Engineers give shelter to ING soldiers

MOSUL, IRAQ

12.20.2004

Courtesy Story

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Story by: Sgt. 1st Class Julie Friedman

MOSUL, Iraq -- Soldiers of the Iraqi National Guard's 104th Battalion will enjoy warm and dry living quarters this winter, thanks to the efforts of a Multinational Forces engineer unit.

The 133rd Engineer Battalion, an Army National Guard unit from Maine, recently built 18 wood structures with electrical wiring for lights, heat and air conditioning. The engineers are now delivering the buildings to 16 traffic control checkpoints on the main highway between Mosul and Dahuk, where the ING soldiers currently live in tents.

"This Iraqi National Guard battalion has been doing a great job making this highway safer for everyone, so we are glad to help them by improving their living conditions," said Capt. Dean Preston of Pembroke, Maine, commander of Company A, 133rd Engineer Battalion.

Measuring 12 by 26 feet, each building is designed to house a squad of soldiers. Each checkpoint will also receive a self-contained toilet and shower building, and two platoon areas will have an additional structure to be used as a dining facility.

"This is very good for my soldiers, and it will help them do their jobs even better. We thank you very much," said Capt. Mohammed, commander of Company B, 104th Battalion, as he visited one of the checkpoints his company is responsible for.

According to 1st Lt. Shanon Cotta of Damariscotta, Maine, horizontal construction platoon leader for Company A, the structures were built at Forward Operating Base Marez and hauled on flatbed trailers to the 104th ING Battalion base camp north of Mosul.

The heavy equipment operators of Company A are responsible for moving the buildings from the base camp to the traffic control checkpoints. After their phase of the project is completed at each site, another crew of Soldiers from the 133rd arrives to install generators and hook up the electrical wiring. Others install water tanks and complete the plumbing work for the latrines and showers.

"Our job is to prepare the sites by leveling them and digging ditches to provide proper drainage. Once we move the buildings into place, we build berms around them to increase security," Cotta said.

Staff Sgt. Paul Harford from Belfast, Maine, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the site preparation crew from Company A, said the project has been a great learning experience for the younger Soldiers in the unit.

"They are definitely gaining a lot of experience on this deployment, not only from using the equipment every day on construction projects like this, but also from having the opportunity to interact with the Iraqi people," he said.

Harford characterized the Iraqi soldiers they have worked with as 'very friendly and giving" people. He said that even though most of them don't speak English they enjoy mingling with the American Soldiers.

At every job site they can be seen smiling and giving thumbs up signs as they check out the new buildings, and constantly offering chai tea.

"The chai is hard to pass up on a cold day, and at one site they even brought out chicken, vegetables and bread and treated the whole crew to lunch," he said. "We like helping them because they really appreciate what we are doing for them."

Spc. David Boyton, a heavy equipment operator from Waldoboro, Maine, looks at his role in helping the Iraqis as a positive thing. He said he has enjoyed the interaction he's had with the ING soldiers, as well as the local people who invited him into their homes while he and the other Soldiers of Company A worked on school projects in other parts of the country.

"It's been nice to see how the people live, to have supper with them and just chat. They're all human just like us," he said.

• Date Taken: 12.20.2004
• Date Posted: 12.20.2004 14:07
• Story ID: 737
• Location: MOSUL, IQ