Stryker Brigade in Iraq

1Lt Ryan Townsend

Stryker Brigade

Alpha Company, 2-3 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade

2nd Infantry Division, I Corps

Fort Lewis, Washington - Now deployed in Iraq

Dismounted Patrol is from back in my time as a Platoon Leader. Early on in our time in Mosul we would walk through the neighborhoods and try to talk to the people. The 101st had used this Tactic to try to win the "hearts and minds." So this is a picture of 2nd Platoon walking through the Al Hadba neighborhood in NE Mosul. We found that sheep herders are good sources of information. They can't claim they were in their house and saw nothing. A very common phrase here is pronounced Ana Sha Lay which means "it is not my business". A man will have an IED in front of his house and will say Ana Sha Lay even though he watched somebody put it there and did nothing. What Iraq really needs is a neighborhood watch program.

Horse Truck. You can tell that we are in a very nice neighborhood because this man actually has a horse. I think I can count on one hand the number of horses I've seen here. There are millions of donkey trucks and donkey truck racing is a fun sport to watch, it's like NASCAR except the drivers are allowed to punch and kick their competitors (Webmaster's note: on the other hand, that is kinda like NASCAR when Tony Stewart is driving).

Iraq Soccer Billboard shows one of the billboards that sprung up over night when the Iraqi National team made the Olympics. This one is along the sideline of a local dirt soccer field. Around 1700 when the temperature drops to about 100 the kids will play soccer while the adults discuss the latest Tactics Techniques and Procedures of emplacing Improvised Explosive Devices and the best spot to cache a mortar tube.