Soldiers, Airmen build better living conditions in Iraq

Photo By Spc. Kirby Rider | A Soldier from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., cleans a generator at Combat Outpost Zaginayah, Iraq, Feb. 28. The generator helps power a new Morale Welfare and Recreation building the Soldiers built on the COP with help from Air Force engineers from Balad, Iraq.  

ZAGINAYAH, IRAQ

03.02.2008

Story by Spc. Kirby Rider 

4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

ZAGINAYAH, Iraq – Take an abandoned schoolhouse, add some beds, guard towers, recreation area and chow hall ... and what do you get? A combat outpost Soldiers operate to keep al-Qaida in Iraq operatives from reentering a former terrorist stronghold near Zaginayah, Iraq.

Leaders from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., have made major improvements during the past three months for the morale and welfare of their Soldiers who live at the COP Zaginayah fulltime.

"In the early days we would rotate Soldiers to (FOB) Warhorse so they could rest and refit. Since we have been pushing our operations stronger in the (Zaginayah) area, our Soldiers stay at the COP for much longer periods of time," said 1st Lt. Daniel Byrnside, fire support officer for Company C. "When that happened, we had to ensure that our Soldiers' morale was maintained."

The Soldiers of Company C, 2-23 Inf. and Airmen from the 725th Engineer Squadron from Balad, Iraq, worked for eight weeks straight to build a Moral, Welfare and Recreation facility that contains three TVs, a DVD player and two game consoles. Along with watching DVDs, the COP recently installed a satellite to receive Armed Forces Network. The Soldiers also have access to five computers connected to the Internet and three phones to stay in contact with their families.

Before the additions were made to COP Zaginayah, Soldiers stationed there were only able to shower after returning to one of the FOBs in the area, sometimes not showering for up to a week and a half at a time.

"The showers and the working toilets are my favorite part of the COP," Byrnside said. "We have working showers just like on the FOB."


Along with the showers, a state of the art chow hall was also installed so the Soldiers did not have to buy their own food or rely solely on Meals Ready-to-Eat, pre-packaged meals ready for immediate consumption in the field.

"The biggest thing that I like is we are able to cook and provide for ourselves. The guys get a hot meal everyday," said 1st Sgt. Jonny Resseguie, the company's top non-commissioned officer. "They are good healthy meals, so the guys are able to keep a nutritional balance in their diet, and that helps them out with performing their jobs well."

The Soldiers would not be able to do what they do without the Iraqi police, which have a station next door to the COP and checkpoints along the roads surrounding the COP. The Soldiers assist the IPs in various tasks including fire support and medical treatment when their checkpoints get attacked and providing them with materials to get the job done.

The IPs and Iraqi army soldiers ability to step up and take control of the areas they operate has helped lead to the recent success of operations in the Diyala River Valley. COP Zaginayah is also credited with that success due to its location and amenities to help support the troops keeping the Breadbasket secured.

The northern DRV or Breadbasket is a region in Diyala province that was a former AQI hotspot until Operation Raider Harvest cleared the area in January.

"The success we have had in the DRV depends on our ability to support our company and the other forces in the area," Resseguie said.

The COP at Zaganiyah helps us do just that, Resseguie concluded.

• Date Taken: 03.02.2008
• Date Posted: 03.02.2008 06:29
• Story ID: 16895
• Location: ZAGINAYAH, IQ