Back to Iraq- Norley and the Sheiks

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Kate Norley reports

Who’s the pink elephant in the room? Oh yeah- that was me today. The blonde haired, blue eyed, American woman right smack in the middle of an Iraqi Council meeting? Yes, that’s me.

After getting an early start, I rolled over to a Nahia Iraqi Council Meeting in style via stud infantrymen. Exiting the dropped back hatch of a Stryker vehicle is the only way to make a grand entrance. The focus of today’s meeting was not only to touch base with local government officials and update one another on events of the past week, but to address the building of a new IP (Iraqi Police Station) and local irrigation system.  It didn’t take long before I noticed the level of comfort and professionalism demonstrated by all in attendance. With approximately 35 Iraqi men, 2 U.S Army officers, 2 interpreters and I in the room, a well orchestrated meeting took place. Lasting more than 2 hours, the meeting was productive and proved to me an effective level of partnership shared between the local Iraqis and the U.S military.

    Following the council meeting we returned to our COB (combat operating base) only to rest and re-fuel for a couple of hours, before heading out again for dinner and discussion with a local Sheik. Again, I was impressed by both the hospitality of the Sheik permitting my attendance, as well as the skilled dealings of my embed unit. Today showed me first-hand the genuine alliance between Iraqis and the U.S. military to re-build the country of Iraq and conquer terrorism.
Another early one tomorrow-so until then, never quit…ever.

Marching on,
Kate

The more noses the better…when it comes time to “sniff out” IEDS.

       Naturally, when my unit received reports of suspicious activity assumed to be a buried weapons cache or IED early this morning, I figured that added assistance might be nice.  1st Platoon and I dismounted  at  the chosen grid to then hunt down the objective. After a thorough sweep of more than 3 miles, we packed it up and headed out to run a few errands. First stop was to check-in on the recent construction of a water treatment facility. While viewing the new foundation of the site, local Iraqi security visited as well as surrounding community landowners to discuss subsequent plans for construction and it’s safekeeping. Our next stop brought us to the Sons of Iraq (Iraqi Security) headquarters, once again to keep posted on activities, and finally before we set home a visit to the communal shop was made. In all of the mingling that took place today (with minimal security team in tow) the overall sense of casual interaction between surrounding area Iraqis and my embedded unit was clear-an agreeable, even enjoyable working relationship exists.

       The soldiers I am with continue to display their true talent in conjunction with the remarkable rapport they have built outside the walls of their COB…this is a piece of what victory looks like.

       Proud to know and serve always,
       Kate

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Back to Iraq- Norley and the Sheiks

Kate Norley reports

Who’s the pink elephant in the room? Oh yeah- that was me today. The blonde haired, blue eyed, American woman right smack in the middle of an Iraqi Council meeting? Yes, that’s me.

After getting an early start, I rolled over to a Nahia Iraqi Council Meeting in style via stud infantrymen. Exiting the dropped back hatch of a Stryker vehicle is the only way to make a grand entrance. The focus of today’s meeting was not only to touch base with local government officials and update one another on events of the past week, but to address the building of a new IP (Iraqi Police Station) and local irrigation system.  It didn’t take long before I noticed the level of comfort and professionalism demonstrated by all in attendance. With approximately 35 Iraqi men, 2 U.S Army officers, 2 interpreters and I in the room, a well orchestrated meeting took place. Lasting more than 2 hours, the meeting was productive and proved to me an effective level of partnership shared between the local Iraqis and the U.S military.

    Following the council meeting we returned to our COB (combat operating base) only to rest and re-fuel for a couple of hours, before heading out again for dinner and discussion with a local Sheik. Again, I was impressed by both the hospitality of the Sheik permitting my attendance, as well as the skilled dealings of my embed unit. Today showed me first-hand the genuine alliance between Iraqis and the U.S. military to re-build the country of Iraq and conquer terrorism.
Another early one tomorrow-so until then, never quit…ever.

Marching on,
Kate

The more noses the better…when it comes time to “sniff out” IEDS.

       Naturally, when my unit received reports of suspicious activity assumed to be a buried weapons cache or IED early this morning, I figured that added assistance might be nice.  1st Platoon and I dismounted  at  the chosen grid to then hunt down the objective. After a thorough sweep of more than 3 miles, we packed it up and headed out to run a few errands. First stop was to check-in on the recent construction of a water treatment facility. While viewing the new foundation of the site, local Iraqi security visited as well as surrounding community landowners to discuss subsequent plans for construction and it’s safekeeping. Our next stop brought us to the Sons of Iraq (Iraqi Security) headquarters, once again to keep posted on activities, and finally before we set home a visit to the communal shop was made. In all of the mingling that took place today (with minimal security team in tow) the overall sense of casual interaction between surrounding area Iraqis and my embedded unit was clear-an agreeable, even enjoyable working relationship exists.

       The soldiers I am with continue to display their true talent in conjunction with the remarkable rapport they have built outside the walls of their COB…this is a piece of what victory looks like.

       Proud to know and serve always,
       Kate

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