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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER — Baseel Ali, Deputy Director of Agriculture for the Dhi Qar province, cut a red ribbon at the Nasiriyah Tree Nursery last week to officially open the facility. Just four months earlier, this location was an empty dirt and gravel lot. Today, it consists of two greenhouses used for planting vegetables and a fenced-off area for growing trees. "This will support our province and will greatly benefit us," said the Director of Agriculture, Abdul Salih. "We thank the Americans for everything they've done." The nursery can produce up to 50,000 vegetable and 4,000 tree seedlings each...

President Barack Obama today nominated a key U.S. Senate staffer to serve as assistant secretary of the Army for public works, a position that oversees the Army Corps of Engineers. Jo-Ellen Darcy is senior environmental policy adviser to the Senate Finance Committee, where she has worked on energy, environmental and conservation initiatives using the tax code. Earlier, she served as senior policy adviser, deputy staff director and staffer with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

FOB CONSTITUTION, Iraq - Bulldozers and graters tore up chunks of earth as 6th Iraqi Army engineers and 277th Engineer Company Soldiers toiled together during a five-day heavy machinery training class at Forward Operating Base Constitution March 24. "While we were out here, we found a road buried," said a smiling San Juan, Puerto Rico native, Sgt. 1st Class Bifredo Barros, a platoon sergeant for 277th En. Co., 46th En. Battalion, 225th En. Brigade. "So we started to question what else we were going to find." What engineers of the 6th IA and 277th En. Co. also found was friendship....

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 – Military engineers have made great strides in improving infrastructure and governance capabilities in Iraq and are making positive contributions in Afghanistan as well, the Air Force’s top engineer officer said here today. Air Force Maj. Gen. Delwyn R. Eulberg told reporters during a roundtable discussion that the military has adapted well to its dual missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its two-fold operation of warfighting and nation building. U.S. and NATO partnerships in the two countries have improved national capabilities to levels never seen before, he said. “It’s not just about fighting the...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 16, 2009 – Shockwaves reverberated through the mountains and a large black cloud of smoke rose from the road as an improvised explosive device was detonated. A soldier with the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Spartan, is on a mission with his canine partner to find improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan, March 9, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Rob Frazier  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. On March 9, the engineers of the 10th Mountain Division's Alpha Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, once again had beaten the insurgents...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., March 13, 2009 – Air National Guard civil engineer squadrons comprising hundreds of construction and repair experts will involuntary deploy overseas in historic numbers and scope over the next two years, senior Air Guard officials said. The mobilizations involve nearly one-eighth of the Air Guard’s civil engineer squadrons and differ from previous deployments, when citizen-airmen stepped forward as volunteers to man joint expeditionary groups. "We have large groups being involuntarily mobilized in the beginning and middle of 2009,” Air Force Col. John Elwood of the Air Guard Readiness Center's civil engineer office said. He said...

Col. Ahmed Saddam, commander of the 6th Iraqi Army Engineers, shares in dance with his Louisiana National Guard partners from the 225th Engineer Brigade, during a Mardi Gras themed celebration on Camp Liberty, March 7. Courtesy photo. BAGHDAD – U.S. Soldiers with the 225th Engineer Brigade didn’t get enough of Mardi Gras on the actual holiday — so they celebrated two weeks late with their Iraqi engineer partners here, March 7.“Engineer Call,” a monthly social intended to bring both U.S. and Iraqi Army Engineers together in a casual atmosphere, aims at forging a strong relationship between both groups. This month’s...

BAGHDAD - In a cramped, wooden shack behind the 688th Engineer Company headquarters at Camp Liberty, about 30 combat engineers sit on beat-up couches and poke fun at each other before another route clearance mission begins. “We sit around and listen to music and play cards after our mission prep is done,” explains Sgt. Zach Rostan, the truck commander for the “Buffalo”, a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle assigned to the Army Reserve unit from Fayetteville, Ark. “We all like to have fun and relax; we’re going out looking for bombs you know, so we try to stay relaxed.” After...

2/17/2009 - FORWARD OPERATING BASE HUNTER, Iraq (AFNS) -- Twenty joint expeditionary tasking, or JET, Airmen are building a 64-tent living area for more than 700 Soldiers in one week here. "Our challenge and main mission is to complete a 64-tent living area beddown to support 780 personnel of an entire Army battalion and then some," said Master Sgt. Jason Elftmann, 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Construction Team 10 superintendent and horizontal repair and project manager. "I've got approximately 20 JET Airmen comprised of electricians, carpenters, pavement and equipment technicians and plumbers here who are facing a challenge of getting...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2009 – Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently mentored Afghan contractors to ensure the construction of a new school in northeastern Afghanistan’s Laghman province will last through the harsh climate for years to come. Bill Stratton, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, puts mortar on a brick as he demonstrates the proper technique to construct a wall in northeastern Afghanistan’s Laghman province, Feb. 3, 2009. Stratton is teaching construction techniques to Afghans as they work on The Center of Excellence, a school for boys. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2009 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a Mississippi National Guard unit are clearing the way to a safer and more self-sufficient Iraq -- one at sea and the other on land. U.S. and Iraqi officials sign a certificate of agreement at the Gulf Region Division headquarters in Baghdad, Feb. 12, 2009, signaling design approval for the $53 million Umm Qasr pier and seawall project. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In Basra province, the Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division is slated to begin construction next month of a $53...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan, Feb. 12, 2009 – When Air Force Maj. Kimberly Riggs dons all of her “battle rattle,” it looks as if it weighs more than she does. Air Force Maj. Kimberly Riggs, chief engineer for the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, listens during a contractor’s conference held Feb. 7, 2009, at Gardez City, near Forward Operating Base Gardez. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The chief engineer for the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Paktia province originally wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2009 – To maintain a consistent presence to the southeast of Forward Operating Base Ramrod in southern Afghanistan, 1st Infantry Division soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, recently secured a piece of desert to build Combat Outpost Terminator. Army Spc. Eric Hesler, 62nd Engineer Bravo Company, builds a tent floor. The company has built several forward operating bases during its year-long deployment in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jill LaVoie  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Within six hours of arriving, 62nd Engineer Bravo Company soldiers...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2009 – Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Moy is a busy man, and for good reason. Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Moy, provincial reconstruction team commander in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, travels by Black Hawk helicopter to a remote combat outpost with the provincial governor, police chief and a religious leader for a meeting with district leaders, Feb. 8, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Fresh from an assignment at the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Moy heads an 80-member provincial reconstruction team here and...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 26, 2009 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division marked five years of reconstruction progress in Iraq yesterday with more than 4,400 projects completed and turned over to the Iraqi government. “As we mark five years of building strong foundations together with the people of Iraq, I am humbled to be part of this historic effort,” Army Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre, commanding general of the division, said at an afternoon ceremony at division headquarters to mark the anniversary. “With more than 4,400 projects completed and turned over to the government of Iraq, and several hundred...

Capt. Kelly Lanphere (right), Sami Bello (center) and Nami Alsaiegh, bilingual and bicultural advisors with 4th Sqdn. 10th Cav. Regt., discuss a project in the Mansour District of northwest Baghdad. Photo by 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Since security has improved in northwest Baghdad, the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment has developed many engineering projects to advance the citizens’ quality of life. Over the past year, two bilingual and bicultural advisors made sure those projects were done right. In areas such as Ameriyah, Khandra, Adl, Jamiya, Washhash and Mansour, Iraqi-American civil engineers Nima Alsaiegh and Sami Bello worked...

1/16/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Twenty members of the 379th Civil Engineer Squadron electrical systems shop at this air base in Southwest Asia give power to the people while giving them the energy they need to get through every day. Responsible for repairing and maintaining all lighting fixtures, street lights, power outlets and other low voltage jobs for all flightline and base facilities, most people do not notice the sheer magnitude of power these Airmen have. "Most everything is electrical in nature," said Master Sgt. Stuart Fawler, the NCO in charge of the electrical systems shop. "Our work ranges...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2009 – Coalition and Iraqi partnerships are stronger than ever, and they are taking advantage of the improved security situation to further reconstruction efforts in Baghdad, the U.S. military’s top engineer officer in Baghdad province said yesterday. Throughout the past year, nearly 400 projects and reconstruction actions valued at more than $70 million have led to “tremendous improvements” in infrastructure as well as the availability of essential services to Baghdad residents, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Talley told reporters during a news conference in Baghdad. Rebuilding and refurbishing Iraq’s infrastructure “represents a commitment from the people of the...

One significant deficiency of the Iraqi Security Forces is its imited engineering capabilities. Training personnel in the technical fields of engineering and explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) takes considerable time and the emphasis has been on fielding more infantry. This weakness is particularly glaring because of the enemy's emphasis in using landmines (improvised explosive devises or IED). Current plans are to fill out the Iraqi Army engineers during 2009 and 2010. Until that training is complete, US engineers will have to remain to provide support and training to Iraqi forces.

An Iraqi Army engineer navigates a Talon robot through a makeshift improvised explosive device training course at Combat Outpost Al Kindi, Mosul, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Adam Blazak, 11th Public Affairs Detachment. MOSUL — Various explosives are used by the enemy to disrupt or destroy the significant security gains made here by Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Coming across an IED isn’t a rarity here, and defeating these weapons is no easy task.  However, significant strides are being made.Simply put, “It’s intense every time,” said Loveland, Colo. native, Staff Sgt. Jeron Pilger, training cadre, 59th Mobility Augmentation...