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FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq (June 30, 2008) -
Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and Iraqi National Police
officers share the stresses and successes of providing security and
stability in Iraq as they work side by side every day to protect
the people of Baghdad.
Soldiers assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry
Regiment, work with national policemen in a number of
capacities.
Patriot Brigade soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 4th
Brigade Combat Team frequently stop at police stations to check in
on their Iraqi brothers in arms. This may seem like a small
gesture, one soldier said, but the visits have positive
repercussions.
"It is a morale boost for national policemen to see U.S.
soldiers caring enough about them to stop in and talk when it would
be easier after a long mission in 130-degree heat to just pass on
by and go back to their air-conditioned rooms," Army Capt. Clint
Brooks, Company D commander, said. "The NPs' living conditions are
not nearly as comfortable as [those] of U.S. soldiers."
The soldiers often bring the policemen cool water or snacks to
help them stay motivated on the job, Brooks said. The policemen are
happy to return the favor, bringing U.S. soldiers drinks or local
Iraqi food, such as bread, fruit or kebabs, he said. For the
national police officers, this kind of relationship building puts a
human face to American soldiers in uniform.
"It can be easy for an Iraqi, even an Iraqi national policeman,
to look at a group of soldiers all wearing the same uniform,
performing their jobs with the machine-like precision we pride
ourselves on, and not think of them as human like them," Brooks
said. "With these visits, U.S. soldiers not only get to know their
Iraqi counterparts, but the Iraqi [policemen] get to know their
counterparts, building the rapport essential to making their joint
missions go smoothly."
The Iraqi National Police officers who share an operating
environment with Company D soldiers are responsible for securing a
traffic circle at an intersection of two major roads in Baghdad. At
times, the soldiers join them at their positions around the traffic
circle and in the vehicle-searching areas to help with security and
search operations. The Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers say
the national policemen do an admirable job at their checkpoint.
"You can't help but see their selfless devotion to make their
country a better place for their people," said Army Pfc. Randy
Hooper, a Company D soldier who hails from Willows, Calif. "Even
though our common enemy threatens their lives every day, they still
guard their checkpoint."
When U.S. soldiers join the policemen at the checkpoint, the
effects extend beyond the relationship and cooperation between
them. It also affects the way the populace looks at their national
police.
"It shows the people of Iraq that their national police are
working hard and being supported by the most powerful fighting
force in the world -- the U.S. Army," Brooks said. "The competence
and credibility of the U.S. Army, known worldwide, is transferred
to the NPs by working together [and] building the people's
confidence and trust in their national police.
"Showing this combined presence at such a highly trafficked
area," he continued, "lets our common enemy know that if you try to
test either force individually, we will answer together."
On many of their combined missions, the national police lead the
way and U.S. soldiers play a supporting role, Brooks explained.
National policemen conduct their part of the mission with a speed
and precision that sometimes is hard for American soldiers to
achieve because of their reliance on interpreters, he said.
"They are getting better every mission that we do together, and
they are very helpful," Army Spc. Urban Jones, a dismounted squad
leader from Miami, said.
After working with national police officers for several months,
the soldiers of Company D have watched them become a more effective
fighting force, Jones said.
The soldiers are thankful their hard work is paying dividends,
and they look forward to the day national police conduct their
missions without any outside support, because building Iraqi
security forces and handing over to them the responsibility of
securing their country is the best exit strategy, Jones said.
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