WEBVTT 00:06.240 --> 00:09.910 Mhm . On this edition of 00:09.910 --> 00:12.350 Freedom Journal Iraq soldiers in Kirkuk 00:12.350 --> 00:14.517 get a visit from a distinguished guest 00:14.580 --> 00:16.524 and a look at coalition efforts to 00:16.524 --> 00:19.100 rebuild Iraq these stories and more on 00:19.100 --> 00:20.660 today's FJ I 00:26.740 --> 00:29.120 hello , I'm Petty Officer Mat Gleason . 00:29.120 --> 00:31.064 Welcome to this edition of Freedom 00:31.064 --> 00:33.870 Journal Iraq . Most senior military 00:33.870 --> 00:35.926 leaders like to get out and see what 00:35.926 --> 00:37.926 their troops are doing on a routine 00:37.926 --> 00:40.092 basis rather than just rely on reports 00:40.092 --> 00:42.259 and data from the field . With that in 00:42.259 --> 00:44.481 mind , Iraq senior enlisted leader took 00:44.481 --> 00:47.490 a trip to visit soldiers from the 572nd 00:47.490 --> 00:49.900 mobility augmentation company to see 00:49.900 --> 00:52.040 how they do business . Army Sergeant 00:52.040 --> 00:54.950 Jim Mckinney reports . Command Sergeant 00:54.950 --> 00:57.006 Major David Clarke the 18th Engineer 00:57.006 --> 00:59.172 Brigade Command Sergeant Major greeted 00:59.172 --> 01:01.339 the multinational force Iraq . Command 01:01.339 --> 01:03.506 Sergeant Major as he arrived in Kirkuk 01:03.506 --> 01:05.672 Iraq . Command Sergeant Major Lawrence 01:05.672 --> 01:07.617 Wilson , a combat engineer himself 01:07.617 --> 01:09.283 joined the five 72nd mobility 01:09.283 --> 01:11.394 augmentation company on a joint route 01:11.394 --> 01:13.617 clearance mission with Iraqi soldiers . 01:13.617 --> 01:15.783 Command Sergeant Major Wilson said the 01:15.783 --> 01:17.894 success in Iraq doesn't come from the 01:17.894 --> 01:19.728 top . The people who have made a 01:19.728 --> 01:21.894 difference are the , are the , are the 01:21.894 --> 01:24.061 small unit leaders and the soldiers on 01:24.061 --> 01:26.061 the soldiers , Airmen , marines and 01:26.061 --> 01:28.172 sailors on the ground and feel it's a 01:28.172 --> 01:30.117 huge privilege to our unit to have 01:30.117 --> 01:32.283 someone at that level to come down and 01:32.283 --> 01:34.061 see how my troops on the ground 01:34.061 --> 01:36.006 actually performing the mission of 01:36.006 --> 01:37.950 making a difference here in Iraq . 01:37.950 --> 01:40.117 Command Sergeant Major Wilson gave the 01:40.117 --> 01:42.172 combat engineers his coin and joined 01:42.172 --> 01:44.228 both the american and Iraqi soldiers 01:44.228 --> 01:46.450 for lunch . He also spoke to the troops 01:46.450 --> 01:48.617 about working together with the Iraqis 01:48.617 --> 01:50.920 partnership is what is going to help 01:50.920 --> 01:54.060 Iraq to be able to take care of itself 01:54.640 --> 01:56.918 with its security forces in the future . 01:57.040 --> 01:59.318 While he was on forward operating base , 01:59.318 --> 02:01.429 warrior command Sergeant Major Wilson 02:01.429 --> 02:03.596 talked to the senior leaders about the 02:03.596 --> 02:05.762 future of Iraq . Reporting from Kirkuk 02:05.762 --> 02:07.873 Iraq . I'm army Sergeant Jim Mckinney 02:08.140 --> 02:10.350 the 14th of july Bridge is one of the 02:10.350 --> 02:12.239 main thoroughfares in the city of 02:12.239 --> 02:15.270 Baghdad in 1991 . It was destroyed 02:15.270 --> 02:17.437 during the invasion but has since been 02:17.437 --> 02:19.880 rebuilt . The task now is to remove the 02:19.880 --> 02:21.880 underwater debris from the bridge . 