Courtesy Photo | A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier with Troop B, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry...... read more read more
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By Capt. Lee Cleghorn
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
BAGHDAD, Iraq – With security conditions in Baghdad improving as the year draws to a close, the Soldiers of Troop B, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, operationally attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, currently stationed at Joint Security Station Washash, are finding creative methods to continue their offensive against the enemies of Iraq.
Although there are fewer doors to kick down and attacks to counter, leaders like 1st Lt. Chris Ustler, a platoon leader with Troop B, have not allowed the lull in violent activity to equate to a lull in operations.
His Soldiers now find themselves walking the streets of Baghdad, handing out fliers denouncing the dwindling insurgency and encouraging local civilians to report criminal and insurgent activity.
"We are attacking the enemy on all fronts," said Capt. Michael Poche, the troop commander. "We will not allow him quarter, allow him rest. The psychological aspect of this fight is just as important as the kinetic."
Poche said he believes that with the insurgent activity declining in the area, the local populace has seen an opportunity for commerce to prosper.
The area in which the troops operate is highly commercialized and has been compared by Soldiers as the "Fifth Avenue of Baghdad." It is not uncommon now for coalition force patrols to see restaurants open late at night or to come across local kids playing midnight soccer games in the streets.
This lively city center, however, was the seat of almost weekly car bomb attacks only a few months ago.
The progress is attributable to several factors, said 1st Lt. David Feliz, Troop B's intelligence officer.
"The Iraqi security forces for this area have been entirely effective at targeting insurgents where they operate," he said. "We are trying to augment their success with a public relations campaign."
Some of the messages handed out are aimed at collecting specific information about certain insurgents, while others are general messages of encouragement to the populace.
The messages that the Soldiers hand out to the locals may vary in content, but all share the same goal of capitalizing on the positive momentum in the area.
The Iraqis of this once volatile area seem to have made the choice to return to normal life even though things are not yet entirely safe. The neighborhood advisory councils, a big part of the success story for this area of the city, are constantly finding ways to better the lives of the people they govern.
They continue to request that the Iraqi security and coalition forces help them by bringing in more infrastructural projects. In some respects, it is almost as if the neighborhoods are competing with each other.
"A little competition among the neighborhoods is healthy," joked Poche. "We just try to keep it from getting out of hand."
As local leaders create trash cleanup campaigns and other creative ways to better their areas, Poche and his men try to publicize their progress to the everyday man.
Although they hand out a lot of fliers, they also broadcast messages over speakers from their vehicles. More often than not though, they find that the most effective way of getting their positive message out to the people is just by being with them in the streets.
Living in a small house in downtown Baghdad makes this a lot easier than it once was.
"We are with Iraqis all the time, helping them figure out how to find Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems," said 1st Sgt. Richard Shopp, Troop B, 4-10 Cav. Regt. "I have more meals with Iraqis at our table at the security station than I've eaten back at the big forward operating base all year."
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.10.2008 05:17 |
| Story ID: | 26140 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 457 |
| Downloads: | 391 |
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