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CAMP TAJI, Iraq, July 25, 2008 – Multinational Division Baghdad engineers with the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team journeyed to the Grand Canal Bridge in Taji Qada, northwest of Baghdad, on July 22 to monitor repair progress. Construction workers from a local construction company weld steel that is going to be used to fix the hole in the northbound lane of the Grand Canal Bridge in Taji, northwest of Baghdad, July 22, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey R. Dransfield, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The bridge, which spans a portion...

JOINT BASE BALAD — Army engineers across the world face the same challenges each day for soldiers, materials and equipment. Shortages of repair parts, force protection measures, and limited construction equipment are just some of those challenges. These shared challenges provided the opportunity for two engineer units to construct a lasting partnership together. Together, Soldiers from the 5th Engineer Battalion and the 5th Iraqi Army Engineer Regiment in Diyala province constructed an aggressive six-month training and combined operations partnership, June 5. The two engineer units are organized similarly, with combat capabilities of combat engineers, construction engineers and a boat and...

6/3/2008 - PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- More than 1,000 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new $6 million road May 28 in Barak of the Bazarak District in the Panjshir province. During the ceremony, Afghan officials from the highest levels of government discussed the critical importance of the road, which will extend from Barak to Khenj, to Panjshir and to all of Afghanistan. Ahmad Zia Massoud, Afghanistan's first vice president and the brother of famed Panjshir martyr and Afghan national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, was the main speaker during the hour-long ceremony. The ceremony was held adjacent to...

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, June 2, 2008 – Coalition engineer and cavalry soldiers worked together in April and May to build living quarters and a security checkpoint for Afghan border police at the Gowardesh Bridge during Operation Mountain Highway II in the eastern portion of Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. U.S. Army Spc. Ben Kavanagh, Charlie Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, marks a spot on a four-by-four while building an Afghan Border Police check point April 26 at the Gowardesh Bridge during Operation Mountain Highway II in eastern Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brandon Aird  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Women make up almost half of today's workforce, yet hold just a fraction of the jobs in certain high-earning, high-qualification fields. They constitute 20 percent of the nation's engineers, fewer than one-third of chemists, and only about a quarter of computer and math professionals. Over the past decade and more, scores of conferences, studies, and government hearings have been directed at understanding the gap. It has stayed in the media spotlight thanks in part to the high-profile misstep of then-Harvard president Larry Summers, whose loose comment at a Harvard conference on the topic in 2005 ultimately cost him his job....

5/16/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Kettles filled with scalding tar, 300-degree asphalt, concrete chemicals that can burn skin are the tools of the trade for heavy equipment operators who labor here under a scorching Iraqi sun. Airmen assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, known as "Dirt Boyz" know their duties are indeed dirty and dangerous, but understand aircraft operations depend on their ability to repair and expand the flightline. In less than four months, Balad Air Base Dirt Boyz have placed and finished more than 12,460 feet of concrete and added approximately 90,000 square feet...

BAGHDAD, May 9, 2008 – The senior consultant for water resources in Iraq, the Multinational Corps Iraq geospatial team, and Iraqi surveying engineers from the Ministry of Water Resources discussed the future of a geospatial reference project Iraq is taking over at the U.S. Embassy in the International Zone on May 5. Army Staff Sgt. Anas Malkawi, a geodetic surveyor with 100th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Brigade, discusses the locations chosen for future geospatial reference system points across Iraq with Iraqi surveyors from the Ministry of Water Resources during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy, in Baghdad’s International Zone,...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — The battlefield of today is much different than in wars past with an enemy who prefers to cower in hiding and use his weapon of choice, the improvised explosive device; a diabolical tool of destruction, ominously waiting road-side to mangle unsuspecting Coalition vehicles. Combating this ever popular threat are the brave men conducting route clearance throughout Iraq such as the Marines of Reaper platoon, Company A, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 1. The Reapers deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in October of last year for a seven month tour supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom with Regimental...

FOB KALSU — Construction on numerous community buildings in Sayafiyah is nearing completion. A health clinic, middle school, elementary school and community center will be completed by the end of April. The Sayafiyah Health Clinic will be fully-furnished, funded and controlled by the Mahmudiyah Qada. A local contractor is also finishing the work on the Sayafiyah Community Center. The center has been completely renovated with the addition of two administrative rooms and four new restrooms. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sponsored the renovation of the al-Inbaath elementary school. They expanded the school by six additional classrooms and two laboratories....

