The Cool Blue Blog

Not giving up in Siniyah

Siniyah takes steps in establishing police force, security

Wednesday, 17 January 2007

SINIYAH — Due to the insurgent uprisings around the last week of October, the majority of the Sinyah’s police officers, the mayor and the entire city council resigned.

The uprisings resulted in the complete destruction of the police station and left the city without security.   

However, the city of Sinyah has not given up.   

After the devastating blow, a new police station is now being built and police officers are being trained to standard, said Antoine Dunmeyer, commander, Company A, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.   

The few police officers that stayed on duty opened recruiting stations throughout the city. So far more than 80 recruits have joined the force, said 1st Lt. Qaiss Kamal, a Siniyah police officer.   

“They want to serve the people of Siniyah and they want to support the families of Siniyah,” Kamal said.   

A permanent police station is under construction nearby. The new floor plan includes elevated police security points, almost like guard towers, which will provide an eagle’s-eye view of the streets.   

The officers are also looking forward to furthering their professional training, said Dunmyer. They will learn basic skills such as protecting the police station and conducting street patrols.   

“Insurgents don’t bring the fight to you. They take one shot and run. Once we are provided the equipment and the intelligence we need to patrol, we will definitely go after the bad guys to make Siniyah a safer place to live,” Kamal said.   

Dunmyer’s company and the 4th Iraqi Army Division have provided 24-hour security for Siniyah since mid-November and will continue to do so until the police force becomes strong enough to defend and protect the city on its own.   

The newly-trained police officers will form police transition teams, which will train in mid-January with the 303rd Military Police Company, 89th MP Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Jackson, Mich., on Forward Operating Base Summerall.   

Staff Sgt. Jeremy Hockey, a squad leader, 303rd Military Police Company, said the police officers will make their transition once they complete three stages, beginning with police station security, getting new uniforms and getting new equipment.   

“(We are) teaching them how to defend the building and how to show the people of Siniyah that they can be trusted,” Hockey said. “(The last step) is basic patrolling of the city itself.”   

A major hold-up for the police officers has been the lack of support from the Iraqi government. They are having trouble communicating their needs for equipment and training, said Sgt. James. M. Boys, team leader, 303rd Military Police Company.   

The 303rd MPs are trying to show the Iraqi policemen the channels they can go through in their government to get what they need. In time they will improve and become self-sufficient, Boys said.   

(By Spc. Joshua R. Ford, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division PAO)

4,000 projects

Obscured by the smoke and mirrors created by the Islamists and their enablers, the rebuilding of Iraq continues at a pace Americans would be proud of, if they only knew

Most Americans don't understand something equivalent to the Marshall Plan has been accomplished in Iraq," said Dean G. Popps, principal assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions, logistics and technology.

The Army is the program manager for $20 billion in U.S. taxpayer money that flowed to Iraq after the 2003 invasion to spur a building boom of more than 4,000 projects.

Amid constant deadly threats from bloodthirsty insurgents, and without a viable Iraqi private contracting sector, the Army Corps of Engineers has supervised the construction of electric grids, health care centers, schools, water and sewage treatment facilities, police stations, academies and border posts.

... "It's quite a heroic story maligned often by the news media," Mr. Popps said during an interview in his E-Ring Pentagon office. A nearby multicolored map designates hundreds of projects started and completed, from Mosul to Basra.

Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, has issued a steady stream of reports revealing fraud and mismanagement. Perhaps his most damaging finding was that nearly a quarter of $37 billion in United Nations-secured oil money -- not U.S. taxpayer funds -- shipped to Iraq cannot be traced and was likely stolen.

But Mr. Bowen has said fraud involving U.S. money, while serious, is not widespread and that the huge majority of projects proceeded as required. And, a Bowen report to Congress last summer seemed to back up Mr. Popps' message of progress.

"Although the story of Iraq reconstruction has been punctuated by shortfalls and deficiencies, the infrastructure overview provided [in] this quarterly report presents a picture of significant progress achieved through a substantial U.S. investment of time, talent and tax dollars in Iraq's relief and reconstruction."

