Free Republic

Former Sons of Iraq members work on a solar-powered device used to heat water while attending a Demobilization, Demilitarization and Reintegration Center course in western Adhamiyah, March 12. This machine will enable Iraqi families to have hot water in their homes. Photo by 1st Lt. Scott Lewis, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — The classrooms bustle with activity as former Sons of Iraq members attend a Demobilization, Demilitarization and Reintegration (DDR) Center here to learn the skills necessary to make a living and support their families.This DDR Center in western Adhamiyah offers courses in surveying, electricity, mechanics, generator repair...

BAGHDAD — The Government of Iraq (GoI) and Coalition forces will complete the transfer of the Sons of Iraq (SoI) security volunteers to Iraqi control by April, and officials say they now are focused on transitioning the men into jobs and educational programs. “We're all working together for the same purpose: to bring these young men back to the government, back to their country, and to continue to build a stable and secure Iraq,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter, deputy commanding general for operations, Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “What you see is a result of this partnership. Things are falling...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 15, 2009 – Nearly 900 former members of the “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group officially joined the ranks of the Iraqi police at a graduation ceremony here yesterday. Former “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group members demonstrate tactical movements that they will incorporate in their duties as police officers as part of their graduation ceremony at Al Furat Iraqi Police Training Center in Baghdad, Jan. 14, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jessika Malott  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Numbering 894 men and three women, they are the second class drawn from former Sons...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2008 – The “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group led coalition troops to their biggest operations in recent days – disarming a bomb at a security checkpoint and finding one of their largest weapons caches to date, military officials reported. Coalition forces responded to a Sons of Iraq checkpoint to disarm a roadside bomb Dec. 29 in Baghdad's Rashid district. An explosive ordnance disposal unit disarmed the bomb. Tips from Sons of Iraq members in the Tikrit area led soldiers to several large weapons caches Dec. 29, one of which is the largest discovered since 25th Infantry...

Former Sons of Iraq members now serving as an Iraqi policemen in Suleikh speak about the improvements of being an IP versus an SoI while on a break at Joint Security Station Suleikh in northeastern Baghdad, Dec. 21. Photo by Sgt. Zachary Mott. SULEIKH — Fifty former members of the Sons of Iraq program are now protecting the streets of Suleikh wearing the bright blue uniform of Iraqi Police officers. The men, along with more than 400 other former members of the much publicized SoI program from Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District, are now Iraqi policemen charged with protecting the streets and...

DIWANIYA — Coalition forces conducted status checks on highway checkpoints controlled by the Sons of Iraq during a patrol Dec. 15. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted the patrol and found citizens working diligently to maintain the safety of their city. “I have mid-day duty. I watch the highways and search the areas (around my checkpoint). Sometimes, (the Iraqi Police) call on me to help search cars,” said Calvin, a member of the SoI. The SoI program works with the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army to make the provinces safe for their citizens. The combined...

Calvin, a Sons of Iraq member, watches a highway from the checkpoint he mans in Diwaniya with two other SoI members, Dec. 15, 2008. Photo by Staff Sgt. Carlos Burger, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. DIWANIYA — Coalition forces conducted status check patrols on highway checkpoints controlled by the Sons of Iraq (SoI) here, Dec. 15. Soldiers from Company D, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division conducted the patrol and found citizens working diligently to maintain the safety of their city.“I have midday duty. I watch the highways and search the areas...

DIYALA — Local Iraqi men lined up to become registered members of the Sons of Iraq here at Forward Operating Base Gabe, Dec. 4. More than 300 Iraqis showed up for the registration, put together by Coalition forces and the Iraqi Army. “It’s been a great turn out,” said Col. Burt Thompson, brigade commander, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “And it’s really good to see both U.S. forces and the Iraqi Army working together as a joint force to ensure the registration of as many local Iraqi nationals to become registered members of the Sons of Iraq.”...