02:21.930 --> 02:23.597 Senior airman Jeremy Townsend 02:23.597 --> 02:25.430 introduces us to some of the key 02:25.430 --> 02:27.652 players helping to rid the tigris river 02:27.652 --> 02:29.986 of these underwater obstructions . Yeah , 02:30.440 --> 02:32.551 these soldiers are salvage divers for 02:32.551 --> 02:34.662 the 74th engineer dive team and their 02:34.662 --> 02:36.773 underwater world . They perform tasks 02:36.773 --> 02:38.551 like construction , salvage and 02:38.551 --> 02:40.773 demolition . Today , they're working to 02:40.773 --> 02:42.829 determine the best way to get rid of 02:42.829 --> 02:42.600 the remnants from the old bridge . A 02:42.600 --> 02:44.600 job they're well suited for . We're 02:44.600 --> 02:46.600 going to send a diver over onto the 02:46.600 --> 02:48.600 fallen portion of the bridge . He's 02:48.600 --> 02:50.656 gonna go down . He's gonna take some 02:50.656 --> 02:52.878 underwater footage , some pictures also 02:52.878 --> 02:54.656 relate to us on the top side of 02:54.656 --> 02:56.656 actually all the dimensions that we 02:56.656 --> 02:58.878 need of the bridge . So that way we can 02:58.878 --> 02:58.250 come back and get a plan on how we can 02:58.250 --> 03:00.472 actually remove it . The intent of this 03:00.472 --> 03:02.639 dive is merely exploration and because 03:02.639 --> 03:04.528 the water is so murky much of the 03:04.528 --> 03:06.417 investigation is done by feel the 03:06.417 --> 03:08.639 operation involved three separate dives 03:08.639 --> 03:10.806 along the submerged bridge total . The 03:10.806 --> 03:10.230 divers only needed an hour of 03:10.230 --> 03:12.230 underwater time to make an accurate 03:12.230 --> 03:14.397 assessment basically underwater . What 03:14.397 --> 03:16.563 we were looking for was how the bridge 03:16.563 --> 03:16.220 is actually lying on the bottom if it 03:16.220 --> 03:18.442 was creating any kind of erosion on the 03:18.442 --> 03:20.553 bottom . Uh what we found mostly that 03:20.553 --> 03:22.609 the bridge is lying on the bottom in 03:22.609 --> 03:24.609 tax and it's actually jetted itself 03:24.609 --> 03:24.420 into the riverbed , which is not 03:24.420 --> 03:26.531 causing any problem at all . Which is 03:26.531 --> 03:28.642 actually the best thing that could've 03:28.642 --> 03:30.698 happened for it . With the operation 03:30.698 --> 03:32.864 complete . The team will take the data 03:32.864 --> 03:32.160 they have gathered to help officials 03:32.160 --> 03:34.327 determine the best method for removing 03:34.327 --> 03:36.104 the decades old bridge from its 03:36.104 --> 03:38.327 underwater grave . Senior airman Jeremy 03:38.327 --> 03:40.493 Townsend Baghdad , Iraq . Mhm . Coming 03:40.493 --> 03:42.660 up a look at provincial reconstruction 03:42.660 --> 03:45.240 in Iraq . Yeah , 03:46.540 --> 03:48.651 time now for a look at the rebuilding 03:48.651 --> 03:51.580 Iraq report , bahsrah province will 03:51.580 --> 03:53.580 soon see a dramatic increase in the 03:53.580 --> 03:56.510 availability of clean water . The $9.5 03:56.510 --> 03:58.720 million water project will quadruple 03:58.720 --> 04:00.990 the kerman ali water facilities output 04:00.990 --> 04:03.590 capabilities . Iraqi plant engineers 04:03.590 --> 04:05.368 are working alongside the Iraqi 04:05.368 --> 04:07.590 construction workers which will provide 04:07.590 --> 04:09.757 invaluable knowledge once the facility 04:09.757 --> 04:12.250 is up and running The facility will 04:12.250 --> 04:14.830 provide clean water for 2.5 million 04:14.830 --> 04:16.890 Bahsrah residents taking much of the 04:16.890 --> 04:19.200 burden off of the sweetwater canal pump 04:19.200 --> 04:21.910 station nearly 90 miles away . The 04:21.910 --> 04:24.480 project began in January of 2008 which 04:24.490 --> 04:26.450 also boosted the local economy by 04:26.450 --> 04:28.506 employing an Iraqi construction crew 04:28.506 --> 04:31.160 with 70 employees and all the materials 04:31.160 --> 04:33.327 and supplies were purchased from local 04:33.327 --> 04:35.770 Iraqi business owners in the Basra area 04:35.870 --> 04:37.981 and that's a rebuilding Iraq report . 