'First Lightning' Battalion senior non-commissioned officers meet-and-greet with new 1st Iraqi Federal Police Division leadership By 2nd Lt. Donald Gillilan, 1st ID
BAGHDAD — Senior non-commissioned officers with the 1st “First Lightning” Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division–Center opened their doors for a meet-and-greet with their 1st Iraqi Federal Police Division partners May 12 at Joint Security Station Loyalty, Iraq.
The event marked a historic moment for the 1st IFP Division, as they recently conducted a change in enlisted leadership.
Senior non-commissioned officers with 1st “First Lightning” Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center discuss their partnership with senior NCOs with the 1st Iraqi Federal Police Division May 12, at Joint Security Station Loyalty, Iraq. The event marked a historic moment for the 1st IFP Div., as they recently conducted a change in enlisted leadership. (Photo by Capt. Christopher Miles)
The senior non-commissioned officers at JSS Loyalty saw that the new 1st IFP Division commander, Brig. Gen. Emad Ali Abd Faris, was very progressive with establishing and nurturing a non-commissioned officer corps, and immediately reacted to this by establishing an NCO based partnership.
“We are in this together and we continue to build on what we have created,” said Command Sgt. Maj. William F. Bauer, senior enlisted advisor with 1st Battalion, 7th FA and a New York native. “I want you [1st IFP] to feel welcome here, as you always make me feel welcome in your area, and this is an opportunity for us to get to know each other on a more intimate basis where we can just meet and talk about various subjects.”
Bauer invited IFP Command Sgt. Maj. Habib Haydir, the new senior enlisted advisor with the 1st IFP Division, and other senior non-commissioned officers with the 1st IFP to the event with the hopes of strengthening the partnership at both the battalion and battery-level.
“Change is good,” said 1st Sgt. Kerney Day, senior enlisted advisor with Headquarters and Headquarter Battery, 1st Bn., 7th FA Regiment and a Whiteburg, Ky., native. “My impression of this group of Iraqi NCO leadership is that they are more structured, heading in the right direction, focusing on training and taking care of their enlisted police officers.”
After taking some time to talk to each soldier about their families and their experiences throughout their careers, both senior enlisted leaders began to talk about developing and sharing information on insurgent or criminal elements.
The best information is collected from the average citizen, and the IFP junior soldiers will have to develop better relationships with the people in the area, said Haydir.
“These guys are on it [and] they know what is important and how to move to get what they need,” said Master Sgt. David Rogers, information operations NCO with HHB and a Harmony, Pa., native. “We need to continue this process, and [Iraqi] Command Sgt. Maj. Haydir, and [Iraqi] Master Sgt. Alaa’ are focused and willing to work with us.”
Stumble It!
