Playground for Iraqi Kids in the Zone
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MARCH 2009 l VOL 1 l ISSUE 6 In the Zone Magazine Joint Defense Ops Center puts eyes on the IZ Photographs tell story of 50th IBCT Soldiers serving across Iraq Directorate of Public Works unveils playground for Iraqi kids in the zone DEDICATED TO SERVICE - Capt. Albert Garcia, National Police Training Team, In the Zone checks out the expanded military merchandise now Magazine being offered at FOB Prosperity’s AAFES facility. Photo by 1st Sgt. David Produced by the Joint Area Moore. Support Group-Central Public Affairs Office JASG-C Commander: Col. Steve Ferrari JASG-C Public Affairs Staff: Maj. Jon Powers 1st Sgt. David Moore Sgt. 1st Class Robert Stephenson Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris Sgt. Bill Addison DEPARTMENTS LEADERS’ LOG 3 FEATURES Joint Defense Operations CHAPLAIN’S WORD 7 Center keeps IZ safe 8-9 JAG CORNER 11 Soldiers from 50th IBCT serve across Iraq 12-13 ANNOUNCEMENTS 19 Do you have a story to share? In The New stage adds entertainment Zone welcomes columns, commentar- value to Prosperity 17 ies, articles, letters and photos from readers. Submissions should be sent to [email protected]. NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY Include the author’s name, rank, unit, and contact information. In The Zone Directorate of Public Works Soldiers awarded for helping to save Airman’s life 15 reserves the right to edit submissions opens new playground for selected for the newsletter. For fur- local Iraqi children 4-5 DPW supervises demolition ther information or to reqest to be on of river villas 20 our distribution list, e-mail the In The Transfer of Authority cer- Zone staff or call DSN (318) 239-9529. emony welcomes 1/7th FA as 3/29th FA redeploys 6 ON THE COVER: In The Zone is published monthly as an electronic news magazine under Spc. Ron Solimando of the In- provisions of AR 360-1, para 3-6 by JASG-C medics help train tel, Security and Recon Platoon, the Command Directorate’s (JASG-C) Iraqi soldiers 10 Headquarters and Headquarters Command for all military personnel Company, 113th Infantry Battal- serving in the Operation Iraqi Free- Comedy trio brings show to ion, stands guard during a meet- dom International Zone. The views FOB Prosperity 16 ing between Soldiers and Safwan and opinions expressed herein are not city officials outside FOB Bucca. necessarily those of the Department FOB Union III has plenty For more photos of other 50th of Defense, the U.S. Army, Air Force, to offer both civilians and IBCT Soldiers, see pages 10-11. Navy or the Marine Corps, or the Na- tional Guard Bureau. service members 19 Photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris 2 : Vol 1 MARCH 2008 LEADERS’ LOG Mitigating risk everyone’s responsibility The JASG-C continues to in- Lastly, never loose focus on force protection, safety tegrate and synchronize the and accountability. The nature of our military profession complex task of Green Zone is a hazardous one. We can make our environment even security and property transi- more dangerous by our actions or inactions. Safety must tion. Primary focus over the be in the forefront of everything we do. Competent, next 60 days will be to plan credible leaders who genuinely care for the well being of and coordinate the Sunken their subordinates must exist at all levels of command. Highway road opening to the The safety of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Ci- Republican bridge. This will vilians and equipment is paramount in everything we do be a significant event for the and the risk management process will be incorporated Government of Iraq and will into all operations. be another milestone in this year of transition. The sup- Mitigating risk is everybody’s responsibility; ensure port from all the JASG-C directorates, 1/7th FA Bn and standards are enforced, and never compromise when IZ Police play a key role in shaping the future of Iraq. lives are at stake. Leaders must never forget that person- Keep up the great team work! nel are the military’s most valuable resource. Composite For the majority of the JASG-C, we are approaching Risk Management is one of the most important tools we the 60-day mark for redeployment. As we begin to plan have. If we discipline ourselves to identify and assess for redeployment, we cannot lose focus on the mission hazards, and establish control measures or stop unsafe at hand. We must continue to execute and support all our acts, we can minimize our exposure to those risks. customers. Most importantly, we must begin to plan for Always look out for