Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Gaelen Lowers | Col. Shawn Morrissey, commander of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— More than 300 local Iraqi workers earned certificates from the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Oct. 7, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, certifying them as professional welders, carpenters or painters.
“These certificates symbolize completion of training, learning and the mastering of skills to use outside of U.S. bases and throughout Iraq,” said Spc. Abony Scott, head administrative clerk at the Container Repair Yard with the 289th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Gladys, Va., native. The certificates are important because they give these citizens the necessary tools needed to find a successful career or start a business of their own.
“This is another symbol of hope for the bright future of Iraq,” said Scott.
The workers are part of a project run by the Miran Village Company in conjunction with the U.S. government.
“The project has many goals, including the provision of monthly income of 500 Iraqi families in 17 cities surrounding the vicinity of Joint Base Balad,” said Hashim Abdulamir Mahdi, director of the Miran Village Company. “It has also achieved greater social stability and increased the security of eliminating unemployment while advancing community workers with expertise and efficiency.”
Workers repair containers shipped from all over Iraq to the JBB CRY. They are then made seaworthy so the military can use them to ship excess equipment and materials to Kuwait, or back to the U.S., Afghanistan or wherever the excess may need to go.
“Each container costs roughly around $6,000 to $9,000 to purchase, but only costs $800 to $900 to repair,” said Staff Sgt. Jose Martinez, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the JBB CRY with the 289th QM Company, and a Del Rio, Texas native. “We save the Army more than $9 million per month by repairing 2,000 containers a month.”
The CRY and Miran Village Company have been key partners in the logistical support of United States Forces-Iraq, said Col. Shawn Morrissey, commander of the 3rd Sustainment Bde., and a Boston native.
Hashim and these workers from 17 villages have rebuilt almost 24,000 containers since August 2008,” said Morrissey. “That is correct; 24,000 containers and [have] provided more than 450 well paying jobs in the process.”
Mr. Hashim said he is very proud of the work his employees have accomplished over the past few years and is even more proud of the way the workers have improved their own lives and the lives of those around them.
Before this project, he said many families’ salaries averaged around $200 for the entire family. Now, one worker makes $600 per month, said Hashim during the ceremony. He added that with the income the workers are making at the CRY, 50 percent of single workers have been able to marry, 75 percent have bought new cars or built a new house, and 100 percent have benefited from a good salary and the improvement of family living standards.
Several distinguished guest attended the ceremony, including Mohamed Hasan Mahmod, the governor of Aldujail, Iraq; Shawkat Abdulrahnam Ahmed, the governor of Yathrib, Iraq; and Jassim Abdul Amir Abdul Jalil, the Representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, who awarded the workers with their official certificates.
“I hope similar companies have a chance to walk in the footsteps of the Miran Company, a company that actually contributed and excelled in its work,” said Jalil. “It is reassuring that all workers are masters in their careers and completed their training, preparing and proving them efficient in their work. We can only complete their efforts by giving them certificates of professional competence.”
Hashim thanked the U.S. forces in Iraq, all of the Iraqi government dignitaries and most importantly, the workers.
“This pleases me greatly to see that society has brought a brighter future for us,” he said. …We can go home to our families and we have a good profession that enables us to find a job, even after the end of the project. Being the director of this company, this is more than I have ever dreamed.”
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2010 11:34 |
| Story ID: | 58323 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, Local Iraqis awarded careers, by SFC Gaelen Lowers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT