Soldier transforms patrol base into more livable, operational place

Courtesy Photo | Pvt. Jacob Sweet, with the 1/10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, is never satisfied. The Soldier, who is deployed with his unit in the Kirkuk area of northern Iraq, has a knack for repairing things and is bothered when machinery is inoperable, or if a piece of furniture is not perfectly level. Stationed at Patrol Base Millet, an outlying post near the 1-87 Infantry's Forward Operating Base McHenry, Sweet has been working constantly over the last few months, in an effort to improve operations and make life more liveable. (U.S. Army photo/1st Lt. Nathan Barlow)  

KIRKUK, IRAQ

01.14.2008

Courtesy Story

Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs

By 1st Lt. Nathan Barlow
1/10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment
Contributing Writer

KIRKUK, Iraq – Pvt. Jacob Sweet, 1/10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, is never satisfied. The Soldier, who is deployed with his unit in the Kirkuk area of northern Iraq, has a knack for repairing things and is bothered when machinery is inoperable, or if a piece of furniture is not perfectly level.

Stationed at Patrol Base Millet, an outlying post near the 1-87 Infantry's Forward Operating Base McHenry, Sweet has been working constantly over the last few months in an effort to improve operations and make life more livable.

Through his efforts PB Millet has gained running water, working heating/cooling units, picnic tables, rain awnings, shelves and an improved flow of electricity after he repaired five faulty generators.

"When we first arrived to the patrol base we had no running water and very little electricity. It was definitely austere living," remembers Sgt. Brian Welch, 1-87 Inf. "The way Sweet has transformed this place is amazing."

Sweet works quietly on his own, choosing to do things without anyone asking him to do so.

"Sweet's improvements to this place have really benefited us all. He has made it easier to conduct vital operations and complete combat missions through improvements to the Tactical Operations Center," said Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Harmon, Platoon Sgt. in D Company 1-87 Inf. "He has made it easier to obtain something that many Soldiers consider vital to their workdays – coffee."

Sweet is known to those around him as a hard-working man of few words and high values.

When asked why he spends so much of his time working on such projects, Sweet responded simply, "I just can't stand doing nothing, so I figure I might as well make things a little better around here.

• Date Taken: 01.14.2008
• Date Posted: 01.14.2008 12:46
• Story ID: 15418
• Location: KIRKUK, IQ