Posted on 04/06/2007 6:05:54 PM PDT by SandRat
KIRKUK, Iraq, April 6, 2007 — U.S. soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, with the assistance of G Company, 3-7 FA soldiers, have delivered several concrete barriers to traffic checkpoints in the Khabbaz region near Kirkuk.
"The barriers will make the drivers reduce their speeds through here, as well as provide extra protection for the soldiers from any attacks,"
Capt. Qais Aswad Bunyan
The barriers were set up at three Iraqi army’s 1st Strategic Infrastructure Battalion checkpoints to improve security for Iraqi soldiers manning their posts.
The 1st Strategic Infrastructure Battalion received the barriers a few months ago, but did not have the means to move them, said Capt. Mark Barton, the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery commander in charge of the mission.
“Their commander had expressed an interest in getting those moved to some of the checkpoints as better protection for his guards out there, so we did this for them because we had the equipment to move the barriers,” Barton continued.
The 1st Strategic Infrastructure Battalion is responsible for guarding the 29 oil wells and pipelines in the Khabbaz region. They also work with local Iraqi police by manning security checkpoints in the area. Strategic Infrastructure Battalion soldiers work with very little in the way of supplies. This makes the barriers a large step forward for the Strategic Infrastructure Battalion in the area, they said.
“The barriers will make the drivers reduce their speeds through here, as well as provide extra protection for the soldiers from any attacks,” said Capt. Qais Aswad Bunyan, the 1st Strategic Infrastructure Battalion operations officer, through an interpreter. “Also, they give the checkpoint an appropriate appearance. People will know this is checkpoint now when they come up to it.” Strategic Infrastructure Battalion commanders chose the locations for the barriers, depending on which checkpoint needed them most, said Barton.
While the jersey barriers are important to improving the effectiveness of the checkpoints, they’re only the first step in Barton’s plans to build a partnership with the Strategic Infrastructure Battalion. He said he wants to work with the soldiers to get them further training in first aid and weapons skills, as well as vehicle maintenance procedures. For now, the addition of necessary supplies to the checkpoints will help the joint mission of coalition forces and Iraqi security forces to secure the area for industry and the populace.
“For us, it’s simple to put some cones out, but for these soldiers, it’s a really big step,” Barton said. “The Strategic Infrastructure Battalion soldiers take pride in putting this stuff out and using it.”
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