Labels: 18th Military Police Brigade Comabt Team, 230th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, children, Iraq, Jabella, Military Police, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

A father pushes his son on a swing as other children play at the grand opening of Dover Park in the Qahira neighborhood in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, Oct. 28, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.


Thursday, 30 October 2008

BAGHDAD — “As I drove by the Army canal every day, I saw this park, and I said this is something we can do to help the citizens,” said Col. John Hort, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Dover Park, as it is known by Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, sat abandoned for years; located in the Qahira neighborhood of the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, its carnival rides were unusable and the land was overgrown with weeds.

“It was your typical abandoned park here in Iraq,” said 1st Lt. Rosita Rodriguez, a civil affairs team chief with Company C, 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B.

Thus, the mission to rehabilitate the park became Rodriguez’s mission. Two months later, the refurbished park was completed and handed over to the local neighborhood council, Oct. 28, 2008.

“This is our first park in Qahira. We never had one before,” said Mohamed Madaloom, the Qahira Neighborhood Assistance Council chairman.

The park has a small pond with a generator-run fountain with a flock of geese as well as benches, solar lights, several swings, slides and seesaws. There is also a tiled path lined with flowers and new grass has been planted. A gardener and a security guard, he added, will be hired.

The park is intended to be self-sufficient, and seven small kiosks will be rented to vendors. The rent will provide an income stream to buy fuel for the generator, pay the salaries of the staff and any other expenses.

“Everybody admires the park. I know the families are so excited to get here,” said Madaloom, who, along with fellow local officials and Coalition leaders, gathered for the official hand over. Iraqi officials and Col. Hort raised the Iraqi flag to symbolize the opening of the park as doves were released. Some families and their children couldn’t wait – they were already on the rides.

“I’m so pleased; our kids aren’t able to go many places because of the security situation. I am so pleased that we have such a park in our neighborhood,” said Aum Achmed, who was there with her daughter and a niece. “It’s important for every kid to have a place to go to.”

“It’s good. It used to be awful before. I wouldn’t even look at it before,” said Mostfa, a 3-year-old Iraqi child, before running off to a nearby slide.

(By Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division)

Labels: 404th Civil Affairs Division, 4th Infantry Division, Adhamiyah District, Baghdad, children, Civil Affairs, Good News, Iraq, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, Public Affairs, Qahira, US Army

Army Master Sgt. Michael Molgaard helps to unload boxes of donated clothing and school supplies with an Afghan policeman at the Afshar School. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix


From DefenseLink:


By Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning
Special to American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 7, 2008 – Donations of school supplies and children’s clothing from military families and friends at home are helping deployed New York Army National Guard soldiers in their mission to mentor and train the Afghan national security forces and support the Afghan people.

Members of the Afghan National Police delivered hundreds of pounds of schools supplies, children’s clothing and shoes sent over from New York communities to boys and girls of the Afshar School in the suburbs of the Afghan capital of Kabul on Oct. 4.

Humanitarian assistance missions help Afghan families and build bonds of trust for the nation’s developing army and police forces. Trainers and mentors from Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, part of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, guide and support national police and army units as they conduct local efforts.

Nearly 1,700 members of the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix to serve on embedded training and police mentoring teams, security force units, logistics teams and for the task force headquarters.

Increasingly, military family members, friends, youth groups and civic organizations back in New York are taking an active role by sending donations to their deployed loved ones that are in turn used to help the Afghan people.

Clothing, footwear and school supplies are eagerly sought. Operations that bring police to schools and villages to deliver security messages as well as gifts encourage local support for the Afghan government and improve conditions for the people.

“The Afghan National Police is the face of the Afghan government at the local level,” said Army Col. Gary Yaple, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix and the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Syracuse. “Our intent is to place the Afghans first and in the lead, and we support. This is their nation. These are their communities, families and children. The more support they provide, the more they build for their government. They still need our help, but much progress is being made.”

The three-hour mission on Oct. 4 included 23 U.S. personnel assigned to a police mentoring team with Afghan Regional Security Integration Command Kabul and logistics task force troops. The team moved to the headquarters of Police District 5, where 1st Lt. Faisal Reza from the Bronx, Master Sgt. Michael Molgaard from Ithaca, and Staff Sgt. Deanna Bizette from Florence, S.C., conferred with the local police chief on the operation plan. Then a dozen officers moved out with the Phoenix team for the school.

