Buffiniraq

This has been another very busy week. Kent leaves tomorrow for re-deployment back to states. He'll be working in Cal before heading off to Russia for more Corps work there. I'll miss his conscientious effort to help these Iraqi engineers do our job of constructing facilities around Diyala Province. I have "inherited" from Kent 10 Primary Health Care facilities, 6 electrical substations, 1 transmission station, 4 roads (largest between Baghdad and Kirkuk), a water works project for Baqubah and a huge prison facility outside Baghdad. All these projects will be turned over to the Iraqi govenment upon completion and these Iraqi engineers have to be able to complete them properly. Therein lies the challenge: to teach/train them to "see" and "do" all that that entails. Quite an experience. The pics are general in nature for obvious reasons. Just know that there's an awful lot of good things goin on throughout the country that most Iraqis really appreciate as you might imagine. When we supply a water tank for drinking clean water, turn lights and electricity back on even for 10 to 12 hours during the hottest part of the day, fix a school so kids can return to learning, connect the sewer lines so they can use a toilet, etc etc...it affects an awful lot of lives. You can only imagine what a difference these things are making in their lives. Just know that in spite of the heartaches these daily attacks have caused, these folks are still determined to come out and risk their lives daily to learn how to continue helping their brethren after we're gone. It's very humbling indeed and we all can be very proud of what our soldiers and engineers are doing here...

After spending last week at our Kirkush office meeting with our Iraqi engineers and visiting some of our projects "outside the wire" surrounding the base, it was time to catch up on the "keeping Uncle Sam informed" routine. This week was 12 to 14 hour days of learning about the 41 projects finishing up in Diyala Province and teaching/training my Iraqi counterparts how to do it themselves...It was mind boggling to say the least. Thank God I had a patient teacher in Kent who would patiently watch me slowly learn the names of the projects and find where they were on a map and what they were all about. He is special and I'll miss him as he heads back home after 12 straight months here! He's the guy in the center next to Ray, our British PST leader who found our way to the Iranian border and back safely, albeit very quickly (speeds in excess of 100mph over country roads)! What a ride. William would have loved every minute of it thinking he was on a roller coaster...LOL

Back in the saddle again...First week back and I went "outside the fence" on a mission to bit bumpy at times but great to see the people and the kids who were so excited to see us. These folks away from the big cities really are thankful we're here and are the nicest folks you can imagine. The kids are just like ours ...curious, friendly, and all with smiles on their faces (for what I cannot imagine after what they've been thru). The Head Mistress - teacher type - at the school gave me a walk thru and asked for for benches so the kids won't have to sit on the floor. Also, her blackboards haven't been cleaned in the last 2 years because of the shortage of water. I figured we could get her some white boards and dry erase markers and a rag would suffice for now. Upon leaving, I gave the kids a piece of chocolate from a bag Colette gave me to take back here. Needless to say it was gone in a minute. Also, the water bottles we had we left behind and they were appreciated even more so I'm gonna work on getting them a well ASAP. To say this was a moving experience for me is an understatement. I'll be back at the office Monday and continue teaching these Iraqi engineers "to fish so he can eat for a lifetime"...