BAGHDAD – More than half of the Baghdad province Sons’ of Iraq have received their first paychecks from the Government of Iraq, with eight other provinces slated to follow suit by the summer of 2009.      “October 1st was the first transfer of the SoI to the Government of Iraq in Baghdad province, with 51,135 SoI [now under GoI control], and then throughout the month of October was the validation of the pay rosters and getting the pay sites ready,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey D. Kulmayer, chief, reconciliation and engagement, Multi-National Corps – Iraq.  “The October pay period was just paid...

More than 1000 Sons of Iraq completed their first phase of Iraqi Police Basic Recruit Training, Nov. 6, 2008, at the al Furat Iraqi Police Training. Photo by Lt. Col. Michael Indovina, 18th Military Police Brigade. BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 former Sons of Iraq (SoI) recently completed their first phase of training at the al Furat Iraqi Police (IP) Training Center here. To kick off the program, 608 SoI registered for the training Oct. 31. Now with the first phase of training completed, 1,031 SoI are integrated into the IP training program. The second phase of training began Nov....

JSS HOR AL BASH — Now that the Sons of Iraq have transitioned to Government of Iraq control, many will head to jobs in the Iraqi Army and Police, and recruiting drives are helping to make that a possibility. The most recent recruiting drive occurred Nov. 4 in Hor al Bash, northwest of Baghdad, thanks to the efforts of Soldiers from Company B “Hammer,” 52nd Infantry, attached to 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry “Strykehorse,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. On the recommendations of Sawa sheiks, 186 Sons of Iraq members traveled to here...

BAGHDAD — Soon, hundreds of Ghazaliyah’s Sons of Iraq, or Abna’a al Iraq, will come under new management. In an effort to reorganize and integrate these concerned citizens, known locally as the Ghazaliyah guardians, they will fall solely under the control of the Government of Iraq. Though the change will be quite transparent to the citizens who cross these volunteers’ checkpoints daily, it will have a profound effect on the direction and authority of the regions Iraqi Security Forces. “Today we are transferring you from American authority to the Iraqi government,” said Capt. Thomas Melton, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault),...

Cruise the streets of Mosul, and you’ll see plenty of men wearing one of the Iraqi army’s handful of motley uniforms. You’ll see a similarly large number of men wearing the Iraqi police uniform. You’ll probably even run into several American soldiers wearing their distinctive digital camouflage. But what you won’t see is the tan, buttoned-down shirts worn by many "Sons of Iraq" volunteers. That’s because Mosul, unlike so many other parts of Iraq, does not use "Sons of Iraq" — the term the U.S. military uses for armed civilians paid by the U.S. to guard their own neighborhoods. Those...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – More than 300 former members of “Sons of Iraq” graduated to Iraqi policemen during a ceremony at Kirkuk Police Academy on May 15. A Kirkuk Police Academy instructor straightens the beret of an Iraqi police recruit before a graduation ceremony, May 15, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Margaret C. Nelson, 1st Battalion, 10th Mountain Division   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The students graduated after eight weeks of training here. “The Kirkuk province has shown tremendous progress in the last year. Events like this prove we are taking the necessary steps...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers rescued a kidnapped Iraqi citizen May 8 near Ibrahim Bin Ali, northwest of Baghdad. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, acted on tips from Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, in addition to tips provided by Iraqi Police and Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) members. The suspected kidnappers were detained and are being held for further questioning. “U.S. soldiers, in full partnership with Iraqi Security Forces, are aggressively pursuing criminals and terrorists,...

BAGHDAD — The strong working relationship between Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) led directly to the capture of key terrorist at approximately 9 p.m. on April 28. During a meeting with a local sheik and other citizens, a Sons of Iraq member indicated that a known key terrorist was nearby. The SoI member detained two suspects and turned them over to MND-B soldiers for further identification. One of the suspects was positively identified as a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda of Iraq. The captured terrorist is a prominent member of an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell...

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 11 suspected terrorists, detained three others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. During operations this morning in the Iraqi capital: -- Enemy fighters using small-arms fire attacked soldiers from 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, around 9 a.m. Troops fired a round from their main tank gun, killing one attacker. The soldiers fired another round minutes later at some men attempting to use an improvised rocket launcher. The round killed two of the would-be attackers and destroyed their weapon. -- Multinational Division Baghdad...