Among the projects the US Military has completed in Iraq are

• Six new primary care facilities, with 66 more under construction; 11 hospitals renovated; more than 800 schools fixed up; more than 300 police stations and facilities and 248 border control forts.
    • Added 407,000 cubic meters per day of water treatment; a new sewage-treatment system for Basra; work on Baghdad's three plants continues; oil production exceeds the 2002 level of 2 million barrels a day by 500,000.
    • The Ministry of Electricity now sends power to Baghdad for four to eight hours a day, and 10 to 12 for the rest of the country. Iraqis are now free to buy consumer items such as generators, which provide some homes with power around-the-clock.

Mr. Popps said all this was accomplished despite a concerted effort by terrorists to bomb construction sites and kill workers.

But the focus in the media filter is off

"You said accurately in your opening statement that not everything is wrong in Iraq, and that's true," Mr. Bowen responded. "A fair reading of our full report demonstrably underscores that fact. Indeed, 70 percent of the projects we've visited and 80 percent of the money allocated to them indicate that those projects, from a construction perspective, have met what the contract anticipated."

Hey! But such stories don't help Democrats get elected.

2,000 orphans

3rd Brigade Support Battalion supports more than own in Iraq

Friday, 17 November 2006 By Spc. Mike Alberts
3rd BCT, 25th Inf. Div PAO

KIRKUK — She held back tears explaining why this day meant so much to the more than 2,000 orphans in the Shorish and Chamchamal-Kalar quarters of Kirkuk.    

“Sadaam Hussein massacred their parents and destroyed their villages,” said Surod, a local national aid worker. “Silly little things that are meaningless to you, like a pencil, mean the world to them,” she said. “No one gives them anything.”

Until now.

Bud’s Organization for Children’s Rights received over 50 boxes of school supplies, toys, stuffed animals and soccer balls to be distributed to more than 2,000 orphans in and around Kirkuk from the 325th Brigade Support Battalion at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Nov. 6.

Rebwar S. Muhamed -- Bud’s founder -- teaches Arabic, history and geology to 12-year-olds in a local primary school, but devotes much of his time to his children’s rights organization. None of his many stories of children “doing without” were more compelling than the tale of two students he noticed who never attended school on the same day.

“I knew these two children from the same family that attended my class,” Muhamed said through an interpreter. “I would see one student one day and the other student the next. I learned the reason that they didn’t attend school together was because they were sharing a pair of shoes.”

“War in Iraq has created a very big social problem of widows and orphans,” Muhamed said. “I [empathize] with the children because we suffered during our childhood just as they are suffering. They are the future of this country, and they need our help.”

Muhamed said the orphans are in need of everything from health care, food and clothing to shelter and other basic social services. Although grateful for this delivery, he is anxious to get Coalition assistance on many fronts.

The American Soldier spearheading the effort to assist is Chaplain (Capt.) Martin Cho, battalion chaplain, 3rd Brigade Support Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. Cho’s motivation is both spiritual and personal.

“First, I help because the Bible says help widows and orphans, it’s that simple,” said Cho. “Also, I’m Korean. A lot of American (service members) supported Korean orphans over the years. Some of those orphans who received help became American and Korean religious, business and political leaders. My prayer is to do what I can to give these Iraqi orphans the same support.”

Cho said the assistance project is in its infancy. The first challenge is to ensure the donations actually end up in the hands of the orphans.

“This is our third contact with the organization,” Cho said. “When you aren’t handing out assistance directly, but relying on them to do it, you need confirmation that it is actually getting to the orphans. So they will send us photos.

“They need so much and we cannot do it all, but we can do something. Bud’s has opened their heart to us and now we can help connect them with powerful people to continue to support these children and this organization.”

Now is too soon

On the eve of the mid-term election, Josh White's report from Iraq get's buried on page A-13 of the Washington Post. Yet with Iraq being the focus of yet another election, the information he conveys might be of importance to those about to cast their ballots.

He notes that the War in Iraq is violent, and the climate especially for US Soldiers wearing full gear is often uncomfortable.

It is dusty and muddy, calm and chaotic, deafeningly loud and eerily quiet.

The one thing the war is not, however, is finished, dozens of soldiers across the country said in interviews. And leaving Iraq now would have devastating consequences, they said...

