Sunday, February 03, 2008

1-15 Inf. Regt. clear routes near Al Duraiya

By Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
Multi-National Division – Center PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment conducted a two-day joint operation with the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division to set up Concerned Local Citizen checkpoints, and disrupt insurgent networks operating near Al Duraiya, a small village near Salman Pak, Jan. 28 and 29.
During the operation, 1-15th Inf. Regt. found seven improvised explosive devices and a weapons cache.
Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., secured the cache and transported it to another site for disposal.
The cache contained 10 hand grenades, 260 machine gun rounds, 150 rounds of small arms ammunition, 50 high explosive rounds, a can of homemade explosives, a Russian air force bomb converted into an IED and the base of an explosive formed projectile.
First Lt. Ross Pixler, from Phoenix, Ariz., a platoon leader in Company A, 1-15 Inf. Regt., said the operation was meeting its objective.
“We have been pushing insurgents out of the area and securing Salman Pak,” Pixler said. “So far, we have been very successful and hopefully it will continue to be that way.”
The Concerned Local Citizens have been instrumental in helping find insurgents and weapons caches by providing information and monitoring roadside checkpoints.
“I joined with them to rescue my neighborhood because it had been attacked by terrorists,” said a member of the CLCs through an interpreter. “At first, they (the insurgents) said what they were doing was jihad, but then they acted like insurgents. That is why we put our trust in God. Our religion says that if we ask for peace, we will go in peace.”
Pixler said most CLCs join with similar hopes of helping secure their neighborhoods.
“The fact that they are willing to sign up and get their picture and finger prints taken shows they are going down the right path and they are willing to work with us,” Pixler said.
Registration is a minor inconvenience for those who sign up.
“If some people don’t want peace, then you need to find the people who do,” said the CLC. “You must take care of your neighborhood and fight against those who want harm against it.”
The 1-15th Inf. Regt is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

1-15 Inf. Regt. aids in market improvement

Story by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Leaders of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment visited a Salman Pak market Jan. 30 to distribute approximately $15,000 in micro grants to small business owners.
Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of 1-15th Inf. Regt., visited 10 small businesses to distribute micro grants to the shop owners. Businesses included an electronic maintenance shop, a barber shop, a sweets shop, a photo shop, a grocery store, a tire repair store, a cement shop, a cell phone store and two restaurants.
According to Maj. John Wolfe, from Scottsboro, Ala., a team leader from Company A, 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, a reserve unit from Knoxville, Tenn., the idea is to model the stores after a strip mall that might be seen in the United States. 
Wolfe said the micro grants will be used by the shop owners to renovate the inside of their stores while 1-15 Inf. Regt. leaders and the 489th CA team will head projects to refurbish the market’s exterior.
Wolfe says leaders are planning to paint the buildings, pave the street and install street lights.
“We are focusing our efforts to revitalize the center,” Wolfe said.
The market is located directly across from Salman Pak’s new Joint Security Station, and in close proximity to a new sanitation building and a fire station currently under construction. The location is perfect for a thriving economy, Wolfe said.
Wolfe believes the project will strengthen the relationship between Coalition Forces and Salman Pak residents.
“It shows we are here to help the populace and improve the economy,” he said. “Of course we will help clear out the people who cause problems but we are here to help bring the economy back to normal.”
The 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

1-15 Inf. Regt. clear routes near Al Duraiya

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment conducted a two day joint operation with the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division to set up Concerned Local Citizen checkpoints and disrupt insurgent networks operating near Al Duraiya, a small village near Salman Pak, Jan. 28 and 29.
During the operation, 1-15th Inf. Regt. found seven improvised explosive devices and a weapons cache.
Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., secured the cache and transported it to another site for disposal.
The cache contained 10 hand grenades, 260 machine gun rounds, 150 rounds of small arms ammunition, 50 high explosive rounds, a can of homemade explosives, a Russian air force bomb converted into an IED and the base of an explosive formed projectile.
First Lt. Ross Pixler, from Phoenix, Ariz., a platoon leader in Company A, 1-15 Inf. Regt., said the operation was meeting its objective.
“We have been pushing insurgents out of the area and securing Salman Pak,” Pixler said. “So far, we have been very successful and hopefully it will continue to be that way.”
The Concerned Local Citizens have been instrumental in helping find insurgents and weapons caches by providing information and monitoring roadside checkpoints.
“I joined with them to rescue my neighborhood because it had been attacked by terrorists,” said a member of the CLCs through an interpreter. “At first, they (the insurgents) said what they were doing was jihad, but then they acted like insurgents. That is why we put our trust in God. Our religion says that if we ask for peace, we will go in peace.”
Pixler said most CLCs join with similar hopes of helping secure their neighborhoods.
“The fact that they are willing to sign up and get their picture and finger prints taken shows they are going down the right path and they are willing to work with us,” Pixler said.
Registration is a minor inconvenience for those who sign up.
“If some people don’t want peace then you need to find the people who do,” said the CLC. “You must take care of your neighborhood and fight against those who want harm against it.”
The 1-15th Inf. Regt is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.