Photo By Sgt. Judith Dacosta | 1st Lt. Joseph P. Rozycki, A Company, 4th Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (AA)...... read more read more
Wood, paint, spools of cable wire, electrical tape and a lawn mower are just some of the supplies that the Department of Public Works at Logistical Support Area Anaconda provides free of cost for soldiers to improve their living conditions here and at nearby forward operating bases.
There are four different shops for the soldier to peruse: carpentry, plumbing/electrical, tools/hardware and the paint shop.
The carpentry shop is a 50 square foot area where models of useful projects such as tables, bookshelves and Interceptor Body Armor racks are kept on hand for soldiers to use as a format for building their own projects.
Everything in the shop is made by hand, said Sgt. 1st Class Joe Workman, the 35th Area Support Group DPW noncommissioned officer-in-charge, and soldiers are welcome to come in and use the air-conditioned area to complete projects.
The plumbing and electrical supplies shop is located in an office straight across from the carpentry shop. Inside, local nationals keep track of supplies taken on a daily basis.
"Though the supplies are free to soldiers, we track the supplies," said Sgt. Brad Reed, a 35th Area Support Group self-help NCO, 'so we can continue to make them available to the soldier."
Tools are available for soldiers to check out from the tool shop, said Workman.
However, soldiers from the surrounding FOBs must be authorized by their commander to do so, he said.
Finally, paint comes in several different colors and may be mixed in the paint shop to create any color in the rainbow, said Workman.
Soldiers, however, are limited to three gallons of latex paint or cans of spray paint per day. Brushes, rollers and paint trays are additional painting supplies available in the shop.
The Army purchases all supplies from the Iraqis in a nearby village to stock the DPW, said Capt. Ken Neubert, the 35th ASG self help officer-in-charge.
"For this reason, a lot of the supplies aren't the same quality as what you may find in the states," he added.
"For example," said Workman, 'the plywood on hand here is delivered in its raw form." The wood is safe and functional, said Workman; still, those who wish to use the wood have to work a little harder to achieve the desired finished result.
"Mainly, troops from outlying FOBs rely heavily on us and they tend to be our biggest customers because many [self-help shops] aren't as developed as Logistical Support Area Anaconda," said Workman.
However, all soldiers are welcome to work on projects in the DPW area.
The DPW area is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The small staff remains available during those hours to help teach and assist soldiers in their quest to improve their standards of living.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2006 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 7190 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 210 |
| Downloads: | 174 |
This work, DPW offers service members endless opportunities, by SGT Judith Dacosta, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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