MNC-I'senior NCO visits 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. Soldiers

MNC-I’s senior NCO visits 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. Soldiers

Spc. Chris McCann
2nd BCT PAO, 10th Mtn. Div.

BAGHDAD – The Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers making their way through the pastoral marketplace outside Sadr Al-Yusufiyah stop frequently, well aware of the road’s reputation for danger. They check every unusual pile of dirt, every crack in the road, as they safeguard their valuable cargo: Lt. Col. John Valledor, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Clyde Glenn, both of 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, who were escorting Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Beam, Multi-National Corps – Iraq’s senior enlisted leader.
The Soldiers of the commander’s personnel security detachment escorted Beam Sept. 26 to see their outpost, Patrol Base Warrior Keep, near Sadr Al-Yusufiyah, as well as a nearby battle position.
“It’s always a pleasure to see professionals at work,” said Beam, a native of Kissimmee, Fla. “They’re fresh; they’re doing fine … and we always learn a lot when we go out.”
While the patrol was for the most part routine, the Soldiers stopped two Iraqis who appeared to be taking photos of the vehicles.
After some discussion through translators, the men were determined to be doing nothing wrong and were released.
Sgt. Stuart Fredieu, a team leader with 2nd Bn., 14th Inf. Regt., and a native of Quapaw, Okla., was guarding a checkpoint next to Warrior Keep when the convoy arrived.
“We check every vehicle,” he explained, “and we ask questions about how people feel and what they know.”
The Soldiers also try to be sensitive to the local nationals’ needs.
The Islamic holiday of Ramadan is going on now, so the checkpoint is kept open an hour later, said Fredieu. Many of the residents in this area gather in the evenings to break the fast with friends and need to use the checkpoint later than normal.
“We basically are securing the sector,” said Spc. Terry Hobson, truck gunner, 2nd Bn., 14th Inf. Regt., and a native of Sacramento, Calif. “Everybody did everything like they are supposed to. We stopped the two people, but it was a pretty normal patrol.”
Beam and his personnel security detachment have logged over 20,000 miles in Iraq, visiting even the most remote outposts of U.S. forces here to offer encouragement and make sure standards are maintained.
“If you don’t enforce the standard, you’re not going to get (anywhere),” Beam said. “It’s good to have this brigade here. Their reputation precedes them.”

-30-