They set up a security perimeter, and U.S. troops and Afghan police unloaded three trailers of donations. These were placed in a faculty office, and teachers began to distribute to the neediest students.

“The donations came from various people in the Tompkins County area,” said Capt. Robert Romano from Ithaca, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix headquarters.

“My mother organized the drive with support from several local church groups,” he said, adding that Linda Pasto, the mother of another deployed officer, and a local chapter of "The Red Hat Society," a woman's group, also made significant contributions.

“Clothing was collected, inspected, packed and shipped by my mother, Marie Romano, and my wife, Lana,” the captain said. “The first load amounted to about 650 pounds.”

Another shipment weighing in at 1,100 pounds already is on the way, he added. “The police chief and teachers seemed especially happy with a large box of children's shoes and another one that contained winter jackets and sweaters.”

Later, the local police chief personally handed out school supplies, clothing and shoes. He also talked to the children with a simple message: “People should not be afraid to come to the police to ask for help. The police are there for the people.”

(Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning serves in the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix Public Affairs Office.)


Related Sites:
Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan


Col. Zalmia, Police District 5 chief, speaks to students in a classroom of the Afshar School to let them know that his police officers are there to help. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix



Afghan children show off donated supplies and clothing. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix

Labels: 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Afghanistan, children, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, Good News, Humanitarian Aid, New York National Guard, photos, US Army

FAMILY PICTURES - A U.S. soldier shows a group of Iraqi girls pictures of his daughters after the monthly security meeting with the mayor in Jadellah Sofia, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2008. The soldier is assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah De Boise

Labels: 1-3 ACR, children, Iraq, Jadellah Sofia, photos, US Army

PATROL CHAT - U.S. Army Cpl. Michael Tejada patrols down a street while talking with a boy in Istaqlal Qada, northeast of Baghdad, July 27, 2008, after purchasing bananas from a market. Tejada is a mortar section leader assigned to 25th Infantry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III

Labels: 1-27 Infantry, 25th ID, children, Iraq, Istaqlal Qada, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

Staff Sergeant Brian Doty (left), of Orange, Va. and Cpl. Sam Weaver, of Fayetteville, N.C., both with Company B, 13th Psychological Operations Battalion, are accompanied by local children while on a foot patrol in the city of Suwayrah in northern Wasit province. Photo by Sgt. David Turner.


Wednesday, 23 July 2008
By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

COMBAT OUTPOST SUMMERS — Walking down the busy streets of Suwayrah at sundown, the city’s residents met Soldiers with handshakes and friendly smiles. Children gathered everywhere the Soldiers stopped to talk to residents.

As the patrol of Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment continued on its way, the children followed, practicing their English and enjoying the early evening stroll.

“Wherever we roll, it’s like a parade,” said Sgt. Robert Delong, an infantryman from central Minnesota, whose previous deployment to Iraq was in Ramadi. This time around, he said, things are different.

Soldiers of Co. B, 2nd Bn., 6th Inf. Regt. conducted joint patrols with their Iraqi Army counterparts in the northern Wasit province. The patrol was not only a way of showing their presence, but to gather information on local businesses and to hear local citizens’ concerns.

Soldiers of Co. B’s 1st Plt. began their day with an early morning patrol in Raminiyah, along the west bank of the Tigris River, visiting Sons of Iraq checkpoints and talking with local citizens and community leaders. In the rural parts of Co. B’s area, where there are few police, the SoI help keep the roads safe and prevent insurgents and weapons from coming into the area. It’s an around-the-clock task, and many of the checkpoints have tents or shelters nearby where SoI members rest between shifts.

The Soldiers of Co. B, attached to the 1st Bn., 76th Field Artillery Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, make sure the checkpoints are manned and the SoI have what they need as part of their patrols.

Later, they met up with IA Soldiers of the 3rd Bde., 2nd IA Div. in the city of Suwayrah. After pairing up with their IA “battle buddies,” the Soldiers conducted a joint patrol on foot, taking them through the city’s main streets.

“At this stage we try to get the population on our side,” Delong said. “We try to maintain their happiness and give them things that they need. Basically, we ask them what they need, and we take notes.”

“It’s been unusual for me, because I’m not used to working with the population. This deployment, it’s candy and sunshine every day. People come out of their houses to see you. It’s been difficult for a lot of us vets to get used to. It’s just like talking to friends back home.”

