An officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, fights off one of her instructors during Sexual Assualt Unarmed Self Defense Awareness and Prevention class, held at Forward Operating Base Warrior. Photo by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

A group of petite female Soldiers laugh as their instructors, four much larger non-commissioned officers wince in pain from self-defense techniques they just taught these female Soldiers that could ultimately save their lives.

These Soldiers, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, were the first to participate in a trail program that focuses on teaching the Soldiers self-defense so they can better defend themselves against an attacker, according to First Sgt. John Lucas, first sergeant of HHC, of the Ready First Combat Team.

This program is a proactive attempt by the leadership of the Ready First Combat Team to teach their Soldiers to protect themselves if attacked, when they are unarmed.

During the class a very curious crowd of male and female Soldiers gathered around to observe these females learning to immobilize their attacker so that they can have enough time to get away, the importance of preserving evidence and ways to prevent an attack from happening, according to Lucas.

The brigade’s sexual assault response coordinator had some advice for the Soldiers to prevent an attack.

“You must show confidence in yourself at all times,” said Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Meineke, the SARC. “Walk with your head high and you will not be looked at as a victim.”

The junior-enlisted Soldiers that participated in the program were also given a very lethal weapon that would scare off any attacker, according the Lucas.

This weapon was a flashlight and it is the new best friend of the Soldiers participating in the class.
With this the Soldiers can blind, hit and gather evidence, such as DNA or even identification, from their attacker.

Overall the instructors said they were very impressed with the Soldiers and that they were very quickly picking up on moves that gives them an advantage over an attacker that can be much larger than them.

The plan for this class is for it to be held more regularly and have it be mandatory for all females of the Ready First Combat Team, to show that sexual assault has no place at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq.

Until the classes are scheduled the instructors have urged their students to go out and teach other Soldiers what they had learned and to also practice the techniques often so they do not lose the skill.

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs

Spc. Jennifer Cumbie, a Miami native and a multichannel transmission system operator with Company B, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and Pvt. Maurice Bailey, a Los Angeles native and multichannel transmission system operator with Company B, inspect helium storage containers on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, July 12. These Soldiers and other members of their team are responsible for keeping the blimp full of helium and in the air. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor

Pre-deployment training prepares Soldiers for a wide range of missions they may encounter. Flying a blimp is typically not one of them.

Or at least it wasn’t for Soldiers on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, until a new surveillance blimp took its place in the skies above FOB Warrior.

The blimp began operating June 28, and is part of a growing number of these blimps currently being used across Iraq.

This equipment takes a special group of Soldiers operating day and night to keep it in the air and out of harm’s way.

“If the blimp starts losing helium, or if it needs to be patched, we take it down, find the hole and fix it,” said Spc. Jennifer Cumbie, a Miami native and a multi-channel transmission system operator with Co. B, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division.

The Soldiers are also on the lookout for bad weather and heavy winds, which can affect the stability of the blimp.

“In the communications world, Soldiers who operate their systems are in control of troubleshooting and can easily identify where a problem can, or has occurred,” said 2nd Lt. Valerie LoSchiavo, the officer in charge of the blimp team and a platoon leader with Company B, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “But this mission holds challenges and variables that are difficult to predict or determine.”

And the unpredictability of this weather has made the job of these Soldiers challenging.

“It has been a learning experience,” said Spc. Marshall Austin, a Wilkesborow, N.C., native and a shift leader with the blimp team.

“We all learned an entirely new system,” said LoSchiavo. “But the team has adapted to the task with ease. They have done an outstanding job,” said LoSchiavo.

“When they found out about it they were excited to do something new,” she said. “It gave us something to focus on and put our energy into.”

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Justin Naylor

Provincial leaders in Kirkuk can’t control the weather, but they are preparing for it as 2009 marks the fourth straight year the Northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk has received diminished rainfall, according to weather data from the U.S. Air Force. The anticipated drought is expected to hinder the agricultural economic market throughout the province.

Kirkuk has started a new construction project that will help the province more efficiently manage its agricultural production. The project was commemorated by a ground-breaking ceremony March 10 to expand the capability of the grain silo in Kirkuk city.

The renovations will drastically improve the capacity of the Kirkuk grain silo, which is expected to assist farmers in future droughts.

“Kirkuk is one of the major centers of the growth and production of grain,” said Jim Vancura, senior agricultural advisor for Forward Operating Base Warrior’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. “This silo really is a key node in agricultural production in Kirkuk province.”

The present production level at the silo is 35 metric tons of grain per hour.

“We are trying to bring (the production level) up to a 100 metric ton-per-hour capacity, which will enable them to process more grain over a shorter period of time,” Vancura said.

The grain silo was built in the early 1970s, but the equipment and technology it employs are much older, dating around the 1950s, said Ghassan A. Kadhim, a civil engineer assisting in the renovations.

“In order for Iraq to catch up with the rest of the world, we need to develop our agriculture,” said Khadim. “Under the old regime, we were unable to move forward, but we are catching up.”

Last year, a drought affected the ability of farmers to provide for their livestock. The Government of Iraq and Coalition forces sustained farmers with cheaper cattle feed during the hottest part of the summer, and at the same time, laid the groundwork for the silo project.

“Last year was a very serious drought, as it is this year,” explained Vancura. “As a short-term solution, we obtained some 3,700 metric tons of feed barley. We sold that at under-market prices to the farmers to help sustain and maintain the livestock through Kirkuk province. With the proceeds from that sale, we were able to do this renovation project.”

“Last year, the silo helped sustain some 25 percent of local farmers’ livestock,” said Akram A. Dewana, manager of General Company for Seeds Trading.

Dewana said the silo renovations will continue to cut the cost of grain, giving great opportunity to 1,945 farms in the area.

“The efficient operation of this silo will reduce the cost of grain for farmers and return money to their pockets,” said Dewana.

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