Capt. Scott Wares, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, out of Fort Bliss, Texas, hands out Beanie Babies to Iraqi girls following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Bassa Girls Primary School near Kirkuk, July 6, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

U.S. Soldiers recently helped culminate an eight-month reconstruction project here with a ribbon cutting ceremony officially opening the Bassa Girls Primary School in Tal Jal near Kirkuk.

Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, “Outlaws” 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, out of Fort Bliss, Texas, along with the Hawijah District Council, conducted the ceremony presenting the school which will provide quality education for more than 50 young girls around this area, July 6.

The project was funded by the Commander’s Emergency Relief Fund, according to 1st Lt. Nathaniel Cox, company operations intelligence support team leader for the Outlaws.

The leadership of Hawijah also played an important role in the building of this school, he said.

“The Hawijah District Council’s Reconstruction Committee gave us the local government perspective on the project; they were present for the inspections and in the end gave the final approval on the building,” Cox said.

The 1/37th Armor Commander, Lt. Col. Geoffrey Catlett, joined the Iraqi leaders in cutting the ribbon, followed by dignitaries speaking to the children who will benefit from the project.

“We are very pleased with the new school,” said a member of the Hawijah District Council. “It is just what this village needs.”

Catlett agreed, saying the school was very well built.

Following the ceremony, the children in the area were given Beanie Babies, hats, school supplies and medical attention from the “Outlaw” Soldiers.

“This is my favorite part of the job being out here doing something good for the children,” said Outlaw Commander, Capt. Scott D. Wares, as he watched the children eagerly receive their gifts.

USF-I
Written by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs
1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

Cpl. Anthony Millsap, a team leader with Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 'Gunners' 3rd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, shows Peshmerga forces various movement techniques using rocks, at a headquarters in Laylan, near Kirkuk, Iraq, June 14. This is the first official day of basic infantry training for Peshmerga soldiers from U.S. forces in Kirkuk. Photo by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

Peshmerga forces have been fighting side-by-side with U.S. forces since 2003, and select members of the 1st Kurdish Regional Guard Brigade started basic infantry training, run by U.S. troops at a headquarters in Laylan, near Kirkuk, Iraq, June 14.

The training is being facilitated by their brothers-in-arms: Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, ‘Gunners’ 3rd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

More than 50 KRGB non-commissioned officers and officers are participating in the training and are set to graduate mid-August, according to Cpl. Anthony Millsap, a Bravo Battery Soldier who is responsible for training the Peshmerga.

During training they will learn infantry skills, proper care and use of their weapon and other battlefield techniques, Millsap said.

“They are already picking up on the training very quickly,” Millsap added.

The first sergeant of Bravo Battery explained that the Peshmerga are picking up quickly because this group was handpicked by their leadership.

“Our concept for this training is to train the trainer,” said 1st Sgt. Bobby Bennett, with Bravo Battery and the senior enlisted trainer. “In order for this concept to work, we brought out a select group of Pesh.”

Picking the right individuals to receive the training was key, because they will go back to their units to train their own forces.

Leadership of the KRGB said they are very appreciative of the training.

Sgt. Maj. Harked Alimase Halmasala said he is thankful because he has lost many men on the battlefield due to their lack of training.

“We fight as we train; now we are training well, so we’ll fight well,” he said.

Millsap said he believes this training will do more than give the Peshmerga skills needed for the battlefield.

“This training gives the Pesh a sense of courage and confidence; it also prepares them to take over the security in the area,” he said.

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

Students from the 1st Primary School of Tal Qaif, in northern Iraq, celebrate the schools reopening after the completion of a 30-day renovation project of the school by Soldiers from 1-36 Infantry Regiment, March 23. Photo by Spc. Dustin Gautney

Cheers and laughter filled the air as students welcomed Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, as they entered their school, the same school that the Soldiers helped renovate over the past month. The cheers and celebration by the students were part of a ribbon-cutting and reopening ceremony held March 23, for nearly 100-year-old school.

The 30-day project was part of a 1-36th Inf. Civil Affairs team mission to improve schools within the town of Tal Qaif, in northern Iraq.

