US Air Force,
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq: A 13-man team from Balad Air Base made quality-of-life improvements, security repairs and facilitated more than 85 emergency maintenance repairs during a 30-day assignment in December and January to an Army patrol base in Samarra, Iraq.
Among the improvements the group of Airmen made were improvements to the Patrol Base Olson aid station to include new lighting and updated plumbing.
The Airmen also repaired a damaged security forces facility, built new living quarters, added power panels, and installed new receptacles, lighting, electrical panels, water heaters, water tank and pressure pumps.
“We'll go anywhere, anytime, to improve the quality of life at that location,” said Tech. Sgt. John Becquer, a 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Det. 6 electrical technician from Kadena Air Base, Japan.
“We really enjoyed getting out there,” said Senior Airman Kristofer Talbott, a 732nd ECES power production technician from Kadena AB. “The work there was so rewarding. The guys would walk by and see us working outside and thank us. I could definitely see the impact, and I knew what we were doing was making a difference to them.”
They Airmen not only improved the living conditions of the people at Patrol Base Olson, but also helped improve the stability of the entire post, Sergeant Becquer said.
After the team's renovations on the firing and training range were complete, Iraqi security forces instructors were able to increase the number of trainees from 100 a month to 500 every two months, the sergeant said. Renovations made to the base's kitchen helped reduce cooking time by two hours per meal served.
“They were definitely pleased with our work,” Sergeant Becquer said. “They wanted to keep us the entire rotation.”
Though the work was hard, team members said it was the appreciation, gratitude and endless hard work of the Soldiers there that kept them going.
“We worked hard busting our chops to get the job done,” said Tech. Sgt. Greg Bass, a structural technician deployed from Kadena AB. “But that's commonplace for us. The Soldiers were in awe of us, yet we were in awe of them.”
Sergeant Bass said many of the Soldiers worked incredibly long hours — most going outside the wire every day. To them, he said, facing dangerous situations was no big deal. Still, the hard work the Airmen were putting in for them day in and day out impressed them.
“They don't think twice about their living conditions or luxuries they might not have had. They're more focused on their mission,” he said. “(The Soldiers) looked at us odd at first, but after a week of being there and working, we became one of theirs. They were talking to us and joking around with us. They accepted us because we were living and working with them. We'd turned into rock stars just for doing our job.”
