Iraqi Communities Benefit From Civil Affairs Projects

Photo By Capt. Amy Bishop | Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Carman, Finance non-commissioned officer in charge and a resident of Clarksville, Tenn., assigned to Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division pays an Iraqi contractor upon completion of a phase of work.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

07.17.2006

Courtesy Story

133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

TIKRIT, Iraq (July 14, 2006)-One Iraqi community after another is benefiting from the efforts of people working together to improve the infrastructure of Iraq after years of neglect and war and at the same time putting the labor force back to work.

These behind-the-scenes people are working closely with the local Iraqi leadership to decide the order community improvement projects need to be completed and how much funding is available.

Maj. Christine Nagy, Projects Purchasing Officer, 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, stationed at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq, is a key player in deciding which projects will be worked on first. She also has her hand on the proverbial purse strings.

"I manage a pot of money called [Commander's Emergency Relief Project]", said Nagy. "I recommend projects [to the brigade commander] to approve and the task forces go out and execute these projects."

Nagy attends regular meetings at the Provincial Reconstruction Development Committee which meets in the city of Tikrit to discuss the status of ongoing projects and to decide which projects are next on the committee's agenda. The committee may discuss everything from roads and bridges to water and sewage.

Standing members on the board are members of the 402nd Civil
Affairs team, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local provincial leaders. And whatever the project may be, a local contractor will likely be doing the actual work with a Coalition Forces member overseeing it. The end result is a higher standard of living for the residents of the province and more money for the local economy.

Capt. Jonathan Walden, Projects Officer, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, ensures contractors who have completed a phase of work are paid. In a trailer on the edge of COB Speicher, contractors have lined up to receive an honest days pay for an honest day's work. One of those present recently completed work on a school and another completed a sidewalk project in the nearby city of Ad Dwar.

"This helps to improve their infrastructure and it gives them an economic base," said Walden. "Since Desert Storm [in 1991], a lot of destruction happened in the country of Iraq and not a lot or reconstruction happened. We get a chance to put money into the economy, give jobs to the people and repair a lot of the destruction that happened."

Several ongoing projects and new ones that are still in the planning phase will ensure an improved standard of living, but just like stateside projects, there is a process.

"I would like to think of projects working their way up through the provincial council, up the chain of government, just like back in the States where your municipality has its group of people that work it up to the governor's office," said Nagy.

Possible future provincial projects include a water bottling plant, textile mill, plastic manufacturing plant, which will produce syringes and blood plasma bags, and a vocational school to prepare students for work in these factories.

• Date Taken: 07.17.2006
• Date Posted: 07.17.2006 15:39
• Story ID: 7202
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