Iraqi Army Taking Control

Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski, 133rd MPAD

BAQUBAH, Iraq - Sending the Iraqi army forth to take care of security operations is the key to the safety of the Iraqi people and the ground work for the establishment of a free government.

Iraqi army Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division are independently conducting operations in their area of Diyala Province. They are performing tasks such as gathering their own intelligence, to patrolling their streets and hunting suspected anti-Iraqi forces.

Gen. Talabani, commander of the 2nd Brigade 5th Iraqi army division, talks to his Soldiers via radio during an operation. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski, 133rd MPAD

Maj. Jeff Arrington of the Military Training and Transition Team of the Multi-National Corp Iraq, a Richmond, Va., native, said, "This operation is the responsibility of the Iraqi army to run from start to finish."

The brigade-sized operation was conducted throughout the village of Tahrir and yielded a handful of suspected insurgents who were detained for questioning.

"We just wait here until they return from their target areas with the detainees," said Staff Sgt. Rodney Horner of the Multi-National Corp Iraq Military Training Team.

An Iraqi army soldier from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade 5th Iraqi Army Division walks through the village of Tahrir on an Iraqi army lead patrol. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski, 133rd MPAD

"They have been conducting operations on their own in this area under their young charismatic brigade commander Gen. Saman Al Talabani," said Arrington.

"Talabani refers to himself as a modern general."

"Under the old regime, a general would not ask someone for their advice on how to do something," said Arrington. "Talabani inquires how to do things better."

"The Military Training and Transition Team's job during this operation is to stand back in the assembly area and wait on the Iraqi army soldiers to conduct their operation," said Horner. "We are just here to supervise."

"They are coming along pretty good in this area," said Horner. "We are to the point now where we are just monitoring and advising in the operations."

As the fledgling Iraqi government develops, the Iraqi army Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division are doing their part to secure this area of Diyala Province and make it safe for the people of Iraq.