DP Iraq Updates

Music unites, entertains audience in Seddah :

The partnership between the people of Seddah and the Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, C Company 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division made this celebration possible.

"Ten months ago, we would have never even considered asking the band to come down to Seddah City Park to put on a community concert," said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Williams, 2nd platoon leader.

Today, the scene in Seddah has changed. Through the persistent work of 2nd platoon and the Seddah City Council, the citizens of were able to enjoy a celebration that will not soon be forgotten.

“They were obviously happy we were there, coming up to us and welcoming us,” said Knodt. “You could tell everyone was in a great mood – everyone was happy; everyone was dancing: men, women and children, all out together at night, for one of the first times ever in this community.”

However, the celebration was bittersweet for the Soldiers of 2nd platoon. Five months ago, they lost a valuable member of their team. Sgt. Jevon K. Jordan, 32, of Norfolk, Vir., died March 29 from wounds suffered after his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device six days earlier in Abu Jassim, Iraq.

"It really tested our team. We were emotionally defeated and could have very easily given up," said Williams.

Because of the platoon did not give up, their partnership with the citizens of Seddah and surrounding communities has produced improved governance, economic recovery, and a secure community, all of which set the stage for the celebration.

Some troops say Iraqis need to do more

TAHRIR, Iraq — As Iraqi security forces continue to take the lead on missions in much of the country, the U.S. military has generally — and deliberately — slipped into the background.

But at an irritable area bordering Baqouba, where there are fears that recent gains made by an Iraqi-led offensive could be lost, the opposite has happened.

Manpower issues and a perceived lack of initiative by Iraqi police have forced soldiers with Company E, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, out of Vilseck, Germany, to patrol Tahrir mainly alone.

U.S. soldiers conduct daily missions in the town to keep the peace and deter enemies from trickling back. Local Iraqi police tend to hold down checkpoints at safer locations on the outskirts, soldiers say.

"It is frustrating," said Capt. Solon Webb, company commander, adding he has to focus more time spreading out his forces than targeting high-value targets.

Intelligence gathering has also been a difficult process with the scarce Iraqi police, whose police chief is a major sitting in a colonel slot, a two rank difference, he said.

"It’s not as free flowing," said Webb, 32, of Walnut Creek, Calif. "I still get the same amount but I have to work twice as hard to get it."

Iraqi police Maj. Sa’ad, the police chief of Tahrir, said he has only 122 policemen and needs twice that number to cover his jurisdiction.

"Tahrir is a big area. We need more IPs," Sa’ad said through a translator. "I need 250 to be ready to control this area."

He’s working on bringing more into his force, he said.

Sa’ad also denied that his policemen were avoiding the U.S. soldiers. "We always join with coalition forces and cooperate with them," he said. "If they need anything we help them."

Last week, soldiers held a knock-and-search raid in a troublesome sector of Tahrir. In the searches, which they call "block parties," soldiers asked Iraqis of any suspicious activity in the area and then snooped around the homes.

Soldiers with E Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, enter an Iraqi home during a knock-and-search raid in Tahrir.

Second Lt. Richard Faille, 23 of Beverly, Mass., led his platoon of soldiers in the searches without police support despite inviting them.

Though he and his soldiers would prefer to do operations alone, their main mission is to bolster the Iraqi security forces so U.S. troops can leave the country, he said.

"They’re difficult to work with but it’s necessary," Faille said of the Iraqi police.

A platoon leader with E Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, asks an Iraqi man questions on security in Tahrir on Thursday. The mission was intended to be a joint effort with Iraqi police, but none showed up.

"We try to give them support and confidence," a hard thing to do when they don’t show up for joint missions, he added.

Many of the Iraqi police officers in town are Muslim and will be fasting during Ramadan, which begins Tuesday, said Webb, who predicted that fewer will show up for work.

In June, violence surged in Tahrir with suicide bombings, shootings and roadside bombs. The largely Sunni town, next to Diyala province’s governance center and its Iraqi police headquarters in Baqouba, became a popular hangout for insurgents.

"It’s an area where people love to prove a point," Webb said.

Iraqi security forces led an offensive starting in late July that cleared the area and got rid of U.S.-funded "Sons of Iraq" fighters. The city of roughly 75,000 residents was then left to U.S. soldiers and a limited supply of Iraqi police.

"I fear if we keep it sparse, the next couple of months could see an increase of enemy activity," Faille said. He said he has heard plans to boost the town’s Iraqi police numbers in the near future.

With or without the Iraqi police, Webb vows not to let the town fall into enemy’s hands.

"We won’t let it happen," he said. "We’re not going to give up this fight."