Lt. Gen. Rashid Flayah Muhammad Al-Halifi, Samarra Operations Center commander, and Maj. Gen. Craig Franklin, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing commander, answer questions at a news conference after the opening ceremony for the Iraqi Army’s new compound, Aug. 16, Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The opening of the facility is a step in the responsible drawdown of U.S. Forces in Iraq. The entire base will be turned over to the government of Iraq before the end of 2011. General Franklin is a native of Chicago, General Rashid is a native of Baghdad, Iraq.