Corporal Sam Weaver, from Fayetteville, N.C., an assistant team leader with Company B, 13th Psychological Operations Battalion, talks to residents of the city of Suwayrah in northern Wasit province. As part of a patrol with Soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment. Weaver spoke with citizens to learn about their views and concerns on several issues.

Walking down the busy streets of Suwayrah at sundown, the city’s residents met Soldiers with handshakes and friendly smiles. Children gathered everywhere the Soldiers stopped to talk to residents.

As the patrol of Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment continued on its way, the children followed, practicing their English and enjoying the early evening stroll.

“Wherever we roll, it’s like a parade,” said Sgt. Robert Delong, an infantryman from central Minnesota, whose previous deployment to Iraq was in Ramadi. This time around, he said, things are different.

Soldiers of Co. B, 2nd Bn., 6th Inf. Regt. conducted joint patrols with their Iraqi army counterparts in the northern Wasit province, July 10. The patrol was not only a way of showing their presence, but to gather information on local businesses and to hear local citizens’ concerns.

Soldiers of Co. B’s 1st Plt. began their day with an early morning patrol in Raminiyah, along the west bank of the Tigris River, visiting Sons of Iraq checkpoints and talking with local citizens and community leaders. In the rural parts of Co. B’s area, where there are few police, the SoI help keep the roads safe and prevent insurgents and weapons from coming into the area. It’s an around-the-clock task, and many of the checkpoints have tents or shelters nearby where SoI members rest between shifts.

The Soldiers of Co. B, attached to the 1st Bn., 76th Field Artillery Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, make sure the checkpoints are manned and the SoI have what they need as part of their patrols.

Later, they met up with IA Soldiers of the 3rd Bde., 2nd IA Div. in the city of Suwayrah. After pairing up with their IA “battle buddies,” the Soldiers conducted a joint patrol on foot, taking them through the city’s main streets.

“At this stage we try to get the population on our side,” Delong said. “We try to maintain their happiness and give them things that they need. Basically, we ask them what they need, and we take notes.”

“It’s been unusual for me, because I’m not used to working with the population. This deployment, it’s candy and sunshine every day. People come out of their houses to see you. It’s been difficult for a lot of us vets to get used to. It’s just like talking to friends back home.”

Another difference Delong noted is the quiet.

“When I go to sleep, I don’t hear bombs going off. I don’t hear gunfire,” he said.

In recent years, Suwayrah has been a relative island of peace in comparison to its neighbors to the north and west. Since Company B arrived here more than two months ago, there have been no attacks aimed at coalition forces, said Capt. Dustin Ornatowski, commander of Company B. With little insurgent or criminal activity in the area, his company’s main mission now is to help local citizens repair damaged infrastructure and build their economy, he said.

“Economics and infrastructure are the biggest problems in this area,” said Ornatowski, of Edwardsburg, Mich. “You’re always going to have leftover insurgency elements and criminal elements wherever you go. Right now, those elements are not actively fighting against us in this area,” he said.

Company B Soldiers are working to identify key leaders and find out what the communities in their area need the most. Currently, they hear mostly of the need for reliable electricity and water pumps to keep the region’s irrigation canals flowing, said Ornatowski. Many pumps are damaged or missing, and getting them running again is necessary to supply farmers in the area.

“The [citizens] are expecting us to come in here and help them get infrastructure working,” Ornatowski said. “That’s going to be the hardest thing.”

Gathering information on local businesses, schools and hospitals is a vital part of their patrols, said Ornatowski. Working with the IA helps them to get that information, as well as puts an Iraqi face on the mission, he said. Partnering his Soldiers with IA Soldiers also helps to foster mutual trust and cooperation. One thing Company B Soldiers took note of was the number of businesses owned by women, something they hope to encourage with micro-grants and working with community groups.

“Now that we’ve been working with them a little more, they’ve started to get to know my Soldiers and see how my Soldiers interact with the people, and they’re more willing to do joint projects,” said Ornatowski.

“They’re feeling us out as much as we’re feeling them out,” he said.

Though Company B is committed to helping residents in their area help with projects, Delong said establishing trust is the first priority.

“The IA absolutely love going out on missions. They tell us what buildings are what. They like working with us and we like working with them,” he said. “We don’t promise anything, but we always tell them we will do the best we can, and they appreciate everything we do,” he said.

Besides helping to get reconstruction projects going, Ornatowski said establishing trust has direct benefits for his Soldiers as well.

“That’s the best thing we can do,” he said. “Then, if criminal elements move into the area and attempt to fight us or take direct action against us, the populace will be the first ones to let us know about that.”

DVIDS
By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

Operation Sawlat al-Fursan, or Charge of the Knights, lead by the 1st Iraqi Army Division, a battalion from the 14th IA Division, and two Iraqi National Police battalions, continued searching and clearing operations in Abu Al Khasib of Basra, Iraq May 31.

The Iraqi Army led the sweep from early May 31 to early June 1. Two Iraqi National police battalions followed as a support component searching for criminal elements and weapons caches.

The National IP detained one suspect and discovered a cache of 52 AK-47 assault rifles and one sub-machine gun.

Coalition Forces from the U.S. Marine Corps and United Kingdom Military Transition Teams remain with the IA in a supporting role to enable assets, if necessary.

