Photo By Sgt. Natalie Loucks | Taher Sabah Hameed, a small business owner from Salman Pak, speaks to Lt. Col. Jack...... read more read more
By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Leaders of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment visited a Salman Pak market Jan. 30 to distribute approximately $15,000 in micro grants to small business owners.
Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of 1-15th Inf. Regt., visited 10 small businesses to distribute micro grants to the shop owners. Businesses included an electronic maintenance shop, a barber shop, a sweets shop, a photo shop, a grocery store, a tire repair store, a cement shop, a cell phone store and two restaurants.
According to Maj. John Wolfe, from Scottsboro, Ala., a team leader from Company A, 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, a reserve unit from Knoxville, Tenn., the idea is to model the stores after a strip mall that might be seen in the United States.
Wolfe said the micro grants will be used by the shop owners to renovate the inside of their stores while 1-15 Inf. Regt. leaders and the 489th CA team will head projects to refurbish the market's exterior.
Wolfe says leaders are planning to paint the buildings, pave the street and install street lights.
"We are focusing our efforts to revitalize the center," Wolfe said.
The market is located directly across from Salman Pak's new Joint Security Station, and in close proximity to a new sanitation building and a fire station currently under construction. The location is perfect for a thriving economy, Wolfe said.
Wolfe believes the project will strengthen the relationship between Coalition forces and Salman Pak residents.
"It shows we are here to help the populace and improve the economy," he said. "Of course we will help clear out the people who cause problems but we are here to help bring the economy back to normal."
The 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2008 15:59 |
| Story ID: | 16019 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 50 |
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