Now that big corporate lobbyists know they can't get amnesty for the millions of cheap laborers they have imported illegally, they are pushing to increase the number of so-called high-skilled workers by raising the cap of H-1B visas. The pressure is on the House of Representatives to pass an increase soon, most likely in the form of the SKIL Act (H.R. 1930), sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), usually a conservative ally. There are three reasons why Big Business wants to increase foreign workers: * H-1Bers are paid much less than Americans * The influx of H-1Bers depresses the "prevailing...

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Under the constellations Orion and Sirius, Iskandariyah Thermal’s smokestacks blow exhaust into the night at Forward Operating Base Iskan, Iraq, March 8.(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ben Brody. FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKAN — There’s a reason the lights never go out at FOB Iskan, and it’s not because of Coalition forces. The brightly-lit Iskandariyah Thermal Power Plant located there has been chugging along since long before troops arrived. The plant is the dominant visual feature of FOB Iskan, with four enormous smokestacks rising above an imposing labyrinth of iron girders, spindly ladders and steaming pipes. The electricity is churned into...

4/10/2008 - PANJSHIR, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- As part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team it is common to go "outside the wire" to do work. While some may only leave the base once a week, engineers are out there every day conducting site assessments, quality control missions and preparing the province to respond to natural disasters. April 1, while out on an inspection of a handful of construction projects in a mountainous region of Afghanistan, Air Force engineers were honored to be invited to take part in a ceremony to lay the first stones of the foundation of a new building...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, April 7, 2008 – When an Air Force engineer first stepped foot in Hawr Rajab, it was an al-Qaida in Iraq safe haven. The thought that came to mind was a scene from an old western movie. Airmen from the 557th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, or RED HORSE, Squadron teach masonry to Village of Hope students at Patrol Base Stone in Hawr Rajab, Iraq, April 2, 2008. Two hundred Hawr Rajab men, in four classes of 50, are scheduled to graduate from the vocational school. Courtesy photo   (Click photo...

MOSUL — On Sunday March 23, Combat Outpost (COP) Inman, a new COP in West Mosul manned by the 2nd Iraqi Army (IA) Division, suffered a blow that al-Qaida in Iraq had intended to be fatal to the strategic post; a suicide-truck-bomb crashed through the gates at approximately 7 a.m., detonating in the main compound, killing 13 Iraqi Soldiers and wounding 35. “All the damage the terrorists have caused to the people and their homes, I do not understand these men, why would they do that?,” said Nami Ibhrahim, a Soldier in the 2nd IA Division, clearly more concerned about...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, March 27, 2008 – Task Force Pacemaker’s engineers have conducted construction workshops throughout eastern Afghanistan to promote positive relationships with Afghans while providing them with skills critical to rebuilding their nation and economy. Fifty Afghan men learn how to use tools and safety equipment issued to them during a skilled-labor workshop at Forward Operating Base Sharana, in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. Photo by Sgt. David Roscoe, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. January marked the beginning of four separate construction workshops for Afghan men between the ages of 18 and 60. The task force...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — As the Government of Iraq works to build capacity, increasing the number of engineers is essential to design, contract, construct and maintain the country’s infrastructure. Roberto Bran, the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team’s engineer development program manager, said engineers are vital to executing projects. “None of this will occur if there is no one to plan and design the infrastructure,” Bran said. Wasit’s need for engineers comes in hand with an increase in the provincial government’s budget. While the increase allows the provincial government to expand the number of new projects, it may put a strain...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 4, 2008 – Task Force Pacemaker engineers expanded housing for the Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team recently. Soldiers from 1st Platoon, 76th Engineer Company, Fort Knox, Ky., build a Southeast Asia-style hut in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Task Force Pacemaker provides quality of life and force protection facilities for coalition forces in Regional Command East. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. First Platoon, 76th Engineer Company, from Fort Knox, Ky., led by Army 1st Lt. Scott Williams and Sgt. 1st Class Patricia Thompson, built two new B-huts and a Southeast Asia-style hut and...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2008 – U.S. Army engineers are busy building roads and security outposts that are helping put previously isolated Afghans onto the path of peace and prosperity, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Afghanistan said today. Soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 36th Engineer Brigade have constructed nearly 200 miles of secondary roads across daunting terrain since they arrived in eastern Afghanistan in March 2007, Brigade Commander Col. Richard Stevens told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference. Those mostly gravel roads “traverse some of the most remote, mountainous and, if I may say, rugged terrain...

