U.S. Department of Defense

Sons of Iraq Sign Up in Sadr City

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Fred Hampton hands out water to Iraqi men that are applying to be members of a new "Sons of Iraq" neighborhood watch program in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008. Hampton is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment. More than one-hundred young Iraqi men showed up at the school to apply for an opportunity to be part of the program.

An Iraqi soldier provides security at a school in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008. More than 100 Iraqi men showed up at the school to apply for a "Sons of Iraq" neighborhood watch program.

U.S. Army Sgt. Dajuan Turner maintains security outside a school where Iraqi men are signing up for a local neighborhood watch program in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008.

Two Iraqi soldiers talk to Iraqi children about the purpose of a new "Sons of Iraq" neighborhood watch program while outside a school in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008.

U.S. Army Pvt. William Ojeda scans an Iraqi man’s retina in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008. Ojeda is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment. More than 100 Iraqi men showed up to apply for the neighborhood watch program Sons of Iraq.

U.S. Army Spc. James Sucher is surrounded by Iraqi children that want to practice their English while outside a local school in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, on May 30, 2008. Sucher is assigned to the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Regiment.

U.S. Army Sgt. Vincent Ruiz talks with an Iraqi child outside a school where Iraqi men are signing up for a "Sons of Iraq" neighborhood watch program in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on May 30, 2008. Ruiz is assigned to the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Fred Hampton hands out water to Iraqi men that are applying to be members of a new "Sons of Iraq" neighborhood watch program in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 30, 2008. Hampton is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment. More than one-hundred young Iraqi men showed up at the school to apply for an opportunity to be part of the program.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Cohen A. Young