CONTINGENCY
OPERATING SITE HUNTER,
Iraq, Jan. 2010 –
Members of the Iraqi
Department of Border
Enforcement’s 2nd
Battalion, 11th
Brigade, make a point
of visiting local
schools to hand out
gifts to students as
part of their efforts
to develop
relationships with the
remote villages of the
southern Maysan
province.
|
School
children
receive
soccer
balls
and
T-shirts
from
the
Iraqi
Department
of
Border
Enforcement’s
Lt.
Col.
Abdul
Hasan
in
Iraq’s
Maysan
province,
Jan.
10,
2010.
U.S.
Army
photo
by 1st
Lt.
Juan
Torres
Jr.
(Click
photo
for
screen-resolution
image);high-resolution
image
available.
|
|
“It’s important to
stay connected with
the villages around
us,” said Lt. Col.
Abdul Hasan. “The
locals can help us
report smugglers and
make the area safer
for everyone.”
Securing the border is
the DBE’s main
priority, and in some
of the remote
marshland villages,
the local residents
perform a
“neighborhood
watch” role to
assist them. Though
partnered with the
U.S. Army’s 2nd
Squadron, 13th Cavalry
Regiment “Sabers,”
the DBE’s 11th
Brigade, like many
other units of the
Iraqi security forces,
now independently
conducts operations
that once would have
been spearheaded by
American troops.
Mornings such as Jan.
10 in the village of
Baeda, where more than
250 children received
soccer balls and
T-shirts, are a prime
example.
Two schools were
chosen for the trip,
during which the
border guards worked
with the country’s
most vital resource:
the children who are
the future of Iraq.
“The smiles of the
children make me look
forward to future
visits and offering
gifts,” Hasan said.
These visits allow the
children to put faces
to the men committed
to guarding their
future. More
importantly, they
allow even the
youngest to see their
own countrymen taking
the lead.
Hundreds of smiles
filled the room as the
visit came to a close,
school let out, and
the children headed
home to their families
with soccer balls in
hand.
“I am very thankful
for the soldiers who
work to keep us
safe,” one child
said.
(Army 1st Lt. Juan
Torres Jr. serves with
2nd Squadron, 13th
Cavalry Regiment.)
