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ASSRIYA , Iraq (April 4, 2008) - The Soldiers of Battery A, 1st
Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery, a California National Guard unit
attached to the 1103rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st
Sustainment Brigade, spend most of their nights conducting convoy
security missions.
Although they have a job that requires them to be nocturnal, a
few of the Soldiers have chosen to use their daylight hours to work
in a village located outside of Camp Taji.
Since February, Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Battery A, 1st Bn.,
143rd FA, use their personal time between missions to deliver
supplies and make repairs to schools in the village of Assriya,
Iraq.
"When we first started, we started with volunteers, but
everybody volunteered so it ended up 100 percent participation,"
said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Weaver, a Greenville, Calif., native
and the platoon leader for 2nd Plt., Battery A, 1st Bn., 143rd
FA.
"It's a good cultural awakening for these guys. It gives them a
side of Iraq that they normally don't get to see and a chance to
interact with the Iraqi people," said Weaver.
Weaver, who is a teacher in the civilian world, organized a
drive at his school back in California to collect school supplies
after he saw the need Iraqi schools had for basic materials during
a previous deployment to Iraq in, 2005.
After he was given clearance to go into Assriya, the platoon
distributed the initial packages, which were filled with notebook
paper, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, chalk and staplers.
"When we first came in, they only had one stapler for the whole
school, and keep in mind there are about 450 students. There were
no computers, no copiers," Weaver explained.
"I have a $1 million budget to run my school back home and here
they only had one stapler. It's an extreme situation over here,"
said Staff Sgt. Richard Martinez, a squad leader in the platoon and
a gun truck commander for the unit, who is also a principal at
Washington School in Cloverdale Unified School District in
California.
Once the supplies were delivered, the platoon asked if there was
anything else they could assist with. The platoon has also placed
concertina wire around the wall of the girls' school and worked on
repairing a leaky roof.
Working on the school house in Assriya has been hard work for
the Soldiers, but it is a task that many of them find rewarding,
especially because of the children in the village.
"I'm just real glad to be on this. I don't get to go on a lot of
missions as an armorer, but this definitely would have been the one
I chose if I had my choice of missions," said Sgt. Brent Courtney,
a Hesperia, Calif., native and armorer for Battery A, 1st Bn.,
143rd FA.
"The kids make my day when I go out there. As bad as things are,
they still have a good attitude about everything," added Courtney,
who was asked to get involved with the project because of his
background as a general contractor.
The platoon is mostly made up of combat engineers, so doing the
work at the schools was not a problem. Courtney did much of the
construction around the unit's area of operations and was asked to
run the work crew for the mission at the school.
The children bonded with the 2nd Platoon Soldiers and even try
to help them with some of the projects as they work. The village
sheikh, Sheikh Luqman Raheem, is very grateful for the work that
has been done in his area.
"Thank you so much for what you do. You have done more for my
village than anyone else has done," said Sheik Luqman.
The unit is scheduled to return home in April and the work they
have done will leave a lasting impression on the villagers in
Assriya as well as the Soldiers of 2nd Platoon.
"It's been an eye opener. It's a totally different experience
that nobody could ever understand unless they came here and were a
part of it themselves," said Spc. Shane Miniger, a Hughson, Calif.,
native and a gun truck driver for 2nd Plt., Battery A, 1st Bn.,
143rd FA.
"Maybe they will have a little bit of a different opinion about
troops in this country and know that we're here to help out and
affect them in some positive ways," Miniger added.
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