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008 – Most Iraqi people now reject the violence that has plagued their neighborhoods and the extremists who have been inciting the violence, a senior official in the region said today. “We increasingly see a commitment to economic development and reconstruction. That is the path that leads to prosperity and the broadest opportunity for all Iraqis to share in it,” said Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, in a news conference. In places where Iraqi citizens have rejected the violence, people are returning to their homes and capitalizing on improving local...

PATROL BASE YATES — As part of their commitment to keeping insurgents away, members of the Sons of Iraq built a checkpoint on a narrow stretch of road through Fuhail Mujeer Village, 25 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, April 25. As recently as December, Rakkasan Soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), established a presence in the area, which was previously an insurgent safe haven. Now Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, assigned to their battalion’s Company D, are living at the newly built Patrol Base Yates and working with the SoI...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, April 28, 2008 – After months of intensive training at Fort Benning, Ga., and a rotation to the National Training Center, in Fort Irwin, Calif., the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team deployed here in March 2007, prepared to accomplish their mission. Army Capt. Josh Beard, from Opelika, Ala., the civil-military operations officer for 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, greets a worker who helped set up a well and filtration system at a girls school in Narhwan, Iraq. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team established relationships with citizens through community projects and...

TIKRIT, Iraq – Local citizens in the Diyala Province fended off an attack from al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists April 28.Coalition forces received information from local leaders that citizens and local Sons of Iraq fought against an enemy attack and killed 12 AQI terrorists.One Sons of Iraq member was also killed and three were wounded.There were also several local citizens wounded.“Iraqi citizens are tired of the insurgent’s violence and are stepping up to help keep their fellow citizens safe,” said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokesperson for Multi-National Division-North.-30-

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008 – Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are working with Iraqi Army troops to help create a Daughters of Iraq program to complement the work done by the Sons of Iraq. The Iraqi women in the program would be able to search other females at security checkpoints, expanding the capabilities of the Sons of Iraq currently manning the checkpoints. The Sons of Iraq are an organization of volunteers who have united to stand against terrorists in their homeland. They have been credited with helping bring peace to much of Iraq. Steve Martinez, a law enforcement professional...

BAGHDAD – Sons of Iraq led Multi-National Division – Center Soldiers from Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and Iraqi Policemen with 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division to a large weapons cache in Tameem, a town east of Baghdad, April 14. The cache was buried approximately 500 meters from the NPheadquarters in Tameem. “The cache had been in the ground a long time,” said 1st Lt. Andrew Ellison, from Coleman, Ala., a squad leader in Troop C. “EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) Soldiers estimated that the munitions had been buried for over a year based on their condition.” The...

Click the image to view the slideshow of the Sons of Iraq in Hawr Rajab at the "Village of Hope." During General David Petraeus' testimony to Congress on the progress of the war in Iraq, he referred to the great security gains of the last year, which largely hold even in the face of clashes between Shia militias and government forces in Sadr City, Basrah, and much of the South. General Petraeus credited a substantial portion of those security gains in many areas of Iraq in the last year to the duel phenomena of Sahawa (Awakening) councils and the...

"Awakening" movements across Iraq are helping to rid Sunni neighbourhoods of extremist influence, writes Colin FreemanKhalil Mohammed Abbas, a haggard, chainsmoking ex-Iraqi army officer, has good reason to puff on every cigarette as if it were his last. After helping his neighbours in Baghdad rise up against the al-Qa'eda thugs who have terrorised them, he lives in constant expectation that the threats text-messaged to his mobile phone may one day come real. "They are from al-Qa'eda, and they tell me I am a mercenary," he says, reading out the latest missive to bleep into his inbox. "They ask how I...

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2008 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 22 suspects during operations targeting al Qaeda in central and northern parts of Iraq today, according to coalition press releases. A close associate of a senior al Qaeda leader who attacked Sons of Iraq groups in Anbar province was the target of an operation in Baghdad. Upon moving into the target building, coalition forces encountered a man with a weapon. Perceiving hostile intent, they engaged and killed him. Eight suspected terrorists were detained during the operation. Also in Baghdad, coalition forces conducted a precision operation capturing an alleged...