Another difference Delong noted is the quiet.

“When I go to sleep, I don’t hear bombs going off. I don’t hear gunfire,” he said.

In recent years, Suwayrah has been a relative island of peace in comparison to its neighbors to the north and west. Since Company B arrived here more than two months ago, there have been no attacks aimed at Coalition forces, said Capt. Dustin Ornatowski, commander of Company B. With little insurgent or criminal activity in the area, his company’s main mission now is to help local citizens repair damaged infrastructure and build their economy, he said.

“Economics and infrastructure are the biggest problems in this area,” said Ornatowski, of Edwardsburg, Mich. “You’re always going to have leftover insurgency elements and criminal elements wherever you go. Right now, those elements are not actively fighting against us in this area,” he said.

Company B Soldiers are working to identify key leaders and find out what the communities in their area need the most. Currently, they hear mostly of the need for reliable electricity and water pumps to keep the region’s irrigation canals flowing, said Ornatowski. Many pumps are damaged or missing, and getting them running again is necessary to supply farmers in the area.

Labels: 13th Psyops Battalion, 3rd ID, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, children, Combat Outpost Summers, Good News, Iraq, photos, Suwayrah

Face the Future
An Iraqi child watches U.S. Marines with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment patrol in Hadari Precinct, Fallujah, Iraq on June 3. The U.S. Marines patrol the area to help reduce violence in the area. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel Martin Moman.

Labels: 3-6 Marine Regiment, children, Fallujah, Hadari Precinct, Iraq, photos, USMC

EAGER TO LEARN IN SADR CITY - U.S. Army Spc. James Sucher is surrounded by Iraqi children who want to practice English outside a Sadr City school, Baghdad, May 30, 2008. Sucher is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Regular. More than 100 young Iraqi men showed up at the school to apply for an opportunity to join the neighborhood watch program. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Cohen A. Young

Labels: 1-6th Infantry, Baghdad, children, Iraq, photos, Sadr City, Task Force Regular, US Army

POSITIVE FEEDBACK - An Iraqi boy waves a sign, written for him in English by an older Iraq boy, as a way to say "thank you" for the paper that was donated to his school in Baghdad, Iraq, by a school district in Wyoming, May 10, 2008. The supplies were distributed by U.S. Marines assigned to Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 5.U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shawn Coolman

Labels: Baghdad, children, Humanitarian Aid, Iraq, photos, Regimental Combat Team 5, USMC

MP DELIVERY - U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Valley speaks with the first of many Iraqi children to arrive during a food distribution mission in the Zuwerijat district of Al Kut, Iraq, April 30, 2008. Valley is assigned to the 511th Military Police Company.U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West

Labels: 511th Military Police, Al Kut, children, Iraq, photos, US Army, Zuwerijat

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


A student from Abu Shear School takes an arm full of backpacks back to the classroom April 14 in the Monsouri area of Iraq. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-76th FA, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., delivered backpacks, soccer balls and notebooks to students there. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis.


Friday, 18 April 2008
By Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis
4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — A convoy rolls up to a small school in the Monsouri area of Iraq, just outside FOB Kalsu, and at first glance the school looks abandoned. Then small faces start appearing and heads lean out the windows.

Moments later, Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion, from Kalamazoo, Mich., currently assigned to 1-76th FA, are surrounded by helpful faculty and eager students, waiting to see what has been brought.

The Soldiers delivered backpacks filled with school supplies, soccer balls and notebooks April 14 to the al-Raqhaa School, for primary and secondary students, and the Abu Shear School, for primary students. Each school has approximately 800 students.

“A lot of the missions we’re doing right now are school improvements and this mission helps the kids get the materials they need in order to get an education,” said Cpl. Markbradley Vincze, a father of one from Lufkin, Texas.

Spc. Christopher Ryder, a Lake Charles, La., native and three-year veteran, said they try to put a smile on the kids’ faces.

“It makes me feel like I am actually making a difference,” Ryder said. “It shows the kids that we’re good people.”

Over time the goal is to get a backback and supplies to each student.

“Right now we’re using a systematic way of distributing our generosity throughout our (area of operation),” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Robert Green, target acquisition platoon leader. “So we started with these two schools and we’re kind of going in a clockwise motion around our AO with school drops.”

There are approximately 10 schools in the unit’s AO.

