Operation Soldier Helps Iraqi Cops
My brother in law Brian is a Fresno PD officer who served as a Special Forces medic and received a Purple Heart in Vietnam. He is also one of the co-founders of Operation Soldier.
Operation Soldier does many wonderful things, including Brotherhood of the Badge, which collects surplus US police equipment and takes it to Iraq to equip Iraqi police forces. Here are some photos of Brian's last trip to Iraq.
On the way to deliver the goods to a police department in Baqubah, where over 400 poorly equipped Iraqi police were waiting, the two duece-and-a-half trucks, escored by five Hummers, raced at speeds approaching 80 mph to avoid ambushes and IEDs.
You can see the joy in the police force members as they see what 10,000 pounds of gear contains. The boxes were stamped "Tubby Lettuce" -- what Brian refers to as "stealth containers."
The shipment contained balistic vests, leather gear, batons, helments and 200 portable radios, batteries and chargers. The police station had been operating with only eight portable radios.
Brian films Lt. Col. Adamson and Lt. Susan Greig, who was in charge of the 649th Military Police at Baqubah. He says she was doing the job of a captain, in charge of 109 MPs.
An Iraqi officer is fitted with a new ballistic helmet. Hundreds of Fresno PD officers donated their old helmets upon receiving new ones.
Check out the pride in this officer's face! Also check out the level of equipment he has compared to US troops in the background. Operation Soldier's Brotherhood of the Badge could use a lot more support so it can continue equipping the Iraqi police force.
Brian liked this Hummer because of the bulldog emblem -- just like the Fresno State team. Because Fresno PD came unarmed, they were issued AK-47s that were captured from Saddam's bozos, and Glocks.
The high-security jail at the Baqubah police headquarters holds 224 terrorist prisoners representing numerous cells that have been captured and broken. They are maintained entirely by Iraqi guards, and one-third are from Jordan and Syria.
The Governor of Diyala Provence receives a Fresno PD mini-badge. Chief Walleed Kaled looks on. He was in charge of 44 police stations and 8,000 officers in the province. He has a high price on his head.
The Diyala provincial Police Chief presented the Fresno team with shoulder insignias, the equivalent of a police badge. On the left is Staff Sgt. Ken Carlson of Fresno PD, who was assigned to this location and was the inspiration for the supply mission. He has taught 400 Iraqi police detectives US methods on probable cause, obtaining warrants and serving warrants, and broke up many terrorist cells, obtaining weapons and explosives.
On Brian's right is Fresno PD homicide detective Mike Harris, who co-founded Operation
Soldier. It was his idea to gather the equipment, and Brian's to personally escort it to Iraq, to make sure the equipment was delivered directly to the police.
The Baqubah City Council -- the first freely elected city council in the city -- met with the Fresno PD team. Resolution #1 of the City of Baqubah, passed unanimously right in front of the team, was to declare Baqubah a sister city of Fresno. A bit of history.
Ten minutes before Fresno PD's arrival, four officers and a number of civilians were blown up while eating lunch near the police station. Fresno PD visited the hospital for a morale visit -- a visit that was practically a strike force mission through alleys to reach the hospital and sweep the facility floor-by-floor before reaching the injured officers.
Brian's medic experience showed him that many of the police officers were in septic shock and probably wouldn't make it. They arranged to get this man to an American military hospital because of gangrene in his leg. He survived, and our doctors and nurses were able to save his leg.
Minimal medications available at the hospital were insufficient to fight infections like this officer had from his abdominal wounds. He probably did not survive more than a day or two.
Do you detect a Nazi motif? This is the fountain in front of Saddam's palace in the Green Zone -- two square miles of squandered wealth stolen from the Iraqi people and the UN oil-for-food program. It's just one of 72 of Saddam's palaces -- being a brutal despot can be a pretty good gig!
Brian sitting on Saddam's thrown.
Brian asked me to tell you that the sooner we can get the Iraqi police confident and strong on their feet, the sooner we can bring our young warriors home. These poorly eqiupped Iraqi officers are the thin blue line of Iraqi democracy. Their success depends on our support, so if you can lend a hand to Brotherhood of the Badge, please visit their site.
Operation Soldier also operates Patriot Down, which arranges family visits for injured servicemen. When Brian was injured in Vietnam, he was hospitalized in four hospitals over three and a half months, and his mom and dad were never able to visit him.
The military provides airplane tickets to families of injured soldiers, but many can't afford to leave their jobs, or don't have enough funds for hotels, food and rental cars. Thanks to Patriot Down, families who couldn't afford trips have been able to visit their injured loved ones.
Just today, Brian received this thank you letter from one Patriot Down aid recipient:
Please visit Operation Soldier to see if there's a way you can help them to do more.
