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3ID winning Iraqi hearts with `TF Neighborhood'

by Staff Sgt. Marcia Triggs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 19, 2003) - It's been six weeks since the 3rd Infantry Division began sweeping the Iraqi Republican Guard out of Baghdad. Now "Task Force Neighborhood," which began May 15, has the soldiers clearing away rubble such as criminals and garbage.

For most Americans Sunday is a day of rest, but with the help of local Iraqis more than 20 dump trucks of trash were removed May 18 from Al-Noor, a neighborhood in northern Baghdad, said Capt. Tom Bryant, a public affairs officer working in Iraq.

"Every day, a neighborhood section will get a full-court press of support that will include garbage pickup, medical assistance, ordnance cleanup, and anything else we can do in a day to help the neighborhoods," said Maj. Gen. Buford C. Blount, the 3rd Infantry Division's commanding general, during a video teleconference from Baghdad.

The Pentagon press briefing room has served as the staging area where commanders on the ground in Iraq provide the press with updates on troop operations.

Coalition forces to include the 3rd Infantry Division, have transitioned from combat to a security force to help the people in Baghdad. Combat engineers have become civil engineers, infantrymen and tankers are security guards and police, and civil affairs have become paymasters, Blount said.

Security is the top priority in Iraq, but there are no "shoot to kill" or "shoot on sight" orders concerning looters, Blount said. News reports that suggested that there were such orders were merely speculation, he added.

"Let me just say that our current rules of engagement give us sufficient latitude to deal with most any problem," Blount said. Increased manpower will also help the Marne Division deal with roving criminals and leftover members of the former regime.

Military police forces will double to nearly 4,000 soldiers by the end of the month, Blount said. However, the goal is to get more Iraqis involved in securing and rebuilding the city.

Task Force Neighborhood began May 15 with high expectations, Blount said. On it's first day the plan was to randomly choose a neighborhood, hire 20 to 30 people for the day to help pick up trash and make repairs.

"We're committing engineer and medical resources to check out neighborhoods and see what help we can provide," Blount said. "We're trying to instill a sense of pride and responsibility in the neighborhoods, and show that the American soldier is there to help them on a personal basis in their neighborhoods."

In one day engineers, medical and civil affairs teams cleared away trash and multiple unexploded ordnances, treated dozens of people at a field dental clinic and repaired the roof of the local police station, Bryant said.

By providing the local police with cover, American troops are helping to prepare them for the day they exit the city.

"We're helping to get the Baghdad police department started and have started conducting a few joint patrols with them," Blount said.

"Our superior equipment, our vast technology and, most importantly, the greatest soldiers in the world have accomplished what had never been done before," Blount said. "But we still have a lot to do."