Hawaii unit trains Iraqi local nationals

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARRY OWEN, IRAQ

08.25.2010

Courtesy Story

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

By 1st Lt. Cherrylyn Cing

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARRY OWEN, Iraq - The 540th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), plays an important role in supporting more than 1,000 soldiers from 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colo., providing shower, laundry, and clothing repair support at four locations throughout Iraq.

Due to the drawdown of U.S. forces, the Army-led laundry mission was originally scheduled to be taken over by Iraqi contractors in August. However, because of the service the 540th QM Company provides, the team has been extended through the end of the year and will continue with their laundry mission.

In light of that change, the unit’s mission has been enhanced. The team will continue to support Forward Operating Base Garry Owen soldiers, as well as train the Iraqi contractors to take over the laundry point in the future.

Staff Sgt. Vyent Newby, non-commissioned officer in charge of the SLCR team, 540th Qm. Company, at FOB Garry Owen, leads three NCOs and seven soldiers for the mission.

“I didn’t want the soldiers at Garry Owen to be stuck without laundry after our mission was finished, so I decided to train the Iraqis on the laundry operation,” said Newby. “I had each one of them pair up with a soldier during in-process and out-process in order to watch and learn what they were doing.”

From day one, the team’s biggest challenge was the language barrier. Everyday routines for the SLCR specialists turned out to be challenging training events on a daily basis. As a result, Newby realized that this was not going to be a normal laundry mission; she had to ensure that her squad stepped out of their normal role.

“The contractors had very different policies and procedures compared to the Army standard practiced by my soldiers,” she explained. “For example, none of them knew how to in-process or out-process laundry. They did not know the English alphabet, which caused bags to be placed in wrong bins, and the turn-in and pick-up processes were done very differently.”

As Newby and her team continue to work diligently with the contractors, she is confident that by the end of her mission, the Iraqi contractors will understand the whole spectrum of the laundry system and be able to effectively support FOB Garry Owen.

“After two months of training and watching us in-process and out-process laundry, the Iraqis finally understood the system,” Newby said. “They can now [operate] the laundry effectively by themselves.”

• Date Taken: 08.25.2010
• Date Posted: 09.05.2010 11:01
• Story ID: 55750
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARRY OWEN, IQ