Sgt. 1st Class David Acosta, section sergeant, Mortar Platoon, Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning, uses his sight to search the area around a traffic control point for suspicious activity. Acosta, a Panama City, Panama, native works with his fellow Apache troops to help the Iraqi Army secure their country. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Oct. 4, 2006)


October 6, 2006
SR# 100406-159

by Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

MUQDADIYA, Iraq (October 3, 2006) -- Americans will not always be present in Iraq. That's the hope all Soldiers share as they continue to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

To ensure that Americans will one day be able to leave Iraq, a capable Iraqi Security Force needs to be in place. Iraqis are taking a larger role in the stability of their country each day.

During a recent joint patrol, Soldiers from Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Lightning and counterparts from the Iraqi Army's 3rd Brigade, 5th Division conducted a cordon and search and a hasty traffic control point in this northern region of Diyala Province.

"We're putting them in the front so they can take charge," said Sgt. 1st Class David Acosta, a section sergeant from the Mortar Platoon, Apache Troop.

Coalition Forces are taking a less active role in this region as evidenced by the recent ceremony that saw the 3rd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division take control of the stability of the northern region of Diyala Province.

"We're not here to occupy; we're not here to impose our customs and our beliefs," Acosta said. "Once we leave Iraq, eventually, it's the Iraqi people that are going to handle this. It's going to be left to them."

During this mission, the joint patrol set up a traffic control point to search for illegal weapons and other forbidden items. As each vehicle approaches, the Soldiers, both Iraqi and American, are weary of the occupants inside. Even with gun trucks covering their every move, worse case training scenarios are often at the forefront of these Soldiers' minds.

"I'd say you have to be a little nervous; it keeps you on your toes and it makes you do the right thing. It's always easier to do the easy right over the hard wrong," said Spc. Joshua Toller, a driver with the Mortar Platoon, Apache Troop.

While this checkpoint yielded no weapons, it put the anti-Iraqi forces on notice that the ISF is in the area and lets the citizens know their troops are active in protecting them.

"We have to deny the enemy freedom of movement," Acosta said. "They're doing things that affect the government to move forward, to progress. We have to recon constantly to keep them off the streets."


Soldiers from Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning search the ground below a building that was suspected of being the location of an improvised explosive device-making factory. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Oct. 4, 2006)

Sgt. Harry Duvall, Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning, instructs the occupants of a van to stand to the side before he searches the vehicle. Duvall, McConnelsburg, Pa., native, conducted the traffic control point along with members of the Iraqi Army’s 3rd Brigade, 5th Division Oct. 3. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Oct. 4, 2006)


Sgt. 1st Class David Costa, section sergeant, Mortar Platoon, Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning, talks with members of the Iraqi Army prior to conducting a joint patrol. Acosta, a Panama City, Panama, native, routinely conducts the joint patrols with his fellow Apache Soldiers to help the IA become more proficient at protecting the Iraqi people. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Oct. 4, 2006)



Sgt. Harry Duvall, Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning, directs traffic during a joint traffic control point Oct. 3. Duvall, a McConnelsburg, Pa., native, along with his fellow Apache Soldiers conducted the joint patrol with the Iraqi Army’s 3rd Brigade, 5th Division to hinder Anti-Iraqi Forces activities in the region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Oct. 4, 2006)