"Take us out of that vacuum -- and it's on the edge now -- and boom, it would become a free-for-all," said Lt. Col. Mark Suich, who commands the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment just south of Baghdad. "It would be a raw contention for power. That would be the bloodiest piece of this war."

The soldiers declined to discuss the political jousting back home, but they expressed support for the Bush administration's approach to the war, which they described as sticking with a tumultuous situation to give Iraq a chance to stand on its own.

Many Democrats have said our job is done in Iraq and we should leave and re focus on Afghanistan. Of course, they fail to realize that the types of units in Iraq are not suitable for Afghanistan: Armored and Mechanized infantry are not the best mix for the mountanous terrain as the Russians found out 20 years ago. Still, it's their argument. The soldiers in Iraq have a different point of view

Capt. Jim Modlin, 26, of Oceanport, N.J., said he thought the situation in Iraq had improved between his deployment in 2003 and his return this year as a liaison officer to Iraqi security forces with the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, based here on FOB Sykes outside Tall Afar. Modlin described himself as more liberal than conservative and said he had already cast his absentee ballot in Texas. He said he believed that U.S. elected officials would lead the military in the right direction, regardless of what happens Tuesday.

"Pulling out now would be as bad or worse than going forward with no changes," Modlin said. "Sectarian violence would be rampant, democracy would cease to exist, and the rule of law would be decimated. It's not 'stay the course,' and it's not 'cut and run' or other political catchphrases. There are people's lives here. There are so many different dynamics that go on here that a simple solution just isn't possible."

And our soldiers would prefer a stand up fight with anti-Democratic forces rather than driving around waiting for an IED to explode

"It's frustrating, because it's hard to get into the fight," said Staff Sgt. Robert Wyper, 26, of Riverside, Calif., a squad leader with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment. Wyper rides around the Mosul area in a Stryker armored vehicle. He has fired a total of four rounds from his weapon since he arrived in August, while several other soldiers said they had never pulled their trigger during their deployments. "The combat we have is on the enemy's terms," Wyper said. "You can shoot at the enemy, but how do you shoot at an IED?"

First Sgt. David Schumacher, 37, of Watertown, N.Y., is on his eighth deployment to a foreign battlefield since a tour in Somalia, and his third tour in Iraq.

"The insurgents are more strategic this time, they're smarter," he said. "We're trying to anticipate their next move, and they're trying to anticipate ours. There's still a lot to do."

They're learning and we're learning. But one thing that you don't hear much about is the Iraqis themselves who are hoping for a peaceful, secure and prosperous future

Capt. Mike Lingenfelter, 32, of Panhandle, Tex., said that U.S. troops have earned the trust of residents in Tall Afar over the past couple of years and that leaving now would send the wrong message. His Comanche Troop of the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment is working with Iraqi forces to give them control of the city.

"We'll pull their feet out from under them if we leave," Lingenfelter said.

"It's still fragile enough now that if the coalition were to leave, it would embolden the insurgents. A lot of people have put their trust and faith in us to see it to the end. It would be an extreme betrayal for us to leave."

Sgt. Jonathan Kirkendall, 23, of Falls City, Neb., said he fears that many Americans think that building the country to viability will be "quick and easy," when he believes it could take many years. Kirkendall, of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division in Baghdad, is on his third deployment to Iraq and celebrated his 21st and 23rd birthdays here.

"If they say leave in six months, we'll leave in six months. If they say six years, it's six years," said Kirkendall, who is awaiting the birth of his first daughter, due next week.

"I'm just an average soldier, and I'll do what they tell me to do. I'm proud to be a part of it, either way it goes, but I'd like to see it through."

And I believe it's America's obligation to see it through.

UPDATE: Matt Burden has enough comments from soldiers serving in Iraq to write his own article> Here's an example

...First, the obvious, is the fact that when the enemy's propaganda matches the talking points of a political party, there is something wrong.  The fact that so many, especially those in positions to influence voters (think MSM here), have no problem using enemy propaganda or will gleefully cover enemy activities while glossing over the hard, diligent work of their own military should be a giant red flag waving in the face of voters.  I am dismayed that any campaign races are even slightly close when one of the candidates presents a position even mildly against the war.  Further dismay comes when I see that too many people just don't understand what is at stake in this war.

