Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Gaelen Lowers | More than 400 local Iraqi workers fill the Morale, Welfare and Recreation - East...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq– More than 400 local Iraqi workers received certificates from the Miran Village Co. July 6, certifying them as professional welders, carpenters or painters during a ceremony at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
“These certificates show the Iraqi people outside of the base that the workers here have worked with the U.S. and have learned a skill that they can use outside of the base,” said Sgt. 1st Class Andre Wills, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the container repair yard with the 159th Seaport Operations Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and an Indianapolis native. “It holds a lot of weight on the outside.”
The workers are part of a project run by the Miran Village Co. in conjunction with the U.S. government. Containers are shipped from all over Iraq to the CRY at JBB to be repaired and made seaworthy so the military can use them to ship excess equipment and materials back to the U.S. or wherever they may need to go, Wills said.
“Each container costs roughly around $6,000 to $9,000 to purchase, but only costs $800-900 to repair so we are saving the Army a lot of money,” he said. “The CRY has been around since September 2008. They started off with around 25 employees repairing 20 containers a month and now they are up to 450 employees repairing 2,000 containers a month.”
The certificates issued by Hashim Abd Al-Amir Mahdi, owner and manager of the Miran Village Company, also known as Mr. Hashim around the CRY, will allow the Iraqi workers to have other means of income once the U.S. forces pull out of Iraq, Wills said.
Al-Amir Mahdi said he was very proud of his workers and their accomplishments. These certificates were another big step toward a stable Iraqi economy.
The income of the workers receiving the certificates has increased dramatically because of their training at the CRY, he said.
He added that the workers also have the time to help out on family projects and farms because they only work an average of 20 days per month.
Al-Amir Mahdi said within a week or so the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will hand out additional certificates allowing the workers to open up their own businesses outside of the base.
Al-Amir Mahdi said the employees of the Miran Village Co. are doing great things with the U.S. government for the people of Iraq and its economy.
“Society needs skilled and organized labor, and by training people right now we will get skills for the future,” he said. “This is helping build Iraq for the future. They already have certification. These people will be the new backbone of our economy. We can see a bright future for them and the future of our country.”
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2010 19:22 |
| Story ID: | 52994 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 200 |
| Downloads: | 179 |
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