'Surge' Brigade Redeploys Back Home

Kudos to the 4th Stryker BCT 2nd ID, heading home next month after a most successful deployment.

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq pull security in the Taji area, May 15th. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the President's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15th. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Approximately 4,000 Soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd ID, are redeploying back to Fort Lewis, Washington next month.

Their mission has been to secure the Diyala Province north of Baghdad and to improve the safety and quality of life for the approx. 1.2 million people living there.

"We have been extremely successful during our 14 months of ops in Taji and Diyala," said Colonel John Lehr, Brigade Commnader.

"Ops in concert with the Iraqi SF have made the province safer and more stable resulting in a place for the govt and civil services to conduct business and for the Iraqi people to live and work."

The 4th Stryker Brigade partnered with, trained and supported more than 17,300 Iraqi Police in Diyala Province at 64 police stations in 11 separate district headquarters.

A Ministry of Interior Police Academy recently graduated its first class and will yield approximately 500 IP a month. "They are working hard to create a better police force -- a force that is non-sectarian and non-corrupt," said Lehr.

In addition to ISF training, the 4th Stryker Bde has assisted the provincial govt in developing and executing a plan to restart 3 electrical generator farms in Baquba to add electricity to the power grid. Currently, 2 of the farms are operational, adding a 25% increase in available power, and the third will be on line at the end of the month.

The 4th Stryker Bde in partnership with local Iraqi leaders contributed to reopening three vocational technical training centers in the city which will educate over 1000 Iraqi men in skills required for reconstruction efforts.

"One of the most telling signs of improvement in the province is the resurgence of market activity and traffic on the streets. Last fall, many markets were closed and there was limited traffic on the streets. Today, most of the markets are open and the streets are full of vehicles and pedestrians. Children go to school and a sense of normalcy has returned in most of the cities," said Lehr.

The brigade played an integral role in establishing the conditions for long-term security in Iraq by reducing violence in the Diyala Province by 70% and providing hope for the future to the local population though training and employment opportunities.