1st Battalion 22nd Infantry MiTT observes IA operation

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade,
11th Iraqi Army Division, get on line in preparation for a cordon and search operation May 31
in the Bayaa community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad. The Iraqi Army soldiers conducted
a concentrated clearing operation to search for weapons and munitions during the day-long event.

Leaders and Soldiers of the 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div. Military Transition Team,
part of the 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
Multi-National Division – Baghdad, observed the operation and offered assistance if needed.
The operation that was planned, coordinated and conducted by Iraqi Security Forces.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion,
43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, establish a cordon around a block of houses in the Jihad community
of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad May 31 signifying the start of a daylong cordon and search operation.
Working under the leadership of Maj. Shakir, the commander of the 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde.,
Iraqi Army Soldiers planned, coordinated and conducted the clearing operation, searched houses,
abandoned lots and streets for weapons and contraband.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
Iraqi Army soldiers search an abandoned house
May 31 in the Jihad community of southern Baghdad's
Rashid district. The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade,
11th Iraqi Army Division searched abandoned lots
often used by militants to house weapons caches,
improvised-explosive devices and explosively formed projectiles.
The 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div. Military Transition Team,
part of the 1st Battalion. 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
Multi-National Division – Baghdad, coached and advised
the leaders participating in the clearing operation
that was planned, coordinated and conducted
by Iraqi Army leaders.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers from the 2nd Battalion,
43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, scan the rooftops for enemy activities May 31
during a cordon and search operation in the Jihad community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad.
The 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div. Military Transition part of the 1st Battalion. 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad,,
served in an advisory capacity for the operation planned, coordinated and conducted by the Iraqi Security Forces.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Jundi Saif, a humvee gunner,
who is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division,
provides security for his fellow soldiers during a cordon and search operation May 31
in the Jihad community of southern Baghdad's Rashid district. The Iraqi soldiers conducted the daylong
clearing operation and searched houses, abandoned lots and vehicles for weapons and contraband
as part of ongoing efforts to enforce the Iraqi Rule of Law.
The Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, served in an advisory role
offering coaching and mentoring the Iraqi Security Forces and Volunteers during the operation.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – The Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Military Transition Team don’t collect weapons. The MiTT team assigned to the 43rd Bde., 11th Iraqi Army Div.,
did not deploy to the Rashid district in southern Baghdad to capture detainees either.

Nor do they have to – thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Security Forces working with
Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, said Maj. Mark Thompson, operations officer for the 1st Battalion,
22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

“The Iraqi Army is a lot better than the last time we were here, and we are going out there to continue that; so that sometime
in the near future the IA soldiers will be fully capable of operating without our support,” Thompson said before the start
of a cordon and search operation led by the 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div., May 30 in the Jihad community of west Rashid.
The team of select officers and enlisted Soldiers participated in the day-long event to coach and advise the Iraqi Army
and call for indirect fire support and close air support if needed, said Thompson, an armor officer who hails from Phoenix, Ariz.
The “Regulars” Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., are currently partnered with 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div. and National Policemen
from the 2nd Bn., 5th Bde., 2nd National Police Division operating in the Bayaa, Aamel and Jihad communities of the Rashid district,
said Thompson, a graduate of West Point, Class of 1995.

“The Iraqi Army has stood up to become for all intents and purposes an Army; while the NPs are modeled after the Italian
Arma dei Carabinieri (Military Police), responding to natural disasters, civil disorders and emergencies of that nature,” he explained.
“Right now the two are working West Rashid in the same capacity: to enforce security and enhance stability for the Iraqi people.”
The 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th IA Div. assumed responsibility for the west Rashid district approximately six months ago,
said Staff Sgt. Floyd Getchell, MiTT team chief, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.,
1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B.

The 43rd Bde. planned, coordinated and conducted the operation, which allowed the MiTT team to serve strictly as observers,
said Getchell, a 16-year combat veteran from Phoenix, Ariz. “This was a small operation for the unit, but an opportunity for them
to cut their teeth,” he said. Getchell, who worked on a brigade MiTT team during his last deployment in support Operation
Iraqi Freedom in 2006, said that his initial impressions of the IA unit’s operation were good, and that the job of the MiTTs is
progressively getting easier.

