16 march

The following newsletter is from one of the 2-7 In Commanders to the families of the Soldiers serving in Iraq .

Tim


Greetings from Camp Hit in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq ! It’s now March and we can’t believe how fast time has gone by! After spending about 2 ½ weeks completing our training in Kuwait , the Task Force moved north under the control of MAJ T.K. Kelly and CSM Sam Coston while the company commanders and I attended a counterinsurgency training course in Taji , Iraq . It was a challenging, but well executed movement and all Cottonbalers arrived safely to begin our relief in place with TF 1-36 IN near the end of January.
Just over a week later, we officially took control of the sector and your Cottonbalers began making our new home into their home and improving all our positions. We also began to engage with both the local Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi population in our area. I had many hours of discussions in dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms; drinking chai (tea) with my Iraqi counterparts from the city of Hit, the Iraqi Police, and the Iraqi Army. It became clear to us that the people of Hit wanted to take steps to improve security and that there were some potential opportunities we could exploit. The previous unit, TF 1-36 IN had worked hard to bring the situation to a point where these opportunities presented themselves. Two days before we officially took over, we conceived the basic plan for an operation where we would support the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) while they cleared the city of Hit of what they viewed as a relatively small number of terrorists and foreign fighters. Just 8 days after assuming control of the sector, TF 2-7 IN and our local ISF launched OPERATION SHURTA NASIR (Police Victory). The operation lasted about 4 days and addressed not only the Iraqi Police goal of killing or capturing many remaining terrorists operating in the town, but also our goal of establishing two additional police stations and several key checkpoints in and around the city of Hit . By nearly tripling the police facilities in the city and helping to design almost a “gated community” in Hit, it was our hope that they could better maintain security after the clearing operation…and as of this writing, our plan has worked.
We’re now spending our time assisting the Iraqi Police force in improving each of the new positions we seized during the operation. In order to guard against the likely insurgent counterattacks, each station or checkpoint requires considerable force protection materials in the form of sandbags for bunkers, wire to control pedestrian access, and concrete barriers to control vehicle access. Your Cottonbalers have spent a great deal of their time and energy helping gather, deliver, and place these materials to ensure the success of our Iraqi partners.
Immediately following the operation which involved a 3-day pedestrian and vehicle curfew for the 40,000 inhabitants of Hit, I met with the fledgling city council and then over 30 sheikhs representing the diverse tribal network of the city. The people were very pleased with the security situation, but naturally brought up the problems you would expect when the infrastructure of a war-torn city has been neglected for months. The city mayor and I attempted to appeal to the people to work together to clean up the town and rapidly repair the infrastructure. The next day, I suggested the city mayor, the chief of police, and I take a daylight walk through the Hit city market and then down a portion of the city’s main street to demonstrate our confidence in the city’s security situation and show the people we were a team committed to improve their quality of life. This singular event achieved results far beyond what I had imagined and truly threw everyone for a loop – including the enemy and the local population.
Word spread of the situation in Hit in the days and weeks that followed as we reached security levels which hadn’t been experienced here for nearly a year. Along with their Iraqi partners, our Soldiers now patrol the streets of Hit day and night both mounted (in vehicles) and dismounted (walking). They engage with the population everyday and are learning every street, alley, tribe, family, shop, etc. in their sectors. The terrorists have tried to rain on our parade a few times, but as of this writing, our Iraqi partners have remained strong and we take steps everyday to help them succeed. As a team, we remain on the offensive whenever possible since defending against a terrorist attack is very often futile. Instead, we’re going after their resources and making the environment unattractive to them through our joint presence, hardened facilities, ever-improving infrastructure, and the support of a population confident we’ll take care of them. Clearly, Iraqi success is our success at this point and much of our time day is spent acting as facilitators, teachers, coaches, mentors, social workers, psychiatrists, or judges for our Iraqi partners. Though their culture is much different from ours, they do have a tremendous desire to succeed and are not shrinking from the dangerous tasks they perform everyday.
Though the bulk of TF 2-7 IN is here in Hit, we have two platoons of our C Co serving with TF 3-69 AR and one platoon serving with TF 5-7 Cav – both in Ramadi. We also have a squad from B Co serving as the personal security detachment for the Brigade Commander – also in Ramadi. We keep close tabs on them and by all accounts, they’re doing great work…and, of course, you and I would expect nothing less!
As always, we appreciate the tremendous support we receive from both the Rear Detachment, led by CPT Neil Johnson and SFC Frank Miller, and the Cottonbaler Family Readiness Group. We appreciated the Valentines cards, the baked goods, and all the other “surprises” you’ve been sending our way! Thanks to all the true heroes who graciously volunteer your time and energy to take care of our Soldiers!
Before you know it, April will be upon us, and we’ll be sending our first Soldiers back home for R&R leave!

LTC Doug Crissman…Able 6