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CAMP KALSU, Iraq (June 16, 2008) - He was among the first
helping rebuild key facilities in southern Iraq shortly after
Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled.
This month, Army Lt. Col. Michael Darrow returned to Iraq on
another U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission. This time he will be
the officer in charge of the Forat Area Office, overseeing 42
construction projects valued at $140 million in Babil, Karbala,
Najaf, Qadisiyah and Wasit.
His staff -- 48 Iraqi engineers, 12 U.S. government civilians
and 12 military personnel -- is responsible for a variety of
essential service improvements in cities throughout that region
including water treatment, sewers, schools, medical facilities and
road paving.
He said the situation is definitely different compared to his
assignment five years ago, when he came in with a six-person
advance forward engineer support team.
"When we arrived, our first assignment was making assessments
and immediate renovations to get key ministry facilities back up
and functioning. We were responsible for projects in Iraq's four
southern provinces of Basrah, Dhi Qar, Maysan and Muthanna," he
explained.
"We knew we needed help, and one of our first initiatives was
hiring 16 Iraqi engineers, all who originally were associated with
the Ministry of Housing and Construction. Those individuals were a
significant value-added asset," he said. "They had an extensive
knowledge of the local market and tradesmen, their technical
competence, especially in the electrical and mechanical fields,
enhanced our capabilities, and they were able to visit the projects
every day, even as the security requirements for coalition forces
changed."
When his six-person team left in October 2003, about 170
projects worth $14.5 million "were somewhere in the process, some
in the initial assessment, others being contracted out and some
already completed," he said. The team was asked to renovate 49
schools, 24 ministry offices, 14 security and justice facilities,
five fire stations, seven hospitals, six banks, five bridges and
seven industrial complexes.
"It was an amazing amount of work, and we couldn't have gotten
nearly as far as we did without those 16 Iraqi engineer associates
being part of the team," he said.
What is especially gratifying to Darrow is that when he returned
to Iraq this year, he learned the Iraqi engineers still are working
for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in essentially the same
role.
"I'm very happy to see that those individuals are still part of
the team, making a difference as Iraq moves forward," he said.
Darrow deployed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Norfolk,
Va., district, where he is the deputy commander. He and his wife,
Dana, have three children and will be celebrating their 20th year
of marriage in October.
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