Read the whole thing

Ameriya the beautiful

Iraqi, Coalition Squelch Violence in Ameriya

Iraqi and Coalition forces squelch violence in Ameriya, as part of Operation Together Forward.

By U.S. Army Sgt. Jeff Lowry

BAGHDAD, Aug. 18, 2006 — Iraqi and Coalition forces joined this week to squelch the violence in Ameriya, a key neighborhood in west Baghdad, as part of a city-wide operation known as Amaliya Ma’an ila Al-Amam or Operation Together Forward.

“The purpose was to eliminate terrorists and death squads in and around Ameriya,” said Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Abdul Jaleel in a press conference.

Jaleel is the commander of 1st Brigade, 6th Iraq Army Division. The unit took the lead in a recent sweep of the town with the U.S. 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division as support.

The Iraqi and Coalition forces searched about 6,000 houses and buildings in the Ameriya neighborhood, said Jaleel. The local citizens requested the market area be secured first.

“We re-opened shops that had been closed and a neighborhood gas station,” he said.

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander, Col. Robert Scurlock Jr., re-iterated Jaleel’s point, noting that people are returning to the streets.

“More than 50 percent of the shops have re-opened,” Jaleel said.

Jaleel and Scurlock see the market as a way to repair the neighborhood that was torn apart by violence.

“We want to get the stores open and get people back to a normal life,” said Scurlock.

He credited his fellow troops for helping to restore peace in Ameriya.

“It’s the dedication of Iraqi soldiers and their professionalism and sharing information with Coalition forces,” said Scurlock.

According to Scurlock, eight arrests were made and 128 weapons seized. “We’re making progress,” he said.

Jaleel and Scurlock felt that most of the sectarian violence was caused by people who do not live in Ameriya.

Iraqi and Coalition presence is enough to deter violence here, said Scurlock. He also said there has not been one death since Together Forward operations began in Ameriya.

During the press conference the duo took many questions asking whether Iraq was fighting a civil war.

“From my point of view as an Iraqi, we have never had a sectarian war or a civil war,” said Jaleel, who is a Shiite Muslim and whose wife is a Sunni Muslim.

Sunni and Shi’a Muslims might seem on divergent paths, but if Ameriya could be an example they might move forward together.
“With unity and security, there will be prosperity,” said Scurlock.

Maj. Yarbrough's CAT

Soldiers help Baghdad citizens

Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD, Iraq - About 200 families outside Baghdad will have one more meal in their bellies after a recent humanitarian mission conducted by Coalition forces outside Sadr City, Iraq.

Maj. Deborah Yarbrough of the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion and her team develop an Iraqi farming cooperative that Coalition forces help implement. After checking on the seed, tractors and plows, which is what Yarbrough calls a “long-term solution” it’s time for a quicker fix.
                                     
The four-vehicle convoy pulled into one of the many “squatter-towns” that have sprung up in the last 18 months. No sooner did the convoy’s engines stop than the colorfully-clad, children drew near. Some of the team pulled guard as a translator and two Civil Affairs Soldiers moved to the back of the trailer attached to one of the Humvees. The trailer was filled with brown cardboard boxes, containing two- hundred bright yellow bags.

“It’s like a meal in a bag,” Yarbrough explained.
The packages contained canned beef, rice, flour, water, oil, sugar and tea.

“It’s not much, but it’s a token of good will. Handing-out these bags has another benefit because we put a card in it with a number that these people can call if they see any suspicious activity,” said Yarbrough. “That way they don’t have to talk to us directly if they don’t feel comfortable.”
                                     
It was useless to try and bring order to the people that had gathered around the vehicle, although the Civil Affairs Soldiers gave it their best effort. The line of women and children stretched out behind the Humvee had swollen. It resembled the crowd at a heavy-metal rock concert more than anything; women and children sometimes push each other to get to the food. Many tried to get to the head of the line more than once, hoping for an extra meal.
                                     
More Soldiers moved around the back of the Humvee trying to put space between the trailer and the crowd and keep some semblance of a line. Meanwhile, both children and adults tried to score an added bonus—the cardboard boxes the meals had come in. When the Soldier’s had handed out all the meals in the box, they would flatten the cardboard and toss it to the side of the trailer. From there it’s fair game.
                                     
