Iraqi citizens were marked with either an “A” for accepted, or an “X” for denied, by recruiting officials following an Iraqi Army recruiting drive held in Al Qa’im, Iraq, March 24, 2006. Of the 400, 179 were accepted – a substantial number, according to Coalition and Iraqi Army officials. The operation was part of an Iraqi Army recruiting campaign aimed at incorporating more Sunnis into Iraqi Security Forces, according to Coalition Forces officials. The drive, conducted by Iraqi soldiers and Coalition Forces, was an attempt to bolster numbers in one of several Brigades within the Iraqi Army’s 10 divisions. “The Iraqis have recruiting well in control and they are doing well on their own,” said Capt. Selden B. Hale, recruiting advisor for the Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, whose job is to work with the Iraqis on all recruiting issues. “We are just here to help escort the Iraqis but they are the ones who make the decisions.”
Taken by Cpl. Antonio Rosas