04:37.981 --> 04:40.460 I'm Air Force Sergeant Marty Rush . Mhm 04:42.040 --> 04:43.560 Uh huh . 04:44.140 --> 04:47.560 Here are the latest 04:47.570 --> 04:49.840 operation Iraqi freedom headlines . 04:49.850 --> 04:52.260 Minister of State for National Security 04:52.260 --> 04:54.640 said the Iraqi government is dedicated 04:54.640 --> 04:56.500 to implementing the U . S . Iraq 04:56.500 --> 04:58.870 security accord . Iraq is prepared for 04:58.870 --> 05:01.040 the eventual redeployment of coalition 05:01.040 --> 05:03.100 forces and Iraqi security forces 05:03.100 --> 05:05.220 readiness . The U . S . State 05:05.220 --> 05:07.109 Department is assessing the Iraqi 05:07.109 --> 05:09.331 government's capability to fully assume 05:09.331 --> 05:11.220 responsibility for reconstruction 05:11.220 --> 05:13.520 programs in Iraq officials called 05:13.520 --> 05:15.464 current reconstruction efforts . A 05:15.464 --> 05:17.520 partnership between Iraqi government 05:17.520 --> 05:20.590 and coalition forces Ukrainian military 05:20.590 --> 05:22.940 forces concluded their mission in Iraq . 05:22.970 --> 05:24.920 Ukrainian contingent conducted a 05:24.920 --> 05:27.420 farewell ceremony in Diwaniya last week . 05:27.500 --> 05:30.280 More than 1600 Ukrainian soldiers have 05:30.290 --> 05:32.340 participated in the training and 05:32.340 --> 05:34.510 support of Iraqi security forces . 05:36.340 --> 05:38.396 Those are your headlines from around 05:38.396 --> 05:40.451 the region . I'm Petty Officer Andre 05:40.451 --> 05:40.150 Rodan . 05:45.440 --> 05:49.380 We are at war . Are you doing all you 05:49.380 --> 05:52.120 can from war fighting to logistics 05:52.130 --> 05:54.690 effective internal controls , achieve 05:54.690 --> 05:57.700 results . Check what gets checked , 05:57.710 --> 06:00.550 gets done . Mhm . 06:02.740 --> 06:04.770 One of the agencies responsible for 06:04.770 --> 06:07.048 helping the Iraqis rebuild the country . 06:07.048 --> 06:09.159 Our provincial reconstruction teams , 06:09.230 --> 06:11.341 they are made up of coalition members 06:11.341 --> 06:13.286 who oversee the various rebuilding 06:13.286 --> 06:15.410 projects throughout Iraq a specialist 06:15.410 --> 06:18.390 Lucas Y sake reports . It's a big job 06:18.400 --> 06:20.567 and the Prts are well suited for their 06:20.567 --> 06:23.130 important mission . Provincial 06:23.130 --> 06:25.550 reconstruction teams or PRTS throughout . 06:25.550 --> 06:27.620 Iraq are making forward bounds in 06:27.620 --> 06:29.842 reestablishing the government of Iraq . 06:29.940 --> 06:32.107 The team's work throughout the country 06:32.107 --> 06:33.884 to help reestablish education , 06:33.884 --> 06:35.996 healthcare governance , Agriculture , 06:35.996 --> 06:38.218 central services , economic development 06:38.218 --> 06:40.450 and the rule of law . Today . Dr 06:40.450 --> 06:42.561 Malcolm Phelps , the senior education 06:42.561 --> 06:44.783 advisor for P . R . T . Five is touring 06:44.783 --> 06:46.728 schools and second striker brigade 06:46.728 --> 06:48.950 combat teams area of operations . Today 06:48.950 --> 06:51.006 we've been out here meeting with the 06:51.006 --> 06:53.830 headmaster of this school . It's a 1200 06:53.840 --> 06:56.010 students school that actually has to 06:56.010 --> 06:58.950 run in two shifts because it's uh too 06:58.960 --> 07:01.071 crowded overcrowded for the number of 07:01.071 --> 07:03.850 classrooms that it has . So I met with 07:03.850 --> 07:06.260 the headmaster of the school today , 07:06.360 --> 07:08.900 talked with him and tried to understand 07:08.910 --> 07:11.360 the kinds of problems that he has . The 07:11.360 --> 07:13.582 tourists provide dr Phelps was valuable 07:13.582 --> 07:15.471 feedback from teachers and school 07:15.471 --> 07:17.416 headmasters . From there . He will 07:17.416 --> 07:19.638 approach the Ministry of Education with 07:19.638 --> 07:21.749 their concerns . It's often an uphill 07:21.749 --> 07:23.860 battle for members of the P . R . T . 