Allen, Brian, 1SG

Patrol Base Murray, Baghdad Province: The Arab Jabour region, just southeast of Baghdad, is believed to have been one of the most dangerous areas in all Iraq. The region, which is nearly all Sunni, was home to a car bomb factory and operated as a staging area for al Qaeda to launch attacks into Baghdad. US forces ignored this region for the past two years. Prior to the launch of Operation Marne Torch on June 16, there were no Iraq forces in the region, and US forces patrolling the farmlands of Arab Jabour were stretched and did not maintain a permanent presence in the region.

As part of General David Petraeus’ counterinsurgency plan, US forces left the larger camps and forward operating bases in and around Baghdad to control the regions know as the Baghdad Belts. In the Multinational Forces Central area of operations, the Army began building a series of combat outposts and patrol bases. From these bases, the US would reengage the local Iraqi populations, establish control of the routes into Baghdad and strike at al Qaeda cells and safe houses in the region. The counterinsurgency operation is in full swing in Arab Jabour.

The Area of Operations

The 1st Battalion, 30th Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ken Adgie, was tasked with securing the corridor roughly outlined by the Tigris River to the east, Route Tampa — the main road running north-south — to the west; a line roughly extending east-west through Mahmudiyah in forms the southern edge of the area with Baghdad as the northern edge. The region, called Arab Jabour, is a series of lush farmlands and date palm groves crisscrossed with irrigation canals and dotted by small towns and village. Arab Jabour is “99.8 percent Sunni,” said Adgie. “This is al Qaeda Country.”

People You Remember
B Troop, 1-10 Cavalry, 4ID