2/21/2008 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Airmen assigned to the 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group are nearing the completion of installing a barrier arresting kit on the flightline at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. "The BAK 12 is an emergency stopping system for tail-hook equipped aircraft when they have in-flight emergencies and they don't have hydraulics or brakes," said Tech. Sgt. Barry Snyder Jr., 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group power production craftsman and project manager. "It's similar to the one on an aircraft carrier that stops the aircraft." Sergeant Snyder added the system can be used to assist pilots...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 19, 2008 – Uranium Road, which runs from Hit to Asad, is getting a $29.6 million makeover in the longest road project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq. The mission-essential 51-kilometer alternate supply route, now more than 60 percent finished and targeted for completion in early April, is Phase 1 of a planned two-stage project. When pouring 1.5-kilometer sections on the road, the engineers’ contracted work force lays down about 500 metric tons of asphalt daily. The asphalt used on the route is produced at a secure site on Al Asad Air Base with equipment...

CAMP RAMADI — The engineers had the first span of the bridge ready to go out on the river, but when the water levels were checked, the river had risen 24 inches in an hour. It didn’t stop the Soldiers from the 814th Engineer Company; it only forced them to adjust their plan and raise the 30-foot section of the bridge a little higher to get it on the pontoon floating in the river. The weather would prove to be the most difficult challenge in building the 120-meter Mabey Logistics Support Bridge spanning the Euphrates River over the course of...

TALLIL, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2008 – Of the nearly 3,800 projects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division has completed across Iraq in four years, one stands out because of the special challenges it posed. Circuits come together and split to different directions in the country at the Amarah, Iraq, electrical substation outdoor switchyard. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Built at a cost of nearly $37 million, a 400–kilovolt electrical substation in Amarah, the capital of Iraq’s Maysan province, was built in an area deemed volatile and high-risk from a security perspective, with...

BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2008 – Army engineers are conducting a public works upgrade here, repairing streets and completing unfinished sewer work. Iraqi workers use jackhammers to remove damaged pavement in preparation for pavement work in the Maqil neighborhood in Basra, Iraq. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started work on a Basra pavement and sewer project in November, said Ferdinand Guese, project engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South District. The new project aims to complete the paving of various streets in Maqil, a...

Combat engineers with Company C, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, work on putting together explosive charges that will be used to demolish Bridge 18, Nov. 28. The Marines spent days preparing the charges inside the CEB compound before departing for the bridge. 1st Lt. Todd Peterson, the executive officer for Company C, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, slides boosters inside a charge made of C-4 explosives, Dec. 1. The charges will be used to destroy Bridge 18, which had been attacked by an improvised explosive device months earlier, causing the supporting columns to...

Three Armored Combat Excavators clear debris and obstacles from a four-lane highway while a Bradley Fighting Vehicle provides security in Mosul, Dec. 13. Soldiers from the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment worked for more than 17 hours to clear more than a kilometer of the route which had been closed to civilian traffic. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford. MOSUL — Soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s 43rd Combat Engineer Company (CEC) worked to clear one of the many impassible roads in Mosul as part of Operation Thunder Reaper IV, Dec. 13. The 17-hour...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, Dec. 11, 2007 – Engineers from the Republic of Korea’s First Vertical Construction Company will be redeploying to their country, having completed their mission here. A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrates the completion of the Direct Support Maintenance Facility at Forward Operating Base Sharana, in Afghanistan, and also the end of a five-year mission in Afghanistan for South Korean soldiers. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The company, commanded by Korean Capt. Bo Geol Choi from Seoul, completed its mission of constructing five K-Spans, which are hanger-like buildings, during a 20-week-long period. The...

TALLIL — A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) paid a visit recently to the village of Al Haboosh in Dhi Qar province with several goals in mind. For one thing, the team members wanted to check on the progress being made by the contractor building a new compact water unit for the village, a project funded with Economic Support Fund (ESF) money by the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for Dhi Qar province. That project, which cost $650,000 and will provide clean drinking water to an estimated 1,500 Iraqis, is proceeding satisfactorily, said Navy Cmdr. Mike Lang,...

Two University of Virginia students snatched a man off a street corner in the Tysons Corner area, tied him up in a Falls Church motel bathroom and demanded a $500,000 ransom, police said yesterday.

As baby boomers retire, aerospace and engineering companies in the Antelope Valley need an influx of new workers - homegrown, if possible. Like creosote, mesquite and other native plant species, Antelope Valley residents have an easier time putting down roots in the dusty Mojave Desert, home to Plant 42 and Edwards Air Force Base. "From an employer's perspective, we see much higher rates of turnover when we recruit young engineers from anywhere east of California," said Michael Huggins, chief of the Air Force Research Lab at Edwards. "They're not used to the desert environment and they're away from home." Using...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 20, 2007 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing a number of road improvement projects in Iraq, including a one-mile stretch on Victory Base Complex here. And while that particular project may be “inside the wire,” it is having an impact in town. Graders prepare the roadbed for asphalting. Iraqis are upgrading roads throughout Iraq, including this one on Victory Base Complex, Baghdad. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Hayder Mohammad, 26, is among those commuting from their Baghdad homes every day to help upgrade a gravel road into a paved main...