“With the age of the school much of the exterior had to be re-plastered and painted to make the structure safer for the students,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Joseph Kamara, 422nd Civil Affairs Company, attached to 1-36th Inf.

The project included replacing all of the structures’ windows, new desks and chairs, re-tiling the bathrooms, fans, electricity, and replacing the schools sewage system, said Lt. Kamara.

“When we first arrived to the school you could smell the sewage coming from the bathrooms…that quickly became our first priority to make the school safe for children,” Lt. Kamara said.

Because the local district government did not have the financial means to improve civil projects such as roads and schools it was the first concern of Tal Qaif district mayor, Basim Bello when asked by the 1-36th Inf. CA team on how improvements can be made within his district.

“The school is very old, originally built in 1918, and had many things that needed to be improved in the structure for the students,” said Bello. “However we are all grateful for the successful cooperation with U.S. Soldiers that were able to make the improvements for not only the school but the whole community of Tal Qaif.”

For the district of Tal Qaif , which contains six schools, the renovation of the 1st Primary School of Tal Qaif, represented the beginning of a long-term civil affairs project for the district, said Lt. Kamara.

“With the cooperation we have been able to forge with not only the mayor of Tal Qaif but the whole community of the district will benefit from what was accomplished today,” said Lt. Kamara.

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Dustin Gautney

A mother of a Son of Iraq, speaks to Sgt. Lisa Moore, a San Antonio, Texas native and female medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armor Regiment, 37th Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, about medical problems she has been experiencing, during a medical aid mission for the families of the SoI at the SoI Headquarters in Hawijah, near Kirkuk, Iraq, March 24. Photo by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

Healthcare is a rare commodity in Iraq at times. Women and children can be the victims of that shortage. Here’s a feel good story of what we’re doing about that.

The line of widows, wives, children, mothers and sisters of soldiers of the Sons of Iraq reached from their headquarters building in Hawijah, near Kirkuk, Iraq, all the way to the end of the road and each of them had a huge smile on their face.

These women and children gathered at the SoI headquarters, March 24, to receive much needed clothes, shoes, food and medical attention from Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armor Regiment, 37th Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

“We did this to show our appreciation to the SoI, they have assisted us greatly since arriving and their families have made many sacrifices,” said Capt. Scott Wares, who also did a project much like this one during his last deployment is an Orange Company, Calif. native and commander of HHC, 1/37th AR.

A daughter of a Son of Iraq, shows off her new toys and clothes she received from Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armor Regiment, 37th Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, during a during a humanitarian and medical aid mission at the SoI Headquarters in Hawijah, near Kirkuk, Iraq, March 24. Photo by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

“These women and children are very happy to receive the medical attention and supplies they need, in a secure environment,” said Khalaf Ibrahim Ali, known as Abu Adnan and the SoI contractor in Hawijah.

Abu Adnan went on to explain that many of the families cannot afford to go to the doctor or the medicine from minor pains, colds or respiratory problems.

“That is exactly what we are here to help with basic medical care,” said 1st Lt. Jason Hrdina, the battalion physician assistant for 1/37 AR.

Hrdina brought along four of his medics, one of them a female medic to assist the women; these medics assisted more than 300 people.

“It is very important to these women that a female medic is present so they get the care they need, many of them probably would not have seen a medic if we didn’t have one here,” said Sgt. Lisa Moore, a San Antonio, Texas, native and female medic for 1/37 AR.

After being looked at by the medics if they needed to the families then went to another room where the children were able to pick out new shoes, clothing and the women received food and jackets.

One of the women, who asked to be called Manar, whose husband was injured fighting with the SoI, was particularly happy to see the Soldiers and receive the assistance.

“Thank you so much,” she said through an interpreter. “My husband cannot work anymore so to receive food and clothing makes my family so happy.”

After receiving the clothing and food the children were able to stop by and see the 1/37 AR Capt. Abrahamyoung Ki Kim, chaplain, to receive candy and beanie babies, from Beanies for Baghdad.

In a community where many of the people are still suffering these Soldiers truly brightened the day for the families of the SoI and plan to do so many more times.

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs