Air Power Gets Grounded to Help Iraqis
Story by Sgt. Phillip Valentine
BAGHDAD – A police force is considered necessary in order to bring order from chaos, especially in Baghdad.
Airmen from 2nd Platoon, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Division–Center, work in partnership with local Baghdad based Iraqi police to do just that.
On May 7, the Airmen of 2nd Plt., traveled to the Yarmouk local police station located inside a hospital to distribute medical supplies and bed linens. The Iraqi Police will later take these items and deliver them to the hospital and people in the local area.
"We go out to IP stations and patrol with them emphasizing community policing," said Tech. Sgt. Eric Gray, a Phoenix native and squad leader assigned to 2nd Plt. "It helps them build up their rapport within the community."
Another way the Airmen help the Iraqi police is to collect items that are important to local communities and pass them along to the police so they can hand them out to the people of Iraq.
Scottsboro, Ala., native, Air Force Staff Sgt. Donald Williams, 2nd Plt., said conducting these types of missions helps create better relationships between the local police and Iraqi civilians.
"American forces are leaving here and the local police have to build relationships with the people," said Williams. "The Iraqi people are used to us giving them stuff, so when the Iraqi police start giving it out it builds trust and stronger relationships."
This is Williams' third deployment to Baghdad and he said that he has seen improvements made by the Iraqi police and he believes they can take care of their people.
Gray believes these humanitarian missions help the citizens trust the police. He said in the past the local populace would not call the police to settle disputes but instead would take matters into their own hands, which sometimes led to violence.
Although these missions are designed to help the Iraqi police, Staff Sgt. Edward Lopez, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native assigned to the 2nd Plt., also finds them personally fulfilling.
"It gives me a lot of pride to help the people of Iraq, to see their faces and smiles; hopefully, it can change some lives," said Lopez. "The feeling is indescribable."
