Posted on 12/13/2008 8:19:30 AM PST by SandRat
BAGHDAD – The residents of Tharwa 1 shook hands with Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, in the streets as they conducted house-to-house searches for unauthorized weapons and the residents gladly opened their doors and welcomed the Soldiers inside.
Most residents offered tea and breakfast and they took handbills and tip cards with great interest as they hoped to show the Soldiers they were willing to help out in order to keep the area safe for their children.
“The people here in Sadr City really appreciate our efforts, and it’s nice to see them all come out to greet us when we knock on their doors,” said Spc. Mark Kupiec, Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, Task Force 1-6, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, attached to 3rd BCT, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
Kupiec, and the other Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1-35 AR, have conducted numerous clearing operations in Thawra 1. They recently finished clearing an area of more than 3,000 homes in a course of two months. In that search, the Soldiers confiscated more than 375 unauthorized weapons and passed out more than 100,000 handbills stressing the importance of cooperating with Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces.
“It’s amazing to think of how many homes we’ve searched this deployment, but we’re professionals and we know exactly where to look to find hidden weapons,” said Cpl. Bradley Hahn, 2nd Platoon, Co. C, 1st Bn., 35th Armor Regt.
“It’s always good to know basic Arabic phrases such as ‘May we come in,’ ‘Open the door’ and ‘Do you have a weapon,’” said Staff Sgt. Ralph Bain.
The 2nd Platoon Soldiers all have spent time studying Arabic with their interpreter and it comes in use often when the platoon is split into separate teams and they only have one professional interpreter. So far, the searches have been successful and the residents of Sadr City have even more reason to appreciate the security the Soldiers and the Iraqi Army provide.
Sure am glad you post the positive news of our ventures in Iraq. The leftist news media’s negative reporting produces despair. Positive news produces hope.
God bless our military men and women.
I was shocked when I got to Baghdad and started getting the daily briefings which mentioned the pro security agreement demonstrations. What really pissed me off was getting on msnbc and seeing them cover only sadr’s friday anti agreement demonstrations. Which only average only 2000-4000 people in a city of 4 million. It proved to me that the journalists have no clue what happens here and are just pushing their agenda.
You learned the lesson we Nam Era Vets learned long ago about the media; “If it’s not Anti-American, doesn’t Bleed to call American GIs butchers/torturers/rapists/war criminals, it won’t get ink or airtime” and “No matter what, spin it so it’s Anti-American.”
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