Today’s Bloggers’ Roundtable was with Major General Rick Lynch, Commanding General, Multi-National Division Center (MND-C).

“Competent, capable, effective leadership” were the words that General Lynch used to describe the change in Iraqi security forces over the course of his deployment. He mentioned the NCO academies and other leadership training that local ISF has undergone.

With 40,000 Sons of Iraq [SoI] in the field and in operation, the security situation is vastly improved. The vetting process for these civilian auxiliaries begins with the tribal chief, and a thorough check through the biometric database. The SoI are paid about $8 a day, and receive a badge and uniform. There is daily oversight by our forces.

About 20% of the SoI are Shia, and the rest Sunni.

As we progress in the region, adding patrol bases, the locals are encouraged to form councils. Several of these are mixed Shia / Sunni. This is encouraging to the General. “You don’t reconcile with your friends, you reconcile with your enemies”. Our people on the ground work with the local councils to connect them to provincial and national resources and the ministries.

Iranian Influence
During this deployment some 26 caches have been located containing Iranian weapons. AIF have been detained who were trained by Iranians or by Iraqis who were trained by Iranians. There has been no slow down in Iranian attempts to influence the region.

The border itself, for MND-C Wassit Province, is secured by a brigade of Georgian troops in four patrol bases. In addition, Georgians are embedded with the Iraqi border police at the only border crossing.

Our Junior Officers
General Lynch had nothing but praise for the junior officers that are heading up our efforts. His company commanders, captains, have already had one tour as lieutenants or as captains in staff positions. That experience is allowing them to do the reconstruction and reconciliation work that they are doing. They understand that they are “part of the winning team”.

Capacity Building
With the dramatic increase in security, the Iraqi population is looking for jobs. General Lynch is devoting most of his time to that end. He spoke about learning more about fish farming than he ever thought that he would.

He was very specific that he could use ten times as many civilians and civilian resources for capacity building as he has. He expressed a need for more people in the PRT’s and the embedded PRT’s, and more resources for those civilian operations. These would be American experts from State, Justice, Agriculture and USAID.

Transcript PDF file

This is a nice story. We’re making progress one family at a time. I know that, as Americans, we yearn for the big project, the dam, the interstate, the skyscraper, but progress is ALWAYS achieved in small steps.

DoD

With the security situation here improving every day, Iraqi and coalition forces increasingly are helping displaced families move back into their old neighborhoods.

Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, in cooperation with Iraqi security forces, the local reconciliation committee, and local and civic leaders, recently welcomed more than 100 families to an informational meeting aimed at returning them to their southwestern Baghdad homes.

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Residents with trucks full of household goods are returning to Arab Jabour thanks to security improvements. Coalition forces and Sons of Iraq are working together here to keep insurgents from targeting neighborhoods with violence.

DVIDS
By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

Abas Rashed lives in Arab Jabour and is a member of the Sons of Iraq (SoI). In this region, 20 miles southeast of Baghdad, Rashed patrols the streets of his community and watches for insurgent activities.

Rashed says he knows the damage insurgents can do firsthand. Before the insurgents entered this farming community with a Sunni Muslim majority, he said the people in Arab Jabour worked together.

Despite their differences, Rashed says, Sunni and Shia shared a common desire to see their children grow up in a better environment and in peace. He believes that the insurgency, in an attempt to stir up violence against coalition forces, exploited differences in the two sects.

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