Sheik Vin Jan, from the Vin Jan village, signs the memorandum of agreement, Oct. 19. 
Capt. John Horning, from Houston, commander, Company C, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, shakes hands and poses for a picture with Sheik Vin Jan, a key figure in the Vin Jan village, Oct. 19.3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq - Sheik Vin Jan, a key figure in the Vin Jan village, took the first steps toward building a Concerned Local Citizens group in his village, Oct. 19.
Capt. John Horning, from Houston, commander, Company C, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, and 1st Sgt. Angel Cordero, from Puerto Rico, Company C's first sergeant, visited Vin Jan to discuss the village's security situation and possible plans for establishing a CLC group.
The two parties signed a memorandum of agreement covering the basics of what Horning and his unit expect from the group of more than 100 volunteers.
"Once you tell me and show me that you care about your town, I'll show you that I care too," Horning said.
Horning explained that once the local residents eradicate extremist elements, they can bring in projects to improve essential services in the community.
The CLC program has decreased violence in dozens of communities in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division's area of operation. Citizens in participating villages operate in an organized manner to patrol their communities and weed out insurgent activity.
Members of CLC groups use their own resources to keep the program running.
"There are a lot of people here that know about the Concerned Local Citizens program and want the program for their neighborhoods," Horning said.
In the nearby town of Al Hurria, local residents created their own CLC group from the ground up, Horning said. They recruited, compiled background information on all volunteers and set their own standards.
Each volunteer was solely employed by his concerned citizen duties.
When the process was complete, the concerned citizens approached Horning wanting to aid Company C in the fight against insurgents.
Horning and his unit have been working with the group in Al Hurria.
Soldiers conduct patrols with the group to show support and help where they are needed.
The accomplishments of the concerned citizens in Al Hurria were noticed by Vin Jan, motivating him to create his own group.
Horning said he has spoken with several villagers from Al Hurria about the program. Many people expressed feeling at ease when they sleep at night now, knowing concerned citizens are patrolling their village.
Horning has high hopes for the newly-formed group in Vin Jan. He believes once security improves, projects focused on essential services and sanitation will light the way to further promote well-being and security.
"It's not without challenges, but things are working here," Horning said. "When you go into a town enough times and meet the leaders, you get a sense that they are not involved with extremism and just want their kids to go to school. They want to farm their fields and they don't want to be sick. Seeing this makes me want to help them out."
Company C, 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment