Majid Aubied Sahail al Azouy (right), owner of a hardware store, signs a micro-grant receipt as Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Jack, of A Troop, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, watches, Sept 21. Al Azouy plans to provide more electrical supplies to the local villagers. A Troop, based out of Williamson, W.Va., issued nine grants in one day to help stimulate the economy in its area of operations. Photo by Spc. Ruth McClary

Nine Iraqi businessmen in southern Baghdad gave broad smiles and many thanks as they received micro-grant payouts, Sept. 21, from Soldiers of A Troop, 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, that improve economic conditions in their communities.

Funding allocated through the brigade commander’s Emergency Relief Fund was distributed to the businesses in the al-Radwaniyah, Mufargi and Fetoah marketplaces, about 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

“This was my first time giving out micro-grants,” said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Jack, of Seth, W.Va. “I usually work with micro-rewards, which are pay-outs for tips to stop terrorist activity; it works like crimestoppers in the U.S.”

Nearly $43,000 in payouts were given to upgrade four grocery stores, a restaurant, an auto repair shop, a butcher shop, a general store and a hardware store.

“Opening a butcher shop in this area would decrease the travel time for transporting fresh meats to this area,” said Ahmad Abdullah Husen al Azouy, of the Abu Amur marketplace. “Local herders can bring their livestock to the market for butcher or sell them to me.”

“My store provides common products like blankets, mattresses and clocks,” said Sarmad Samey Mahmoud al Mufargi, a general store owner in the Murfargi village. “The grant will help me expand to include a repair shop.”

Each business caters to at least 150 customers in its local area, and they also double as community communication hubs; providing people with information that can affect the entire area. All of the owner’s expansion plans will create more jobs and stimulate the economy.

Samy Yahyaa Aheya Jaabir al-Janabi, a Mufargi falafel restaurant owner, wants to add a grill and expand his area to house more supplies. Majid Dafak Saiel, an al-Radwaniyah grocery store owner, threw up his hands, thanking Allah for the grant. He plans to upgrade his store and increase supplies.

The squadron has submitted nearly 40 grant applications with 20 payouts to date that include a fish and dairy farm expansion and an internet and phone center. Grant approval is based on the overall impact the improvements will have in the community. Recipients from these payouts submitted applications back in July.

“I was really glad to finally have follow through on the micro-grant project after many months of waiting,” said 1st Lt. Timbur Nersesov, of Los Angeles. “It is an opportunity for U.S. forces and the government of Iraq to impact our relationship with the locals.”

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Ruth McClary

An Iraqi family stands in the doorjamb of the empty house, where once they lived before the specter of sectarian violence overwhelmed their lives. The residence once used by insurgents as part of a network of anti-Iraqi forces’ safe houses now stands empty in a suburban muhallah of closely-knit houses characteristic of the Rashid District’s Hadar community — but not for long.

Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division are working with Iraqi security forces commanders, local community leaders and Sons of Iraq in southern Baghdad to return Iraq’s displaced families home.

The fact that nearly 6,000 Iraqi families have returned to their communities and neighborhoods in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad since April when the “Raider” Brigade assumed responsibility for the mixed Shia, Sunni and Christian area is a good indicator that security is improving for the area that is home to approximately 1.6 million Iraqi citizens, said Capt. Dave Lombardo, commander of Troop B, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

When the Soldiers of “Bulldog” Troop began patrolling the streets of the predominately Sunni community in southeastern Baghdad, Hadar was like a “ghost town,” said Lombardo, with only approximately 15 percent of its houses and buildings occupied.

That is changing now that Rashid’s displaced Iraqi citizens are returning by the hundreds, explained Lombardo, who estimated nearly 50 percent of Hadar’s structures to be occupied.

The troop’s current mission to support Iraqi security forces with offensive operations and secure the Iraqi people keeps the enemy out of the Hadar community, said Lombardo, who hails from Kennesaw, Ga.

“We are security plain and simple,” said Lombardo. “We keep the people safe, set the conditions to be able to perform civil affairs projects, and at the same time transition the ISF to the lead.”

The Soldiers of ‘Bulldog’ Troop ensure that the displaced Iraqi citizens can move back to their homes safely, and works to ensure there is a good representation of security forces in the communities, which will allow returning Iraqis to rebuild their lives and return to a sense of normalcy, said 2nd Lt. Jon Byrd, a platoon leader from Gulf Port, Miss., assigned to Troop B, 7th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt., 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

“The ISF and the coalition forces are doing a good job securing the area, and it’s a good time to move back, that plus the microgrants are making the economy a lot stronger, so jobs are getting better,” Byrd said.

The Soldiers of ‘Bulldog’ Troop patrol the streets of Hadar daily conducting combined patrols with Iraqi national police of the 1st Bn., 7th Bde., 2nd NP Div., and Sons of Iraq, a citizens-led security program that assists ISF in securing the District, said Staff Sgt. Jesus Villareal, a cavalry scout from Chico, Calif., and section sergeant assigned to Troop B, 7th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt.

“The area is a lot safer now,” Villareal said. “The ISF are doing their part, so that these families can return home.”

Villareal said that the collective efforts between ISF and CF, circulating throughout the community, handing out flyers and talking with the Iraqi residents, recruits the support of the local citizens, who continue to report weapons caches, special groups criminals and intimidation attacks in Hadar.

“We have been saturating the area,” said Sgt. 1st Class Joaquim Garcia, a platoon sergeant from Converse, Texas, assigned to Troop B, 7th Squadron, 10th Cav. Regt. “We constantly visit the families that are moving in, so we have constant eyes on the people in the area. There are small intimidation cells that are trying to stop these movements and they will get caught.”

Their mission is still the same but the situation has changed, said Garcia, who is serving his third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and seventh deployment, since entering active service more than 16 years ago.

Most of the Soldiers, leaders and non-commissioned officers in the platoon have two and three tours to Iraq, explained Garcia.

“The NPs and all the Sons of Iraq have cleaned up the city,” Garcia said. “We all know what it was like, and we all see the major change and how security is now.

“Doing small operations like this right here to help resettlement and help bring the people back to their home — that makes us happy, because we know that our mission is almost complete.”

The key to reinforcing security during the resettlement phase is working with the ISF and maintaining contact with the people in the communities, said Garcia.

The Iraqi national police of the 1st Bn., 7th Bde., 2nd NP Div. conduct educational classes with the Iraqi citizens of the community that is part of the Doura area in Rashid, said 2nd Lt. Hassan, an Iraqi NP, who works to secure Hadar with his forces.

“The National Reconciliation in our country under the leadership of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has played an effective role in returning safety and security to all Iraq and especially in the Doura area,” Hassan explained.

The curfew has been canceled, and ISF commanders are using community leaders, Iraqi media and word of mouth to ask Iraq’s displaced families to return to their homes in Hadar, he explained.

“Today, in a secure Doura, we see cars moving freely, displaced families start to return, as well as shops are staying open for late hours, all confirming the security improvement in Doura,” he said.

The security and stability in Hadar and surrounding areas has prompted more than 1,000 families to return to southeastern Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Troy Smith, commander of the 7th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt., 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

“It’s a huge difference,” said Smith, who hails from Culpepper, Va. “People are moving in where people are, and the resettlement just keeps spreading. As more families move in, the place gets more populated; therefore, it’s even more secure, and as resettlement comes back, more resettlement picks up because the security gets better.”

DVIDS
By Staff Sgt. Brent Williams
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division