Iraqi children weave their tricycles between rolls of barbed wire. Inside, U.S. and Iraqi troops plot raids and collect information on their new neighbors.

The United States hopes that placing troops on small, discreet outposts like this one in the heart of one of Baghdad’s toughest neighborhoods will pay off in goodwill from the public and tips on militant activity.

But there are risks: Two suicide bombers killed nine Americans at one such base north of Baghdad in April.

“We could build a fortress around ourselves that no one can penetrate, but then we will have lost,” said Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who commands the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery. His unit belongs to one of the five U.S. brigades sent here as part of President Bush’s plan to stabilize Baghdad.

‘We get threats all the time’
It’s only a matter of time before insurgents attack, he fears. “We get threats all the time,” said Gadson, 41, of Chesapeake, Va.

Gadson’s troops set up what the military calls a Joint Security Station two weeks ago in Baghdad’s Yarmouk area, within only yards of residents and suspected insurgents. About 50 Americans and 10 Iraqis live at the base. From here, they fan out on foot patrols, handing out flyers with the number of a telephone hot line to report militant activity anonymously.

Installations like the Yarmouk station are part of America’s new strategy here. Nearly three months on, U.S. ground commanders cite slow, but tangible, progress.

Before the arrival of Gadson’s soldiers, the U.S. military had a sparse presence in Yarmouk, an upscale Sunni Muslim area that was once home to members of high-ranking officials from Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Many homes were abandoned, looked after now by distant relatives or hired caretakers while the owners wait out the war in Jordan or Syria. The Yarmouk outpost is in one such house. The U.S. military is negotiating the rent with a former Iraqi army general who is in Jordan for medical treatment.

Driving away militants
When Gadson’s troops first walked these streets two months ago, it was a garbage-strewn ghost town, they said. Residents peered quizzically from second-floor windows at U.S. patrollers below. Fear kept the area’s mostly Sunni residents from cooperating with Iraq’s Shiite-dominated military.

But with a U.S. outpost in the area, residents believe militants will find someplace else to operate, said Capt. Jose Henderson, 31, of Milwaukee. And residents trust they won’t be mistreated by Shiite soldiers while Americans are watching, he said.

Bodies used to turn up on these streets daily — the likely victims of Shiite death squads who murdered Sunnis execution-style in the night. U.S. officials have cited a decrease in such sectarian killings since the Baghdad security plan began Feb. 14.

While Yarmouk is still largely shuttered, some shops have begun opening and families allow their children to play in the streets. The U.S. military hired a local man to organize community garbage pickup.

“That’s my sense of accomplishment, when you can see tangible changes,” said Henderson. “We all want to be able to answer that question when we go home: ‘Do you think you helped?”’

The troops tightened security after the deadly April 23 attack against the similar outpost in Diyala, which was hit by two dump trucks laden with explosives, Henderson said.

“Before that attack, we were letting vehicular traffic basically right up to our back door,” he said. Now, large concrete barriers keep traffic more than 50 yards away.

Some electronic security measures also were added, Henderson said, but he declined to comment further for security reasons.

“It’s all about risk management, and determining how much risk is worth our relationships with the local population,” he said.

For troops, preferable to barrackss
Most of the 50 American troops at the Yarmouk outpost said they preferred it to their barracks at Camp Liberty, a huge U.S. military complex near the Baghdad airport. Soldiers typically rotate four days at Liberty and four days at the Yarmouk station, which has no running water, food service or laundry.

“If someone blindfolded you and plopped you down on (Camp) Liberty, you could be on any U.S. military installation anywhere. You might not know you were in Iraq,” said Gadson, who studied Arabic and Middle East history at West Point in the 1980s and is now on his first tour in Iraq.

At the Yarmouk outpost and others like it, “you’re just so much closer,” he said.

“Torch” Lighting the Way for Mansour Security

“Torch” Lighting the Way for Mansour Security
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System
By 1st Lt. Charles Bloomfield; 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
April 30, 2007

"Torch" Lighting the Way

BAGHDAD — Construction of Joint Security Station “Torch” was completed and it was officially opened April 21, in the Mansour district of the capital city.

Planning and securing such a location does not come quickly or without proper preparation. In March, members of the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) and the Iraqi army began nominating locations for the station.

