Hammer Brigade commander: ‘Sons of Iraq’ aided in success

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Col Robert P. White, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, shakes hands with Sheik Said Kazim, the tribal leader from Narwhan, a Shia city to the north of Mada’in, Iraq. White met Wednesday with regional tribal leaders.


Hammer Brigade commander: ‘Sons of Iraq’ aided in success
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, May 3, 2008

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq — When the Hammer Brigade arrived as part of the “surge” force in March 2007, its area of operation southeast of Baghdad was either a hot pocket of violence or heading that way.

But as the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division prepares for its return in a couple of weeks to Fort Benning, Ga., it is leaving a region transformed, according to the unit’s commander.

“That’s because of the ‘Sons of Iraq.’ The local people,” Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. said during a final meeting with the leading sheiks in the Shiite-dominated region of Mada’in Qada.

On Wednesday, Grigsby also introduced the leader of the replacement unit — the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division — which will assume full control of the Rhode Island-size area on May 15.

During the meeting, Col. Robert P. White, the commander of the Baumholder-based unit, gave assurances that his soldiers would build on the success.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54504