Posted on 05/21/2009 4:21:54 PM PDT by SandRat
An Iraqi woman receives a bag of food during a joint U.S./Iraqi humanitarian food drop in Firra Shia village, May 17. Photo by Jon Soles, Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Army (IA) and U.S. Soldiers did their part to help some citizens here during a humanitarian food drop in Firra Shia village, May 17.
The joint mission highlighted the use of both American and Iraqi military assets to meet the needs of the community where the Soldiers live and work.
First Lt. Michael Neel, 8th Cavalry Regiment, said humanitarian missions show the many facets of the American and Iraqi Soldiers' ability to improve life for Iraqis. It is also key to overcoming past skepticism Iraqi citizens may have felt toward the Iraqi Security Forces.
"I think it's important for the community to see that the IA and the Government of Iraq care just as much about them as we do," Neel said. "In the past, they did not trust the IA, but now they trust them and see they can trust them as much as us."
The Soldiers traveled to a school in Firra Shia with a truckload of food bags containing rice, beans, cooking oil and tomato paste. Iraqi citizens who were identified to receive aid arrived, ready to claim their food.
Men, women and children smiled as they accepted their bags from the back of an IA pickup truck. Neel said his Soldiers and the IA worked to make the food drop a success through coordination. While distribution of the food was coordinated by the IA, the U.S. Soldiers took up defensive positions around the school to keep security.
"The most important thing is coordination – the language barrier and culture barrier," Neel said. "You have to be aware of it at all times, but you have to be tactically aware at all times too."
The mission's purpose was more than just to help eliminate hunger, according to Neel. It was a way to maintain a good relationship between the Iraqi people, the ISF and American Soldiers.
"We go out on patrols and we talk to them. You get an understanding of the town or village area," Neel said. "From a security standpoint, it increases our profile in the village itself."
Even though a good relationship with the Iraqis is helpful, the U.S. Soldiers also want to let the ISF take the lead in humanitarian missions, according to Neel.
"It went pretty well, nobody got hurt and everybody got their rations," said Staff Sgt. Valentin Arreola, an infantryman with the 8th Cav. Reg. "We want the Iraqi people taking care of the Iraqis to get them to rely on them instead of us."
(By Jon Soles, Multi-National Division – Baghdad)
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.