Fort Lewis Brigade Muscles On In Diyala

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Seattle Times
January 23, 2008 By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter
Spc. Michael Gallagher, a Fort Lewis soldier serving in Iraq, received an unexpected care package on a brief respite this week from patrols in Diyala province.
Along with the food, toiletries and standard comfort items, he found the keys to a 2008 Jeep Liberty that he could claim upon his return.
The box was sent by Operation Gratitude, a California-based military-support group, which decided to give the Chrysler-donated Jeep to the recipient of its 300,000th care package.
"This young soldier was pretty excited," said Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of Multi-National Division Forces North, in a Tuesday telephone interview from Iraq.
Gallagher serves with the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which left Fort Lewis in April on a 15 month tour of duty. The brigade has taken a lead role in Operation Iron Harvest, which has focused on insurgents who have regrouped in eastern Diyala province.
During the operation, the brigade was involved in killing or capturing some 130 al-Qaida fighters, Hertling said. The brigade also located weapons caches, houses and vehicles rigged with explosives, and more than 100 roadside bombs.
Coalition forces also found a torture chamber and rescued two civilians who had been kept there several weeks, he said.
The brigade is now involved in a new phase of the operation, which involves setting up outposts in the eastern part of Diyala province, and turning security over to Iraqi forces, Hertling said.
Operation Iron Harvest has involved some marathon hours of patrols.
But commanders are attempting to give the soldiers a break from the field every few days, so they can return to a larger installation — Forward Operating Base Warhorse. That's where Gallagher and other soldiers received the care packages from Operation Gratitude, Hertling said.
 
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