Sgt. Sean Kimmons
25th ID (L) PAO
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq -- Nearly $24 million of Commander Emergency Response Program funds was approved for 2nd Brigade Combat Team's area of operations during their year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
Whether it was the construction of new heath clinics in areas that have never seen local healthcare or schools to improve education in villages, 2nd BCT leaders used these CERP funds to initiate 470 reconstruction and humanitarian projects.
These projects weren't totally up to the 2nd BCT leaders though. It was the local Iraqi people who used their own local and regional governments to begin much-needed projects in the Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah Provinces.
"We coordinated with the Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah governance to receive their priorities for projects and establish a priority list of what they wanted to fund," said Lt. Col. Rick White, deputy commander of projects and reconstruction for the 25th Infantry Division (Light) unit.
This was a big change for the Iraqi people, as their voice would generally go unnoticed during Saddam Hussein's regime.
"In the past, a majority of projects were chosen by a centralized government under the Saddam [Hussein] regime," White said.
This centralized government allowed its officials to neglect certain areas as retribution for whatever reason, White said.
"What we've tried to do is allow the people to talk to their elected representatives," White said. "The people have been able to express their needs to the [Iraqi] government and to the [Multi-National Forces]."
CERP funds were able to be spread throughout 2nd BCT's area because of this new process.
"Every unit received an allocation of CERP money to fund their area," White said. "We don't differentiate between units, so every unit has been able to fund projects across both provinces."
A lot of the CERP projects played a direct role in helping secure the region. Indirectly, they employed a lot of military-aged Iraqi males, who are now less likely to work for insurgents, White said.
The other reason CERP projects are important is to show Iraqi people, 'the new government is progressing," White said.
Besides the 2nd BCT CERP funds, the U.S. State Department also initiated 155 projects for a total of about $542 million in both provinces this past year. These projects were on a larger scale tied into the national reconstruction grid.
These projects include the renovation of oil, health, education, security and justice, public works, electrical, transportation and communication organizations.
The 2nd BCT CERP funds affected the same organizations but were used for quick-impact projects.
Developmental Funds for Iraq and the Interim Iraqi Government funds subsidized another 233 projects for a total of more than $14 million in both provinces.
These funds were strictly used from Iraqi money, as with the other funds, they were appropriated by the U.S. Congress.