Friday Night Fights

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division By Sgt. Francis Horton CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – Music blares as gladiators walk down the aisles. Teeth grip a mouth guard and eyes turn steely as their protective equipment is checked before entering the ring. The referee has them touch gloves and the calm demeanor is gone in an instant. The first punch flies and connects. Welcome to Friday Night Fights. SEE FULL STORY HERE…

 

Awakening the Laws of Mesopotamia

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

Story by Capt. John Landry

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – “The law hath not been dead, though it hath slept.” This passage, first uttered in William Shakespeare’s play “Measure for Measure,” accurately describes the current state of the judicial system in southern Iraq.

Iraqi Legal Professionals and Dhi Qar Provincial Reconstruction Team

Yet, this was once the birthplace of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia and home to Hammurabi’s Code, one of the world’s earliest written sets of laws.

Now, with help from U.S. forces and the U.S. State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams, modern day Iraq is in the process of reawakening its judicial system after years of oppression, war and neglect.

READ MORE HERE…

 

Secretary of Defense visits Advisory and Assistance Brigade

The coveted Secretary of Defense coin is rewarded for excellence.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (C) speaks with troops from the 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Gates on July 28 spoke of a new era in Iraq with American troops playing a less dominant role as Iraqi Security Forces increasingly take the lead.

“Everything that I’ve heard from Gen. [Raymond] Odierno and what I’ve heard here … is very successful,” said Gates.

Gates meets with leaders from the 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division and Iraqi security forces at the 10th Iraqi Army Combined Division Operations Center at Camp Dhi Qar an Iraqi base near Nasiriyah, July 28. The CDOC is staffed by members of the U.S. brigade and Iraqi Army who synchronize military operations and share intelligence. Leaders briefed Gates on how the “advisory and assistance” mission improves collaboration in accordance with the U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement. The 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division “Highlander”–the first unit to serve in an “advisory and assistance” role–is deployed out of Fort Bliss, Texas and operates in Dhi Qar, Maysan, and Muthanna provinces in southern Iraq.

Articles about the visit here, here, and here. More photos from AP and brigade photographers. Daylife slideshow here. Video report from FOX news here.

We were honored to host our Defense Secretary for a few hours in southern Iraq. –Highlander PAO