1BCT Meets with local leaders

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Lt. Col. Paul Hossenlopp, deputy commanding officer of the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, discusses plans for the first civil services building in the Rashid district
of southern Baghdad April 25 with project supervisors: Thomas Lynch, Provincial Reconstruction Team (left);
Maj. Timothy Reed, brigade civil affairs officer, 1st BCT; and Lt. Col. Matthew Elledge, commander, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st BCT. The CSD project, once complete, will eventually operate with the support of the Government of Iraq
and provide permanent jobs for Iraqis, said Hossenlopp, who hails from Cincinnati.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – In efforts to improve stability for the people of Iraq,
leaders from across Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the Rashid district of southern Baghdad are looking to Iraqi citizens
to create permanent solutions to the problems that have plagued the nation’s capital before and after the war.

Rashid district community leaders held a special gathering, alongside the leadership of the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, MND-B and local Iraqi Security Forces, April 26 to demonstrate a joint commitment to improving the quality of life
for Iraqi citizens during the commemoration of a new building for the Rashid District Council Hall.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
Ya’aqob Yosif (center),
head chairman of the Rashid District Council,
ushers Col. Ted Martin,
commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, into the DAC Hall
April 26 during a ribbon cutting ceremony
to commemorate the addition of a new building
to the local governance building,
the Rashid DC Hall, in southern Baghdad.

(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vin Stevens, 1st BCT PAO,
4th Inf. Div., MND-B)

“This building provides the leaders and citizens of Rashid
a place to voice their concerns to their elected officials,
to plan, and with wisdom, map out the way of progress
for all Iraqis here in Rashid,” said Col. Ted Martin,
commander, 1st BCT.

The Rashid District Council is a self-governance program,
where community leaders are working with the estimated
1.2 million peopleof the Rashid district to help restore order
to local neighborhoods and communities in Baghdad.

“It promises to serve as a meeting place where great people
share ideas for improving security, fostering cooperation
and responding to the voice of those
who need help,” said Martin, a native of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

The DC Hall was first opened by Coalition Forces and the
Coalition Provisional Authority in the fall of 2003.
Since then, the building has hosted meetings and events for local leaders
and council members for more than 20 Neighborhood Councils
operating in Rashid.

“When terrorism attempted to halt creativity and progress,
our efforts were pulled together to repel all forms of terrorism
for the purpose of moving forward and rebuilding,”
said Ya’aqob Yosif, head chairman of the Rashid DC.

The meetings are an opportunity for community leaders
to develop real solutions for problems within the neighborhoods,
he said during the commemoration.

“Today we are here to open the (DC) building and we are hopeful
that it becomes the first of many projects in our beloved Iraq in general
and in Al-Rashid district in particular,” Yosif explained.

The local council leaders are responsible for working
with the Iraqi neighborhood advisory councils and leaders
in the various muhallahs to address concerns about public health,
education, electricity, water and sewage programs,
and Iraqi Security Forces operating in southern Baghdad.

“As we stand here today, we would like to thank the efforts
of the friendly forces and their cooperation with us in this project
and helping our wounded country – Iraq,” Yosif said.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Ya'aqob Yosif, district chairman for the Rashid District Council,
cuts a ribbon April 26 to officially commemorate the newest addition to the Rashid DC Hall as part of a symbolic ceremony
signifying the work completed on the local governance meeting place. Leadership from the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, and the Iraqi Security Forces’ Brig. Gen. Bahaa Al-Azawi (left),
commander of the 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, attended the event to show their respect
for the progress made by the council members operating in southern Baghdad.

The 1st “Raider” BCT continues to work with Iraqi Security Forces to provide improved security in Rashid,
said Lt. Col. Paul Hossenlopp, deputy commanding officer, 1st BCT.

With improved security, the 1st BCT will work with local leaders and the Government of Iraq with essential services
and projects to improve Iraqis’ quality of life, he said.

One example of the brigade’s ongoing efforts to stabilize everyday life for the people of Rashid,
MND-B and 1st BCT leaders met April 25 for the unearthing of a new construction project to build a headquarters
for the Civil Services Department in the Jihad community of Rashid, said Hossenlopp.

“The CSD Building will be the first community services building in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad,”
explained Hossenlopp, a native of Cincinnati.

The CSD project once complete will eventually operate with the support of the Government of Iraq
and provide permanent jobs for local communities by creating and sustaining an Iraqi workforce
employed to rebuild Baghdad’s infrastructure and eventually restore essential services to the citizens of Rashid, said Hossenlopp.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
Capt. Ryan Gavin, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, meets with the construction site managers
for the Jihad Civil Services Department headquarters April 25. Gavin and his Soldiers conduct regular checks
to receive progress reports and to address any issues or concerns the local Iraqi contractors have
regarding the ongoing construction project.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B)

The construction project currently employs an estimated 400 Iraqis, providing vocational tutoring combined with on-the-job training
for the unskilled laborers, who will help local contractors create the new civic center in southern Baghdad,
said Maj. Timothy Reed, civil affairs officer, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

“Stability plays a big part in the work that we are accomplishing,” Reed said, about the $1.6 million project to create a civic center
for essential services and public works in southern Baghdad.

The intent is that once the Iraqis are trained, the crew of construction workers and civil engineers will eventually lead their district
in reconstruction efforts in Baghdad, said Reed, a native of Las Cruces, N.M.

“It is a great concept for the people to create a headquarters for a new civic services department
to better service the needs of the people of Rashid and Baghdad,” he added.

Based on the program’s success, other CSD Buildings will be planned for the Rashid district and Baghdad, he added.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, a native of Fort Carson, Colo.,
who is the deputy commanding general for Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division,
meets with the director of the Jihad Civil Services Department director April 25 at the new construction site for the CSD headquarters building
in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Leaders from MND-B Civil-Military Operations continue to work with units
such as the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, to find ways to provide essential services
and construction projects to better the lives of Iraqi citizens.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
An Iraqi worker drives a heavy equipment road grater
scraping earth to level a foundation for the new site
of the Jihad Civil Services Department Building
April 25 located in the Rashid district
of Southern Baghdad. The project currently employs
more than 370 Iraqi citizens, providing vocational training
and a steady income for local citizens.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams,
1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B)

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
A team of engineers conducts a site survey April 25
for the new Jihad Civil Services Department headquarters
to be built in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.
The new building will be a center for managing and servicing
essential services and construction projects for the district
which is home to an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis.

(U. S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams,
1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B)