Operation CATALYST: Image Gallery
24 September 2007
Battle Group on mission for children
The entire Australian Battle Group participated in Operation Hooper in the north of Dhi Qar province during 17-20 September.
Australian soldiers brought hope and happiness to the lives of more than 1000 children when they visited poverty-afflicted villages in Dhi Qar to scope the refurbishment of schools and the construction of playgrounds worth a total of US$1.15 million.
The school and playground projects were a major feature of Operation Hooper which involved more than 60 combat vehicles and 515 soldiers of the OBG(W)-3.
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Jake Ellwood said the visit to the major population centres in northern Dhi Qar also set the conditions for long-term situational awareness and rapport with the people.
Smiling Iraqi children, their parents and their teachers expressed their overwhelming gratitude to the Australians for the school and playground projects that will enhance the quality of their education and enrich their childhoods.
The Australian focus on helping the children of Iraq follows the release of a UNICEF report that war and widespread sectarian violence had left thousands of children parentless and homeless.
One of the projects involves refurbishing an ex-Ba’ath Party HQ at a cost of US$300K and converting it into the Al Grarraf Preparatory School for Girls.
Approximately 515 personnel, drawn mostly from Darwin's 1st Brigade, make up the Overwatch Battle Group (West) - Three (OBG(W)-3). The Battle group is helping the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Provincial Governments build a secure and stable Iraq.
| 20070919army8500215_ 006 The Overwatch Battle Group (West)-Three (OBG(W)-3) comprising 60 armoured vehicles and 515 soldiers rolls north on Operation Hooper in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20070919army8500215_ 015 The Overwatch Battle Group (West)-Three (OBG(W)-3) comprising 60 armoured vehicles and 515 soldiers rolls north on Operation Hooper in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20070919army8500215_ 025 The Overwatch Battle Group (West)-Three (OBG(W)-3) comprising 60 armoured vehicles and 515 soldiers rolls north on Operation Hooper in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20070919army8500215_ 043 Captain Adam Loughrey shakes hands with Mohammad in the town of Al Grarraf in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20070919army8500215_ 070 Children of Al Grarraf in southern Iraq celebrate the arrival of Australian soldiers into their village. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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| 20070919army8500215_ 079 The Overwatch Battle Group (West)-Three (OBG(W)-3), comprisising 60 armoured vehicles and 515 soldiers, rolls north on Operation Hooper in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 19 September 2007) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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