Courtesy Photo | Hundreds of boxes of college textbooks collected from cadets and professors at West...... read more read more
Sgt. 1st Class Ken Walker
Task Force Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi students will be hitting the books this fall thanks to West Point cadets.
Hundreds of boxes containing thousands of textbooks donated by cadets at the United States Military Academy were delivered to the University of Baghdad's Women's College recently in a humanitarian aid effort between cadets and professors at West Point and the U.S. Army and Air Force.
What began as merely a "what if" idea became a coordinated logistical mission between the military academy, Charleston Air Force Base, Sather Air Base (Baghdad International Airport) and the University of Baghdad.
Professor Tom Lainis, Associate Dean of Plans and Resources at West Point, coordinated the collection effort at the academy. Cadets who normally sell their textbooks back to campus bookstores donated them to a humanitarian relief program to help the students at the University of Baghdad.
The Denton program is a Department of Defense logistics program that transports State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development-approved, privately-donated humanitarian cargo worldwide by land, sea and air on a space-available basis within the Defense Transportation System.
Historically, the most common cargo has been medical and dental supplies, school supplies, furniture, vehicles, agricultural supplies, clothing, machinery, and vocational training equipment. These items are used to support on-going relief and development projects in underdeveloped regions of the world.
"The (Denton) humanitarian relief program is a great opportunity to provide relief and to assist in the reconstruction for the locals here in Baghdad," said Staff Sgt. Jason Stonehocker, 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, Aerial Port Flight, Cargo. Stonehocker works at BIAP and hails from Sumter, S.C. "It is a privilege to assist in getting the supplies and materials to the local communities."
The textbook delivery isn't the first humanitarian relief that Baghdad has received, and it certainly won't be the last. The 3rd Infantry Division is providing support to the mission by picking up supplies and materials.
"We greatly appreciate the initiative that the 3ID has had," Stonehocker said. "The 3ID makes sure that the cargo gets in the right hands."
Ken Hundemer, with the Denton program, coordinated the operational aspects at Charleston AFB. As the project gained momentum, he contacted Sgt. 1st Class Brian Rauschuber, of Task Force Baghdad Civil Affairs last June and told him the books were being collected, palletized, and shipped to BIAP.
The military contacted Dr. Saadi Shakir Hammoudi, Dean of the Women's College at the University of Baghdad; and Assistant Professor Shatha Alsaadi, Head of the Department of English at the Women's College of Education to arrange delivery.
When the Task Force Baghdad trucks arrived, Shakir and Shatha were on hand to greet and thank the Soldiers for their efforts to make the delivery possible.
"We are grateful," said Shatha. "We thank them (Soldiers, cadets and professors) for thinking of us, but to give us books because they're thinking of us is great. It's just wonderful!"
The donated books came from all subject areas, including English, chemistry, physics, economics, sociology, and psychology.
"Our books need to be updated," said Shakir. "For students and professors who care about us and our future, this means a lot. This will help so many departments. Our students need books on education and teaching, literature, English language, and linguistics."
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2005 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 2807 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 261 |
| Downloads: | 174 |
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