“We’ve gotten to know the people in our AO and it feels nice doing something good for them,” said Spc. Joseph Carroll, a one-year veteran from South Bend, Ill. “It also gives the Army a positive image.”

This type of mission helps build relationship between Coalition forces and Iraqi residents.

“It shows the people that we’re not just here for ourselves; we’re going to work for the community, work for the children,” said Green, a father of three and St. Louis, Mo., native. “I think if you win the children, you win the adults. They’re kids just like our kids, they just have less.”

The unit plans to work with the CA team on a continuous basis until each school has supplies for every student, said Green.

“Hopefully the young ones remember American Soldiers as helpful, so maybe our kids won’t have to be here in 20 years,” said Pfc. Agustin Aguilar Jr., a one-year veteran from Tucson, Ariz. “They are grateful for anything and they don’t look at us and run away - they know we’re friendly to them.”

Labels: 1-76th FA, 3rd ID, 415th Civil Affairs Battalion, children, Civil Affairs, FOB Kalsu, Good News, Iraq, US Army

Art 101
Iraqi children pose in front of their artwork after a day spent painting a protective "T-wall" on Forward Operating Base War Eagle in northern Baghdad that lines their route to school, March 29, 2008. Photo by Army Spc. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo.

Labels: Baghdad, children, FOB War Eagle, Iraq, photos

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

With the ball, Spc. Cortez Cox, a water purification specialist, and Staff Sgt. Howard Benjamin, a section leader, both with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), teach Radwaniyah children how to defend and take the ball away during day two of a three-day basketball camp at Patrol Base Lion’s Den. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT).


Friday, 11 April 2008
By Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback
3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT)

PATROL BASE LION’S DEN — Radwaniyah area children were treated to something a little out of the ordinary when U.S. Soldiers at Patrol Base Lion’s Den held a basketball camp recently.

Holding a basketball camp where Soldiers could teach lessons in teamwork, discipline and hard work, resulted from Staff Sgt. Christopher Dickerson and his company commander, Capt. Sean Morrow, putting their heads together.

Dickerson and Morrow wanted Company B, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), to give back to the community and get the kids in the area together. Their idea captured the support of many company Soldiers, some of whom, like Sgt. Dwight Williams, added ideas and manpower to make the camp a hit.

Williams, originally from Birmingham, Ala., has a brother who holds a basketball camp at home every summer. Williams said he tries to make it to the camp to help each year, but donates $500 to sponsor five children when he can’t be there.

“Being over here this time, I got to work with the Iraqi kids and I felt just like I was back at home,” Williams said. “I was able to give back to the community.”

Giving back to Radwaniyah has involved more than just teaching basketball. One sheikh said the security the Americans had established was the first gift to the community.

“Thanks to God, the Iraqi Army and the Coalition forces, the security is very good,” said Sheikh Hameed Shalal Al-Tharib, a local leader in Radwaniyah. “That makes a good situation where our kids can play soccer, or come here and learn basketball.”

Teaching the children basketball, an American game, instead of soccer - a much more common game in Iraq - had its purpose. The Soldiers wanted to share American culture, but they also wanted to get everyone on common ground, starting off as beginners. They brought in Iraqi Army Soldiers and sheikhs to give the youth figures to look to for learning.

“We wanted to bring them in and have the IA with us so they could serve as good role models,” said Atlanta native, 1st Lt. Trivius Caldwell, 3rd Platoon leader for Co. B, 2-69th Armor Regt. “We wanted to teach them basic elements of life – teamwork, discipline, hard work – things of that nature. I think we accomplished that.”

Williams said he felt the Iraqi children may have had a misunderstanding of why Americans are in Iraq and the basketball camp was one way to show them what kind of people Americans really are.

“The kids really enjoyed it because they had heard about Americans,” Williams said. “But there’s a big difference between hearing about us and standing there with us and shaking our hands. I think they really enjoyed that more than the basketball camp – getting to interact with us.”

Eighteen children showed up for the first day of the three-day camp, 27 came on the second day and there were 47 by the last day.

“It’s just like spreading the word back home; if one kid likes it, he’s going to tell a friend and then he’ll tell a friend,” Williams said. “We were just glad to have so many kids come out.”

The children formed teams and played a championship game at the culmination of camp, allowing them to show off what they had learned. They were then treated to a cookout and given awards. Twenty-five children got one more thing, something they held dearly as they walked away – their very own Quran.

