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Iraq commander lauds 56th Stryker Brigade efforts

Mar-29-2009 » Filed Under: 56th SBCT

Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Forces—Iraq Commander, Gen. Raymond Odierno, praised the work of 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldiers following a visit to the Taji region of Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Odierno met leaders of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Unit March 21, while also participating in a patrol conducted by one of the 56th SBCT companies in Tarmiyah.

Odierno took time at the conclusion of a daily morning briefing to laud the 56th, saying the brigade “has done a very good job of picking up the fight” from the unit it replaced in February – the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii.

“I found the brigade and the company that was in that area to be very aware of its surroundings and to be developing good relationships with the Iraqi Security Forces - specifically the Iraqi Army units there - as well as quickly bonding with the community,” Odierno said. “It was a very impressive visit and they are on the right track.”

Odierno commented that the brigade “has established a very good relationship” with the civilians who comprise the reconstruction team at work in Taji. He pointed out that the National Guard Soldiers have brought their civilian skills to Iraq.

“They are using some of the unique capacity they have, that a National Guard unit brings, specifically, the number of police officers they have who normally serve as police officers back home. They are using them in order to support the PTTs [police training teams] that are working with the local police,” Odierno said.

Command Sergeant Maj. John Jones, 56th SBCT command sergeant major, spoke with Odierno during the visit. Jones said Odierno wanted to know about the living conditions of the Soldiers.

“He was asking about the welfare of the Soldiers,” Jones said. “He asked about the life support and the force protection for Soldiers at our JSS’s (Joint Security Stations).”

“Our Soldiers need to know that a general officer at that level is concerned about them,” Jones added.

The 56th SBCT will be deployed in Iraq through late summer. More than 4,000 Soldiers are deployed with the 56th SBCT and the brigade’s Soldiers are from armories throughout Pennsylvania.


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