Photo By 1st Lt. Angel Richardson | Iraqi contractors painted on the Abu Ghraib Governance Center barriers, Nov. 21, in...... read more read more
By 1st Lt. Angel Richardson
926th Engineer Brigade
BAGHDAD – The 926th Engineer Brigade out of Montgomery, Ala., has been tasked by Multi-National Division – Baghdad to start various task forces throughout the Baghdad area. The newest task force is Task Force Iron Gimlet, initiated, Nov. 7, covering west of Baghdad.
The task force is a combined effort of the 926th Eng. Bde. and 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, MND-B. TFIG is responsible for the Abu Ghraib, Nassar Wa Salaam and surrounding areas.
TFIG started on a couple of contracted jobs in order to improve the lives of citizens in the TFIG area. The TFIG team has contracted Iraqi citizens to paint barriers and repair schools. Many projects such as trash removal and multiple school repairs will start in the near future.
One Soldier explains how the area got so damaged.
"The kinetic line of effort was focused in downtown Baghdad for the earlier part of this year, particularly east of the river [Sadr City and Rusafa], creating a vulnerable access point in the rural area west of Baghdad for the flow of terrorist/ insurgent personnel and supplies into the Baghdad area," said Capt. Matthew Slyder, TFIG project officer, 926th Eng. Bde. "The terrorist/insurgent cells used intimidation tactics to ensure freedom of movement in this area for the last five years, until recent [TFIG/BCT] efforts have complicated their movement in this battle space."
The Mohammad Mahdi Al Baseer Girls School, Hamdiniyah School, and Al Magreib Al Araby School are three of 19 schools that are already being repaired. Many of the TFIG schools need quick repairs before the start of the winter season. "Winterization is important, so replacing glass, windows, and doors, to ensure the students are warm during the winter season," said Slyder. "High priorities are cleaning and repairing septic tanks and sewer lines so that students have functioning bathrooms."
Barrier painting has begun in the TFIG area by local Iraqis.
"We are contracting local Iraqis to paint the barriers around the government buildings to bring a sense of normalcy, incorporate Iraqi history, and the barriers maintain security for the facilities," said Slyder.
The local council select what types of drawings will be on each barrier. They often choose themes that relate to the Iraqi culture and history.
In the Abu Ghraib area, trash removal has begun in the Governance Center parking lot. TFIG contracted with an Iraqi contractor in order to hire local citizens to clean the Governance Center parking lot.
"There are hundreds of local Iraqis who visit this center daily, and parking in trash-filled, water-drenched parking lot presents a traffic challenge," said Slyder.
With the efforts of the Task Force Gimlet Soldiers, the Abu Ghraib District of Baghdad will start to generate more funded projects.
"We work closely with the [civil affairs] section who has been conducting Civil-Military Operations all year in this area. TFIG has been able to exploit the positive relationships already developed by the battalion CMO to expedite initiating new projects and completing legacy projects in this area," said Slyder.
Most projects should be finished within 30 to 60 days.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2008 09:29 |
| Story ID: | 27266 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 156 |
This work, Task Force Gimlet takes shape/Barrier painting, school refurbishments begin, by 1LT Angel Richardson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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