Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone | A Soldier from the 2nd Battery, 150th Field Artillery prepares for a pre-dawn cordon...... read more read more
MOSUL, Iraq (22-23 June, 2006) -- U. S. Army Soldiers from the 150th Field Artillery Regiment and 511th Military Police Company tactically interfaced with Iraqi Police to do cordon and search operations in Mosul. The operation is dubbed Operation Lion Hunt III.
The focus of Operation LH III is to move the IPs in the direction of being more proactive in their roles as security enforcers and taking more of the responsibility away from the U.S. Army.
"Our mission as MP's is to shadow the IPs, observing and supervising and lending any assistance as well as we can," Said Capt. Gordon Campbell, commander, 2nd Battery, 150th FA Rgt. "We offer our advice or expertise whenever we see [the IPs] doing things differently than they should."
The continued efforts of the U.S. Army have not gone un-rewarded. According to Campbell, his unit has seen significant changes and pointed out how the IPs can improve.
"The continued improvements that I would like to see is their planning process, they've got to demonstrate that they can take an idea and put it into a plan and execute that plan," said Campbell. "We have taken the initial steps from the previous two Lion Hunts. So far, we've seen vast improvements."
The 150th FA, an Army National Guard unit from Indiana, took to the streets of Mosul by meeting with their Iraqi counterparts at One West, an IP station located near Forward Operating Base Marez.
The 150th FA cordoned off a section of Mosul where suspected insurgents were thought to live, and the IP searched house-to-house while the 150th FA observed the methods used.
"The importance in working closely with the IPs is because this is something they're not used to, they are used to being reactive so that makes them unaccustomed to being on the offensive or being proactive," said Campbell. "We instruct them on how to be proactive. Mentoring and observing them is very important, we can't just tell them what to do and then walk away and expect them to do it flawlessly. It's important that we give them the added support that they can learn from."
The 511th MPs, an active duty unit from Fort Drum, N.Y. administered a more hands-off approach while on patrol with the IPs. They covered more geographical areas than the 150th FA. As a result, they drove to specific check points to ensure that the IP were there and conducting their searches.
"Our mission is to follow and mentor the IPs. This was my third time out with the IPs for this operation. They did okay but they can always do better in regards to communication between the IP districts," said Staff Sgt. Felix Perez, squad leader, 1st Platoon, 511th MP Co.
Assisting the IP to assume a greater roll in their countries security is a grass-roots effort to reassure civilian communities throughout the entire country, that Iraqi's are providing their own security and reinforcing the government's ability to protect its citizens.
"We know that our involvement [with the IPs] directly influences not only what is happening here in Mosul, but all of Iraq," Said Campbell. "Mosul has proven itself to be one of the cities in Iraq to be getting the mission accomplished. We take that to heart and will strive to do that everyday to ensure that they stay out front and set the pace for the rest of the country. It's a tough and rewarding job and our Soldiers are proud to be doing it."
| Date Taken: | 06.28.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 06.28.2006 10:51 |
| Story ID: | 6978 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 265 |
| Downloads: | 143 |
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