MNC-I Commander Tours Nahrwan

Maj. Luis Rivera, from Puerto Rico, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery executive officer, leads Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander, on a tour of Combat Outpost Salie in Nahrwan, Iraq, Nov. 29.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander, addresses Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery prior to re-enlisting three Soldiers at Combat Outpost Salie in Nahrwan, Iraq, Nov. 29.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander, addresses Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery prior to re-enlisting three Soldiers at Combat Outpost Salie in Nahrwan, Iraq, Nov. 29.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander, addresses Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery prior to re-enlisting three Soldiers at Combat Outpost Salie in Nahrwan, Iraq, Nov. 29.

Maj. Luis Rivera, from Puerto Rico, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery executive officer, briefs Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander, and Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s Country, Md., commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Combat Outpost Salie in Nahrwan, Iraq, Nov. 29.


By Maj. Joe Sowers
3rd BCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – The Multi-National Corps - Iraq commander Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno toured Nahrwan with leaders of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Nov. 29.

The 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery assumed responsibility of Nahrwan and the surrounding area in mid-October. Since then, the battalion established Combat Outpost Salie and has conducted more than 200 patrols to eliminate a potential extremist sanctuary.

Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s County, Md., commander of the 3rd BCT, explained to Odierno that Nahrwan has been an area of focus for the brigade for some time, and things continue to get better. He also emphasized the work done by Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, prior to the arrival of the 1-10th FA.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” Grigsby said. “We’ve been clearing this place for seven months. It was a sanctuary for extremists.”

Grigsby further explained that the deployment of the 1-10th FA to Nahrwan is the “hold” step in the 3rd BCT “clear, hold, build” strategy for Nahrwan.

Maj. Luis Rivera, from Puerto Rico, the 1-10th FA executive officer, led Odierno on a tour of COP Salie, a local medical clinic and a market adjacent to the new outpost.

Prior to leaving the outpost to see the clinic and market, Odierno re-enlisted three Soldiers and presented awards to six others.

“It (re-enlisting) says a lot about yourselves; your discipline, your dedication and your selfless service,” Odierno told the Soldiers prior to the re-enlistment ceremony. “I don’t do anything. It is Soldiers like you that make a difference.”

Pfc. Alexander Copland, from Garden City, Mich., Pfc. Richard Havellana, from Anchorage, Alaska, and Pfc. Lucero Hernandez-Velasquez, from Tijuana, Mexico, all from Company G, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, re-enlisted during the ceremony. Company G is in direct support of the 1-10th FA.

Odierno pinned Army Commendation Medals on Pfc. Justin Ballard, from Memphis, Tenn., Pfc. Justin Hayes, from Clarksburg, W.Va., Spc. Nathan Miller, from Parkersburg, W.Va., Sgt. Jonathon Pratt, from Wilmington, Ohio, Sgt. Jonathon Nicholas, from Bessemer, Ala., and Staff Sgt. Peter Dees, from Elkhart, Ind.

The 1-10th FA is assigned to the 3rd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom V since March.