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FOB KALSU, Iraq (May 11, 2008) - The Village of Hope graduated
its first class of students May 8 in a ceremony held at Patrol Base
Stone in Hawr Rajab, south of Baghdad.
The 42 graduating students spent the past three months learning
plumbing, electrical and construction skills at the Village of Hope
training facility. The program is aimed at teaching local citizens
valuable career skills, with the added benefit of rebuilding their
community. The students, many of them former Sons of Iraq, will
continue their training outside the classroom by renovating
structures in the area.
Hawr Rajab was devastated last year by al-Qaeda in Iraq, said
town council chairman, Sheikh Ali Majid, who attended the
graduation ceremony. AQI fighters burned houses, stole goods and
used many structures for storing weapons and building bombs, he
said. Now that violence has subsided in the area, its residents can
move on.
"The first thing we need to do is rebuild our homes," Majid
said.
As part of a year-long program, Airmen of the 557th
Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron, working with Soldiers of the 6th
Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd
Infantry Division, will continue their work with students by
providing on-site supervision of the reconstruction efforts.
"The real concentrated effort is to make sure the students,
after their 90 days of academic and technical training, continue to
develop their skill sets so they become true craftsmen," said Air
Force liaison Senior Master Sgt. Casey Wieland.
The new graduates will achieve this by renovating damaged houses
in Hawr Rajab selected by the town council, Wieland said. Then they
will progress to commercial and industrial projects, developing a
wider range of practical skills and knowledge.
Community rebuilding will also reinforce the training they've
received at the Village of Hope, said training superintendant Air
Force Master Sgt. Steven Brooks, of Navarre, Fla.
"Hopefully, by the time they get to that point, the renovations
will have trained them to the level we need them to be, so they can
go out and work on their own," Brooks said.
Part of the continuing program is to train students to be not
only tradesmen, but supervisors as well, Brooks said.
"Our guys will actually be out there with them initially
supervising and still training, but eventually these guys will be
doing it themselves," he said.
Air Force Capt. Michael Askegren, Village of Hope site
commander, encouraged the graduates to continue their training as
they work in the community.
"You have a long way to go," he told the graduates. "I want to
challenge you to stay with the program. When you're done rebuilding
Hawr Rajab, you'll feel a great sense of pride in your
community."
Majid congratulated the students and said he looked forward to
what they will accomplish next.
"Now they can rebuild Hawr Rajab on their own. They won't need
help from someone else," he said.
Three more classes of 50 students each are scheduled to follow
over the next year.
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