Operation Soldier does many wonderful things, including Brotherhood of the Badge, which collects surplus US police equipment and takes it to Iraq to equip Iraqi police forces. Here are some photos of Brian's last trip to Iraq.
On the way to deliver the goods to a police department in Baqubah, where over 400 poorly equipped Iraqi police were waiting, the two duece-and-a-half trucks, escored by five Hummers, raced at speeds approaching 80 mph to avoid ambushes and IEDs.
You can see the joy in the police force members as they see what 10,000 pounds of gear contains. The boxes were stamped "Tubby Lettuce" -- what Brian refers to as "stealth containers."
The shipment contained balistic vests, leather gear, batons, helments and 200 portable radios, batteries and chargers. The police station had been operating with only eight portable radios.
Brian films Lt. Col. Adamson and Lt. Susan Greig, who was in charge of the 649th Military Police at Baqubah. He says she was doing the job of a captain, in charge of 109 MPs.
An Iraqi officer is fitted with a new ballistic helmet. Hundreds of Fresno PD officers donated their old helmets upon receiving new ones.
Check out the pride in this officer's face! Also check out the level of equipment he has compared to US troops in the background. Operation Soldier's Brotherhood of the Badge could use a lot more support so it can continue equipping the Iraqi police force.
Brian liked this Hummer because of the bulldog emblem -- just like the Fresno State team. Because Fresno PD came unarmed, they were issued AK-47s that were captured from Saddam's bozos, and Glocks.
The high-security jail at the Baqubah police headquarters holds 224 terrorist prisoners representing numerous cells that have been captured and broken. They are maintained entirely by Iraqi guards, and one-third are from Jordan and Syria.
The Governor of Diyala Provence receives a Fresno PD mini-badge. Chief Walleed Kaled looks on. He was in charge of 44 police stations and 8,000 officers in the province. He has a high price on his head.
The Diyala provincial Police Chief presented the Fresno team with shoulder insignias, the equivalent of a police badge. On the left is Staff Sgt. Ken Carlson of Fresno PD, who was assigned to this location and was the inspiration for the supply mission. He has taught 400 Iraqi police detectives US methods on probable cause, obtaining warrants and serving warrants, and broke up many terrorist cells, obtaining weapons and explosives.
On Brian's right is Fresno PD homicide detective Mike Harris, who co-founded Operation
Soldier. It was his idea to gather the equipment, and Brian's to personally escort it to Iraq, to make sure the equipment was delivered directly to the police.
The Baqubah City Council -- the first freely elected city council in the city -- met with the Fresno PD team. Resolution #1 of the City of Baqubah, passed unanimously right in front of the team, was to declare Baqubah a sister city of Fresno. A bit of history.
Ten minutes before Fresno PD's arrival, four officers and a number of civilians were blown up while eating lunch near the police station. Fresno PD visited the hospital for a morale visit -- a visit that was practically a strike force mission through alleys to reach the hospital and sweep the facility floor-by-floor before reaching the injured officers.
Brian's medic experience showed him that many of the police officers were in septic shock and probably wouldn't make it. They arranged to get this man to an American military hospital because of gangrene in his leg. He survived, and our doctors and nurses were able to save his leg.
Minimal medications available at the hospital were insufficient to fight infections like this officer had from his abdominal wounds. He probably did not survive more than a day or two.
Do you detect a Nazi motif? This is the fountain in front of Saddam's palace in the Green Zone -- two square miles of squandered wealth stolen from the Iraqi people and the UN oil-for-food program. It's just one of 72 of Saddam's palaces -- being a brutal despot can be a pretty good gig!
Brian sitting on Saddam's thrown.
Brian asked me to tell you that the sooner we can get the Iraqi police confident and strong on their feet, the sooner we can bring our young warriors home. These poorly eqiupped Iraqi officers are the thin blue line of Iraqi democracy. Their success depends on our support, so if you can lend a hand to Brotherhood of the Badge, please visit their site.
Operation Soldier also operates Patriot Down, which arranges family visits for injured servicemen. When Brian was injured in Vietnam, he was hospitalized in four hospitals over three and a half months, and his mom and dad were never able to visit him.
The military provides airplane tickets to families of injured soldiers, but many can't afford to leave their jobs, or don't have enough funds for hotels, food and rental cars. Thanks to Patriot Down, families who couldn't afford trips have been able to visit their injured loved ones.
Just today, Brian received this thank you letter from one Patriot Down aid recipient:
Operation Soldier,Operation Soldier is just a bunch of patriotic guys who appreciate what soldiers and cops do, and what military families go through. They saw a need and they're working hard to fill it. God bless them, and God bless America.
Thank you for our kindness and all of your help. You may never know how much your blessing was needed and how much it helped. Thank you for the advice you gave me and how you made the light shine again.
Sincerely,
Acacia
Please visit Operation Soldier to see if there's a way you can help them to do more.
posted by Laer at 9:08 AM
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