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10.22.2007

Iraqis, Soldiers Get to Work

October 1, 2007

Iraqis, Soldiers Get To Work
Initiative to train Iraqis gets under way
Multi-National Division – North PAO
By Spc. Eric A. Rutherford, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment


TIKRIT, Iraq – In Salah Al-Din Province, where 2.3 million Iraqis live, few people have reliable electricity, and even fewer have running water. U.S. Soldiers have teamed up with local Iraqis and U.S. Government agencies to create a program that will train some of the people who live in the Maryland-sized province to get the skills they need to rebuild their country.

The program aims to put Iraqis to work –help train them and open the door to obtaining U.S. Government contracts, or starting their own contracting companies.

The program is known as IBIZ, or Iraqi Business and Industrial Zone. Construction on the first project, the Joint Regional Contract Center, began April 16, and was completed May 30. The completed project, officially named the Sal Al-Din Business Center, is a large complex adjacent to the Entry Control Point on Contingency Operation Base Speicher.
“The idea started earlier this spring between the military, the Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Joint Regional Contract Center,” said Capt. Jim Golby, the commander of Headquarters Support Company, 25th Special Troops Battalion stationed here. “The group got together and decided to come up with this integrated concept.”
The Sal Al-Din Business center consists of three facilities. The first facility is the JRCC office that gives Iraqis access to U.S. Government contracts that they can do on the COB with increased protection from Soldiers. The second area of the center is the material transfer point for Turkish and Iraqi contractors to deliver material to a rock crusher and concrete batch plant for making force protection barriers. The third facility is the Kellogg Brown and Root Skills Training Area.

Golby, who has been involved with the project since its inception, said there are 35 Iraqi workers hired by KBR to do on the job training. They will learn plumbing, electrical and carpentry skills to U.S. and British standards. The aim of this training is to enable them to become qualified for better paying jobs on the COB. He estimates that the project, which is still in its infancy, could save the U.S. government $5-10 million this year.
There are approximately 100 Iraqis working at the site. Golby expects there to be an additional 55 workers in the program by January. These new workers will have opportunities to learn skills in welding, heating ventilation and air conditioning, and small engine repair for generators. He estimates that eventually there will be around 500 employees working at IBIZ.

When IBIZ is fully operational, planners estimate it will save the U.S. $70 million and infuse around $19 million into the Iraqi economy annually, by awarding contracts to lower costing Iraqi labor. According to IBIZ planning documents, the facilities were projected to cost $685,000 to build, and approximately $1.5 million per year to operate.
“This is a tremendous initiative for the Iraqis,” said Golby. “It allows them to get skills training. It allows them to develop economic capacity and get jobs.”
The initiative, which provides jobs and bolsters the local economy, didn’t come about easily.
“We had to integrate this project into our entry control point, which was a major task,” said Golby. “We went through a lot of hard work, but thankfully I’ve had a lot of dedicated Soldiers and NCOs who have spent 12-hour days out in the sun, sometimes in 125-degree heat who have secured this area and made it a very safe place for Iraqis to work and American Soldiers to be as well.”
Another challenge Golby mentioned was getting a variety of different agencies to work together. Hard work and dedication have made it a success, he said. One part of that success was getting village leaders involved in recruiting. Another significant hurdle was cleared when the provincial government gave its blessing to the project.
Not only will Iraqis gain work skills that can allow them to work on the COB, or through government contracts, but they will also be able to take their skills into the local economy and continue to rebuild their country, Golby said.
“Local contracts are good because it helps to develop their businesses in the local economy,” said Capt. George Plansky, the contracting officer with the JRCC, Tikrit. “It actually puts people to work. You may have a contract with 20 to 25 guys who are being put to work. The rock crusher is being operated by local Iraqis. When there is more money pumped into the local economy, there’s less guys in the streets trying to plant Improvised Explosive Devices and stuff like that.”
In addition to providing skills training and alternatives to destructive activities, Plansky says IBIZ offers hope.
“We have put a lot of Iraqis to work,” said Plansky. “We have made a lot of people happy that we are employing people and it is giving them hope. Instead of just buying commodities, we get these guys to construct things or produce things such as gravel and concrete. Those kinds of activities for us will eventually spawn activities of the same caliber on the outside. If they can do it here in a secure environment, they will start to have impacts on their local economy.”
Golby and his Soldiers are getting ready to go home after their 15-month deployment here. During that time, they have built relationships with the locals, and given something back to the people of Iraq.
“I think this is an outstanding initiative. I spent my last deployment over here as a scout platoon leader facing IEDs and small arms attacks on a fairly regular basis,” Golby said. “This time I have been able to work on this initiative, and I think the things we are doing here are the sort of things we need to do to help give Iraqis the chance to set up a working economy and a government that can sustain itself.









