Posted on 01/11/2004 4:15:02 PM PST by Ragtime Cowgirl
TF 1st AD soldiers encourage reporting of enemy
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR), attached to 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), conducted Operation Recruiter, a battalion-sized operation, in Baghdad’s Al Adil neighborhood Dec. 13 to encourage residents to offer information about enemy activity. Operation Recruiter was part of Task Force 1st Armored Division’s Operation Iron Justice.
Al Adil was selected for the operation because of a recent spate of attacks on neighborhood advisory council members and translators in the area, said Lt. Col. Eric Nantz, 1-325 AIR commander.
“We are sorry for that,” one homeowner said about the recent attacks. “We want to be safe here.”
Additionally, the battalion is searching for a man suspected of involvement with the recent death of a soldier, Nantz said.
Approximately 700 soldiers walked the streets of the one-square kilometer Adil neighborhood seeking any information leading to the arrest of anti-Coalition forces.
While on the scene, elements of 1-325’s Company D searched a series of houses because of a report of a “suicide vest” located in one building – a vest strapped with explosives and used for a suicide bombing. The search turned up empty, but no tip can be dismissed, said 1st Lt. Britton Crafton, 3rd Platoon leader for Co. D.
“(Sometimes) people report someone (falsely) because of a grudge … because they’re angry (with a neighbor),” Crafton said. “But we still have to search the houses.”
During the operation, soldiers distributed wanted posters for suspected insurgents and handbills requesting information on the recent attacks.
A method for reporting enemy activity was also provided to the residents.
Nantz said his battalion has already received tips through the hotline and expects more information once word of it spreads.
“We just have to give it a little time,” he said.
The key in the operation is getting the Iraqis involved in the security of their homes, he said.
“It’s all about stabilizing the community,” Nantz said. “(Iraqis) must take responsibility and ownership of (their) new freedom.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st Armored Division, ping!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you want on or off my, Calpernia, and xzin's Pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail one of us. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.