Sgt. Nathan Lehman, from Sault Ste Marie, Mich., with the 250th engineers, multi-role bridge company, Connecticut Army National Guard, works on constructing a Mabey Johnson panel bridge across the Tigris River near Salman Pak, Iraq on June 2. The bridge will provide a vital link to the town for area farmers.

A bead of sweat drips off Capt. Chuck Taylor’s brow and into the dirt that lines the banks of the Tigris River.

He tells the medic keep an eye on the Soldiers in the unit and make sure they stay hydrated. It’s 7 p.m. and the temperature is hovering just over 100 degrees.

Both U.S. and Iraqi forces pull 360-degree security while the 250th Engineers Multi-Role Bridge Company, Connecticut Army National Guard, continued to work night and day to build a Mabey Johnson panel bridge across the Tigris River, near the town of Salman Pak.

Taylor, commander of the 250th, oversaw the operation. He directed the troops to accomplish the project by moving equipment into place during the day, then performing the majority of construction at night to escape the sun’s heat.

Taylor explained that the bridge is important in this location because the only other way for locals to get to the town of Salman Pak is to take a three-hour detour to the next crossing.

“The Salman Pak area has really grown as far as farms and commerce. Having this bridge in place allows the residents and farmers on this shore to take their produce to town and sell their product and purchase the things that they need,” Taylor said.

In 2003, U.S. forces built an assault float bridge at this location. However, it was designed to be temporary and was starting to show its age, according to Taylor.

Soldiers with the 250th engineers, multi-role bridge company, Connecticut Army National Guard work on constructing a Mabey Johnson panel bridge across the Tigris River near Salman Pak, Iraq on June 3.

He said this area was so important to the government of Iraq that they requested his unit’s assistance in putting a more permanent support bridge to replace the float bridge.

“As long as it’s properly maintained this Mabey Johnson Bridge will last on a sight like this for many years to come,” said Taylor.

Pfc. Andrea Reynolds, an equipment operator with the engineers, said she is proud of the work she and her unit is doing.

“It’s amazing, watching everyone and seeing what they can do,” said Reynolds, from New Haven, Conn. “I have never seen anything like this. Watching everyone work together to make something that is going to make the local population have a better life is really rewarding.”

Members of the Iraqi Army who worked with the engineers were also impressed by the speed of the project.

“They keep working. Night and day, they just keep going,” said Pvt. Nasrat Ayad Najem, an Iraqi soldier.

“I am very amazed with how the U.S. Soldiers are constructing the bridge, and how they are doing it so fast,” said Pvt. Aalaa Rasul Kareemn, an Iraqi army engineer. “There must be no better way to build a bridge.”

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Story by Staff Sgt. Daniel Yarnall

In an effort to restore clean water to the citizens of southern Baghdad, and virtually millions of Iraqi’s further downstream, members of the Joint Reconstruction Operations Center are working together with agencies from U.S. Division-Center, the Government of Iraq and Japan to refurbish the Karkh Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Originally, the mission of the JROC, established in 2006 by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, was to coordinate and synchronize reconstruction efforts throughout Baghdad. That mission has been expanded in order to assist people working for the U.S. State Department and U.S. military in finalizing essential service infrastructure projects in and around the province of Baghdad.

In 2005, the Karkh Waste Water Treatment Plant was attacked by insurgents and subsequently looted. The attack left the plant inoperable, causing untreated sewage water to be dumped into the Tigris River daily, said Maj. Donald Westfall, the operations officer for the JROC, and native of Chardon, Ohio, assigned to 16th Engineer Brigade.

“It’s almost like the facility is not there,” said Shukri Rabadi, the sector lead for the JROC sewer section. “The sewage goes directly to the Tigris River without being treated.”

Westfall, Rabadi and the team at the JROC have been meeting with both the Baghdad Sewer Authority and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to try to refurbish and expand the current facility, making it functional again.

“This mission is a priority for the Iraqi government,” said Westfall. “The need for rehab and expansion is immediate.”

