3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs

Story by Clint Rusch

By Capt. Clint Rusch
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

BEIDHA'A, Iraq – "At first, when we would come to the market, people just stared at us," said Spc. Jose Perez, originally from Orlando, Fla., and now a driver with Team Steel's Red Platoon, "and I think they just weren't used to us being here."

In late February 2008, Perez and his platoon conducted an initial reconnaissance of a furniture market, located on the southeast side of Beidha'a neighborhood in northern Baghdad, with the intent of determining its viability for future rehabilitation.

What they found was a disappointing level of unemployment, dirty streets and businesses that were rapidly failing.

A lack of technology in the furniture workshops was partly to blame as local businesses were attempting to produce high-quality furniture with only handsaws, planes and a few outmoded and frequently damaged power tools. The lack of electricity in the area prevented the store owners from effectively hiring employees, and the irregular timing of the power grid forced the businesses into intermittent and almost random operating hours.

Today, the market is a different sight. Microgrants were issued by coalition forces to a number of furniture production businesses along the area, and Team Steel's Red Platoon spearheaded that effort with an eye toward developing an area that was capable of sustained economic progress. Thus far, it appears to be working.

"The production and inventory of these businesses has increased exponentially," said Sgt. Michael Emmons, of Eureka, Calif., who serves with Team Steel, Company C, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. "There's a noticeable difference in people's attitudes toward us."

Local business owners said they are producing and selling approximately six times as much furniture as they did a year ago, and microgrants are a large reason why.

One store owner pooled the $2,500 he received in the microgrant with $500 of his own money, along with the cash he garnered from trading in his old carpentry station to purchase a new carpentry station. The new station, he explained, is capable of significantly more intricate work as well as faster production and safer operation.

The shop owner said he credits the microgrant with providing him the necessary capital he needed to modernize his business, and his expanded production has resulted in hiring two additional employees.

Another store owner purchased a generator he shares with other store owners, which provided him the opportunity to standardize his work hours.

In addition to the economic gains of the area, there has been a shift in the prevailing attitudes of the citizens living and working there.

Spc. Timothy Price, who drives one of Red Platoon's vehicles, said he notices it in the interactions between the Soldiers and the local Iraqis.

"They're a lot friendlier now, especially when they come up to the trucks while we're stopped. They used to ask for stuff from us, but now they just want to ask what [my] name is or even sometimes say thanks," said Price, a Texarkana, Ark., native who serves with Team Steel.

One store owner has even gone so far as to hang a picture in his shop of himself shaking hands with Capt. Todd Allison, the platoon leader for Red Platoon, who is the impetus behind the micro-grants.

Emmons, who serves as Allison's gunner, said that the business owners in the area now see the 6-foot, 8-inch officer as an ally in their attempts to modernize their businesses.

"When they see us stop, they get a whole lot more excited when they see the big guy getting out of the truck – he's like a celebrity to these folks, and I think it's because we've done so much for them," said Emmons.

Associated Images

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