“They understand the movement as a unit,” he said. “They are working to get on line and sweep an area, organizing to clear out
a row of buildings.” Getchell said that his team of noncommissioned officers will be working with the Iraqi NCO Corps
throughout the next year to build an officer/NCO dual-leadership role that is present in the U.S. Army’s chain of command.
“I have been working with some really outstanding Iraqi NCOs, and if they can be an example to others, I think they can go
a long way in taking some of the load off the officers, helping to run things to standard,” Getchell said.

According to Getchell, the biggest change to the ISF is their level of competency, understanding that they are in charge,
and charismatic leaders, who are taking charge of the situation. “It used to be if Iraqi soldiers screwed something up in Saddam’s army,
they would find themselves in the bottom of a grave,” said Getchell. “Now, we’re getting them to realize that they are in the lead.
They have the ability to make decisions, and no longer have to ask permission to make things happen.”

Getchell said that while the operation only yielded a few weapons discovered in an abandoned house, the message the IA soldiers
sent to the residence of the muhalla – one of stability and security – made the event a far greater success.
“The 2nd Bn. seems to be very professional,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Elledge, commander of the 1st “Regulars” Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.,
1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B. “I am pretty proud of what they are doing so far.”

The Iraqi Army soldiers of the 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde., 11th Iraqi Army Div. are treating the Iraqi people with respect, working with
the community and addressing issues as they work to secure the neighborhoods and clear weapons and contraband from the
Jihad community, said Elledge, who hails from Dexter, Mo. “They were a little rough around the edges when we got them,
but I think they are starting to gel into a good combat force,” he said.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Maj. Mark Thompson, operations officer, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, meets with Maj. Shakir, commander of the 2nd Bn., 43rd Bde,
11th Iraqi Army Div., May 30 to discuss an ongoing clearing operation in the Jihad community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad.
The Military Transition Team coaches and advises the IA leaders who are working to provide security and safety for the estimated
1.2 million people in the Rashid district.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Maj. Shakir, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division,
meets with a local sheik and Abna al-Iraq (Sons of Iraq) leader May 30 to discuss ongoing security efforts in conjunction with a cordon and knock
operation in the Jihad community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad. The operation employed the Iraqi jundi searching houses and lots
for weapons caches and contraband used to attack Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Military Transition Team Soldiers from the 1st Battalion,
22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad observed the day-long security operation
to coach and advise the Iraqi Security Forces.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division
remove debris and possible improvised explosive device-making materials, May 30. The Iraqi Army jundi, or soldiers cleared the site
as Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad,
observed the cordon and knock operation. The IA soldiers discovered mortar rounds with home-made fuses and home made explosives in an
abandoned house in the Jihad community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad during the cordon and knock operation that was planned,
coordinated and conducted by the Iraqi Security Forces with American Soldiers serving in an advisory capacity.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Iraqi Army jundi,
or soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division,
collect mortar rounds with homemade fuses May 30, during a clearing operation
in the Jihad community of the Rashid district in southern Baghdad.
The Iraqi Army Soldiers also discovered homemade explosives and
suspected improvised explosive device-making materials in an
abandoned house during the cordon and knock operation.
Military Transition Teams for the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad
served in an advisory capacity, observing and coaching
the Iraqi Army conducting clearing operations for
the 1.2 estimated people of the Rashid district.

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

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq –
Iraqi Army soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade,
11th Iraqi Army Division, conduct a cordon and knock
clearing operation in the Jihad community of the
Rashid district in southern Baghdad. The IA jundi planned,
coordinated and conducted the operation with the leaders
and Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
Multi-National Division – Baghdad serving in an
advisory capacity. The Soldiers of the 1st "Raider" BCT
are supporting Iraqi Security Forces in the Rashid district
in their ongoing efforts to provide security and
stability for the people of Baghdad.

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