Buffiniraq

Had a great week out in the country with my Iraqi engineers. These guys are special in that they are willing to risk their lives just coming to work in order to serve their country in learning how to build schools, pipelines, transmission stations , roads etc etc etc...they are really starting from ground zero if only I could show you all the sites, you'd be in awe. They're meeting with me for intensive training on managing our construction projects throughout the Province which extends west from Baghdad to the Iranian border and North to Kirkuk. That's about the area the size of Rhode Island! These guys come to learn how to better manage all these projects we have underway here and my role is to prepare them as best I can before my departure. After that, the technology connection is all we'll have to communicate with them as we reduce our physical role in country. After that, these engineers will have to become teachers and trainers themselves for other engineers in the years to come. Quite a humbling and gratifying experience. It's awesome to see these fellas find ways to get the job done in this environment. When something happens to one of their soldiers or police officers, there's 2 more "relatives" in line the next day to carry on....they're that determined to make this thing called democracy work. Sounds like something our ancestors might have done when they first came to the U.S. and found so many red faced folks with painted faces slingin arrows at them...yet they kept coming and once they settled things down, they began this thing called democracy and 400 + years later we're still workin on it and tweakin it...just an amazing experience to be part of and we can all be proud of our guys who are makin it happen sooner than later. We didn't have anybody teachin/trainin us how to do "our thing" but yet our guys aren't letting that stop them from sharing their knowledge and experience with others less fortunate who've never known what we're blessed to have just because we were born in the USA...quite a humbling and gratifying experience wouldn't you say? The pics are some of the great people I've had the honor of serving with...just truly great, great people...