Cavalry Regiment demonstrate the fundamentals of detainee searches to 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division soldiers at a combat outpost in Tal Afar, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo courtesy of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SR# 051707-63
May 17, 2007

By Sgt. Paula Taylor
4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

TAL AFAR, Iraq—For the first time, members of 1st Platoon, B Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment and 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division conducted training together.

The training event, which allowed the cavalry to travel to several Iraqi Army area patrol bases, lasted two weeks and covered several types of searches.

“The searches that were taught were the search and seizure, cordon and search, vehicle search, and personnel search,” said Pfc. Kenneth Malone, cavalry scout. “These searches are important because they are vital to the success of their mission.”

Just after the initial class of students had finished learning proper search techniques, a call alerting the group was received of a possible foreign fighter being spotted in the immediate area.

“The call was from a source that identified a foreign fighter hiding out in the house across the street from where we were training,” said 1st Lt. David Boelens. “The IA went across the street and captured the foreign fighter, using many of the techniques our Soldiers had taught them a couple of hours earlier.”

Throughout the two-week period, Coalition Forces said they trained about 40-50 Iraqi soldiers per day.

“We trained at least 300 IA from first battalion alone,” Malone said. “They took the training well.”

Most of the scouts agreed that the IA soldiers learned valuable techniques that could possibly save lives.

“The combined experiences of my noncommissioned officers and Soldiers gave the IA soldiers good search techniques that may someday save their lives,” said Boelens. “Knowing what to look for and how to mitigate the threat is something that the IA have been instilled with. We are just helping to enhance that knowledge.”
Boelens feels the classes were relevant and will directly impact the Iraqi Army’s missions by making them more effective, and said that his unit will continue the training throughout the HeadHunter’s deployment.



Iraqi Army and Coalition Soldiers assigned to the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, take cover behind a cement barrier after receiving small-arms fire in Tal Afar, Iraq. The CF are working with IA in the area to teach, coach and mentor their fighting skills. (U.S. Army photo courtesy of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment)

Labels: 1-9 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, Iraq, Iraqi Army, Tal Afar, US Army

Guitarist Pfc. Jamie Holder, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division performs in front of a live audience of fellow troopers, while Spc. Amy McCafferty, 27th Brigade Support Battalion, plays the drums. Holder and McCafferty are two members of the newly-formed band, The Long Knife Edge, performing at the Transformation Chapel April 13 on Forward Operating Base Marez, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paula Taylor, 4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SR# 041407-51
April 14, 2007

By Sgt. Paula Taylor
4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq—Five members of the newly-formed Long Knife Edge band took to the stage for the first time to entertain their fellow troopers assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at the Transformation Chapel April 13.

The band, whose concept was originally formed while the unit was still at Fort Bliss, Texas, awaiting deployment orders, had been practicing once-a-week for the past month in order to prepare for the concert.

The band leader, Maj. Marianne Madrid, an automation management officer for the 4th BCT, said the Long Knife Edge was the idea of the brigade commander, Col. Stephen Twitty.

“Colonel Twitty asked, ‘What do you think about getting a brigade band together?’ He knew I had an interest in music and that I played an instrument. I think it was because we were going to be here without our own division band,” she said.
During the hour-long concert, the group played several rock and a few country songs to the cheers of the crowd.

“The songs came from all the band members,” explained Madrid. “Whatever they bring to the table, we all try to learn. We’re going to be working on more country, rock and R & B for the next concert,” she added.

“Every single one of them is very dedicated,” she said. “They all have a great passion for all types of music. It’s stress prevention. It lets them have fun, relax, and it gives them confidence.”

One of those band members is Pfc. Jamie Holder, guitarist and vocalist from Hemphill, Texas, who said his interest in music began when he was a senior in high school.

“My grandfather showed me three chords. From there on, I just progressed,” he said. “When I finally got my first guitar in Germany, my first duty station, I really started playing a lot more. I used to practice every weekend, four or five hours a day. I found people to play with and had a good time with it.”

Aside from being a stress-reliever, Holder said the opportunity has served to break up the every-day routine of his job.

“I’ve always wanted to perform live. Besides doing like a groundhog day-type thing, where everything is the same every day—work eight hours-a-day, go home, watch movies; this keeps me busy. It keeps me entertained.”

Audience member and Abilene, Texas, native, Pvt. Samantha Limones, 18, said she was glad she came to see them play.

“My battle buddy, Holder, is in the band and he told me about the concert, so I wanted to go and see it. It was a great experience to hear music that we listen to. It was a relaxing time that kept our minds off everything that’s happening over here. They were awesome—really hot!”

The group is currently planning their next concert for summer, 2007. They said they intend on performing at least once every quarter for the Soldiers stationed at FOB Marez and would like to arrange to visit other FOBs through the Ninewa Province.

