Baaj, Iraq- The goodwill that is gained by helping out in various Humanitarian ways continues. Solders have been working recently to deliver a large quantify of cleans water and food to members of the local Iraq community.
Much of the overall fighting is done with, and so the members of the US forces and the coalition have been working to stay active, productive and busy. Teams of US Marines have been productively visiting with the local community while on patrol, and identify the needs if any among them.
Slowly the program, far from being well known, has become effective, and helpful in giving members of the Iraq community their dignity. Deliveries of bottled water, food, personal hygiene items all work to help war veterans regain some to their own pride.
This and other programs have been working together to assist the community, and it has been making inroads in the battle for hearts and minds of the average Iraq citizen. They observe the positive benefits from receiving goods from the coalition, and they thus begin to realize that the coalition is not their enemy.
In addition by touring and visiting with the community on tours they are able to get close to Iraqi citizens of all ages, to share and tell stories. It is very rewarding for the soldiers to see the smiles and gratitude of those that badly need the food and water.