The operation, which began March 25 in Basra, continues to bring the surrounding area to normalcy with infrastructure support missions focusing on canal clearing operations, substation repair and construction, and road repairs.

MNF-I

Operation Sawlat al-Fursan, or Charge of the Knights, entered a new phase of operations in Basrah, April 12.

The operation, which began March 24, has now started the process of clearing strongholds previously dominated by criminal militias.

A deliberate house-to-house clearance operation of the south-western Basrah district of al-Qiblah was conducted without major incident. It resulted in significant quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives being found. To date, Coalition forces involvement has been minimal, reflecting the ever increasing ability and resolve of the Iraqi Security Forces to enforce the rule of law.

Iraqi operations in al-Qiblah to date have yielded an improvised explosive device factory, numerous weapons handed over by locals, or left in the streets, in addition to two significant arms cache finds with numerous IEDs, mortars and RPGs.

Operations have not been limited to Basra. A senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader was arrested at an Iraqi Army checkpoint in the small town of Abu al-Khasib 20 kilometers southeast of Basrah.

Coalition forces continue to provide 24-hour-a-day airborne surveillance over the city for the ISF. On several occasions, CF fighter aircraft provided “shows of force” in support of ISF troops on the ground and remain ready to provide air support if required.

Elsewhere, United Kingdom and United States Military Transition Teams, or MiTTs, are embedded with Iraqi Security Forces. These teams are providing advice and support to the units they work alongside.

The atmosphere inside the city has generally been calm over the past two weeks. The people of Basrah are proud of what the Iraqi Security Forces, both Police and Army, have achieved in the city. Many Iraqis feel positive progress has been made against criminal elements, as life returns to normal.

The Port of Umm Qasr opened a few days after the start of Operation Charge of the Knights, having been secured by the Iraqi Army. The port is now operating, with the Government of Iraq working to bring it up to recognized international standards. An Iraqi Navy detachment has taken over port security from the Army.

“Basrah is one step closer to realising its true potential,” said Maj. Tom Holloway, a spokesman for Multi-National Division – Southeast. “There is much further to go, but recent operations in the city have been described by locals as the most significant events since 2003. The sense of optimism is palpable, and the desire by Basrawis to seize the moment is evident.”

MNF-I

Moqtada al-Sadr has called upon his followers to engage in civil resistance. In reality, his Iranian masters have called out their troops in an effort to demonstrate that the Iraqi government cannot secure its own country, that the Coalition – the United States – is merely propping up a puppet government. This is Iraq’s Tet Offensive.

Remember Tet. We wiped out the Viet Cong entirely and set the North Vietnamese back a year or more on their plans for conquest. Yet, due to the mood of the media, we were told that we lost those battles, that the entire war was lost. It may become a similar sentiment for today’s media in the next few weeks.

The situation on the ground is this: Sadr’s people control much of eastern Baghdad and have moved south into the Shia heartland, Kut, Hillah and Basra. These areas are not traditionally a place where he has influence. Other Shia leaders have been influential in the south.

The Mahdi Army is armed with rifles, grenades, rockets and IED’s, much of Iranian origin. The vast majority of Sadr’s followers are cannon fodder, with little or no training. A cadre has received training, in Iran, or in Iraq by Iranians or Iraqis trained in Iran. It is likely that some of them are also deserters from the Iraqi security forces or were kicked out of those forces.

Basra is the flash point. The city was under nominal Iraqi national control. In fact, the city was run by a number of criminal gangs and several militias. Many of those criminal elements were part of or aligned with the Mahdi Army.

Iran would like to control the south. It is oil rich, and Iran is running out of its own supplies. In addition, it would cut an old enemy, Iraq, off from its only link to the sea and sea borne commerce.

North of Basra, in Kut and Hillah, the Mahdi Army is going to have some difficulty. Both the Iraqi Army and the other Shia militias will be opposing them and the fight should be fairly short and sweet. Some of the fighting may not be with the Mahdi Army since this is also the area where a doomsday cult called the Soldiers of Heaven has rebelled twice in the last two years, suffering incredible losses but still being a threat.

In Basra itself, the fighting will be house to house. The Iraqi Army will win, but Basra will be their battle of Fallujah. At this point the British have only provided air support but that may change. Logistics and medical support would be logical additions to the support package. British troops may not be involved in the fighting, though it would not surprise me to see them provide indirect fire from artillery.

Baghdad is another matter. Iraqi troops will be taking the lead here but Americans will be involved in the battles. Our civil affairs units have had six months and more to work their magic and I would suspect that Sadr’s support has wained a bit.

Sadr is not in Iraq. The last information I saw said that he was engaged in religious studies in Iran. Without Sadr on the scene, the willingness of the entire Mahdi Army to fight is certainly in doubt.

Here are the reports from Multi National Force – Iraq:

March 24: 5 IED emplacers killed by an airstrike in Basra

March 25: US soldier killed by hostile fire in Baghdad

March 25: Attacks from Sadr City strike Baghdad

March 25: ISF, Coalition forces reinforce three checkpoints

The press have many more reports, but with little detail as yet. This will be the first piece in a series as I cover the Sadr Revolt so please check back for more information as it becomes available.