Lt. Col. Troy Perry, from Belfast, Maine, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, right center, and Capt. David Preston, from Marietta, Ga., company commander for Company B, 1st Battalion, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, right of Perry, discussed local security with leaders of the Al Jadida Iraqi Security Force Jan. 22 at the Al Muthana Joint Security Station. (Photo/Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO)
Maj. Uday, a company commander with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division explains his security plan to Col. Ahmed, Iraqi police station chief of Al Jadida, right, and Maj. Faik, another company commander with the 2/1/11 IA Division during a meeting at the Al Muthana Joint Security Station Jan. 22. (Photo/Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO)3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Coalition Forces and local ISF leaders from Al Jadida, Iraq, met Jan. 22 at the Al Muthana Joint Security Station to discuss local security.
Lt. Col. Troy Perry, from Belfast, Maine, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment and Capt. David Preston, from Marietta, Ga., company commander for Company B, 1st Battalion, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, attended the meeting.
It’s been a long road traveled, but improvements in security and economics have been incredible, according to Preston.
“The improvement has been pretty impressive from when we first got here,” Preston said. “The problem was communication. The neighborhood council was not communicating with the Iraqi Army and Police.”
Preston said his unit initiated the change when they convinced community and Iraqi Security Force leaders to attend meetings to discuss local issues. The meetings were led by the 2-69th AR and Co. B, 1-504th PIR leaders.
“Now the meetings are Iraqi-led and we are just here to support,” Preston said.
Col. Ahmed, Iraqi Police station chief of Al Jadida, said the purpose of the meetings was to discuss all issues, both good and bad. “We bring it all to the table,” Ahmed said through a translator.
Because of this, Perry and Preston agree, Al Jadida has shown significant improvement, beginning with security and now economic growth.
First Lt. John Burns, from Harpersville, N.Y., said he has seen a tremendous decrease in violence since assuming duties as a platoon leader for Company D, 2-69th AR, and has supportive evidence.
Preston said the Iraqi Security Forces are making a positive influence on the local populace, building their confidence in the Iraqi Army and Police.
“They are conducting joint patrols,” he said. “They do career days at local schools where they talk to the children about the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police. This gives the locals a positive image of the Iraqi Security Forces that they don’t always get.”
Ahmed said Iraqi Soldiers and Policemen are proactive in their communities.
The positive outcome did not come easy and there is still a long road ahead, according to Perry.
“Coalition Forces do combined patrols with the ISF,” he said. “They try to spend nine straight hours a week training and operating with them. They do medical training, weapons training, and training on how to clear and search buildings.”
In addition to the ISF, Burns mentioned another force protecting and securing their communities.
“The Concerned Local Citizens have been going for about a month,” Burns said. “They trained about a month or two before that … They work at checkpoints and the ISF are training them to search vehicles. They are all working towards the same goal.”
It is that goal that is creating confidence amongst locals towards their Army and Police, said Maj. Faik, a company commander with 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division.
In addition to Coalition Forces, IA and IP working together for the good of Al Jadida, Preston said the neighborhood council and the ISF also work hand-in-hand. When the Iraqi Army receives a tip about an IED, Preston said council chairmen accompany the Iraqi Soldiers to the IED site.
“This builds confidence in the ISF and CF,” Preston said. “The local people enjoy seeing combined patrols. It makes them feel more secure.”
1st Sgt. Kenneth Kempke, from Columbus, Ohio, Company D, 2-69th AR, believes cooperation is the key to improved security and the economy.
“The country will go the way the economy goes,” he said. “The people will gravitate towards those who give them security, money and abilities.”
The security situation in the area has improved dramatically and Preston believes the economy has followed.
“We see more people on the streets, more kids on the playground, more traffic, more vendors,” Preston said.
Their Iraqi Security Force counterparts agree.
“People are going to the markets and parks now,” Ahmed said through a translator. Ahmed said more stores were opening and residents were spending money at the stores.
“I would like to see the Iraqi Security Forces take the lessons learned from their partnership, and continue to improve their capabilities so they can provide a safe environment for their people without us,” Perry said.
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