Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Airborne sets up shop in Adhamiyah
Multi-National Forces-Iraq ^ | Sgt. Mike Pryor

Posted on 02/11/2007 9:52:41 AM PST by SandRat

Pfc. Giovanny Rincon, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a paratrooper with B Co, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, makes friends with an Iraqi girl during a patrol in Baghdad's Adhamiyah District Feb. 8. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor.

Pfc. Giovanny Rincon, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a paratrooper with B Co, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, makes friends with an Iraqi girl during a patrol in Baghdad's Adhamiyah District Feb. 8. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor.

BAGHDAD -- The 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team established a combat outpost in the heart of Baghdad this week in an effort to reduce sectarian violence in the Iraqi capital and assist the Iraqi security forces to take control of the city.

Paratroopers from the 2nd BCT’s 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment will be living, working, and conducting operations out of the newly-established Combat Outpost (COP) Callahan, located in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district.

“Living in this neighborhood means we can maintain a constant presence. We’re not going home at night. We’re here 24/7,” said 1st Lt. David Bopp, of Boulder, Colo., a platoon leader with Company C, 2nd Bn., 325th AIR.

Until recently, COP Callahan was nothing more than the skeletal remains of what had once been a busy shopping mall. But in the early morning hours of Feb. 7, following dozens of precision-targeted raids in the area by the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker BCT, the 2nd Bn. “White Falcons” moved in and occupied the building.

Since then, COP Callahan has been a whirlwind of activity. At any given hour, paratroopers are busy stringing concertina wire, sawing and hammering lumber, and stacking sandbags to ensure maximum force protection. Outside, cranes and forklifts move heavy concrete barriers into place along the perimeter, staying mindful of occasional sniper fire. As all this is going on, patrols constantly move in and out to meet the local population.

For the people of Adhamiyah, not accustomed to seeing a coalition presence in their neighborhoods, the sight of paratroopers walking the streets and getting to know the locals is a novelty.

“Being dismounted is the key to winning this fight, in my opinion,” said Bopp. “You can’t interact with someone behind a window of glass.”

Because of the face-to-face contact they invite, foot patrols are the White Falcons’ most effective intelligence-gathering tool. Information also gives the paratroopers an understanding of the issues and problems in the community. By acting on both kinds of information and producing tangible results, the White Falcons hope to win the locals over to their side.

The success of the plan will depend largely on the abilities of noncommissioned officers like Sgt. Patrick Ireland, a squad leader with Co. B, 2nd Bn., 325th AIR. When he leaves the COP, Ireland has to be a soldier, a policeman, a diplomat and a traveling salesman - sometimes all at once.

On one recent patrol, Ireland set out to introduce himself to his new neighbors. He spent the next five hours going door-to-door, collecting business cards, sipping tea, asking polite questions and painstakingly trying to piece scraps of information together to form a complete picture of the area.

“Right now, it’s just matching a name with a face, but I guarantee we’re going to know these people really, really well by the end of this deployment,” Ireland said.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 82airborne; frwn; iraq

1 posted on 02/11/2007 9:52:42 AM PST by SandRat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: 91B; HiJinx; Spiff; MJY1288; xzins; Calpernia; clintonh8r; TEXOKIE; windchime; Grampa Dave; ...
FR WAR NEWS!

WAR News at Home and Abroad You'll Hear Nowhere Else!

All the News the MSM refuses to use!

2 posted on 02/11/2007 9:53:08 AM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson