NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
July 13, 2004
Release Number: 04-07-28
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWO-THOUSAND EMPLOYED IN LARGEST EMPLOYMENT PROJECT TO DATE
BAGHDAD, Iraq - First Cavalry Division on July 10 broke ground on the Al Boetha landfill, a $35 million project which will be the largest employment effort in 5th Brigade Combat Team's area of operation, providing jobs for 2,000 Iraqi workers.
Workers, who earn $7 a day, will clear a 3.6 kilometer area for the landfill, and will build fences and a road during the two-month project. Employees will also dig a canal for water runoff around the landfill.
In an effort to distribute jobs evenly in the area, neighborhood councils from six districts provided 200 names to Army civil affairs officials.
In addition to the expected 2,000 employees, 700 additional Iraqis came to the site looking for jobs, said Staff Sgt. Rodney Cox, a civil affairs team sergeant in Company A, 489th Civil Affairs Battalion.
"Word is just spreading that there are jobs available and people are coming to see if they can get a job," said Maj. Luther Webster, a CA team leader, 489th CA Bn.. "We had people come from as far as Sadr City looking for work."
"In Al Rashid we have put thousands to work in a number of projects; this is just one such project," Webster said. "So we encourage the local populace to see their [neighborhood councils] and get on a list with them."
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