Iraqi army troops and Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, conducted a recon of the area April 12, and plans for construction began in earnest. A concept brief took place the following day and a final synchronization meeting with all the elements involved from the 2nd “Dagger” Brigade ensued a couple days later.

Plans were made for barrier emplacement, concertina wire, sandbags, overwatch positions, checkpoints, waste removal, and many other logistical details. Pieces began to fall into place for building, securing and making the site habitable.

The construction operations began as scheduled, but that was not the only mission Soldiers from the 2nd “Proud Americans” Battalion, 32nd FA, had in mind.

JSS Torch is located on the corner of a city block and would definitely have an impact on the local residents of the community. On the first day of construction, the ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ went into effect and Capt. Jose Henderson, Capt. Brian McCall, and Capt. Jayson Morgan visited each of the houses surrounding the newly-acquired property.

They introduced themselves and offered a gift, including candy, a picture of the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Gregory Gadson, Col. Ali, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army commander, and Lt. Col. Rahim, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army commander. They also hand-delivered a letter to introduce and explain the current project.

Soldiers placed the first barrier of JSS Torch into place on the morning of April 16. Soldiers throughout the Proud American Battalion, as well as those from 9th Engineer, 20th Engineer, and 299th Forward Support battalions, worked tirelessly day and night to complete the project on time, keep it secure, and to get it fully operational.

Construction was completed on April 19.

JSS Torch officially opened for business the morning of April 21. Iraqi security force liaisons occupied the building that morning and the JSS became a center for combined forces.

Later in the day, Maj. Gen. Abdul Al-Ameer, commander of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, arrived for a brief on the JSS, a tour, an awards ceremony and a traditional Iraqi lunch. After the awards ceremony, Ameer addressed everyone and specifically reminded the Soldiers of their duties.

“Be good to the citizens and they will trust you,” he said. “Remember that your loyalty is to Iraq; not for the party, not for the tribe, not for sect or religion. The party will go away; the tribe will go away; the religion might go away, but Iraq will stay.”

Gadson echoed the Iraqi Army general’s remarks, and told the Iraqi and U.S. troops assembled why he had chosen the name “Torch” for the JSS. He said it not only honored the Proud American’s combat experience in 1942, but this JSS and Iraqi Army represent “the light in the future of the Mansour district.”

With the formalities over, the first southeast Mansour security meeting, representing the real work of the JSS, occurred the next day. The meeting outlined ideas to conduct coordinated combined operations with Iraqi security forces and coalition forces.

Future goals include building a common operating picture for the combined forces to work with and to secure support for the civil authorities. Through this way ahead, Iraqi security forces will eventually take control of security and the civil leaders will be empowered to improve the living conditions within their neighborhoods.

Iraqi Army Takes Lead in Community Health Outreach

Iraqi Army Takes Lead in Community Health Outreach
Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System
Black Anthem Military News
By 1st Lt. Charles Bloomfield, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
April 27, 2007

BAGHDAD – More than 100 local residents received medical attention in the Hateen neighborhood of Iraq’s capital city April 18.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army worked with 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division to conduct a community health outreach program. The program was designed to give medical attention to local residents who normally do not have access to medical assistance.

“We assessed and treated 102 patients over about two-and-a-half hours,” said Junction City, Kan., native Capt. Brian McCall, commander of 2-32nd’s Battery A. “We did not leave anyone in line; all (who) came were seen.

”The combined Iraqi, coalition force mission was conducted in coordination with the local neighborhood advisory council.“

Mr. Jafron Hassan, a neighborhood advisory council representative, helped the Iraqi Army control the crowd and usher people through the entry control point,” added McCall. “The response from the populace was overwhelmingly positive. Lt. Col. Rahim, the 3rd Bn. Iraqi Army commander, and his men did a great job and really took the lead on the whole event.”

The Iraqi Army battalion surgeon, with his two medics, took the lead on the majority of the assessment and treatment, McCall noted, while a physician’s assistant for the 2-32nd pitched in, as needed.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: April 16 - April 22
Slides: 25, 26, 27

Joint Security Station Torch Open House

SSG Santos

Family Readiness Group Celebrates Easter

Patriots Earn Combat Patch