'Surge' Brigade redeploys (Diyala)
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080529-02
May 29, 2008
‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys (Diyala)
Multi-National Corps – Iraq PAO
BAGHDAD – Approximately, 4,000 Soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, are redeploying back to Fort Lewis, Wash., next month.
The 4th Stryker Brigade deployed in April 2007 to secure the Diyala Province north of Baghdad to improve the safety and quality of life for the approximately 1.2 million people living there. During this time, the 4th Stryker Brigade was part of the initial surge of five additional brigades into Iraq.
“We have been extremely successful during our 14 months of operations in Taji and Diyala,“ said Col. John Lehr, brigade commander for 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “Operations in concert with the Iraqi Security Forces have made the province safer and more stable resulting in a place for the government and civil services to conduct business and for the Iraqi people to live and work. “
The 4th Stryker Brigade partnered with, trained and supported more than 17,300 Iraqi Police in Diyala Province at 64 IP stations in 11 separate district headquarters. A Ministry of Interior Police Academy recently graduated its first class and will yield approximately 500 Iraqi Policemen a month.
“They are working hard to create a better police force -- a force that is nonsectarian and non-corrupt,” said Lehr.
In addition to ISF training, the 4th Stryker Brigade has assisted the provincial government in developing and executing a plan to restart three electrical generator farms in Baquba to add electricity to the power grid. Currently, two of the farms are operational adding 20 MW to the power grid and the third will be on line at the end of the month. This equates to a 25 percent increase in available power to the province.
The 4th Stryker Brigade in partnership with local Iraqi leaders contributed to reopening three vocational technical training centers in the city which will educate over 1000 Iraqi men in skills required for reconstruction efforts.
“The 4th Stryker Brigade was instrumental in securing the environment to provide the provincial government the time and space needed to rebuild and govern. We continue to make progress, with steady, if uneven improvement across the board,” said Brig. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, Chief of Staff, Multi-National Corps – Iraq.
The Provincial Government relied heavily on coalition support to provide basic needs for the population prior to November 2007. Today, the provincial government is successfully functioning, and provides essential services and security for Iraqis living in the provinces.
”One of the most telling signs of improvement in the province is the resurgence of market activity and traffic on the streets. Last fall, many markets were closed and there was limited traffic on the streets. Today, most of the markets are open and the streets are full of vehicles and pedestrians. Children go to school and a sense of normalcy has returned in most of the cities,” said Lehr.
The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team is the fourth of the five surge brigades to redeploy. The brigade played an integral role in establishing the conditions for long-term security in Iraq by reducing violence in the Diyala Province by 70 percent and providing hope for the future to the local population though training and employment opportunities.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR FOR HIGH-RES PHOTOS, CONTACT THE MULTINATIONAL CORPS – IRAQ PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT: MNCIPAOVICTORYMAINJO@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL
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