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FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq (March 23, 2008) - U.S. and
Georgian Soldiers helped get food and toys to a small village in
need near al Lej, March 18.
Leaders of Task Force Petro, consisting of Soldiers from 13th
Georgian Light Infantry Battalion and 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat
Team, 3rd Infantry Division, discovered Gurtan after the completion
of Operation Sukihumi, March 7. During the operation, Task Force
Petro Soldiers searched and cleared al Wehda, near al Lej. Now,
with the area secured, the task force is planning for its
revitalization.
Soldiers assigned to Civil Affairs Team A, attached to 3rd HBCT,
delivered the toys and food to citizens of Gurtan, near al Lej,
after assessing the needs of the village.
Company E, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, and Georgian
soldiers from 13th Georgian Light Infantry Battalion provided
security.
"Most of the villages in the al Wehda area are in desperate need
of medical attention and food, Gurtan was no exception," said Capt.
Jimmy Hathaway, the 3rd HBCT liaison officer for Task Force Petro.
"With the securing of al Wehda and al Lej, Coalition forces are now
able to travel along the routes to assess the infrastructure of the
neighboring villages."
Coalition force presence has been nominal in the area since
2006. Hathaway and Task Force Petro hope to turn that around.
"In the past, the village of Gurtan was a mixed society with
Shia and Sunni living next to each other," said Hathaway. "Starting
around three years ago, the younger adult males were taken from the
village by al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups. As a result, the
village is composed mostly of women, children and the elderly."
The village sheik's cousin, Rumdan Latef Ali, says the people of
his village rest easy at night with the added security Task Force
Petro Soldiers are bringing to the village.
"My family is able to sleep peacefully at night now that
Coalition forces are running constant patrols in the area," Ali
said.
The 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to 3rd HBCT, from Fort
Benning, Ga., 3rd Infantry Division, and has been deployed in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.
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