Cash for trash

Photo By Master Sgt. Opal Vaughn | An Iraqi national digs through a pile of scrap metal to be salvaged and recycled into cash while at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, located in Diyala, Iraq, Dec. 16. Separating scrap metal and other trash is one of the many jobs provided for Iraqi nationals looking for work, created through an ongoing program with the Iraqi-based Industrial Zone.  

IRAQ

12.25.2008

Story by Spc. Opal Vaughn  

14th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Opal Vaughn
14th Public Affairs Detachment

There is a popular saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." And it is as true today as it was in the past.

At Forward Operating Base Warhorse, one unit is taking it to heart and really getting down and dirty for the good of the community as well as creating jobs and new opportunities for local nationals along the way. Since arriving to Warhorse, Forward Maintenance Company, 25th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, has been hastily staying busy by creating new job opportunities for young male local nationals looking for work, Dec. 16.

As part of their ongoing program with Iraqi-Based Industrial Zone, Soldiers with FMC, 25th BSB, 1st SBCT, 25th Inf. Div., have created several jobs to include filling recycled burlap bags with sand, construction work, plumbing and even scrap metal work at a dump site.

"The local nationals could possibly one day be able to take over some of the responsibilities of KBR," explained Fairbanks, Alaska, native, Chief Warrant Officer three Anthony Neilko, the IBIZ Officer in Charge with FMC, 25th BSB, 1st SBCT, 25th Inf. Div. "A lot of the skills the local nationals possess are a great asset," Neilko continued, "They are a fix-it kind of people. If they see something broken, they know who and how to fix the problem and get the job done."

According to Neilko, he believes the future of the IBIZ has a lot of potential to expand and this program is just the beginning of many more to come.

"We have a Turkish company which we've hired to remove all of the scrap metal off the FOB as part of our land field operation," Neilko stated. "There is so much scrap and junk that has been building up over the years that people have just dumped, and it needed to get cleaned up. So IBIZ put together this contract and in turn, as per the contract, the Turkish company has hired all Iraqis to do the work of removing the scrap metal."

"The local nationals then take the scrap metal to sell in the local communities and they are able to make a profit off of it," Neilko stated. "It's not a new program, it's just recycling. Recycling trash for cash is something we are more familiar with in the states."

To monitor the on goings of the land field program, FMC has crew of Soldiers to supervise the local Iraqi nationals as well as to maintain security.

"My crew manages the Iraqis when they come through our area," said Vanceboro, N.C., native, Sgt. Troy Waterman, waste management non-commissioned officer in charge with FMC, 25th BSB, 1st SBCT, 25th Inf. Div. "We search their persons and their vehicles, and we go through all of the items they want to take off the FOB. All of this ensures they are not taking any hazardous or unauthorized materials into the local community."

Soldiers running the waste management point make sure the job they are tasked with is done thoroughly. According to Waterman, each local national is searched by hand and removed of any material not authorized. This includes, but is not limited to any type of ammunition, military gear, weapons and digital media.

"One of the things we've noticed and have taken care of is the desire for copper," Neilko added. "The local nationals cannot take any copper off the FOB and there is a lot of copper here; the Iraqis want to take it because it is worth a lot of money on the outside."

Getting this far in the program has not always been this easy for FMC. Along the road, FMC has encountered many problems including taking over for a previous unit, re-screening workers and maintaining security.

"When we first got here some of the contracts were already established, and some of the workers did not have all of the proper clearances to work with us," Neilko stated. "Since we are hiring people out in the local community, a big part of our job is 'who do you trust?' So we went back and re-screened all of our workers. As far as their working ability, all of our workers are pretty honest people but this can be swayed by outside influences at any time."

Neilko explained more, "We don't want our workers going home and something happening to them on the outside because they work for us. We have had a really good working relationship here with the local nationals and we would like to keep it that way."

Other aspects of IBIZs ongoing programs for local Iraqi nations include filling recycled burlap bags with sand, construction work and plumbing work.

"We also have an ongoing project which includes the need for sandbags," Neilko stated. "This used to be an old dump site for busted sandbags. We have the local nationals dump the old ones and refill new bags to be distributed about the post. The bags which are tattered or too busted to use are then recycled and reused at a later date. Meanwhile, it allows us to clean up the FOB as well," Neilko smiled.

Having an interpreter on hand at all times while dually learning basic Arabic phrases has eased the language barrier problems for FMC. "Any of my Soldiers can tell the local nationals to do something and they kind of understand each other enough to get the job done," Neilko said.

Neilko believes if his Soldiers, who supervise the work of the local nationals by pulling security, make a valid effort to communicate with the local nationals they are building a lasting relationship with. "The direction of the Army has changed to where we are no longer on a combat mission, now it's more we are trying to rebuild a nation. So communication has become that much more important not only for the U.S. but for the Iraqi people to stabilize their economy."

Neilko continued, "Once their economy gets up and running that means Soldiers won't have to come out here. If we do a rotation, it won't be 100,000 Soldiers; it may be only a few thousand."

Starting with the basics to teach local nationals the correct way to do things is also an important aspect of the IBIZ program.

"It's important that we teach the Iraqis the correct way to do things," Neilko stated. "Recycling, I don't know if that will ever be in their nature, but you never know. It could be a possibility in their future. A lot of the waste the U.S. military produces, which is a lot, the Iraqi people use to make a living and that's very important to us."

With the success of the current contracts IBIZ has, FMC is already looking toward the future to create more programs. Plans to create a workers camp has already been in the planning stages.

"Instead of the Iraqis wasting gas to come here every morning - living on post for the duration of a week, allowing them to save more money," Neilko stated. "They can live on base; they might be able to work more hours. At least this way, they're not on the road as much and there is no impending danger to them. We treat each local national as if they were a Soldier themselves. So making sure they are safe is very important to us. We enjoy working with the locals and we would like to continue have a successful working relationship with them."

• Date Taken: 12.25.2008
• Date Posted: 12.25.2008 11:33
• Story ID: 28136
• Location: IQ