Joint U.S., Iraqi EOC set up in Baghdad

[unhappycamper]

Firefighter Ali Hassan Achmet makes a PowerPoint report Sunday in the Emergency Operations Center for Baghdad’s Rusafa district about an accidental electrocution from the night before. EOC employees like Achmet use such reports to inform Iraqi security forces commanders about what’s happening around Rusafa.


Joint U.S., Iraqi EOC set up in Baghdad
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, October 7, 2008

BAGHDAD — What can $10,000 buy? A whole lot of security and cooperation if you’re in Iraq.

That’s what the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment discovered when it set out to create an Emergency Operations Center for Baghdad’s Rusafa district.

The idea arose from leaders’ difficulties with spreading information across the district. Iraqi security forces would respond to a roadside bomb attack or other catastrophic event and not tell American commanders — or each other — for two or three days, if at all. No one was talking.

The poor communication made it harder for leaders to keep tabs on what was going on. It also forced commanders to dispatch already busy platoons to investigate any unexplained explosion or gunfire. And as American troops hand over more responsibility to Iraqi forces, communication and coordination will be key.

"We needed to improve something," said Pvt. Hassan Jawad, a National Police representative in the operations center. "In the past when we received the calls, we were confused."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57931