FROM BUILDING ROADS TO BUILDING MINDS, NCO WITH V CORPS' 1ST ARMORED DIVISION OVERSEES OPERATION OF BAGHDAD CAMP
V Corps Release
Release Date: 3/4/2004
By Staff Sgt. Mark Bell 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Some say you'd have a better chance of spotting Elvis in Baghdad than seeing Sgt. Maj. Jeff Wells sitting in his office.
Although he has his own non-tactical vehicle for getting around one of the largest forward operating bases in Baghdad, the 44-year-old NCO in charge of base operations here prefers walking the walled compound located on Highway 8 in southern Baghdad.
Armed with his most deadly weapon, his two-way radio, Wells is able to track contractors and Soldiers working on more than 50 different projects at any given time.
"I have my hands in so many projects it's not even funny," he said.
While he may be laying hold to a myriad of initiatives at once, they all have one bottom line.
"My number-one focus is the quality of life for the tenants here," he said. "Secondly, we are trying to clean up the life support elements of the [base]."
Ever since this camp, home to V Corps' 1st Armored Division Artillery Combat Team, was designated as an enduring forward operating base, Wells' primary mission has been to ensure the camp's infrastructure is built to last.
"What I do is find myself working with a lot of different contractors, " he said after one long day overseeing a large project to replace the dirt roads with paved roads. "Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but it's work that needs to be done, and that work needs to be tracked."
One of Wells' biggest concerns is water. With more than 3,000 Soldiers and contractors calling the camp home, Wells said, making sure everyone has potable and non-potable water is very important. From the dining facility to Soldiers brushing their teeth, the base uses more than 400,000 gallons of water daily. Wells said there is a lot of effort behind making sure that supply doesn't dry up.
"The reason we have a good supply of water is because of the enormous amount of coordination between (contractors Kellogg, Brown and Root) and the Iraqis to ensure we don't run out of water," he said.
More than 70 Iraqi workers are employed by the Army to put nails in walls, unplug toilets or sweep dirt off the roads, Wells said. Hiring Al Rashid district residents is a very important step to getting Iraq to an independent, democratic country.
"We want them to be able to take over their own country some day," he said. "By giving them jobs here on the [camp], maybe they'll pick up a new skill they will be able to use now or when we are long gone."
Wells said keeping all his projects running smoothly takes diplomacy, and a fair bit of wheeling and dealing. He said one transaction stands out among the others.
"I remember one 16-year-old Iraqi girl who really wanted a job working at the post exchange," he said. "I wondered why she wasn't in school and why a job was more important than an education. I figured finishing high school would be important to someone here."
Wells discovered that the distance and location of the nearest primary school prevented the girl from attending. But she wanted to work with the Americans to fulfill a strong desire to learn the English language. So Wells made a deal unlike any other he'd cut to date; not for more supplies, additional workers or loweer prices, but for the girl's education. Wells found a former professor working as a skilled laborer on the camp, who was willing to tutor they young woman. She gets to practice what she has learned at the post exchange.
"Now, every Friday she is taking English lessons here on the [base]. It's a great thing to see her learning to speak English."
Whether he's helping to build roads or young minds, Wells says every mission comes with the job.
"It's about being a Soldier -- nothing more or less," he said.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
