Photo By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky | Sheik Tomah Al Juburi, center, a prominent local area sheik who has taken an active...... read more read more
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Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – An empty field in Arab Jabour is slated to make history as the area's first police station.
On Jan. 7, engineers with Mercury Development Construction visited the proposed site with Soldiers of the 153rd Military Police Company, Delaware National Guard, for a site survey.
"We're going to take photos and get an idea of the local infrastructure," said Mustafa Al Waeli, senior project manager for Mercury Development. "It will help us draw up an assessment of how to build the station and the cost of project."
Mohammed Al Zuhari, a surveyor, was pleased with the site. Nearby roads will accommodate construction equipment and an electrical transformer allows easy access to electricity.
Two kilometers up the road, there is a water purification plant, Zuhari said, which will provide a way to get potable water to the station.
This was the first time the contractors actually put their eyes on the site; the next step is to put boots on the ground.
The company will mark off the boundaries of the site, fence it in, and construct a temporary dwelling for site supervisors. These supervisors will oversee the ground leveling of the area and preparations for building the station's foundation, Zuhari said.
The station will build upon the foundation of security already established by coalition forces and the Concerned Local Citizens program in the area.
The CLCs, besides providing security for the project, are a pool of potential officers to staff the future station, said 1st Lt. Daniel DeFlaviis, a Delaware state trooper,153rd MP Co.
Under DeFlaviis' guidance, the 153rd MP Co. is training the applicants to help prepare them for an Iraqi police academy.
"We feel privileged to be able to contribute to this area," DeFlaviis said.
Likewise, Waeli said he is pleased to continue helping his fellow Iraqis.
Waeli said his company has built a long list of police stations in Iraq. Over the past two years, as a subcontractor for Innovative Technical Solutions Incorporated, the company has built 45 police stations, he said.
Of the 45 constructed, Waeli said he was most proud of work the company did in Al Kut. In that province, the group has built14 police stations.
"We changed the situation in that province," Waeli said. "It's a lot more secure."
They hope to see the same success in Arab Jabour. Although completing the station will take between six and eight months, benefits of the project will begin much sooner.
Once construction begins, the company will hire laborers from the local population. Waeli said more than 100 people will be needed for the construction effort, 90 percent of whom will be local residents.
Employment will inject money into the local economy, already seeing growth due to improved security and small business grants to local merchants to build up their businesses.
Al Zuhari met with Sheik Tomah Al Juburi, a prominent local sheik who has taken an active role in rebuilding Arab Jabour, to discuss initial hiring steps.
Tomah helped acquire the land, giving it over to the Iraq Ministry of Interior for approval of a police station, DeFlaviis said.
Working with Tomah will spread word of the need for laborers once the project begins and help bring out qualified applicants.
The creation of a police force in the area under the jurisdiction of the government of Iraq will also help strengthen ties between the local and central government.
The police force, once created, will be responsible for security in Arab Jabour and Al Buaytha, DeFlaviis said.
"This has been very successful today," DeFlaviis said. "The great thing about having these gentlemen here is they're helping build the first organized police station."
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2008 10:00 |
| Story ID: | 15336 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 562 |
| Downloads: | 483 |
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