Monday, 14 January 2008
HABBANIYAH — Cpl. Christopher J. Sevigny recently led a patrol of Marines and Iraqi Police (IP) through the withered, brown reeds and sturdy concrete houses of the Habbaniyah villages, taking time to meet with the residents living there.
This patrol wasn’t staged from a regular patrol base or forward operating base, and the Marines didn’t meet up with the Iraqi Police along the way. They live together and departed from Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6’s Joint Security Station (JSS) South Angels, together.
The squad leader and Marines with 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, have been living in a secure structure with Iraqi Police for more than three weeks. They have been integrated and act as one team.
“We live and conduct operations out of the JSS so, sooner rather than later, these people can stand up on their own and will no longer need our support,” said 1st Lt. Alistair E. Howard, first platoon commander
Sevigny, 21, led the patrol across canals, through fields and along the paths into town, stopping his men to talk with the locals about how their families and livelihoods are affected by the combined Marine and IP presence.
As his Marines set up security in a cul-de-sac, the Boston native explained, in between talk with locals, how important the patrols are for the community they have taken a vested interest in.
“Joint security patrols amongst the local populace ensure they are still comfortable with us and the Iraqi Police and with the security situation in their area,” said the 2004 Bayside High School graduate. “It also allows the Iraqi populace to have reassured confidence in their own police and allow the police and Army to become more familiar with their area of operation and the people they protect.”
These operations have been a success in an area that was once rife with insurgent activity, which forced Iraqi citizens out of the community, turning the area into a figurative ghost town, said Sevigny.
“There wasn’t anybody in this area,” he said. “The mosque was abandoned and nobody ever came out during the day. We were trying to hunt terrorists and there weren’t any Iraqi Police, but since we pushed out the terrorists and started these types of operations, I’ve seen the Iraqi people take a proactive approach to improving their country by allowing the IPs and IA (Iraqi Army) what they need to improve their communities.”
The Marines stopped by the local mosque and met with one of the speakers to have lunch during their patrol. It was a common dish, served hot and fresh; flat bread, potatoes, eggs and steaming hot chai (tea), loaded with sugar. The Marines and Iraqis sat with each other, enjoying the company and conversation, after which they began their patrol back to the JSS, where they now call home.
It had been a long patrol, but it had been successful. The community outreach operations have sustained the peace and security brought to their area of operations by the Marines of the “Ready to Fight” battalion throughout their seven-month deployment.
As Sevigny’s patrol returned from the fields and another squad prepared to depart, Howard explained the battalion’s success.
“We’ve kicked out the insurgents.” said Howard. He then gestured toward the station and the resident Marines and IPs. “And all of this; the station, the patrols and the IPs, is to make sure they don’t come back.”
(Story by Cpl. Bryce C.K. Muhlenberg, 2nd Marine Division)
In Other Recent Developments Here:
TIKRIT — Multi-National Division - North Soldiers destroyed three booby-trapped houses in Himbus, Jan. 11, during Operation Raider Harvest, which is part of the countrywide Operation Phantom Phoenix.
SUQ ASH SHUYUK — Paratroopers in Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division discovered and thwarted 21 107mm rockets set to launch toward their command outpost – thanks to a tip from a local shepherd, Jan. 6.
Labels: Good News, Habbaniyah, Iraq, Iraqi Police, photos, USMC
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