The Iraqi security force known as Sons of Iraq opened its first office in Fallujah Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Iraqi government officials. Faleh al-Dulami, a spokesman for the group, said the opening of the office foreshadows several others pending in Fallujah following the March 10 approval of a headquarters for the group by councilmen from the area. Ahmed Abu Risha, the leader of the Awakening Councils, a Sunni group overseeing the militia, attended the ceremony with several Fallujah representatives and government officials, Voices of Iraq said. The brother of Abu Risha, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, established the Awakening...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – A car bomb exploded at a “Sons of Iraq” headquarters building in Duluyiah, Iraq, yesterday, killing seven Iraqis and injuring 11 others. A member of the local security group fired at the driver of the explosive-loaded pick-up truck, but the driver was able to detonate the bomb. Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Kut destroyed a vehicle transporting weapons and explosives. Iraqi security forces were patrolling in the city and attacked. They requested assistance from a nearby U.S. Special Forces unit. Several enemy fighters were killed, and two vehicles carrying machine guns...

HAWIJAH, Iraq, March 2, 2008 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff walked through the bustling market street of this Iraqi town today – a town that al Qaeda ruled just three months ago. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen saw a market crowded with people and shops stocked with goods. And he saw American soldiers and their Iraqi security forces partners operating with incredible professionalism. Three months ago, this northern Iraqi city was the “Wild West,” said Army Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of Multinational Division North. But a new sheriff came to town in the form of the...

March 01, 2008, 0:40 a.m. Sons of IraqA grassroots surge against al-Qaeda. By Pete Hegseth East Rashid, Baghdad — A young man wearing a tan shirt emblazoned with the Iraqi flag and with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder approaches the doorway of Saint John’s Church, peeks inside, and motions to the American G.I. sergeant standing next to me. They step outside and I watch as the Iraqi makes a sign of the cross, points to the building, and then points to the American’s M-4 rifle, and waves his hand. After a few seconds, the sergeant gets it: no...

DIYALA PROVINCE, Iraq, March 1, 2008 – Citizens who had been assisting with security efforts in Baqouba as “Sons of Iraq” agreed to return to their duties following a meeting among Sons of Iraq representatives, provincial officials and coalition and Iraqi military leaders yesterday at the Diyala provincial governance center. "We discussed the situation in detail, … and all parties agreed that the Sons of Iraq and their leaders would return to work," Army Lt. Col. John Steele, deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, said after the meeting. Media reports of thousands of Diyala security...

QAHIRA — ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Qahira play a large role in securing their backyard through local checkpoints. Lt. Col Michael Pemrick, a Greenwich, N.Y., native, who serves as deputy commander for 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division — Baghdad, said these local forces are one of the key elements in the recent reduction of violence in the area. SoI is a splinter group of the highly successful Concerned Local Citizens program rooted throughout Iraq. Program members have proven themselves invaluable to Coalition and Iraqi security forces, pointing out insurgents and...

BAGHDAD – A Sons of Iraq group discovered a weapons cache near Sabah Nissan, a village east of Baghdad, and turned it over to Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, Feb. 5. The Soldiers secured the site, awaiting the arrival of an explosive ordnance disposal team from the 789th EOD Company, from Fort Benning, Ga., to dispose of the munitions. The cache consisted of two rocket-propelled grenades, one 130 mm artillery round, one 120 mm tank round, one 60 mm mortar round and one 57 mm mortar round. “The Sons of Iraq continue to prove their worth when they...

Cindy Sheehan, Tom Hayden, and the Hate America Left meet with pro-Ba'athist members of the Iraqi parliament to discuss “peace.” TO FIND PEOPLE WHO HATE AMERICA AS MUCH AS THEY DO, the Fifth Column Left had to go halfway around the world to meet with Iraqi political leaders who call terrorism “honorable national resistance” and say foreign jihadists “are guaranteed Paradise” – and at least one of whom has ties to militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. By the end of the trip, the American leftists would echo these sentiments. Somehow most of the media – occupied with interminable coverage of Hurricane...