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| The Marines of Marine Wing Security Battalion 372 gather information from residents of the Sahl Hawran during a census, Dec. 27. Marines gathered demographic information including each resident’s physical characteristics, the location of their homes and family information. |
AL ASAD, Iraq (Jan. 21, 2008) -- The Marines of Marine Wing Security Battalion 372 have more to look out for than themselves and each other; the local Iraqis are relying on them to watch their backs too. They help support one local Iraqi village by patrolling through to ensure their safety, but also to ensure they have the means for survival.
The Marines of Alpha Company of ‘372 conducted “Operation Abacus,” a census in the local
Iraqi village of Sahl Hawran, to better understand the makeup of the populace and issue the males identification cards, December 27.
Sahl Hawran is a village near Al Asad with four tribes made up of approximately 300 people.
The village, which is made up mostly of children and people under the age of 17, relies on the town of Baghdadi for most of it’s support.
MWSB-372 interacts with the locals of Sahl Hawran frequently to help them with any issues they might be having, from medical support to school supplies. Their goal is to determine if the Iraqis need support from the Marines or if they have issues that must be addressed with the Iraqi government. The Marines of ‘372 are moving away from providing them with their necessities and encouraging them to be more proactive with their local government.
“With this mission, we are going up there to get an idea how many women and children live there,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Aaron Johnson, MWSB-372’s intelligence officer. “Most of our missions focus on the males so we don’t have a good idea of how many women and children there are and who is married.”
The other goal of the mission was to enroll as many citizens in the Biometric Automated Toolset system as possible to get them identification cards which will grant them access to other villages in the area. The BAT system documents personal demographic data on individuals and captures biometric information for positive identification use, such as photos, fingerprints and iris scans.
“The residents have found it difficult to access certain areas such as main supply routes on their way to Baghdadi, which is controlled by other military units,” said Sgt. Robin Moore, a BAT operator and badging non-commissioned officer-in-charge for MWSB-372. “This military unit has mobile handheld devices which can view the profile of those enrolled, making access to Baghdadi for employment and purchasing life sustaining items possible.”
The people of Sahl Hawran rely on the town of Bagdhadi for their fuel and food rations.
Since security has gotten tighter in Iraqi cities and villages, the people of Sahl Hawran no longer have access without identification. So, the Marines of ‘372 ensured that they would receive identification badges to have access to the town and the resources within.
“It’s important for them to get into Bagdhadi so they can address issues with their local government like freshwater and fuel needs as well as power support,” said Johnson, a Billings, Mo., native.
Approximately 60 people were enrolled in the BAT system. After the initial information was documented and recorded, 372 returned to pass out their ID badges.
Johnson believes that keeping a trusting relationship with the villagers will ensure the safety of the residents of Sahl Hawran and the service members on Al Asad.
“We have a very good rapport with these people,” said Johnson. “When we first went to Sahl Hawran it was more of a neutral environment. We’ve been building a relationship with these people though; we patrol in that area a lot and interact with them. Now, we’ve established a very positive relationship with these people.”