Photo By Staff Sgt. Melissa Bright | In this image, released by the Texas Army National Guard, the entrance to the Mayor...... read more read more
BAGHDAD - "Hello, this is Sgt. Samuel Jackson, Camp Prosperity Mayor Cell how can I help you?" Sounds like a simple enough question, right?
But the answer the Allen, Texas, resident gets is often far from simple and seldom repeats itself.
"I find this job very interesting and totally unpredictable," said Jackson. "If I was in the department of information management [DOIM] I would know that when the phone rang it would be about a computer problem. If I was in the security directorate, someone would have a problem with security. But here, that phone rings and I have no idea if it's going to be someone that needs vector control or a vehicle towed out of their parking spot or someone letting us know that the roof was just ripped off one of the water towers when a helicopter landed."
The purpose of a mayor cell is to be a one stop shop for a wide variety of issues. They are considered the "public face" of a camp or forward operating base and its staff performs a substantial number of tasks throughout the week.
"For example," said Maj. Robert Briscoe, from Houston, "the mayor cell provides real estate management, so when a contractor comes in and says we need a building to house equipment we determine if there is enough need or enough assets to provide it."
"The same thing happens when a new unit comes in; it's up to us to make sure there are enough containerized housing units [CHUs] for all of them."
They are responsible for supervising FOB maintenance and beautification; they help coordinate projects between Directorates, sponsor tenant meetings and run the range control. They supervise specified contracts as needed, manage the lost and found and assist in controlling access to the FOB.
Population control is important in theater due to the limited amount of resources available and the cost associated with over taxing the support teams. The mayor cell aids in this through the judicious assignment of billeting and placing limits on the number of vehicle placards that are available for contractors.
All this is in addition to providing on the ground reporting of issues for the Joint Area Support Group-Central command in the International Zone of Baghdad.
Breaking all those tasks down into separate pieces and then rebuilding it to create a fully functional FOB takes a huge amount of energy and effort.
With so many different projects going on at the same time, it's easy to see how the thirteen service-members from the Headquarters Company of the 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and two civilian interpreters stay busy seven days a week.
The mayor cell non-commissioned officer in charge [NCOIC] Sgt. First Class Mark Meraz says there's more to it than a list of tasks they perform each day.
"We've built relationships with other agencies to serve the people on this FOB to the best of our abilities. If we have equipment or supply needs, it's not uncommon for us to be able to call around and see who can help us out," said the El Paso resident.
"And if we have excess, we return the favor; it usually all works out that we provide something they've needed too. What we do can be time consuming but it's all about improving the quality of life for everyone."
Quality of life here is not something to be taken for granted. The service-members in the mayor cell work hard to create an environment that is conducive to training, tactical support and combat readiness while maintaining a minimum amount of comfort.
They have found that a little tweaking of the current SOP's can help accomplish this and have implemented a number of improvements since the 72nd IBCT arrived in December of 2009.
"One of the most notable changes has been in the way we keep records of all the vendors that are here on Camp Prosperity. With the changes put into place by Sgt. Loretta Yeverino, we are able to process their badging application and track them as needed," Meraz explains.
In addition to improving existing processes, there has been an increased need for supplementary SOP's to accommodate changes occurring due to the responsible draw-down of troops across Iraq and the International Zone in particular.
"Our standard-operating-procedures [SOP's] are what I would call a living organism; changing as the needs of the Army change. For example, granting access to the FOB to individuals specifically to process paperwork required for employment now requires an 'exception to policy memo' in conjunction with a back-ground check. This is a huge change from the previous policy," said Jackson.
The two translators on staff are often just as busy as the others in the office.
"As Global Linguistic Solution employees, we serve as a liaison between contractors, the local nationals they hire, and the military service-members they interact with here on the FOB," said Omar Majeed, a native to Baghdad.
"We also aid the people coming on Prosperity to apply for employment, specifically the local vendors like the tailor or the general-store owner. We help them understand the requirements and answer any questions they have."
Omar has had his abilities tested on occasion as he works alongside the 72nd IBCT but, "I enjoy it and am glad they are here."
Two people that work closely with him, Sgt. Milton Hall, of Burlington, N.C., and his co-worker, Houston resident Sgt. Watson Rugano, assist in a number of the mayor cell responsibilities, but focus on addressing safety concerns, aid applicants in the badging process and maintaining street signs.
According to Hall and Rugano, it's relatively easy to sum up the responsibilities and realities of the deploying to Iraq as representatives of the mayor cell, "We are gate keepers and Mr. Fix-it's, but mostly, we are the FOB Prosperity information access point."
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2010 09:16 |
| Story ID: | 51227 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,053 |
| Downloads: | 172 |
This work, Camp Prosperity Mayor Cell: One-Stop-Shop run by the Headquarters Company 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, by SSG Melissa Bright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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