“In my brother’s camp (in Birmingham) we give out Bibles,” Williams said. “Here, a lot of families don’t have Qurans, so we gave out Qurans … Giving out a Quran is letting them know, ‘I respect your religion, just like I respect mine.’”

Local sheikhs happily brought the Qurans in at the request of Morrow.

“It’s a great thing to give the Quran to the children at the end of the basketball camp,” Sheik Al-Tharib said. “We want to teach our kids about more than sports … Since the people here are poor, it’s good that each kid can now have his own Quran – something his family maybe didn’t have before.”

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 2-69th Armor Regiment, children, Good News, Iraq, Islam, Patrol Base Lion's Den, Radwaniyah, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

Calif., native 1st Lt. Casey Zimmerman of Company C, 3rdBattalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, hands out footballs at a school in Mullah Fayad March 27. All the items were donated by the family and community of Sgt. Nathan Barnes, who served in the area and was killed in Rushdi Mullah July 17. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div.

Tuesday, 01 April 2008
By Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback
3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT)

PATROL BASE YUSIFIYAH — Whoever said violence begets more violence never met the family of Sgt. Nathan Barnes.

American Fork, Utah, native Sgt. Nathan Barnes, a Soldier with 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, was killed in Rushdi Mullah, Iraq, when his unit came under attack by small-arms fire July 17.

Rather than hold bitterness toward the people of a foreign land where their son died, Barnes’ family is embracing them. Barnes often sent home photos of children in the areas he served. His father, Kevin, said Nathan truly loved the Iraqi children.

Nathan’s love for those children inspired his father and other residents of American Fork to collect enough donated items to fill a 40-foot shipping container. Sewing machines, book bags, newborn kits, personal hygiene items, food, toys, children and women’s clothing, school supplies and even wheelchairs were donated to residents in and around Rushdi Mullah and Yusifiyah, places Barnes did most of his service in Iraq.

Rushdi Mullah, where Barnes was killed, is one of the communities now supported by Rakkasan Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The Rakkasans took on the task of distributing the items once the shipping container arrived in Iraq.

Company C, 3-187th Inf. Regt., distributed some of the gifts at a school in Mullah Fayad, an impoverished Yusifiyah community.

Santa Barbara, Calif., native 1st Lt. Casey Zimmerman, who helped hand out the donations at the school, wanted everyone to know the source of the aid.

“I made a point at the beginning to convey who Nathan Barnes was, how he died, and what kind of loving family and country he belonged to,” Zimmerman said. “I bet we saw over 1,500 men, women, and children – mostly children.”

The generosity of the Barnes family and the American Fork community led to a similar address in Rushdi Mullah by Brig. Gen. Ali Jassim Muhammad Hassen Al Frejee, commander of the 25th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division.

“A Soldier who came from thousands of miles away and was killed here – his family spends money to rebuild this area,” Ali said. “We have to respect that.”

Capt. Clifford Kazmarek, commander of Company B, 3-187th Inf. Regt., said the experience was remarkable and humbling.

“I have just the greatest amount of respect for that family for doing this, and I know that the people here truly appreciate it,” Kazmarek said.

The citizens received most items with a smile and without hesitation. But there was one gift that had many children puzzled.

“The Frisbee befuddled them,” said Pittsburgh native Capt. Michael Starz, commander of Co. C, 3-187th Inf. Regt. “They didn’t quite grasp the concept. They thought it was a serving plate so we had to engage with the kids for a few throws until they got the idea. In the end, though, they still said, ‘Where’s the football?’”

There were many footballs – soccer balls to Americans – handed out as well.

Thousands of Iraqis from Rushdi Mullah and Mullah Fayad benefited from the generosity.

“I never imagined a family – American or otherwise – could provide unmitigated charity to the people of a foreign town in which their son was killed,” Zimmerman said. “The Barnes family and those who have contributed to their noble foundation are true testaments to America's values.”

Labels: 3-187 Infantry, children, Fallen Heroes, Good News, Iraq, Mullah Fayad, Rushdi Mullah, Sgt. Nathan Barnes

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:





Noor Taha Najee gives 1st Lt. Michael Kendrick, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, a goodbye kiss near the end of a March 26 visit to her house in al Buaytha, Iraq. Noor, whose corneas are underdeveloped, has been blind since birth. The Soldiers of 1-30th Inf. Regt. are working with a nongovernmental organization in Los Angeles, the Eye Defects Research Foundation, to get Noor surgery that may provide her with sight. Photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky.


