Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles | Capt. Zaor Makaradze, the 1st Georgian Infantry Brigade civil-military affairs...... read more read more
Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles, 214th Fires Brigade PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq – Passable roads are something that are taken for granted in developed countries, but in Iraq's rural countryside, road conditions can mean the difference between life and death.
With the onset of winter rains, many of Iraq's roads become too muddy to navigate. In the villages surrounding a coalition checkpoint near Shaykh Saad, at least two residents died in recent months after impassible road conditions kept them from accessing medical treatment.
Now, after consulting with local Iraqi leaders to establish priorities under a general community-development plan, coalition Soldiers are undertaking improvements to the road system serving the Shaykh Saad area.
Coalition forces funded the sub-base for two roads constructed to connect the villages to main roadways. The new roads, running two kilometers each, were turned over to local leaders, Feb. 21, for ongoing maintenance.
"Through the winter, you cannot go anywhere especially when it rains," said Sheikh Majid al Bader, leader of the Badr village.
"We are very thankful," Bader said. "Now we can go back and forth with no problem."
Road improvements are just one piece of a large-scale stabilization program underway in the region around Al Kut and Forward Operating Base Delta. coalition forces there - the 214th Fires Brigade, the 1st Georgian Infantry Brigade, El Salvador's Cuscatlán Battalion and a contingent of Lithuanian soldiers - work together to identify civil affairs projects that will have an immediate impact on the villages surrounding coalition checkpoints, said Maj. James Singer, the 214th FB operations officer.
"It is important to show the true nature of the coalition, as each [member] has a vital role in the development and security of this area," Singer said.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2008 09:30 |
| Story ID: | 16718 |
| Location: | AL KUT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 520 |
| Downloads: | 467 |
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