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BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 10, 2008) - The Raider Brigade Combat Team
has a new ally in its mission to help the Iraqi government and
Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers build upon the
predominately Sunni community of Doura in Baghdad's Rashid
district.
The 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, "Warriors" will be
attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team
next week as part of its mission to help the government and the
Iraqi people.
"It is our intent to create a safe and stable living environment
for the people of the Doura district," said Army Lt. Col. Timothy
Watson, commander of 2-4th Infantry Regiment, part of the 10th
Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Polk,
La.
The battalion's current mission is to work with Iraqi security
forces and the local district councils responsible for the
community, which is home to the Doura Market, a social, cultural
and economic center in southern Baghdad, Watson explained.
"This area has all the potential to flourish economically and
contribute to the proud cultural heritage of the Iraqi nation,"
Watson said. "Much of our time and effort has been devoted to
facilitating the growth of the market complex while providing a
nonintrusive, yet highly effective, security presence."
The units of the 2-4th Infantry Regiment have partnered with the
local Iraqi army police forces, as well as the "Sons of Iraq"
citizen security group, to better secure the Doura neighborhoods
from criminal and terrorist activity.
Soldiers maintain a presence in Doura 24 hours a day to help
Iraqi security forces protect the 5,000 homes in the local
community, Army 2nd Lt. Jay Parsons, a platoon leader assigned to
Company B, 2-4th Infantry Regiment, said.
Units conduct joint and platoon-sized operations with their
Iraqi counterparts every day, operating out of combat outposts and
joint security stations in Doura, he explained.
"I try to ensure that we conduct some type of combat operation
every day," said Parsons, who calls Wichita, Kan., his home. "Be it
cordon and search or dismounted and mounted patrols, it's a
constant thing. There are still a small group of criminal elements
within the district that we are weeding out, but I do not see a
major threat."
Security is not the platoon's only function, said Parsons, a
graduate of Wichita State University with a bachelor's degree in
history and criminal justice. He said his soldiers also conduct
daily "atmospherics" meetings with the Doura residents and visit
local community businesses.
"There is still a lot of potential for growth in there," Parsons
said. "There is a need for community services, and there are
definitely capable people within the district to run all that."
The regiment's company commanders also are working to stimulate
the local economy and assist local business owners with
small-business loans to help revitalize areas such as the Doura
Market, he added.
Army Sgt. Keith Fosmire, a native of Cloversfield, N.Y., and a
team leader in Parsons' platoon, said that, in the short time since
his unit began working with the Doura residents, he has seen an
improvement in the quality of life and an increase in the people's
respect for their community.
"We had a big problem with garbage," said Fosmire, who describes
himself as being devoted to the military and the mission. "Now
we're actually seeing the guys in the yellow jump suits and garbage
trucks going around picking up the trash. And we're seeing more
jobs and more activity in the area than before."
Fosmire, who is on the fifth deployment of his 11-year career,
said he credits the unit's success to the "squared-away and
dedicated" soldiers of 2-4th Infantry Regiment, as well to as the
extensive training the battalion conducted last year, prior to its
deployment.
He also attributed Doura's progress to the cooperation between
the Iraqi people and coalition forces, as well as work accomplished
by previous units, such as the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, from
Fort Carson, Colo.
The Warrior Battalion arrived in Baghdad in December to become
part of the 1st Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team. The
2-4th Infantry Regiment will attach to the 4th Infantry Division's
1st Brigade Combat Team as the Raider BCT bids farewell to the
outgoing unit and assumes responsibility for the Rashid
district.
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