Courtesy Photo | Amir Aziz (from left) and Ghanim Muhammad, both Mosul, Iraq, residents and F-JAN...... read more read more
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Story by: Sgt. Chad Menegay
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq — The Regimental Fires Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) has nearly managed to clear what used to be a landfill at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq.
“When we first got here, that landfill was one of the areas we saw that was going to be a big challenge,” said Lt. Col. Warner Holt, commander of RFS and an Estill Springs, Tenn., native. “It was a large pit used to dump metal. It was like a mountain of steel just [mixed] with lots of dirt and just a big mess. One of our goals on this deployment was to have that area returned to nature.”
Holt said the RFS is getting very near to “returning the area to nature,” at which point COB Marez can go into a green status. He plans to reseed the area.
“There is a fragmentary order that came from Baghdad to clean up all scrap metal throughout Iraq,” said 1st Sgt. Raymond Sands, first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, RFS and a Chapel Hill, Tenn., native.
One purpose of the cleanup is to cut down on the availability of explosively formed projectile-making materials, mainly copper, he said.
“We make sure all the copper is pulled out that could be used to make EFP's,” Sands said. “We ensure there is no brass in it or any military supplies or equipment that needs to go through a demilitarization process. We make sure that when the local national trucks come onto the COB, they don’t get loaded up with any scrap metal that could be used against us.”
Sgt. Dyson Matherne, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the COB Marez scrap yard for HHT, RFS and a Houma, La., native, credits a contracted Iraqi company, F-JAN, with making progress on the scrap yard.
“They have done a really good job of taking all this stuff out of here,” Matherne said. “It was a joint effort. Last year the landfill was really bad. It’s taken F-JAN and a lot of time to get it down to where it is now. Before, it was just a big trash dump. It’s more organized now and looking a lot better.”
Other recycling plans are in the works.
“We have started the process of getting bids from vendors to come in and recycle plastic and Styrofoam,” Holt said. “Since we’ve been here, we recycle all the cans. It’s a lot better than having that pile up over time.”
The U.S. government bought a number of incinerators capable of processing 36-tons of refuse per day. KBR, Inc. will operate one such incinerator located at COB Marez that began operations July 1.
“It will take care of about 90 to 95 percent of the trash we have here on base,” Holt said. “It’s been tested and it’s ready to go. The intent is to leave a means for the Iraqis to handle refuse in an environmentally safe manner. We want to leave this place better than what we found it.”
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 07:46 |
| Story ID: | 52586 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE MAREZ, IQ |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 80 |
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