Paratroopers assigned to the Troop C, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, partnered with Iraqi security forces to provide security for the national police graduation Jan. 9 in the Rusafa district of eastern Baghdad.
Photo By: Pfc. Mitchell Taylor – 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs

An Apology for Letters and More Progress in Iraq

The Army’s adjutant general apologized for the Army on January 8, 2009 for a printing error that resulted in the delivery of 7,000 letters without a by-name salutation to family members who lost a soldier in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. The letters, which included the placeholder greeting of “Dear John Doe,” were printed and sent by a contractor in late December to inform families of private organizations that offer services and assistance.

Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones expressed his disappointment in the error and his team’s concern for the recipients during a special blogger’s round table hosted by the New Media Directorate of Defense Media Activity.

“I can tell you, I know our pain isn’t what our family members’ pain is about receiving this, but I have a team of dedicated young Americans who are on a first-name basis with many of these survivors, and they feel this hurt just as bad,” Jones told the bloggers and online journalists. “But they are marching on because they know that their intent was to connect with them and provide them information on the generosity of our nation that has come to the Army and said, ‘We want to help.’”

“We work so hard to build that trust and a relationship with our families so they know that they’re still part of this Army team, because they have been strong families for this strong Army,” Jones said.

The program not only reaches out to families, but also offers families the means to reach out to the Army with their needs and suggestions.

“We continue to connect with our families, receive their comments and feedback on what we can do better,” Jones said. “This is a program that we say, hey, tell us what else we can do.”

Jan. 9, 2009

Iraqi and U.S. soldiers, Iraqi police and “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group members seized several weapons caches in Baghdad this week, military officials reported.

January 8, 2009

Iraqi and U.S. soldiers, working on a tip, seized four 60 mm rockets and three warheads in Baghdad.

U.S. soldiers seized a 107 mm rocket, bomb-making materials and an assortment of small arms near Taji, north of Baghdad.

Iraqi security forces working with U.S. soldiers discovered a mortar round and roadside bomb in Baghdad’s Rashid district.

Police in Baghdad’s Risalah community, working with U.S. soldiers, found a 60 mm mortar round while on patrol.

On a combined patrol with U.S. soldiers, police found a roadside bomb in Baghdad’s Saha neighborhood.

In earlier Iraq operations:

North of Baghdad on January 7, 2009, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers found a cache that contained two 155 mm projectiles, a 107 mm rocket, 17 57 mm rockets, 12 60 mm mortars, two 60 mm mortar tubes, 12 rocket-propelled grenades, 8,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, 12 blasting caps, a radio and 200 feet of detonation cord.

Sons of Iraq members seized 19 57 mm projectiles in Baghdad’s Tarmiyah area Jan. 6 and transferred them to local police.

Speaking of the Sons of Iraq, The coalition will follow through with its commitment to place “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group members into permanent jobs as they are transferred under Iraqi government control, Multinational Corps Iraq’s chief of reconciliation said yesterday.

“We don’t intend to transfer [the Sons of Iraq] and abandon them,” Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer said in a teleconference with military bloggers. “We intend to transfer them and ensure that they are provided meaningful employment in the future.”

The Iraqi government has assumed responsibility for some 94,000 Sons of Iraq volunteers since the coalition began transferring the program by province, Kulmayer said. The transition began in October in Baghdad province, he said, which accounted for more than half of the Sons of Iraq with 51,000 transferred.

The Sons of Iraq assist coalition and Iraqi security forces by performing critical infrastructure security duties in their communities, such as manning checkpoints, guarding roads, providing intelligence and identifying enemy weapons caches.

“They thicken the battlefield because … they know their neighborhoods, and they know who’s who, and they know where the caches are,” Kulmayer said. “By securing the infrastructure and the roads and the key points, they freed up the coalition and Iraqi security forces to go on the offensive after al-Qaida.”

Kulmayer attributed the decrease in violence — “at their lowest levels since 2003” — in part to the contributions and sacrifices of the Sons of Iraq volunteers. More than 500 Sons of Iraq members were killed and more than 750 were wounded in 2008, he said.

“We really see [ensuring employment] as a commitment on our part to the Sons of Iraq who have helped us here and really, frankly, stood up for their country,” he said.

This is a great way to start the new year, eh?

This is Sgt. Stryker signing out.

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