Monday, 31 March 2008

By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Her hands run across his hand, her fingers explore his features. She asks her father: Is he fat or skinny? Tall or short? She is trying to learn about the man she cannot see, the one who strives to end the mystery surrounding him and the world around her.

First Lt. Michael Kendrick, platoon leader of 2nd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said it is his goal to replace the mental picture young Noor Taha Najee has of her father with the actual image.

Noor, a 5-year-old girl who lives in al Buaytha, has been blind since birth, a condition caused by poorly-developed corneas, said her father Taha.

It is a problem which runs in the family. Taha's brother, Mustafa, also suffers from the birth defect, one that prevents the eyes from registering anything other than light sensitivity.

Although the condition is genetic, it is one that can be fixed through surgery. Kendrick, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., and his unit have been working closely with doctors to try to get something done for the family.

"To have her see her family, her brothers, to put a face to the voice, it would be a blessing," Taha said of the opportunity to help give sight to his daughter and brother.

The Eye Defects Research Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Los Angeles, is already trying to schedule a surgery for the girl.

On March 14, the Soldiers took Noor and her uncle to the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad to get an evaluation done on the two, which showed a higher potential for success with Noor.

"We're on standby now, waiting for a doctor in L.A.," Kendrick said.

He said they are now trying to find a local Iraqi doctor who would be willing to travel with Noor and her family to California. An Iraqi doctor is needed who could be shown the necessary follow-up care.

Such a gift would seem appropriate for a girl who is described as very generous and giving by her father.

"She's different from many other kids," Taha said. "She's always sharing. She'll give you anything."

It is a personality trait which has endeared her to the 2nd Platoon Soldiers.

"We've taken a real vested interest in the people here," Kendrick said, adding his Soldiers spend a lot of time on the ground, interacting with residents. "We empathize with the people. It pays dividends winning the hearts and minds. It keeps things quiet."

Noor has developed quite an attachment to Kendrick, Taha said.

"She likes to sit by him, and is always asking me about him and loves it when I tell her stories about him," he said. "She's only like that with Kendrick."

As a father of two young girls himself – Presley, 3, and Parker, 1, – Kendrick said he knows the importance of family and providing for them.

While she may not be able to see what the Soldiers are doing for her, Taha said Noor can definitely sense the good will of Kendrick's platoon.

"Love begins in the mind, not the eyes," Taha said.


In other news from Iraq:
Iraqi Policeman killed preventing car bomb attempt on SOI leader (Tikrit)
Iraqi Army, MND-B Soldiers kill 7, detain 4 criminals

Labels: 1-30 Infantry Regiment, 3ID, children, FOB Kalsu, Good News, Iraq, photos, US Army

EVACUATION FLIGHT - U.S. Air Force Col. William Venanzi plays with a 3-year-old Iraqi burn victim on board a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft during a medical evacuation flight to the U.S. from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, March 21, 2008. Venanzi is a part of a critical care air transport team assigned to 88th Medical Group. The child and his mother flew from Balad Air Base, Iraq, to the U.S. to obtain treatment and physical therapy for second- and third-degree burns covering 45 percent of the boy's body. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen

Labels: 88th Medical Group, C-17, children, Globemaster, Humanitarian Aid, photos, USAF

BAQUBAH, Iraq (March 9, 2008) Iraqi girls walk to school with their teacher in Baqubah, Diyala Province, Iraq. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sean Mulligan

Labels: Baqubah, children, Diyala Province, Iraq, photos, US Navy

STICKERS AND SMILES
U.S. Army Sgt. Cody Goodlet hands out stickers of the Afghanistan flag and smiles to residents of Bari Kowt, Konar Province, Afghanistan, Feb. 9, 2008. The handouts are given in hopes of fostering stronger relations between the Afghanistan people and Coalition Forces. Goodlet is assigned to the Joint Physiological Task Force, 14th Physiological Operations Battalion. U.S. Army Spc. Derek Niccolson

Labels: 14th Physiological Operations Battalion, Afghanistan, Bari Kowt, children, Konar Province, photos, US Army

Black Eye
U.S. Army Spc. Miguel Sevilla, from Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, look at an an Iraqi boy's black eye during a routine patrol in Khatun, Iraq, Jan. 24, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson)

Labels: 2ID, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4thSBCT, children, Iraq, Khatun, photos, US Army