07:23.860 --> 07:25.916 There's been progress . The progress 07:25.916 --> 07:28.082 has been slow and they have a long way 07:28.082 --> 07:30.304 to go . But as I talked with the school 07:30.304 --> 07:32.990 personnel , I find that they are very 07:32.990 --> 07:35.510 committed As a general rule , they want 07:35.510 --> 07:37.780 to do well and now Rock has a rich 07:37.780 --> 07:40.060 tradition of education so I'm sure they 07:40.240 --> 07:42.800 they will continue to improve despite 07:42.800 --> 07:44.911 adversity . Dr Phelps sees a need for 07:44.911 --> 07:47.133 his services in Iraq . I wanted to make 07:47.133 --> 07:49.467 a difference . I wanted to come to Iraq . 07:49.467 --> 07:51.689 I knew that the needs were tremendous . 07:51.689 --> 07:55.570 Uh , the violence in the country , the 07:55.580 --> 07:58.430 war was winding down , which meant that 07:58.440 --> 08:01.280 the the next critical need is to 08:01.280 --> 08:03.610 rebuild the country and rebuild its 08:03.620 --> 08:06.460 society . I believe strongly in an 08:06.460 --> 08:09.910 education system without education . Uh , 08:09.920 --> 08:11.976 there won't be a vibrant economy and 08:11.976 --> 08:14.142 the Children won't have hope for their 08:14.142 --> 08:16.760 future as the country continues on , 08:16.760 --> 08:18.871 the path towards self governance will 08:18.871 --> 08:20.982 be largely a credit to the provincial 08:20.982 --> 08:23.038 reconstruction teams , reporting for 08:23.038 --> 08:25.038 the second Striker Brigade , Combat 08:25.038 --> 08:27.149 Team , 25th Infantry Division , Multi 08:27.149 --> 08:28.927 national Division Baghdad . I'm 08:28.927 --> 08:31.350 specialist Lucas Y Sakhi Camp Taji Iraq . 08:32.740 --> 08:35.510 There has been a 180 degree turnaround 08:35.510 --> 08:37.660 in the Iraqi non commissioned officer 08:37.660 --> 08:40.320 corps since 2000 and five . According 08:40.320 --> 08:42.530 to the top enlisted soldier at U . S . 08:42.530 --> 08:45.430 Army forces Command in Atlanta Force 08:45.430 --> 08:47.430 com Commander Sergeant Major Dennis 08:47.430 --> 08:50.110 Kerry spent two days touring Iraq which 08:50.110 --> 08:52.590 included a trip to Camp Taji Iraqi and 08:52.590 --> 08:55.020 Ceo Academy during which time he noted , 08:55.020 --> 08:57.460 vast improvements have been made . The 08:57.460 --> 08:59.516 Command Sergeant Major spent most of 08:59.516 --> 09:01.738 the day visiting with Iraqi instructors 09:01.738 --> 09:03.770 at the Ceo Academy , learning more 09:03.770 --> 09:05.992 about the courses offered there and the 09:05.992 --> 09:08.250 type of training Iraqi . Ngos receive 09:08.540 --> 09:10.900 one Iraqi instructor noted visits like 09:10.900 --> 09:12.900 the one from command Sergeant Major 09:12.900 --> 09:15.122 Kerry lets the Iraqis know what they're 09:15.122 --> 09:17.122 doing is important and help show he 09:17.122 --> 09:19.400 cares about the training the Iraqi , N . 09:19.400 --> 09:21.540 C . O . S are receiving and that does 09:21.540 --> 09:23.762 it for this edition of our program . If 09:23.762 --> 09:25.873 you have a story idea , send an email 09:25.873 --> 09:29.590 to FBI at Iraq dot centcom dot mil from 09:29.590 --> 09:31.590 all of us here at a f n and Freedom 09:31.590 --> 09:33.757 Journal . Iraq . Thanks for watching . 09:33.757 --> 09:35.423 And we'll see you next time . 09:38.940 --> 09:40.850 Mm . Yes . 09:49.440 --> 09:50.440 Mhm . 09:59.140 --> 09:59.340 Yeah .