When asked if it was the women and children that usually approach her team to receive the humanitarian assistance, Yarbrough replied, “Yeah, especially when they see that we have female Soldiers. We sometimes hand out toys too, and the kids love that. If the kid walks away smiling then their parent is usually smiling, but we don’t hand them out at the same time. We’ve found that it’s just too much.”
                                     
Half the bags were handed out, and the team decided to divide the day’s load between two locations. They mounted up and moved down the road about a half-mile. Some of the people followed Yarbrough’s team down the dirt road through the web of electrical wires. Though the women’s black burkas made it hard to recognize who had already received food, the children’s faces and brightly colored clothes were easy to recognize.
                                     
The second location mirrored the first. Women and children crowded the back of the trailer and walked away with bright yellow bags and smiles on their face.
                                     
“We try to involve the community as much as possible,” said Yarbrough. “The food is local, local people put the bags together, and then we distribute them—locally.”

The way cool mosque

Operation ‘Cool Carpet’ Bridges Relationships

U.S. Marines and Iraqi Army soldiers deliver air conditioners and prayers rugs.

By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. William Skelton
Regimental Combat Team 5

GHARMAH, Iraq, June 12, 2006 — Marines with A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment – along with soldiers from the Iraqi Army – brought a breath of fresh air to a local mosque.

Operation Cool Carpet delivered two new air conditioning units and a box of prayer rugs to the Iraqi people near Gharmah, Iraq.

“This is basically a mission of good will,” said Sgt. Juan J. Mendez, a 24-year-old squad leader from Gardena, Calif. “This, hopefully, will help the Iraqi soldiers become more trusted in the community.”

Marines from A Company have operated in the area since the battalion’s arrival in January. They have built strong relationships with the Iraqi people while fighting the insurgency in the area.

“We have worked closely with the people in this area,” said 2nd Lt. Patrick M. Lynch, a 28-year-old platoon commander from Alsip, Ill. “Whenever they voice a need in the community, if we can, we try to help them.”

One of the missions of the battalion is to be able to turn over more battle space to the Iraqi Army. The Marines took this opportunity to include the Iraqi soldiers. Soon, Iraqi soldiers will be working these regions on their own. Trust between Iraqi soldiers and locals is just as important as it is for Marines and locals.

“We want the people to know the Iraqi Army is here to help them as well,” Mendez said. “This is the first time we have worked with them. They look pretty sharp from what I can see.”

A crowd of people formed outside the mosque as the Marines and soldiers pulled up in their humvees. The delivery didn’t take long, but the reception was warm and welcomed.

“I enjoy coming out and helping my people,” said Iraqi Army Cpl. Hussein Abass Hussein, a 24-year-old soldier from Najaf. “I just wish we could do more of these types of events.”

Marines, Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike grabbed the units and the box of rugs from the back of a humvee. The soldiers and the local Iraqi men carried the items into the mosque once they were unloaded from the truck.

“It is great to see that we can help out the people,” Hussein said. “It is good for us to do this. One day we will be fully responsible for the area.”

Hand shakes and prayers of thanks were shared between the Iraqis and the Marines. As quickly as they came, the forces loaded up and were on their way.

“Today’s mission was a success,” Lynch said. “Everything went as planned and no one was injured. I couldn’t ask for more.”

No set dates are in place for the Iraqi Army to take over the company’s area of operation. Everyday though, the Iraqi Army is taking on more responsibilities in the area.

“We are getting closer to going home everyday that passes,” said Mendez. “Things like this are good for the Iraqi soldiers. One day this is all going to be theirs and they will have complete control.”

Dahuk school

New School Benefits More Than 800 Iraqi Students

The architectural design and material selection was made by a local Iraqi engineer in coordination with the Director General of Education and then provided to the Dahuk Residence Office.

By Polli Barnes Keller
Gulf Region North
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

MOSUL, Iraq, May 22, 2006 — A newly constructed school located in the center of Dahuk will serve approximately 840 students and 36 teachers.

This new two-story complex consists of a 12-room classroom school with a detached exterior lavatory building, a play-yard and a generator building, all of which is surrounded by a three-meter high perimeter wall.

