Falahat Returning to Normal as Children's Laughter Fills Air

FALAHAT, Iraq, July 9, 2007 — The sounds of laughing girls and boys could be heard as soldiers from Troop D, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment brought the children here for a day of fun, through painting, as well as other activities, July 7, 2007.

"I feel really good about it, because you can actually see the results. Before it didn’t feel like anything was happening and there was no proof that anything would ever change."

The soldiers handed out paint brushes and paint and watched as the children painted pictures and their names on concrete barriers. They also played with the children, kicking soccer balls to them. When the painting was done, the troops gave the children toys and candy.

In addition to the children, the soldiers from the troop continued building relationships with parents and other adults in the village — a place once plagued by daily violence.

Things in the village have changed, thanks to area sheiks gathering together with their people and the local government to end sectarian violence and promote reconciliation in this town which just a month ago was shaken by constant improvised explosive device attacks and gunfire, according to Capt. Martin Wohlgemuth, the troop commander and a native of Anchorage, Ala.

Now, mainly quiet, thanks in part to a neighborhood watch made up of concerned residents who inform on insurgents, report terrorist acts and notify coalition and Iraqi security forces if caches are found, the village is beginning to come back to life, said Wohlgemuth. The fun day was a good sign that soon the focus on security could move more toward reconstruction efforts and projects.

“This has been something we’ve been hoping to do since we got here, turning from more of a security operations role to helping the people which is great news,” said Wohlgemuth. “Today, we are giving the children and their parents a day that they can enjoy together, that allows for them a time to have fun and some normalcy in their lives.”

“It also allows us the chance to get out on the street to get to know the locals better and talk to each other,” Wohlgemuth added.

Interacting with children in a setting that was once wrought with violence has been an interesting experience for the soldiers, who have been performing cordon and searches and other major operations in the area for the past seven months.

“This is unique, and it’s really quite different than when we first started coming down here,” said Spc. Matthew Dixon, a forward observer with the troop who hails from Pottstown, Pa. “You can definitely see a change in the neighborhood —- adult males are not afraid to come out of their houses and you see kids playing outside. It’s becoming like any typical neighborhood again.” “I feel really good about it, because you can actually see the results. Before it didn’t feel like anything was happening and there was no proof that anything would ever change,” added Dixon. “Now you actually see people waving and smiling at you.”

Soldiers explained what it means to have villagers here taking on their own fight against the insurgency.

“They’re taking ownership in taking back the streets here,” said 1st Lt. Mike Blake, a platoon leader from Baltimore, whose troops work out of an outpost in the village.

“It’s not much different than what happens in the states when gangs try to come into an area and take over, the people get fed up with it and fight them. That’s exactly what the people here are doing against the insurgents,” said Staff Sgt. Danny Garner, a squad leader who claims Cherokee, Ala., and Longbeach, Calif., as his hometowns. “It was not something we came up with, but it was the people who came to us and said they were fed up with the violence. I remember seeing a brother of a man who was killed by insurgents crying and saying that he was ready to fight the insurgents right now.”

In recent weeks, locals working in Falahat’s neighborhood watch program have led the troop to several weapons caches and improvised explosive device materials. They have also reported on insurgents lurking in their neighborhoods.

“The people here are the ones who knew who the foreign fighters were in their neighborhoods and they have helped rid the area of those foreign fighters,” said Blake. “This has been a great step forward, seeing this community stand up, and this is truly a blessing,” injected Garner.

Also at the request of the villagers, Troop D soldiers set up an outpost in the village to assist with security when necessary.

One of the next steps to getting the village back to normalcy will be working short term projects in conjunction with the local Iraqi government to get the people back to work.

“We will be working with them on projects that will pay them and employ them,” said Wohlgemuth. “Some of the projects will be similar to the Conservation Corps back in the 1920s and 1930s, in which people were hired to clean canals and pick up garbage.”

In addition, said Wohlegmuth, the village will soon be moving ahead with some projects to refurbish schools, fix water mains and electrical lines —- things that, until now, could not be given a green light due to security concerns.

“There are so many things going on now in the village that it’s simply amazing,” added Wohlgemuth.

Just WOW

that's brings a smile to the face and a tear in the heart. Young boys being able to be = young boys!

I can't help but think of Charles Eastman, who was one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America.

This is truly a story about how ONE PERSON can influence generations of people into the far future, in far lands, under circumstances no one could imagine.

Eastman, (1858-1939) was born a Dakota Sioux, in a buffalo hide tipi, ("mixed blood, in that he was 1/4 white, his white maternal grandfather was the famous western artist, Seth Eastman.)

However, he was born and raised until age 15 in the old Indian ways, removed from the influence of the white man.

At age 4, he was given the name "Ohiyesa". It wasn't until he was 15 that he came into contact with the whites - quite unwillingly, when he was forced to go off to a white school.

Most of us know the treatment these Indian children received in these schools. He was stubborn, but finally, given no choice, capitulated and with his brilliant mind, ended up graduating from Dartmouth College and then became a doctor with a medical degree from Boston University. He also held positions in Wash. DC, advocating for his people.

Eventually, he went back west, to use his medical training to help the Indians at Wounded Knee - and yes, he was there to witness the massacre.

He would go on to write many books, all still in print today - my favorite: "The Soul of the Indian."

In this small masterpiece, he tells, as no other has, his first hand and non-translated account to, as he put it: "to paint the religious life of the typical American Indian as it was before the white man."

Many of the ideals that the Boy Scouts of America espoused from the beginning are those that Eastman learned at the knees of his grandmother (his mother died young) and his grandfather - the old ways.

His influence has impacted generations of our youth, and now it is being spread by our wonderful young men and women to youth who have had precious little fun and hope in their young lives. We shall never know how far reaching The Boy Scouts of Iraq! will be. It may, in the end, be the most effective weapon against the Taliban.

It's sobering to think how the actions of just one person, like Eastman, can affect countless generations = for good or ill. How far reaching the actions of our wonderful troops in this will be - the sky's the limit.

Don't you think the people in America have a right to see these stories???

And will the main stream media report this??? Not likely.

Nor only does it not fit their agenda = it doesn't "bleed"

So what's stopping Freepers from spreading the word?????????

It's called supporting the troops, backing our president and helping the world - and US to stay free.

Where have the Freepers who use to get their teeth into the important issues gone???

Where are the freepers that one would THINK would be reading these threads on our military???

I am truly saddened by what seems to've happened to the spirit of FR

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