Barksdale Reservists help maintain Kirkuk Regional Air Base

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  At home or half way around the world, Air Force civil engineers know their job; keeping bases operational.

Airmen deployed from the 917th Civil Engineer Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., are putting the skills they hone one weekend a month to use maintaining the base and improving the quality of life for American servicemembers and the Iraqi airmen at KRAB.

Barksdale Airmen are teaming up with almost 150 people from 27 different bases worldwide to complete the mission here.

The teams support base services and maintain the utilities that keep the base operational, said Chief Master Sgt. Stanley Huff, 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron chief enlisted advisor, who is deployed from Barksdale AFB, La.

Maintaining the base is not the only responsibility the 506th ECES has. Along with a variety of construction projects, which include electrical, sewage, air-conditioning and a back log of heavy equipment work, they also train local Iraqi nationals in the construction field.

"We have a 21-person team of Iraqis who are part of our workforce. We teach them how to finish concrete, how to build walls and how to weld," said Maj. Charles Chapman III, 506th ECES, operations flight commander.

"Three of our guys are dedicated to training the (Iraqis)," Major Chapman said. "When they first got here, they would pick up and move things around. Now they know how to lay concrete, weld and complete other construction tasks."

"They are doing quite well," said Chief Huff. "Two interpreters work with three seven-man teams. They help us out quite a bit. We have a lot of concrete work to do."

"(The Iraqis) can take those skills and earn a better living by getting a higher paying job as a skilled construction worker, rather than a simple laborer," Major Chapman said. "It's a winning situation for both. We get additional manpower to do the work we need help with and they learn valuable skills in return."

From senior leadership to the Airman who wields the shovel, each individual brings their own qualities to the effort of assisting the Iraqi air force and the Iraqi people.

This has been great learning experience," said Senior Airman Angel Hirschi, 506th ECES, utilities technician. "I like meeting new people. I'm getting to know the (local nationals), and I enjoy working with them."

Airman Hirschi, a single mother, who left three children at home with her mother when she deployed here from Barksdale AFB, La., said she hopes the Iraqis can learn things from the United States in order to help better their own country.

Additional projects the 506th ECES personnel are engaged in are cutting down bamboo from ditches near guard towers and building ramps at certain locations along the perimeter burms, Chief Huff said.

Assistance is not limited as far as Air Force civil engineers are concerned.

"We also help the Army out on a lot of things when we can," said Chief Huff. "We are working as a team. 506th - that's who we are."

The engineers are hoping to train the Iraqis on plumbing in the near future.

"We may let (the local Iraqis) go through a (modular bathroom) to teach them plumbing," Chief Huff said. "The talent is there - we just have to pull it out of them. It's good to sit back and watch them do what we have taught them to do. It's a good feeling."

When all is said and done, Barksdale Airmen from all walks of life who have brought their experience and knowledge to this far away land will have made a difference.

"It's great how the teams from the different bases came together and hit the ground running," Major Chapman said. "That's what civil engineers do - work hard and get it done!"