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Civil Affairs Teams, U.S. Marines Improve Fallujah Infrastructure
Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Cpl. Chris Lyttle, USMC

Posted on 06/21/2008 8:21:19 AM PDT by SandRat

FALLUJAH — 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, augmented by Civil Affairs teams, are continuously working with Fallujah City Council members, local tribal leaders and local citizens to carry out projects in an effort to improve the city’s infrastructure.

Civil Affairs and Army Corps of Engineers leaders met with the city council’s director generals recently, to talk about projects that will provide key services throughout the city, such as improving the water distribution systems.

The city is now in the planning stages of establishing a new water distribution network. 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines recently approved a project to purchase needed parts for a water treatment facility, which will service the majority of Fallujah. Right now, the facilities have inoperable pumps and other parts that are in a state of disrepair. The installation of new pumps and filters at the Azerghia water treatment facility will bring the facility back to its previous prewar output capacity.

“The initiative to solve all water problems for Fallujah lies in the pipe network,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane Duhe, Civil Affairs Team 5 team leader. “When the pipe network works properly, the water treatment plants already established along the Euphrates River will certainly be able to support all of the city’s needs.”

Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams introduced reverse-engineering concepts to the directors that are currently being developed. Reverse engineering concepts that the Army Corps of Engineers use will spare the expense of rebuilding existing facilities, thus saving money and labor time.

Another high priority on the Fallujah City Council’s list is the Telecommunications Headquarters in the city. Up to 45,000 citizens will benefit from having land line telephone service at their disposal.

“Over the past five years, many services have been degraded,” Duhe said. “Phone services are important to all citizens in Fallujah because they need to be able to call emergency services and police hotlines. This has a direct impact on local security.”

Civil Affairs teams continue to work on projects to facilitate the reconstruction of basic needs such as water, sewage and electricity. Their mission is to assist in transition by working with the local Iraqi government to build strong infrastructure for Fallujah.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: civilaffairs; fallujahmarines; frwn; iraq; usmc

1 posted on 06/21/2008 8:21:20 AM PDT by SandRat
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To: 91B; HiJinx; Spiff; MJY1288; xzins; Calpernia; clintonh8r; TEXOKIE; windchime; freekitty; ...
FR WAR NEWS!
If you would like to be added to / removed from FRWN,
please FReepmail Sandrat.

WARNING: FRWN can be an EXTREMELY HIGH-VOLUME PING LIST!!

2 posted on 06/21/2008 8:21:45 AM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat

The FIRST time they did that, the criminals moved in and STRIPPED them of everything of value and sold it for scrap or made IED shrapnel of the stuff they couldn’t peddle.

As a U.S. TAX SLAVE, I sincerely hope some kind of security is provided at these facilities to keep the morons from doing that again so WE won’t have to do it again.


3 posted on 06/21/2008 8:35:28 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
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To: Dick Bachert

Dick Bachert,

Your remarks were on the button regarding what happened prior to the strategic shift to proper counter-insurgency tactics. CI is too complicated to explain in full here, but civil affairs in CI is equally as important as putting steel on steel! In the “CI Surge”, we fought our way in and STAYED,with small units protecting the locals from a return of the Jihadis. Once the local chiefs saw that and also saw that it was better hanging with us than with the Radicals, they started cooperating.

And the counter-insurgency strategy snowballed from there!

So, I doubt that *tax-slaves* like you and I will have to worry about a third repeat on local infrastructure. Very soon, the Iraqi Security Forces will be trained and capable of replacing the Marines and providing a measure of law and social order.

[Disclaimer: As a 26 year Gyrene vet, nothing was more “job-satisfying” than being a part of Marines charging an enemy, with full-auto selected and bayonets fixed. However, we also knew that the *boring-part* of people to people and improving their lives was, in its own way, a good feeling...]

Semper Fi,
Colonel Jerry


4 posted on 06/21/2008 10:19:59 AM PDT by Colonel Jerry USMC ret.
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To: Colonel Jerry USMC ret.

Sir,
Thank you for your service and welcome back inside the wire in one piece.

Having said that, I rather suspect the nature of our new foe puts the entire world OUTSIDE the wire.

Thanks for lending your real-world, on-the-ground experience to the discussion.

DB (USAF ‘62-’66 during that fairly useless, costly thing in SE Asia which I pray we’re not repeating in the Middle East — but fear we may be.)


5 posted on 06/21/2008 10:31:22 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
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To: SandRat

Can we get these guys to come to California, to help OUR crumbling infrastructure get back up to par?


6 posted on 06/21/2008 12:32:57 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer (I'm a billionaire! Thanks WTO and the "free trade" system!--Hu Jintao top 10 worst dictators)
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To: hedgetrimmer

First step, get out of office any Saddamist Liberal (Democrats), then the Good-Ole Country Boys in CA can do what the know how to do so well, .. FIX Things.


7 posted on 06/21/2008 12:37:45 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat
get out of office any Saddamist Liberal (Democrats)

this is the hard part. even the patently corrupt don't get voted out anymore.
8 posted on 06/21/2008 2:17:49 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer (I'm a billionaire! Thanks WTO and the "free trade" system!--Hu Jintao top 10 worst dictators)
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