Posted on 11/12/2008 4:30:39 PM PST by SandRat
BAGHDAD — Baghdad is a city of checkpoints, manned mostly by Iraqi security forces (ISF) and ‘Son of Iraq’ (SoI) volunteers throughout the capital city.
They are also a major concern of Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey, senior enlisted advisor for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, the brigade responsible for a large section of northern Baghdad.
“The most important thing for me is to take care of Soldiers,” said Dailey, a native of Palmerton, Pa. “In reality this is saving Soldiers lives. If we can get Iraqis to secure this place, on their own, then the ultimate goal is for us not to be out on the streets anymore. It’s for Iraqis to be able to do this on their own.”
So Dailey conducts regular patrols to inspect the checkpoints, making sure the Iraqis are in the correct uniform and following correct procedures, and ensuring the integration between the SoI and ISF runs smoothly.
“We’re trying to achieve harmony between these groups. They complement each other,” Dailey said.
On a recent patrol, Dailey stopped at a newly opened Iraqi National Police checkpoint in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad to talk to the officers. The area had been the scene of numerous improvised explosive device attacks.
“No reports of anybody threatening, special groups … ?” asked Dailey.
“No, no,” said the Policeman.
“Nothing?” asked Dailey. “Everybody’s happy?”
“This is very safe area,” answered the Policeman.
One worry the officer had was that since there were no lights in the area, he and his men might be mistaken for insurgents by Coalition forces conducting night operations. Dailey assured him he would pass along his concern.
The next stop was another Police checkpoint located on a main road. The Police were making random checks, but otherwise the traffic was flowing smoothly; the drivers appearing to take the occasional delay in stride.
“People aren’t afraid of checkpoints anymore. They realize that they’re there for safety,” commented Dailey.
There was one thing at the checkpoint that Dailey didn’t like to see: the Police were using concertina wire to narrow the road.
“When you see concertina wire out on the streets …. .It still looks like a battle zone. The goal is to get rid of that look, but still provide the service,” said Dailey.
Dailey asked the Police if they had any cones, the kind you would see at any construction site in America. The Police said they didn’t. Dailey made them a deal; if he gave them the cones, they had to remove the concertina wire. The Police agreed, and before he left, Dailey gave them some cones.
“We take that wire out of there. We take the battle look out of the operational environment so it doesn’t look like a war zone. We give them shiny new cones so it looks pretty and they still get to achieve the same thing. People stop because they see the cones or it directs them into lanes without using the wire,” said Dailey. “It really cleans up the battle space to make it look like a safe, normal environment.”
There were more stops to be made, more cones were handed out. At some checkpoints a military dog team in Dailey’s convoy was used to search random cars at one routine stop at an SOI checkpoint.
“This is amazing. This is something you wouldn’t [have seen] before,” said Dailey. “The Police stopped by to check on how the SOI were doing. That’s something we couldn’t get them to do before."
“It is exciting to work with these guys. They protect us; we protect them. We work all together,” said Iraqi Police 1st Lt. Kadhim Radi. “We are all brothers.”
This was not always the case.
“Any work in the beginning, there is distrust. We had to break from them in the beginning because we did not know them very well,” said Radi. “But then we use them, now we start trusting them.”
For Dailey, this is a sign of progress.
“They’re all working together for one common goal. They realize that security is the only way to go,” he said.
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