Posted on 08/12/2005 6:00:34 PM PDT by SandRat
SADR CITY, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 12, 2005) – Patrols by U.S. and Iraqi Army Soldiers have resulted in safer streets for the citizens of Sadr City.
The once hotly-contested area is now patrolled by troops from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
On July 28 the Soldiers performed a neighborhood patrol designed to allow the Soldiers to become acquainted with their new neighborhood.
“It’s a lot of work, getting to know a new sector – we gather intel on terrorist operations, assess how receptive the locals are to our presence and develop informants,” said 1st Lt. Jason Schwab, platoon leader. “We try and impress upon them that it’s in their best interests to help us, because the people who kidnap and extort them are the same ones planting bombs in the roads.”
During the patrol, Schwab stopped at the Al-Kanasa Police Station and spoke with a warrant officer about the neighborhood.
“The people we talk to in the neighborhood have been pretty helpful and want things to get better in Sadr,” said Sgt. Lee Minyard. “They’re starting to realize we’re here to help them.”
Minyard pulled security throughout the patrol, which took the dismounted infantrymen through the streets and alleys of Sadr.
“We tell people that it’s up to them to make a difference in their communities,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Brisley, section leader. “They’re so used to relying on one leader to make all the decisions, but they’re gradually taking the initiative.”
Brisley remarked that the streets had rivers of sewage running through them six months ago.
“People see the improvements, and it makes them happier to see us than they were when we arrived in Iraq,” said Brisley.
Soldiers stopped at a high school to assess its condition and to see if terrorists were storing weapons inside.
Finding the school clear, Schwab spoke to the principal about terrorist groups in the area.
“Building a rapport with influential people here is the best thing we can do right now,” Schwab said. “Intelligence from the locals is the most effective means of deterring terrorist activity in (our) sector.”
(Editor’s Note: Spc. Ben Brody is the 2nd Brigade Combat Team public affairs officer.)
PING
bttt
May God bless them!
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