Coalition Assisted By Sons of Iraq Forces And Local Citizens
The soldiers of the 101st Airborne, 3rd BCT, 187th Infantry, Company D has worked with the Sons of Iraq to help improve the Fuhail region security. Part of the ongoing effort to make sure that insurgents do not establish a stronghold in the region, the Coalition forces have built a checkpoint on the route between Baghdad and Fuhail Mujeer Village. The coalition soldiers first established a presence in the previous insurgency zone in December of 2007.
Soldiers are working and inhabiting the Forward area and Patrol Base Yates, and this has led to additional opportunities to interact with citizens. This has helped build relationships and increase understanding between the local citizens and the Coalition soldiers. The Sons of Iraq also are working to establish working relationships with the Coalition soldiers, and the early results of these efforts are very promising.
The addition of a number of Sons Of Iraq checkpoints has aided the overall security effort. The first checkpoints, eight in number were built in mid March and located about 400 meters north in a line toward the patrol base. These checkpoints are in strategic points to help prevent insurgent activity.
There are now a lot more opportunities for Coalition soldiers to interact with the community and citizens, as the Sons of Iraq are helping with the checkpoint security. The road is safer, the citizens are responding to the Sons of Iraq well and the overall region safety is greatly increased.
