By Staff Sgt. Mike Pryor
82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs

Radcliffe, Ky. native Lt. Col. Jeff Broadwater, left, commander of the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, and Col. Tariq Abdul Kareem Nasser, commander of the 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, discuss issues affecting the security situation in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighborhood during a joint patrol involving U.S. and Iraqi Army forces and Concerned Local Citizens, Jan. 6. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mike Pryor, 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.

“We, the Iraqi Army, stand with you, our new brothers, to protect Iraq,” Iraqi Army Col. Tariq Abdul Kareem Nasser, commander of the 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, vowed in a speech to more than 150 CLC volunteers who had gathered in the chill of the morning at Coalition Outpost Apache.

In response, the volunteers swore an oath to defend the country and the government with their lives.

“Today was kind of a coming together of the volunteers (CLC) and the IA,” said Buffalo, N.Y. native Capt. Kiran Porter, a U.S. military advisor to the Iraqi Army.

“It’s a chance for them to unite in their determination to keep Adhamiyah safe,” Porter said.

The CLC program is similar to a Neighborhood Watch program in the United States.  CLC members patrol their communities and man checkpoints to keep terrorists out of their areas.

Adhamiyah’s CLC program was organized in late summer 2007 as a way of capitalizing on a wave of public rejection toward the violent and extremist methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

The CLC’s effect on the security situation in Adhamiyah was immediate – total attacks dropped by 70 percent within the first two months of the volunteers hitting the streets, said Capt. Phillip Dow, a staff officer with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, the U.S. unit responsible for security in the area. But the new security force was initially viewed with suspicion by some members of the Iraqi military.

Maj. Ike Sallee, of Kissimmee, Fla., operations officer, 3rd Sqdn., 7th Cav. Regt., used the analogy of a middle school dance to describe the relationship between members of the two organizations. Early on the two sides were standing on opposite sides of the gymnasium, a little hesitant to get together. But with time, they warmed up to each other.

“And now they’re dancing,” Sallee added.

The new spirit of cooperation was evident during a joint patrol conducted by key leaders from the Iraqi Army and the CLC through several Adhamiyah neighborhoods immediately following the ceremony.

“It was a great thing having the volunteer (CLC) leadership and the IA leadership going out into the streets and talking to people and showing just how well they are working together,” said Radcliffe, Ky. native Lt. Col. Jeff Broadwater, the 3-7 Cav’s commander.

Broadwater, Tariq, and leaders of the CLC walked together through some of the area’s busiest shopping districts and marketplaces, checking in with volunteers at checkpoints along the way. At one point, Col. Tariq mounted the steps of a famous local Mosque to tell the crowd gathered outside that further altercations between his Soldiers and CLCs would not be tolerated.

“I think that was huge. He identified a problem, and he addressed it directly, and then he went to the people and told them how it was being fixed,” Broadwater said.

As the IA and CLC leaders walked through the streets, they passed many newly-opened shops and businesses crowded with customers.

Only months before, Broadwater pointed out, people were afraid to leave their houses.

Much of the credit for the reversal belongs to the IA and the volunteers, he said.

“All that stuff is a direct reflection on their hard work and the fact that they’ve been able to work so well together,” Broadwater said.

At several intersections, the group stopped to talk with the security volunteers in gray jackets and checkered scarves who manned the checkpoints. One checkpoint commander, Ahmed Abdul Khadar, said his men would have no problem working with the Iraqi Army Soldiers.

Ahmed said that while there may occasionally be tension between the two groups, that doesn’t mean they can’t work together.

“We fight like brothers who live in the same house do. We fight, we have differences, but we are still brothers,” Ahmed said.

“Today we are seeing the solidarity between the IA, the CLC, and the Adhamiyah people,” he said.