An Iraqi laborer uses a rip saw to trim some molding at the Salah Al-Din skills training center on Contingency Operations Base Speicher October 17. The Skills center trains local Iraqis in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical skills so they can work on the COB, or use their skills to do contracting work in their villages. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)






A small Iraqi flag flutters in the wind, while an Iraqi laborer works on a remodeling project at the Salah Al-Din skills training center on Contingency Operations Base Speicher October 17. The Skills center trains local Iraqis in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical skills so they can work on the COB, or use their skills to do contracting work in their villages. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)











An Iraqi laborer sands a mirror frame for a remodeling project at the Salah Al-Din skills training center on Contingency Operations Base Speicher October 17. The Skills center trains local Iraqis in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical skills so they can work on the COB, or use their skills to do contracting work in their villages. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)












Iraqi contractors use a front-end loader to transfer materials into the concrete batch plant at the Salah Al-Din Business Center on Contingency Operations Base Speicher October 17. The concrete plant uses materials to produce force protection barriers for the COB. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)

Flight To Mecca

October 1, 2007

Flight to Mecca
Iraqis and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers build terminal, opportunities

Multi-National Division – North PAO
By Spc. Eric A. Rutherford, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

MOSUL, Iraq – During the last month of the Islamic year, more than a million Muslims make the pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This year, local Iraqis here can make the pilgrimage more easily for the first time in almost 14 years, due to a working relationship between the Provincial Reconstruction Team, the provincial Iraqi government, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The relationship created a plan to renovate the Mosul Passenger Terminal on Forward Operating Base Diamondback in order to allow people to take flights out of the area to complete the pilgrimage. That plan was set into motion July 1, when construction began.

“This project is primarily the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Iraqis of course,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Alex Barlas, the PRT representative working on this project with USACE and the local Iraqi government. “It is very important we integrate them into all of our projects. The Iraqis wanted this terminal renovated. The terminal has not had any flights since around 1993”

The project, led by USACE, has approximately 70 people working to complete the renovation prior to the terminal’s scheduled opening November 12.

“The end-state goal is to have the interior of terminal renovated to the point where it can be used by people passing through,” said Barlas. “We want to have it open in time for people to make it to Mecca.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Turkish contractors are in charge of the renovation.

“The renovation’s basic scope is to install electric, phone, and data lines,” said Alda Ottley, the project engineer for USACE. “We will have new paint and plaster, polish the tile and repair any missing ones.”

The building which was already in place will be modernized, and some new additions will be included.

“The staircase will be renovated with modern railing,” said Ottley. “There is a lounge upstairs, and a VIP area for departure and arrival with kitchen. There is also a security, and concierge desk.”

These new additions are intended to make passengers’ travel through this terminal more enjoyable and to eventually make this terminal more than just a place where people can connect with the pilgrimage. The first order of business for the terminal is to allow local Iraqis the opportunity to fly out for their pilgrimage for the first time in more than a decade; subsequent plans include expanding services.

“With a minimum of two flights a day, we are expecting a minimum of 300 passengers a day,” said Ottley. “During the month of the Hajj, it will be straight Hajj flights, but eventually it will be a full blown terminal.”

The importance of this terminal is underscored by more than just a need for modern facilities – it will allow people of Islamic faith from more remote northern areas to make the pilgrimage more easily. Muslims believe The Hajj must be completed in order to get to Heaven.

“This will have a major impact on the city of Mosul,” Ottley said about the project, which has had no significant set-backs to construction. Upon completion, the daily flights will allow Muslims in the area the chance to fulfill their religious duties.

Easier air travel will soon be available to the people of the area. This project is the work of not just the USACE and PRT, but several other Iraqi agencies as well.

“Iraqi Civil aviation authority, and Iraqi Airways are working on this project,” Said Barlas. “The money is being funded through the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Finance.”

With the completion of the project nearing, as well as the beginning of the Hajj, Barlas feels that progress is being made.

“[This is] A very good project and we are glad to be working on these things, with the Iraqis,” said Barlas. “The reason we are here is to assist the Iraqi people. But really it is about helping others"


A contractor prepares a wall for repair in the lounge area of the Mosul Passenger Terminal on Forward Operating Base Diamondback September 30. The terminal will be used to provide air transportation to local residents for the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca. The renovation is being conducted by a partnership of Iraqi agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the terminal after 14 years. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)











Contractors move a reel of cable for construction at the Mosul Passenger Terminal on Forward Operating Base Diamondback September 30. The terminal will be used to provide air transportation to local residents for the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca. The renovation is being conducted by a partnership of Iraqi agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the terminal after 14 years. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)





Construction workers use a crane to move barrels of material on the airfield side of the Mosul Passenger Terminal on Forward Operating Base Diamondback September 30. The terminal will be used to provide air transportation to local residents for the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca. The renovation is being conducted by a partnership of Iraqi agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the terminal after 14 years. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)


Contracted construction workers pour concrete to repair the parking lot at the Mosul Passenger Terminal on Forward Operating Base Diamondback September 30. The terminal will be used to provide air transportation to local residents for the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca. The renovation is being conducted by a partnership of Iraqi agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the terminal after 14 years. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford)