TF Rogue boosts economy in Baghdad district

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), process micro-grant applications in the Mansour District of Baghdad.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

01.21.2008

Courtesy Story

Multi-National Division Baghdad

By 1st Lt. Shawn Pardee
1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regt.

BAGHDAD — The "Desert Rogues" of Task Force Rouge arrived in the volatile Mansour District of northwest Baghdad in June tasked with improving the security situation in this former al-Qaida stronghold. Due to the blood and sweat of the Soldier's and their Iraqi army partners, there has been a drastic decrease of attacks and sectarian violence which once paralyzed the region.

This significant downturn in violence has set the conditions for Task Force Rogue, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, from Fort Stewart, Ga., to commence in a near operation coined "Rogue Currency." This operation is a simple employment of business theories used to boost the local economies by energizing locally identified economic support zones with micro-grants.

Termed "micro-grant," it is a coalition funded monetary grant up to $2,500 awarded to legitimate local national entrepreneurs to jump-start their new or struggling business. The Desert Rogue's focused these grants in areas of Mansour that were historically avid business districts prior to the fall of the former Saddam Hussein regime.

"There's many ways to defeat this complex insurgency and one is through simple economics and employment. Our micro-grant strategy is bringing goods and jobs to an area that has long suffered from extremist insurgent activity," said Jacksonville, Fla. native, Maj. Chris Budihas, 1st Bn. 64th Armor Regt. operations officer. "These grants are giving the local Iraqis employment and through it hope that the future will be better."

Another significant goal of this operation was to empower and legitimize the local neighborhood area councils as legitimate governing committees. This was achieved by incorporating the NAC into the micro-grant vetting process. The application process is fairly simple. Local entrepreneurs submit an application with the specifics details surrounding their business-type and business plan to use the grant to improve their store to the NAC.

The NAC then scrutinizes the application to ensure the business venture is legitimate. Once the application is approved it will be submitted to the coalition to be financed and returned with the awarded money. Once the micro-grants are approved and the identification of the applicants is confirmed, they receive their grant at their local NAC office.

To date, the battalion has awarded 182 micro-grants totaling over $430,250. The word of the program spread quickly throughout the district. The battalion now has over 700 applications in the approval process. Each award gives a business capital to fix their war damaged stores, and purchase goods or supplies for services. This in turn generates jobs and supports various business markets and customer product demand in the neighborhoods. This cyclic movement of money and goods ultimately contributes to rebuilding portions of the local economy.

The progress of the micro-grant award program is evident as new commerce and customer base are sprouting up throughout the area.

According to Budihas, "The implementation of our micro-grant strategy in our sector has brought to life an area that was al-Qaida battlefield back in the summer. Daily, these streets were buzzing with bullets and filled with [improvised explosive devices]. Now, they are buzzing with customers buying goods and filled with newly opened business thanks to these small monetary grants."

The Desert Rogues will continue to aggressively employ this strategy to assist the Iraqi people by returning pockets of the city of Baghdad to a sense of normalcy.

• Date Taken: 01.21.2008
• Date Posted: 01.21.2008 22:39
• Story ID: 15654
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