each other and be safe. One a smooth and seamless transition with the 32nd IBCT team, One Mission! Thanks for all you do! when they arrive to ensure no loss or degradation of ser- vices. Build your RIP plans and take the time to think Col. Steve Ferrari through your approach, think what went right or wrong Joint Area Support Group – Central during your RIP and improve the process. Commanding Still much to do as deployment nears end With about three months until the end of our deploy- is important to our careers, so ment, everyone is beginning to see the end of our mis- let’s complete the record and sion here in the International Zone. take care of the Soldier. Our mission is not over until we conduct a successful Pay attention to posted Relief in Place (RIP) and Transfer of Authority (TOA). dates for the early movement The fact is the last of our replacements – the 32nd Infan- of equipment and personal try Brigade Combat Team of the Wisconsin Army Na- items when they are pub- tional Guard – arrived at Fort Bliss this month. lished. You will only get one One important task we all have to do is conduct a shot at the pack-out dates. If successful RIP/TOA, while at the same time staying fo- you miss one then you will be cused on our fast-paced, changing IZ mission, and look- left, for lack of a better term, ing at standard operating procedures to make sure our ‘holding the bag’ all the way replacements have the latest information of our respec- to Fort Dix. tive operations. You need to get those documents up-to- Remember, this mission is far from being over, so date so that when the 32nd hits the ground, you and your do not let complacency creep and set in. There is still a replacement have a seamless transition. real threat out there just waiting for someone to let their Much has changed since day one of us getting into guard down. Keep sharp, constantly be aware of your Iraq. The military footprint of the IZ is much smaller surroundings, use the buddy system, and keep your PPE today than in September of last year, and it will change close. Each and every Soldier executing the mission has again before we leave. We all know at the mobilization done a superb job to date and there is no doubt in my station, it was extremely hard to get current information mind that our Soldiers will continue to do and outstand- for our training. Everyone here is now a subject-matter ing job. expert, so think about what you needed and struggled Stay the course, stay safe, enforce and maintain the with for information and fill in the blanks for the 32nd. standards of excellence. Another task we need to close out in the next 30 days is any NCOERs left open. We are here together and any NCOER challenges can be fixed here right away since Command Sgt. Maj. David Kenna nearly everyone is located in one place. This document Joint Area Support Group – Central Issue 6 : 3 in the zone they’re coming against the fence ‘when is it going to be open, when is it going to be ready?’” Sterling said the combination of Building a construction projects that encom- pass the apartments and the traffic that passes through them on a daily basis made the area an unsafe place for the children to play after school. “This was something we were able to do to fill an immediate need in a relatively short period of time,” said Sterling. But what is the price of building a playground in the developing ar- eas of Baghdad’s “Green Zone?” If you are the American taxpayer, the answer is zilch, nada, nothing. “The Iraqi government came to us and said, ‘Here’s this money, we need a playground, we’d like you to do this project for us,’” said Ster- ling. While this was Sterling’s first project for DPW since arriving in the IZ two months ago, it is hard- ly her first foray into construction. Sterling is a civil engineer and came to the JASG-C from Lingham Air Force Base, Va., where she over- saw operations in maintenance and repair across about 16 Air Force bases. “My whole background is being Better a civil engineer, doing construction projects, so this is right up my al- ley,” she said. Sterling also was in Iraq during 2003-2004, where she helped to Tomorrow build the major Air Force bases in the country. New playground offers safe venue for “When we were first coming in, our main push was to build main generations of Iraqi children to enjoy operating bases,” she said. “That’s Story and photos by The new playground, equipped not our push anymore, now we’re Sgt. Bill Addison with play sets, swings, monkey bars looking at projects that are going JASG-C Public Affairs and even a fountain, filled the need to benefit the Iraqi people.