If operational, the KWWTP, the largest waste water treatment center in Iraq, would meet the needs of over 3 million Baghdad residents.

“The international standard for the Bio-Oxygen Demand test in water is a result of less than 40 mg/per liter. The Tigris has levels that are over 12 times that amount,” said Rabadi. “The rural people are drinking the contaminated water. They may get very sick from it.”

In order to get the plant back online, significant time and financial investments will have to be made. The refurbishment of the current facility is estimated to cost $30 million and will take nearly a year to complete. Construction is expected to start later this spring. Additionally, Rabadi said the expansion will cost over $400 million and take two years to complete.

Once completed, the expansion is expected to double the waste water treatment capacity of the current facility. Construction is expected to begin in 2011 and will take 2-3 years to complete.

The JROC is responsible for ensuring that stakeholders in the reconstruction effort are aware of progress on the projects, and any issues that may arise. The JROC personnel continue to work with the BSA to check on the progress of the refurbishment. They also work with JICA to make sure the expansion continues.

While the projects are many, the goal is always the same: what can be done to help get Iraq running again?

“This is a good start. We have to keep going and continue reconstruction effort for years to come,” said Rabadi.

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Story by Spc. Brian Johnson

An aerial view of the Mabey Johnson bridge on Sept. 1 shows the culmination of a one month long partnership project between the 225th Engineer Brigade, 555th Engineer Brigade, and elements of three Iraqi army Field Engineering Regiments. The enormous bridge spans 100 meters over the Tigris River near Taji in northern Baghdad. It will allow the crossing of nearly any piece of equipment the military uses today.

On the banks of the mighty Tigris River, a track excavator slowly inched forward, pushing a land-based on ramp towards a pontoon suspension bridge.

Simple pins, connecting the two, marked the Aug. 31 completion of a spectacular engineering effort from three separate engineer entities that took a month to complete.

Engineers of the 225th Engineer Brigade, the 555th Engineer Brigade and elements of the Headquarters, 4th and 5th Iraqi Army Field Engineer Regiments have literally bridged the gap while spanning the river to reduce traffic inside of Baghdad in accordance with the Security Agreement.

On July 27, the 277th Engineer Company, 46th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 225th Eng. Bde., began the massive job of removing 6,000 cubic yards of dirt to level both banks of the river for the bridge’s on and off ramps. Using the Army’s largest bulldozer, the D9, San Antonio-based engineers moved some 400 dump truck loads worth of dirt in only 23 days.

“The 277th Eng. Company’s scope of work was to construct the near side and far side approach and the boat launch sites. This was done with a variety of engineer operations of cutting and filling; loading and hauling and grading, leveling and compacting,” said plans officer, Maj. Shane Rauh, of Baton Rouge, La.

Next, Soldiers of the 555th Engineer Brigade assembled the ramps of the Maybe Johnson Bridge and launched the portion of bridge suspended by pontoons over the Tigris.

The final phase of the engineer tri-fecta was a company sized element from the Iraqi army Field Engineer Regiments. The partnership was not only great training for the emplacement of the actual bridge, but allowed the U.S. Soldiers to show the Iraqis how to maintain the bridge once U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq.

“The big significance here is this is my first time that I know of … that we’ve actually built a bridge alongside the Iraqi brethren and the Iraqi Engineers. It’s a huge significance because we’ve got [three] regiments out here worth of people helping us out to build this bridge,” Capt. John Davis of Virginia Beach, Va., commander of the 50th Multi-Role Bridge Company explained.

“We were able to train them in the past on the Maybe Johnson on how to do the emplacement and maneuver of these bridges and to get them out here on site and to get them building and all come together, there’s just a lot of national pride out here,” he said.

For the 50th MRBC, working with the Maybe Johnson was not a first, but suspending the bridge with pontoons to make a sort of floating bridge was a first that allowed for a rare training opportunity.