BASRAH — The Al-Garma 132kV substation, one of the key components of the Iraqi electrical infrastructure system in Basrah Province, has been successfully turned over to Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE). “The $8.8 million project is the first of the five 132kV substation projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Gulf Region South district (GRS), in Basrah Province” said Andrew Schmieder, Basrah Area Office resident engineer. “Two substations are expected to be turned over later this month, with the energization of the final two expected in (late) November and December. “This project seeks to improve the electrical management...

For decades, and most particularly since Sept. 11, 2001, commentators have noted the curious prevalence of higher education amongst members of radical Islamist movements. The idea that poverty is a "root cause" of radical terrorism can no longer be put forward without attracting snickers -- at least not without some further account of why it is the brightest and educationally best-equipped in poor societies who turn to violence. Of course, no one can be surprised that university campuses should serve as incubators of radicalism in the Muslim world, since they have served the same function here for so long. The...

Today the President spoke on the war on terror at the Heritage Foundation and met with with members of the Warner Robins, Georgia Little League team, champions of the 2007 Little League World Series and recipients of the 2006 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Today the Vice President spoke at the Indiana American Legion War Memorial Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with a delegation from Iraq's Al Anbar province at the State Department. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen conducted a news conference at the...

COLTON, N.Y., Oct. 30 — The bridge that carries Route 56 over the Raquette River here is so ordinary that it has no name, only a number, 1027260. But for now it is a bridge like no other, studded with instruments like a cardiac patient, giving up secrets that may explain how to keep others from falling. Bridges are big, dumb pieces of steel and concrete, and mostly out of mind, until one collapses, as the Interstate 35W bridge did in Minneapolis on Aug. 1. Even now, three months later, no one is sure why that happened, but it has...

Two engineers about to go on trial for allegedly stealing confidential computer chip designs from their Silicon Valley employer and a partner firm were indicted Wednesday on the rare and more serious charge of economic espionage, prosecutors said. The indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in San Jose accuses Lan Lee, 42, of Palo Alto, and Yuefei Ge, 34, a Chinese national living in San Jose, of orchestrating the computer-chip plot so they could go into business with the Chinese military. The men are accused of stealing secret data sheets and other confidential documents from NetLogic...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2007 – Four Afghan National Army cadets have finished a two-week internship program with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers here. Charley X. Qian, Afghan National Army program manager, goes over training material with Cadets Taher and Mahammad. The cadets were participating in a two-week internship program with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Photo by Master Sgt. Mark W. Rodgers, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The cadets are third-year students at the National Military Academy Afghanistan here. The academy, with more than 700 cadets, is modelled after the U.S. Military Academy at...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, Aug. 27, 2007 – Afghans and multinational forces are working hand in hand on a variety of construction projects here. Polish Pvt. Piotr Oparski works on the final touches of a culvert in Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, as a scoop loader hauls the rest of the dirt. Photo by 1st Lt. Kenya Virginia Saenz, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 864th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy); 1st Construction Company, 100th Republic of Korea Engineering Group; and Polish 1st Engineer Brigade are working together to construct metal building systems,...

U.S. Army Engineers Continue Work on Health Care Centers Increased availability to medical care will help reduce infant mortality. By A. Al BahraniGulf Region South, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MAYSAN, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to make a significant and positive impact on the reconstruction of Iraq. The design-build projects of four Primary Healthcare Centers in Maysan Province are a prime example. "We are making history here. I enjoy working in Iraq and seeing the benefit of the reconstruction work." Maj. Stephen Herda Maysan resident engineer, Basrah Area Office. “The four...

  Engineers Work to Improve Electrical Grid Substation strengthens electrical system, helps keep power on. By A. Al Bahrani U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South BASRAH, Iraq, Aug. 17, 2007 — The multi-million dollar rehabilitation and expansion of the 132 kilovolt substation at the port of Khor Az Zubair in the Basrah Province will provide a reliable power source to the port facility and to residential and commercial areas. “The main purpose of this project is to engineer, procure, supply, construct, and commission electrical equipment necessary for the expansion and rehabilitation of the Harbor substation,� said Rebecca...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2007 – U.S. Army engineers in Afghanistan are doing their part to restore security and the country’s economy by building roads, bridges and levees to connect Afghanistan’s people. Army Staff Sgt. Troy L. Bohanon, a member of Company A, 864th Engineer Combat Battalion, surveys the Khyur Khot to Mest road. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and mountainous landscape isolates most of the population from the country’s major cities and industrial area. Lack of funding, harsh seasonal weather and flash floods have made it almost impossible...

BAGHDAD — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, completed 112 construction projects between June 30 and July 27, 2007 – bringing the total number of completed projects to 3,998. Currently, there are 576 construction projects ongoing – all funded through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, the Development Fund for Iraq, the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, the Economic Support Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund.Water projects that were completed this month include three network projects in Sadr City in Baghdad Province – each totaling $1.9 million. Each potable water project included laying water pipe mains, water...

BAGHDAD, Aug. 3, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, completed 112 construction projects between June 30 and July 27, 2007 – bringing the total number of completed projects to 3,998. Currently, there are 576 construction projects ongoing – all funded through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, the Development Fund for Iraq, the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, the Economic Support Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund. Water projects that were completed this month include three network projects in Sadr City in Baghdad Province – each totaling $1.9 million. Each potable water project included laying...

Engineers are trying to understand what caused the catastrophic collapse of the bridge over the Mississippi river in Minnesota. Resurfacing work was taking place, but the bridge was last inspected in 2006 and no significant structural problems were found. Such complete bridge collapses are a very rare occurrence. If they happen, it is either because the load is too heavy, or the connections between the bridge's structural elements are too weak, Keith Eaton, chief executive of the UK's Institution of Structural Engineers, told the BBC. "The engineers will have to see where the collapse started. Clearly a failure occurred somewhere...

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007 – It will take time and considerable resources to rebuild Iraq following more than 25 years of neglect under Saddam Hussein’s rule, a U.S. military official told online journalists today. However, U.S. assistance is only part of a broader effort -- from both Iraqi and other donor nations -- that will have a lasting effect on the country’s infrastructure, said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division commander. Numerous relief and developmental funds have resulted in more than 3,300 completed projects for electricity, oil and water systems throughout Iraq. As of May,...

ROLLA, Mo. — Camp Winnigootchee was never like this. A group of high school students stood at the edge of a limestone quarry last month as three air horn blasts warned that something big was about to go boom. Across the quarry, with a roar and a cloud of dust and smoke, a 50-foot-high wall of rock sloughed away with a shudder and a long crashing fall, and 20,000 tons of rock was suddenly on the ground. The campers laughed. “That’s cool!” said Ian Dalton, a student from Camdenton, Mo. Austin Shoemaker, a student from Macon, Mo., concurred. “It was...

Given his credentials, few expected Jeff Yu-Kuang Lin's life to take such a drastic turn, veering off into a seamy world of prostitution. A Chinese immigrant who grew up in Houston, Lin got his degree in chemical engineering at Rice and a master's from the University of Houston. For 10 years, he spent up to 100 hours a week as a software programmer for a Houston start-up. Over the years of sitting in front of a computer screen, Lin made few friends and only talked to co-workers for an hour a day. Eventually, his wife left him and moved to...

British Forces based in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, deployed as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), have launched a programme to raise awareness of the dangers posed by landmines. Having cleared Taliban forces from much of Helmand Province, British Forces have now begun the task of assisting the Afghan government in reconstruction and development programmes. It is hoped this will enable Afghanis to return to their villages and farmlands to begin a new life. Eliminating the threat of landmines is essential to the revival of the Afghan economy, and to safeguarding the lives of the Afghan men who...

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2007 – U.S. military engineers have completed nearly 300 major water and sewage projects in Baghdad and across Iraq in the past few years, U.S. military officers reported. “We’re proud that we’re continuing to reach our target of providing over 1 million cubic meters of potable water per day,” said Air Force Col. Lonny Baker, water sector director for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division in Iraq. Baker is nearing the end of a six-month tour in Iraq and spoke to the media during a Baghdad news conference June 2. Key Iraqi water-treatment facilities...

BAQUBAH — Out of a tragic incident will come some good. U.S. troops triggered the process of healing and closure, May 20, at a former combat outpost in As Sadah, four miles north of Baqubah, Iraq. The outpost was partially destroyed by a deadly car bomb attack in April. Members of 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, who operated the outpost, requested the remaining structure be torn down and a new school built in its place. Combat engineers from Company E, 1-12 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas, were called in to demolish the remainder...