Photo By Master Sgt. Rhonda Lawson | The Honduran and Panamanian workers listen to the closing remarks during their award...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — The 289th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), hosted an award ceremony for 15 of their Honduran and Panamanian workers Nov. 12 at the Fixed Material Redistribution Team yard at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
The ceremony was held to express appreciation for the workers, who will return to their countries this week after serving in Iraq the past year.
“You are definitely a part of the team,” said Lt. Col. Anthony Bohn, 13th CSSB commander and a Minneapolis native. “We appreciate all of your efforts during Operation New Dawn, and wish you all the best in the future.”
The workers were under contract, and had been at the FMRT for the past four months, arriving about the same time that the 289th QM assumed responsibility for the yard. Their responsibilities included customs inspections, sorting and segregating equipment and assisting with equipment turn-in.
“They’re more or less like family to us,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ali Simon, FRMT platoon sergeant and a Philadelphia native. “An award ceremony shows them that we appreciate them.”
He added that the soldiers and the Spanish workers did more than work together; they also talked and learned from each other. Spc. Shawn Jepsen, a Supply Support Activity specialist and a Folsom, Calif., native, said working with the workers even helped him further his education.
“I took a year of Spanish, which really helped,” he said. “They were able to teach me Spanish, and I was able to teach them a little English.”
Many soldiers agreed that they would miss the friendships they had fostered with the workers. The workers vowed to keep in touch once they returned home. One worker, Jose Alphonso, a warehouse specialist from La Paz, Honduras, added that the friendship and teamwork inspired him to one day become a U.S. citizen and join the U.S. Army.
“I liked the way we worked together,” said Alphonso.
Thairon Marin, a Colon, Panama, native, who also worked at the FMRT, added that he is eager to return to Iraq and continue working.
“I gave 100 percent while I was here, and I know that everybody I worked with did the same,” said Marin.
Simon added that Iraqi workers are due to replace the Honduran and Panamanian workers, another step in improving the Iraqi infrastructure.
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.29.2010 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 61018 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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