Other members of the band included Spc. Amy McCaffery, drummer, 27th Brigade Support Battalion from New Canery, Texas, Capt. Matt Miller, keyboard player, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment from Dresher, Penn., and Sgt. Chris Mills, bass player and vocalist, 27th BSB from Theodore, Ala.


Members of The Long Knife Edge band perform live during their debut concert at the Transformation Chapel on Forward Operating Base Marez, Iraq, April 13. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paula Taylor, 4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)


Bass player Sgt. Chris Mills, 27th Brigade Support Battalion, keyboard player Capt. Matt Miller, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, and Spc. Amy McCafferty, drummer, 27th BSB, perform in the band, The Long Knife Edge, before a live audience at the Transformation Chapel on Forward Operating Base Marez April 13. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paula Taylor, 4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)

Labels: 1-9 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division photos, 27th BSB, FOB Marez 4th BCT, military musicians

Lit by a nearby fire, a Soldier with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, and an Iraqi Army officer prepare Chai tea for Soldiers of Troop D, 1-9 Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. The Troop D Soldiers delivered supplies to Troop A at Al Kindi, an Iraqi army base near Mosul, where they are supporting military transition teams, or MiTTs, Jan 27. Photo by Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Tikrit


By Sgt. Antonieta Rico
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

MOSUL, Iraq -- Curfew is in effect in Mosul as the Troop D, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, Soldiers roll through the city’s empty streets Jan. 26.

Undeterred by reports of a possible roadside bomb, the support Soldiers are intent on delivering supplies to fellow cavalry Soldiers.

“Our goal is to keep the convoy moving,” said Capt. George Childs, Troop D commander, “If we stop, we are failing that mission.”

The supply convoy moves cautiously through the road where the suspected bomb is emplaced, and the Soldiers arrive safely with their cargo at Al Kindi, an Iraqi Army base near Mosul. There, Troop D delivers supplies, which include mattresses, fresh water, wood, building material and some generators to Soldiers of Troop A, 1-9 Cav. Regt. The Soldiers of the headquarters section of Troop A are embedded with a Military Transition Team at the Iraqi base.

With the recent realignment of 1-9 Cav. Regt. into a “super MiTT,” and Soldiers of the squadron spread through out Nineveh Province, the Soldiers of Troop D, the 1-9 Cavalry support troop, are relishing their chance to show what they are capable of.

Soldiers of Troop D also deliver supplies to MiTT units and coalition forces within Mosul, as well as 1-9 Cav. Regt. Soldiers in the Tal Afar and Al Kisik areas in western Nineveh Province.

“Especially now, with the squadron split, our mission is extremely important,” said Childs, a Daytona Beach, Fla., native.

The supplies Troop D Soldiers deliver ensure the Squadron’s Soldiers are able to carry out their own mission.

“If I don’t deliver, trucks don’t move,” said Staff Sgt. Guillermo Rivera, distribution platoon sergeant, “They don’t have spare parts for their vehicles, they don’t have ammunition, they don’t have fuel, they don’t eat.”

And although the Soldiers deliver the necessities, they also deliver the comfort items that take the edge off a hard days work. Rivera’s Soldiers also deliver mail, hot chow, and the occasional special request for cream cheese.

“If nothing else, we improve the morale of Soldiers that are deployed forward,” Childs said.

“When you go out there you always get a happy face waiting on you and a warm handshake,” said Rivera, a native of Puerto Rico, “We are like their best friend.”

That friendly sentiment was evident when the Troop D Soldiers arrived at Al Kindi.

Soldiers of Troop A were waiting for them and as the supplies were unloaded, the Troop A Soldiers and an Iraqi army officer started making Chai for the Troop D Soldiers. Soon there was a gathering outside by a bonfire, with Soldiers from both troops swapping stories over sweet, hot Chai.

And although sometimes people forget to thank the supply Soldiers for their vital support of the line troops, words are not always necessary.

“The Soldiers and the happy faces when you get to different places; that’s enough for me,” Rivera said.


Private 2nd Class Cory Rand, Troop D, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, adjusts a lamp to check his vehicle before heading out on a supply convoy to Al Kindi, an Iraqi army base near Mosul, Jan 27. Rand's mission was to deliver supplies to Troop A, 1-9 Cav. Regt., who are supporting military transition teams, or MiTTs, at the base. Photo by Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Tikrit


Lit by a nearby fire, a Soldier with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, and an Iraqi Army officer prepare Chai tea for Soldiers of Troop D, 1-9 Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. The Troop D Soldiers delivered supplies to Troop A at Al Kindi, an Iraqi army base near Mosul, where they are supporting military transition teams, or MiTTs, Jan 27. Photo by Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Tikrit

Labels: 1-9 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, 4BCT, Iraq, MiTTs, Mosul, photos, US Army