Infantry Leaders Attend Iraqi Holiday Feast

Family members of Sheik Nouri, head sheik of the Mada'in Qada, prepare a holiday feast at his house in Al Ja'ara, Iraq, Dec. 27, as local leaders and members of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, hold a meeting inside.

Lt. Col. Jack Marr, center, from Minneapolis, Minn., commander of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, his translator, left, and Capt. Rich Thompson, from West Palm Beach, Fla., commander of Company B, 1-15 Inf. Regt., eat a holiday feast at the home of Sheik Nouri, head sheik of the Mada'in Qada, Dec. 27, in Al Ja'ara, Iraq.

Lt. Col. Jack Marr, left, from Minneapolis, Minn., commander of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, Capt. Rich Thompson, West Palm Beach, Fla., commander of Company B, 1-15 Inf. Regt., and Capt. Steven Hemmann, from Des Peres, La., executive officer of Company B, eat a holiday feast at the home of Sheik Nouri, head sheik of the Mada'in Qada, Dec. 27, in Al Ja'ara, Iraq.

First Lt. J.P Stegman, Spartanburg, S.C., a platoon leader in Company C, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, and Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Wright, from St. Louis, a platoon sergeant in Company B, eat a holiday feast at the home of Sheik Nouri, head sheik of the Mada'in Qada, Dec. 27, in Al Ja'ara, Iraq.

COMBAT OUTPOST CLEARY, Iraq – Soldiers and leaders of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, attended an Iraqi holiday feast at the home of the head sheik of the Mada’in Qada, Sheik Nouri, Dec. 27, in Al Ja’ara.

Before the feast, leaders of the Concerned Local Citizens program, Iraqi security forces, 1-15 Infantry Regiment, and village leaders held a meeting to discuss future operations and progress Al Ja’ara and the surrounding areas.

“We specifically talked about recent incidents in the Al Bawi and Wardyah areas,” said , said Capt. Stephen Hemmann, Des Peres, La., executive officer of Company B, 1-15 Inf. Regt.

While the leaders were inside Nouri’s house conducting the meeting, the Sheik’s family was outside preparing a holiday feast, a meal in honor of Christmas and the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha.

“The food was outstanding,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Jemison, from New Orleans, platoon sergeant for 1-15 Inf. Regiment’s command security detachment, “It built a rapport between coalition forces and the locals. Sheik Nouri preparing this meal shows he wants progress in his village and in the Mada’ in overall.”

Hemmann explained the feast was a huge demonstration of the progress being made regarding the relationship between Sunni and Shia present in the Mada’in Qada.

“Both Sunni and Shia were present,” he said. “The Concerned Local Citizens (program members) were breaking bread with the national police and there was no violence.”

Capt. Rich Thompson, West Palm Beach, Fla., commander of Company B, 1-15 Inf. Regt., is pleased with the progress of the security in the area and the relationships between the security forces and locals.

“Security is going well in the area,” he said. “We’ve created opportunity for local businesses, families have moved back into the area; the national police and the Concerned Local Citizens (program members) are working together to prevent al-Qaida and insurgents to work there. People are now able to safely travel from Baghdad to Salman Pak.”

The 1-15 Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.