Al Ghafari School, AL Rashid District, Baghdad, Iraq

School Supply Distribution Ends With a Bang

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AL Rashid District, Baghdad, Iraq – An Army truck pulls up to a dilapidated school where children stand in line, waiting. Troops move with a purpose, getting boxes unloaded and opened. What could be inside that’s so important? Ammunition? Medical supplies?

More like pencils, notebooks and backpacks. A different kind of ammunition that proved to be just as important during a distribution at the Al Ghafari School January 12th in the Arab Jabor neighborhood of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment area of operations.

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The mission started off like most any school supply distribution. A civil affairs team attached to 1-8 Cav., 5th Brigade Combat Team, convoyed to the south-east region of Baghdad along the Tigris River. The team brought enough backpacks and supplies for 1000 children.

“It was set up like a recruit’s trip to the initial issue where you get a duffle bag and put everything in,” said Capt. John Morris, a civil affairs team chief in Co. A, 403rd CA Battalion attached to 1-8 Cav. “We would give every kid a backpack and start stuffing in pencils and notebooks, crayons and glue and everything we had.”

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Due to finals testing, the children had been released early that day. Still, there were plenty of children around the area to happily except these supplies donated by family readiness groups in the United States, and backpacks purchased locally.

“There were kids on site and school wasn’t going to open up for three more weeks because of a break, so we decided to pass out bags anyway and try to have a positive effect,” said Capt. Elizabeth Willett, the 5BCT education officer.

“It ended up having a great effect. Ten minutes [after arriving] a kid told us there was an improvised explosive device (IED) nearby,” she said. Soldiers seemed skeptical at first, but security called for further investigation.

“I talked to the boy’s father and he said, ‘I’m not really sure, you know how kids are, they tell stories.’ I figured it may just be a story, but let’s go look,” said Morris, an Indianapolis native. “We saw fresh dirt where he pointed. I very gently moved the dirt of the way. You could clearly see the artillery shell.”

Soon after, everyone was moved beyond a cordon around the shell where Soldiers continued giving out school supplies. An explosive ordinance disposal team showed up. With the help of a remote-controlled robot, they safely detonated the bomb. The only visible damage done was to a transformer on a power line above the blast, according to Morris.

IEDs are common in Arab Jabor. This poor, rural area gives way to an unhealthy population of anti-Iraqi forces, but the particular placement of this wire-rigged, 125-millimeter artillery shell was enough to raise some eyebrows.

“We believe terrorists placed that IED there because it’s been selected as a polling site for the upcoming elections,” Morris said. “The anti-Iraqi forces knew that it had that potential.”

“The IED wouldn’t have done much harm to the school,” explained Willett, a Cheyenne, Wyo. native. “We believe it was for political motivation. There would have been voters lined up to vote right next to it, and it would have hurt or killed quite a few of them.”

Finding this roadside bomb with the help of a local child showed the civil affairs Soldiers an up-close look at the bounties of their objectives.

“It’s hard for the people in this area to show their appreciation to us,” said Morris. “It’s easy for the AIF to bully the people here. But with what we saw at the school tells us that all the school renovations and other projects are helping to show them we really are here to help.”

While hunting for IEDs wasn’t the original intent of the school distribution, it was certainly a welcome bonus for the 1-8 Cav. civil affairs team to what they love doing every day.

“I like the fact that I get to go out everyday and talk to Iraqis and help improve their way of life,” Morris concluded. “The civil affairs mission is great and rewarding. It provides a lot of purpose and just a good feeling knowing your improving lives.”

Release #050116d