'Surge' Brigade Heads Back to Fort Riley

Dispatches from the Front:

BAGHDAD, April 11, 2008 (AFPS) -- Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team are redeploying to Fort Riley, Kan., this month.

The brigade deployed in February 2007 to secure southern Baghdad’s Rashid district and to help improve the safety and quality of life for the 1.2 million people living there as part of the surge of five brigades into Iraq.

"I am proud of Task Force Dragon's soldiers and the amazing work they've done in 14 months here," Army Col. Ricky D. Gibbs, 4th Brigade commander, said. "We successfully reduced sectarian violence and attacks against coalition and Iraqi security forces by more than 60 percent across the board, strengthened bonds with our ISF brothers, as well as the district and neighborhood governments, and worked diligently to restore essential services.

"We also got to know the people of Rashid,” he continued, “many of whom helped us to end the cycle of violence by courageously providing information leading to the capture of hundreds of criminals who were not acting in the best interests of a secure and stable Iraq.”

Army Brig. Gen. Michael Ferriter, Multinational Corps Iraq’s deputy commanding general for operations, agreed that the brigade’s soldiers made a difference.

"The quality of life for the residents of the Rashid security district improved greatly as a result of the 4th Brigade Combat Team and its Iraqi security force partners," he said. "As the second of the five surge brigades to deploy, the brigade played an integral role in establishing the conditions for long-term security in Iraq."

(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)

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