BALAD, Iraq (Sine Pari, June 27, 2008) – Over the past 18 months, the Navy SEALs and staff of Special Operations Task Force-West (SOTF-W) in Iraq have shared knowledge, techniques and methods of operations with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of Ramadi. Today, they are now helping Ramadi SWAT design an effective, self-sustaining police compound that will provide the available means to enforce stability and security in the region.
According to Lt. Mike Clegg, a Civil Affairs Planner for SOTF-W, the hope is that the new headquarters, which will come under the operational control of Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, will become a center of gravity for the region.
The project will provide a compound where the Ramadi SWAT can fully integrate with their new National Information and Investigation Agency unit to truly create a ‘find, fix, finish, exploit, and analyze capability in the Ramadi area,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Song, SOTF-W Foreign Internal Defense staff officer.
“This should provide SWAT with the capability to gather information and identify targets, and the ability to act upon those targets with decisive force,” he explained.
The Naval Mobile Construction Battalion or more familiarly, the ‘SEABEES’, attached to SOTF-W conducted a site survey on a former Coalition Forces’ forward operating base in Ramadi to determine the best way to convert the dilapidated buildings into a SWAT headquarters. The team considered the requirements for facility retrofits and improvements in order to determine a plan of action for the project based on funding and available resources.
To determine the scope of the work, they spent hours examining all the rooms in the buildings looking for structural deficiencies and estimating the requirements for utilities and power generation. The team then divided up the areas needing attention and prioritized them into three categories: mission critical, mission essential and mission enhancing.
Following the assessment, the SEABEES set a goal to make the new headquarters compound, which will incorporate an operations center and an intelligence analysis section, operational by the end of September 2008.
“The inspections helped us identify deficiencies in order to provide an accurate statement of requirements to request funding for repair and retrofit,” said SEABEE Chief Petty Officer Rob Keucher.
According to Keucher, the buildings will need a lot of work to become functional for Ramadi SWAT.
“This project will be quite a challenge for whatever local contractor comes to complete the work and get it turned around in a timely manner,” said Keucher.
Currently, Navy SEALs act as combat advisors to Ramadi SWAT which gives the Iraqi’s more opportunities to conduct their own operations. The new compound will provide this Iraqi SWAT unit with a centralized location to operate with maximum capability as well as house their personnel.
The new compound will be essential for a force that began conducting unilateral missions -- direct action engagements using only minimal intelligence support from U.S. forces -- in May.
“They are doing a great job,” said Clegg. “They have the ability and expertise to gather their own evidence and are in turn able to prosecute terrorists in the Iraqi courts.”
Those involved in this project believe the new compound creates a win-win situation for the Iraqi and U.S. forces. The Iraqi’s will be able to operate on their own with less required assistance from U.S. forces and the Navy SEALs will have a competent force partner in the Ramadi SWAT to provide regional security to the Iraqi people.
http://sinepari.soc.mil/News/2008/June/SP-080627-02.html
According to Lt. Mike Clegg, a Civil Affairs Planner for SOTF-W, the hope is that the new headquarters, which will come under the operational control of Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, will become a center of gravity for the region.
The project will provide a compound where the Ramadi SWAT can fully integrate with their new National Information and Investigation Agency unit to truly create a ‘find, fix, finish, exploit, and analyze capability in the Ramadi area,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Song, SOTF-W Foreign Internal Defense staff officer.
“This should provide SWAT with the capability to gather information and identify targets, and the ability to act upon those targets with decisive force,” he explained.
The Naval Mobile Construction Battalion or more familiarly, the ‘SEABEES’, attached to SOTF-W conducted a site survey on a former Coalition Forces’ forward operating base in Ramadi to determine the best way to convert the dilapidated buildings into a SWAT headquarters. The team considered the requirements for facility retrofits and improvements in order to determine a plan of action for the project based on funding and available resources.
To determine the scope of the work, they spent hours examining all the rooms in the buildings looking for structural deficiencies and estimating the requirements for utilities and power generation. The team then divided up the areas needing attention and prioritized them into three categories: mission critical, mission essential and mission enhancing.
Following the assessment, the SEABEES set a goal to make the new headquarters compound, which will incorporate an operations center and an intelligence analysis section, operational by the end of September 2008.
“The inspections helped us identify deficiencies in order to provide an accurate statement of requirements to request funding for repair and retrofit,” said SEABEE Chief Petty Officer Rob Keucher.
According to Keucher, the buildings will need a lot of work to become functional for Ramadi SWAT.
“This project will be quite a challenge for whatever local contractor comes to complete the work and get it turned around in a timely manner,” said Keucher.
Currently, Navy SEALs act as combat advisors to Ramadi SWAT which gives the Iraqi’s more opportunities to conduct their own operations. The new compound will provide this Iraqi SWAT unit with a centralized location to operate with maximum capability as well as house their personnel.
The new compound will be essential for a force that began conducting unilateral missions -- direct action engagements using only minimal intelligence support from U.S. forces -- in May.
“They are doing a great job,” said Clegg. “They have the ability and expertise to gather their own evidence and are in turn able to prosecute terrorists in the Iraqi courts.”
Those involved in this project believe the new compound creates a win-win situation for the Iraqi and U.S. forces. The Iraqi’s will be able to operate on their own with less required assistance from U.S. forces and the Navy SEALs will have a competent force partner in the Ramadi SWAT to provide regional security to the Iraqi people.
http://sinepari.soc.mil/News/2008/June/SP-080627-02.html
