Iraqi student workers graduate to Tal Abtha Road Project

Courtesy Photo | An Iraqi student worker paves the Tal Abtha Road as part of a project designed to employ and educate locals to the area. The road will give access to Mosul's markets and businesses, boosting Tal Abtha's economy.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

10.07.2009

Courtesy Story

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

MOSUL, Iraq — More than three hundred Iraqi student workers bid farewell to their classroom, Oct. 7, at a graduation ceremony in Ninewah province, Iraq.

A few months earlier, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment "Warhorse," 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division took over control of the Tal Abtha Road project from 1st Bn., 12th Cav. Regt. "Charger," which had identified the need for better roads throughout the greater Tal Abtha area, southwest of Mosul.

The student workers had been part of a program that trained them as road construction laborers. They attended classes and learned through experience about how to build and repair roadways. The 365 students were the second wave of graduates in a program that will eventually train 1,095 road workers. After graduation, they will provide the work force for the TARP, which aims to connect 18 small towns in the Jazeera desert, west of Mosul, improving commerce and travel between them.

The workers are hired locally and are paid $250 (U.S. equivalent) per month during the training cycle, ultimately pouring $85,000 dollars per five-month training cycle into the local economy. The skills they learned included basic vehicle maintenance and operation, surface preparation, asphalt health and safety, and basic paving techniques.

Many of the young men were in the Sons of Iraq during the U.S. Forces surge of 2007. Projects like the TARP have provided employment for young men, allowing some of them to transition out of the SoI and embark on a civilian construction career.

"The students who are standing here before you today are truly courageous," Capt. Ben Ferguson, the local U.S. commander remarked at the graduation. "There are many ways to serve your country, and not all of them require a gun."

A company named Green Dream provided the majority of the training and the lead engineer, Fadhil Mohammed Salem, and project manager, Nabil Alsabagh, were both on site to congratulate the graduates.

The ceremony was the culmination of one project in a line of projects designed to help the Iraqi government help itself, Ferguson said. By overseeing projects that train workers and create skilled laborers, the U.S. forces hope Iraq can build a lasting economy.

• Date Taken: 10.07.2009
• Date Posted: 10.15.2009 05:16
• Story ID: 40149
• Location: MOSUL, IQ