Cavalry, National Police team up for Operation 'Achilles'

Photo By Spc. Alexis Harrison | Maj. Hayder, an Iraqi policeman with the 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division communicates with his troops during a cordon and search of a neighborhood in the Al Doura District of southern Baghdad Dec. 10. The police and troops from the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, found a large cache of explosives and weapons in a mosque during the joint operation.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.10.2006

Story by Spc. Alexis Harrison 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

By Spc. Alexis Harrison
2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq – In the south-central portion of the capital city is the Al Doura neighborhood where several elements of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division operate. Task Force 1-14 is one of those elements. They've been working with the National Police force to help calm rising tension between a divided populous.

The 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division has been working side-by-side with companies from the 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division since August.

According to Lt. Col. Jeff Peterson, commander of TF 1-14, what started out as a shaky beginning, has turned out to be something his Soldiers and the NPs can be proud of.

"It's taken a lot of work and a lot of effort to get to where we are now," Peterson said. "It was very rocky when we first showed up. We had to build our relationship."

Peterson said joint missions conducted with the policemen for nearly six months have included patrolling the streets, cordon and search operations and raids. The team work is paying off now, Peterson said.

"Over time, we just keep getting better and better and more efficient," he said. "There's been a marked improvement in the last month."

Most recently, the troops and police conducted Operation "Achilles" Dec. 10. Peterson called it a parallel approach to the ongoing struggle between the anti-Iraq forces and coalition forces.

"It (Operation Achilles) was unique," he said. "(In) the first phase of the mission, we developed some of our own targets, so we did a unilateral operation to conduct raids. Subsequent to that, the NP came and did a medium-scale clearing operation which they planned and organized."

Peterson's troops came into the operation with specific objectives in mind. They were after several high-value targets, who were wanted in connection to the ongoing sectarian violence in the area.

The policemen had different objectives. They received information on a weapons cache inside one of the local mosques.

The police raided the mosque and found exactly what they were after: several electronic, roadside bomb initiators, pipe bombs, plastic explosives and assault rifles.

Peterson said that the company of police he worked alongside during the operation was some of the best he's worked with since his unit began these operations.

"Maj. Hayder is one of the stronger leaders in the battalion," he said.

The police not only found the cache they were after, but several of the men the troops were after.

The mission was over. Weapons were taken off the street, and the police showed how valuable they could be to the community. Peterson said it was a very successful joint mission with the police alongside his team.

"When they partner with us, I think they do very well. They searched houses thoroughly. They were on time, in uniform ready to go. They interacted with the Iraqi populous in a professional manner. They were respectful of the property as they went through the home. They were respectful of the families. I thought it was a very successful operation," Peterson said.

He explained how important it was to have the police in the lead during missions like "Achilles."

"With these operations it is very important to find caches, terrorists and detain them, but just as important is that the NP develop their relationship with the Iraqi people," he said. "They need to prove that they are trustworthy, professional and that they will conduct themselves in a professional manner."

The partnership between the police force and the coalition troops is a key to securing a peaceful future for the Iraqi people, Peterson said.

"It's been a long time and a lot of work, but right now it's all about partnership moving toward transition," he said. "I think the partnership is the critical piece of getting the situation in Iraq to where it needs to be so coalition forces can depart. It's just going to take some time and commitment."

• Date Taken: 12.10.2006
• Date Posted: 12.17.2006 13:27
• Story ID: 8594
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