An industrial complex in Iraq has quadrupled its employment and productivity over the last three months, and a team from Multi-National Division – Center is helping the companies keep their labor force healthy.

Army Capt. Rory Carolan, a veterinarian from Maryland, and soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, treated more than 250 donkeys recently that will be used in the absence of motorized vehicles at the Narhwan Brick Factory Complex.

Healthy donkeys were needed for the increase in hauling and to support production.

Army Lt. Col. Bruce Baker, an economist with the civil affairs team, G9, 3rd Infantry Division, who led the initiative, realized that healthy donkeys were needed after heavy fuel oil became available to fire the kilns and bring the brick factory complex to full operating capacity.

After coalition forces engaged the Iraqi energy ministry on behalf of business owners at the complex to deliver heavy fuel oil, employment rose from 3,500 to 15,000. The donkeys became essential to haul straw and mud, as well as the newly-formed bricks. The challenge for Baker was to get the mostly malnourished donkeys able to keep up with the work the newly available oil was going to make.

Carolan, senior veterinarian and agriculture adviser with the civil affairs team, G9, 3rd Infantry Division, specializes in treating equine species – horses, ponies and donkeys. After a briefing from Baker, Carolan traveled to Narhwan to hold the clinic.

“This Narhwan clinic was unique, given the number of donkeys to be examined and treated,” he said. “Many of the donkeys were malnourished and obviously mistreated. Some suffered from pressure sores, hematomas and neglect. Some collapsed of exhaustion and died before our eyes.

“Others were well-cared-for, well-fed and well-groomed by owners who respected their worth,” he said.

Carolan, with the help of soldiers from 1-10th FA, examined, wormed, measured and weighed the donkeys. More donkeys by the hundreds are waiting to be treated in follow-on clinics.

“The vet clinic was the right thing to do before an increased volume of brick orders kicked in,” Carolan said. “In our clinic, we were able to examine and treat donkeys in need of care. We were able to encourage owners giving excellent care to their donkeys. We were able to teach the best way of care and feeding donkeys.

“That is where we can have the most impact, teaching the owners how to properly feed and care for the animals,” he continued. “Higher production at the factories will be achieved with the improved standards of care employed.”

DVIDS

Revitalization of the Narhwan Brick Factory Complex has led to an explosion of employment.

Since January, employment numbers at the NBFC have quadrupled to nearly 15,000 workers; production is up more than 500 percent.

Lt. Col. Mark Sullivan, commander of 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, said the boom resulted from a deal between the Iraqi minister of oil and the NBFC union, comprised of four officials who represent the 167 businesses operating in the NBFC. Sullivan said the deal allocated enough heavy fuel oil – the oil necessary to fire up the kilns to bake bricks – for the complex to boost production.

“I merely facilitated and connected the owners with the ministry of oil,” said the native of Huntsville, Ala. “This was an Iraqi problem in need of an Iraqi solution, and they did it.”

Six years ago, the NBFC was at full operating capacity, employing 25,000 Iraqis and producing nearly 8 million bricks per day.

“In 2002, the brick factory owners were here – we weren’t,” Sullivan said. “The Iraqis best understand the potential at the NBFC and we are just helping them reach that potential.”

Sullivan said the factory is crucial to reducing unemployment in the region. In Iraqi culture, the eldest male in the family is responsible to provide for his family; the NBFC offers that opportunity to provide.

“When you help one family leader in Narhwan, you are helping ten because their families are so large,” he said. “We saw a need for employment and the Iraqis fulfilled it. By having this factory employ the populace, it makes our mission safer.”

When 1-10 FA arrived in Narhwan in October, the NBFC was controlled by insurgents. A series of offensive operations ousted the insurgents, Sullivan said, returning the complex to its rightful owners.

“The security situation now has reached a level where factory owners and workers are comfortable enough to return to the NBFC and stand the businesses back up,” Sullivan said. “That’s where we are today with employment and it has the potential to get better.”

The HFO [heavy fuel oil] supply from the government of Iraq is currently facing challenges, said Sullivan.

“During March, allocations of HFO to private enterprises ceased,” Sullivan said. “The owners are in the process of trying to resolve it. They have figured it out before; I am confident they will figure it out again.”

The 1-10 FA is part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

DVIDS
By Sgt. 1st Class Scott Maynard
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer