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By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes - Mideast
edition One of the five Army "surge" brigades
sent to Iraq last year as part of an escalation
— and credited, in part, with improving security
— is on its way home. The 4th Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, went to Iraq
in April 2007 and was sent to Diyala province,
north of Baghdad. That region was one of the
areas where many insurgents had fled when the
U.S. and Iraqi troop presence was boosted in
Baghdad.
A series of operations in Diyala targeted
these insurgents, though in some cases, the
militants had moved on before American troops
arrived. Now, the 4,000 soldiers of the brigade
are beginning the process of returning to Fort
Lewis, Wash., next month, officials said
Thursday.
"We have been extremely successful during our
14 months of operations in Taji and Diyala,"
Col. John Lehr, the brigade commander, was
quoted as saying in a news release. "Operations
in concert with the Iraqi Security Forces have
made the province safer and more stable." The
successes did not come without a cost: Officials
said 37 of the brigade’s soldiers died during
this deployment.
Among the brigade’s accomplishments were
training and supporting nearly 20,000 Iraqi
police in 64 stations throughout the province. A
police academy was established, and the first
500 graduates are expected next month. Violent
incidents went down from their peak by 70
percent during their tour, brigade officials
said.
"They are working hard to create a better
police force — a force that is non-sectarian and
non-corrupt," Lehr said. Additionally, the
brigade helped restart three electrical
generator farms, which increased the available
electrical power to the province by 25 percent.
The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team is the
fourth of the five "surge" brigades to leave
Iraq. According to the Seattle Times, an advance
party of around 100 soldiers returned home
earlier this month, with more flowing in over
the coming three weeks. |
