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US advisors foster local support for IqAF

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Levi Riendeau
  • 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq --  What started out as a case of unclaimed education supplies turned into an opportunity to build camaraderie with a local elementary school near Camp Taji.

The Iraqi military delivered education supplies to the school March 22, bringing smiles to the Iraqi children's faces.

"In our efforts to find excess equipment and items that can assist our Iraqi partners in their daily operations, we came across a large quantity of school supplies," said 1st Lt. Erin Werling, 321 Expeditionary Mission Support and Advisory Group air advisor.

Lieutenant Werling said the pickup truck load of school supplies, which included things such as notebooks, backpacks, colored pencils, blankets, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, was found by U.S. Army 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion during their execution of Operation Clean Sweep.

When the 116 BTSB, which is responsible for life support, facility maintenance, land management, force protection and base defense for the camp, couldn't figure out where the supplies came from or who they belonged to, they were graciously donated to the 321 EMSAG base transition team.

The BTT, whose mission is to advise the Iraqi military and help them during the U.S. military's transition from Iraq at the end of the year, immediately went to work, advising their Iraqi counterparts to contact the local elementary school to donate the supplies to.

According to Lieutenant Werling, deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, donating the items would show that not only is the Iraqi military committed to force protection with helicopter operations, but also that it truly cares about the citizens it protects.

But it hasn't stopped there. Lieutenant Werling asked her community back home in Findlay, Ohio, to assist with gathering more school supplies in the next month.

With their efforts and support from the 321 EMSAG, the Iraqi military hopes to foster more support for and from their local communities.