Banners of appreciation from the community adorn the front entrance of the Tisin Playground, located in the ethnically mixed northwest neighborhood of Kirkuk, Iraq. The project is part of a larger plan that will include gardens, lighted walkways and 24-hour security. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts


Lt. Col. James D. Hess (far rear), battalion commander, 325th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Command Sgt. Maj. Randy Varner (back right), 325th command sergeant major, pose for a photo with neighborhood children during the grand opening of the Tisin Playground in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts


Two small girls are among the first children to enjoy one of several swings at the Tisin Playground in Kirkuk, Iraq. Local government officials and military leadership with the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Iraqi Army's 4th Division commemorated the grand opening of the playground with a ribbon cutting, Sept. 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts


Maj. Zyad Junade, civil affairs officer, 2nd Brigade, Iraqi Army's 4th Division and U.S. Army Lt. Col. James D. Hess, commander, 325th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, pose for a photo at the new playground in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts


U.S. Army Lt. Col. James D. Hess (right), commander, 325th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, watches a young Iraqi boy enjoy one of four large slides during the grand opening of the Tisin Playground in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts


A small girl enjoys one of four slides at the new Tisin Playground in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2007. Local government officials as well as U.S. and Iraqi army leadership commemorated the grand opening with a ribbon cutting. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Alberts




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Labels: 2-4 Iraqi Army, 25th Infantry Division, 325th BSB, 4th Iraqi Army Division, children, Good News, Iraq, Iraqi Army, photo essays, photos, US Army