The exterior and interior walls are of masonry construction with a concrete super structure and terrazzo tile flooring. The exterior wall finishes are cut stone and plaster.

“The architectural design and material selection was made by a local Iraqi engineer in coordination with the Director General of Education and then provided to the Dahuk Residence Office,” said Joshua Adekanbi, Dahuk resident engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Director General of Education uses a standard primary school design with the same floor plan. Since the plans are recycled, varied exterior architectural elements are chosen for each school.

This $460,000 project was funded by the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Fund and built by a local Iraqi construction company. Of the 317 school projects funded by the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Fund in the northern region of Iraq, 315 are complete and two are in progress. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers participated as the contracting and construction management and quality assurance of the over-all project.

Editor's Note:  Polli Barnes Keller is the Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North.

                                                                       

Cooperative Farming

Co-op brings new hope to local Iraqi farmers

Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika
133^rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
From Digital Video Distribution System (DVIDS)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (USASOC News Service, May 15, 2006) --As planting season approaches, farmers outside of Baghdad, Iraq, are learning the true meaning of cooperation with a little help from Coalition forces.

Members of the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion are currently working to continue a farmer’s co-op in the Mada-In district that began over two years ago when previous Civil Affairs units procured tractors and land for the co-op. The benefits of this program will be seen this season by farmers all over the district.

The long term, non-profit project has culminated with the addition of seed and implements for the local agrarians.

“When up and running, the cooperative will benefit about twenty thousand people,” says Maj. Deborah Yarbrough, a Civil Affairs team leader from Memphis Tenn. “Even if the people are not directly involved in farming the land, they are either buying or selling the products.”

The co-ops’ headquarters building was constructed on an old Saddam-era military complex.

“We have a written contract with the Department of Agriculture that states if we build the building they will not take it away from the farmers,” Yarborough explains.

After the building was complete, the next step was to get the farmers equipment to plow the fields. The equipment included tractors and plows that the co-op rents out to the farmers for about five thousand dinar an hour (about $3.56 US dollars). Once the fields are plowed, the planting process begins.

This season the farmers will be planting corn, tomatos, okra, sesame seed and tons of watermelon. They will also be planting a corn like maize for the animals. The co-op sells the seed to the farmers at slightly less than market value but makes up the difference by renting out the tractor implements.<

“Farmers like to farm. We are putting a lot of people back to work. By doing this, chances are they will not join the insurgency. Right now in this area, joining the bad guys is the only source of money,” said Yarbrough. “These people need to feed their families. By starting this project, we are hoping that when they see things that are not right, they may call one of the many collation hotlines to report suspicious activity.”

Everyone benefits. With one final check of the equipment and seed, making sure everything is in working order, Yarbrough and her team gets out of the farmer’s hair, anxious to leave the site and let them get back to the business of feeding families.   

More Power to Najaf

Three Electrical Substations Completed in Najaf

The three substations represent the first of many improvements to electrical service for the city of Najaf.

By Suzanne M. Fournier
Gulf Region Southern District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

BASE CAMP ADDER (ALI BASE), Iraq, April 10, 2006 — Three new substations were completed recently in Najaf. The Jamiaa, Aden and Shorta substations took approximately one year to build at a cost of $4.8 million each. Final inspections for each substation occurred last week. The intended outcome of each substation is to deliver electrical power to as many as 25,000 homes, depending on the actual amount each household uses.

The national grid works by transmitting power at very high voltage levels in order to be efficient over long distances. In order for that power to be useable by the consumer, homeowner or business, power voltage needs to be reduced to a much lower level. These three new substations form part of the system by which the high voltage power coming from the national grid is reduced to a lower level in steps as the distance to the consumer gets shorter. These new substations allow more power to be delivered safely to the consumer without interruption due to equipment failures or overloads. They serve to strengthen and expand the local power grid within the city of Najaf.

The three substations represent the first of many improvements to electrical service for the city of Najaf. In the next few months, Najaf will get other electrical projects such as underground power feeder lines, neighborhood transformers, pole mounted power lines and one additional substation. As all of these upgrades to the network come together, the city will see a significant improvement in the quality of the local electrical network. The total cost of these new electric improvements totals $44 million.

The three substations and other electric projects are under management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using Iraq Relief and Reconstruction money.