“This is a non-standard bridge. This is something we bought and are using based on operational needs in Iraq right now,” Davis continued. “So this is great for them to get training and get experience to carry on to the next generation of Army [bridge builders].”

“This is a Maybe Johnson Combat 200 version. It is capable of pretty much crossing any kind of traffic the military has right now. It will enable the units in this area to have freedom of maneuver … to keep the fight progressing,” said Davis.

The bridge opened to military traffic Aug. 31.

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Story by Sgt. Rebekah Malone

Looking at the murky, muddy waters of the Tigris River, it seems hard to imagine swimming in the river, much less drinking its waters. But minutes after a broken valve was repaired at the Tuwaitha Water Treatment Plant, the treated river water gushed from a pump, as crystal clear and potable as bottled water.

The Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, celebrated bringing the water treatment back to full capacity, June 1, eight months after a broken valve at the plant’s lift station reduced the water flow.

The Tuwaitha Water Treatment Plant supplies an estimated 120,000 Iraqis in Maid’in area, south of Baghdad, with potable water. The lift station, which provides pressure to keep the reservoir full, had broken a valve that prevented the plant from producing enough clean water. The “Dragon” Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 82nd FA Regt. stepped in and got their hands dirty, offering mechanical expertise to help the Iraqis repair the valve and repair electrical pump switches.

Lt. Col. Eric Schwegler, commander of the 1st Bn., 82nd FA Regt., stood with representatives from the local municipal government, the national police and representatives from the Baghdad Ministry of Water when the moment of truth arrived to flip the switch that would turn on the repaired valve. Expectations were met when a torrent of crystal clear water poured out of the valve, sending a channel of water where the ground had been dry during the eight months that the lift station was not working.

“It feels great to see that cold, crystal water when all the other side of the plant is the murky Tigris River,” said Schwegler, a native of Ozark, Ala.

In an effort to show good faith in the project, Schwegler joined the Iraqis by dipping a plastic bottle into the water and then taking a drink before the water had been tested. Schwegler said the project demonstrated cooperation between different local and national agencies to help the Iraqis of Maid’in district.

“This is kind of historic because you have the Baghdad Ministry of Water coming down to Maid’in Quada, the Maid’in Quada Council, the Jisr Diyala Council and the Jisr Diyala Water Department, all focusing their efforts on getting this treatment plant going,” Schwegler said.

Schwegler added that the project, though funded by the coalition forces, was an achievement of the Iraqi people. Local Iraqi contractors and volunteers completed the work to help the water treatment plant function properly again.

“It is absolutely great to see all these agencies in the Government of Iraq coming together to focus on a critical problem and working among themselves to address this issue,” Schwegler said. “They saw a problem and formed a solution to meet the critical needs.”

Shakyh Qais Shater, a tribal leader in of Maid’in Quada, said he was pleased with the contributions of the 1st Bn., 82nd FA Regt. He said repair of the treatment plant was an urgent need, as Iraqis in the area were forced to retrieve water from a water tank truck instead of getting water in their home.

“I saw many women carrying the containers on their heads to get water. That was a shame,” said Shater. “We are very happy to find our friends like Lt. Col. Schwegler and his men to help our people.”

Schwegler and the delegation of local and national leaders climbed to the top of a reservoir between the pump station and the lift station to observe huge concrete basins that had been empty earlier. Officials from the Baghdad Ministry of Water took samples of the water for testing, to make sure the filters and water treatment equipment were properly purifying the water.

According to Schwegler, the water treatment plant functioning is another sign that the Iraqis are taking more responsibility for their country’s needs.

“The government of Iraq saw the potential to address a critical shortcoming and has stepped up as a responsible government to take care of its own people,” Schwegler said. “I think the note you take away is the needs of the people are being met by the Government of Iraq.”

In many meetings with local Iraqi leaders, potable water was a need constantly expressed to the Dragons of 1st Bn., 82nd FA Regt. Now, with the water flowing again, that need has been met thanks to the cooperation of American Soldiers and Iraqi leaders.

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Story by Jon Soles