3-1 Cav. Leaders Meet With Local Sheiks

Col. Fadhil Abbas, Iraqi army 'Bey May Eagles' commander, from the Besmaya Range Complex, sits between Col. Darel Maxfield, American Army officer in charge of the Besmaya Range Complex, on the left, from Spokane, Wash., and Lt. Col. John Kolasheski, the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment commander, from Louden, Tenn., to his right. These leaders held a meeting with local community leaders June 26, at Besmaya Range Complex.

by Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Leaders from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment met with local town leaders at the Besmaya Range Complex June 26, to discuss projects and security issues.

Col. Fadhil Abbas, the Iraqi army’s “Bey May Eagles” commander, held the meeting to talk with the local leaders or shieks on ways to improve relationships among the coalition forces, and also how to help facilitate projects in their communities.

“In working with the Iraqi army and Iraqi police and gentlemen like you, I think the future can be brighter. There is so much that can happen with cooperation,” said Lt. Col. John Kolasheski, the 3-1 Cav., 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team’s squadron commander from Louden, Tenn., addressing the group.

During the meeting, sheiks and 3-1 Cav. leaders separated into two groups to discuss security and projects.

Soldiers received information about where certain threats were coming from within the area in the security meeting.

“I will give you all the information you need because I am in so much pain about my area,” a sheik said through a translator.

Soldiers and sheiks discussed plans to rebuild schools and youth centers, repave roads, and fix water problems in the projects meeting.

“We started delivering water to them, which was a short-term fix to a long-term water problem,” said Capt. Damond Davis, 3-1 Cav.’s fire support officer from Montgomery, Ala. “The long-term fix is to repair the pump stations.”

After the individual meetings, the groups came together to asses their progress. Cooperation between the Iraqi citizens, Iraqi security forces, and coalition forces is like building a house, said Abbas. A foundation must be set, said Abbas, and similar meetings are the foundation to bettering the future.

Fifty-six sheiks attended a previous meeting to discuss similar issues in their communities, said Davis.

Security must be maintained to facilitate project completion, concluded those who attended the previous meeting. Everyone at the meeting agreed that if threats continue then projects will be dropped.