letter from Iraq

[briannell]

This letter was sent to me by MSU alumni Bret Martin, thought you'd find what our engineers are doing interesting as it (the good things) never make CNN.

-Brian


Hi All,

Well, I'm off to Iraq again. This time it's for a year. I fly to Fort Bliss
this Sunday for my gear and some training and then off to Iraq about a week
later. I should be on ground in Iraq ready for business sometime around the
17th of June. I will be the Resident Officer in charge of reconstruction in the
Diyala Province (see map in attachment; it is on the lower right corner just
east of Baghdad). I will be headquartered in the city of Bacubah, around 1
million people. We are currently executing around $150 million in contracts
with many more to come. We are currently building clinics, schools, roads,
bridges, earth dams, weirs, water and electrical distribution systems, etc.
There are around 20 some general contractors working time and materials
contracts. The general contractors are from the states and Europe mostly. They
hire Iraqi subcontractors to do the actual work. Our job (myself and 8 other
engineers from USACE) is to provide oversight of all jobs to inc
lude QA, budget control, keep to timelines, approve change orders, minimize
project creep, provide technical support, etc. In addition to that, my job also
includes coordination/representative with/to the State Department, Diyala
Governate, maneuver forces and other acronym agencies for anything that remotely
deals with reconstruction. It should be a lot of fun and keep me busy enough to
make the time go by quickly.

[BobCatFan]

I would like to thank you for defending our country. My God be with you and I will prayer for you safe return.

[Ponycat]

God Speed to your friend

[BobcatBlood]

Agreed. Your friend will be in our prayers.

maybe he could send some pictures of the progress?