Posted on 03/28/2008 5:29:49 PM PDT by SandRat
Lt. Col. Mark Sullivan, commander of 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, said the boom resulted from a deal between the Iraqi minister of oil and the NBFC union, comprised of four officials who represent the 167 businesses operating in the NBFC. Sullivan said the deal allocated enough heavy fuel oil – the oil necessary to fire up the kilns to bake bricks – for the complex to boost production.
“I merely facilitated and connected the owners with the ministry of oil,” said the native of Huntsville, Ala. “This was an Iraqi problem in need of an Iraqi solution, and they did it.”
Six years ago, the NBFC was at full operating capacity, employing 25,000 Iraqis and producing nearly 8 million bricks per day.
“In 2002, the brick factory owners were here - we weren’t,” Sullivan said. “The Iraqis best understand the potential at the NBFC and we are just helping them reach that potential.”
Sullivan said the factory is crucial to reducing unemployment in the region. In Iraqi culture, the eldest male in the family is responsible to provide for his family; the NBFC offers that opportunity to provide.
“When you help one family leader in Narhwan, you are helping ten because their families are so large,” he said. “We saw a need for employment and the Iraqis fulfilled it. By having this factory employ the populace, it makes our mission safer.”
When 1-10 FA arrived in Narhwan in October, the NBFC was controlled by insurgents. A series of offensive operations ousted the insurgents, Sullivan said, returning the complex to its rightful owners.
“The security situation now has reached a level where factory owners and workers are comfortable enough to return to the NBFC and stand the businesses back up,” Sullivan said. “That’s where we are today with employment and it has the potential to get better.”
The heavy fuel oil supply from the government of Iraq is currently facing challenges, said Sullivan.
“During March, allocations of HFO (heavy fuel oil) to private enterprises ceased,” Sullivan said. “The owners are in the process of trying to resolve it. They have figured it out before; I am confident they will figure it out again.”
The 1-10 FA is part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.
Thanks for posting the good news that some things are showing real improvements - by the Iraqis themselves. The government’s got to get it’s ass in gear, but it is good to see the people and businesses that are vital to the country getting better.
I pray for all the Iraqis that want peace and a decent country. And for the ones that are dying for this for their country too.
I, for one, like the sound of that!
Exactly how far in the stone age did these people start?
I think those are just unbaked bricks.
I love the good news lately! Thank you!! Really makes my day! That donkey-cart is awesome!
And they started making buildings out of bricks long before New Yorkers advanced beyond piling up tree limbs and leaves for shelter.
This is good news.
Just for scale
September 26, 2007: The workers in the brick factory informed coalition forces weeks before about insurgents regularly “shaking them down, demanding payment or they would shut down their shops,” Jones said.
A search of the seven men and two vehicles netted an AK-47 assault rifle with several loaded magazines, three handguns, $1,200 in U.S. currency, and more than 18 million Iraqi dinar. Several fake identification cards were also found.
Power generation is a key part in helping the local brick factory (the largest employer in Narhwan) provide 10,000 future jobs to the people in the area. Without steady power, workers cannot bake bricks properly due to fluctuations in the temperature of the kilns.
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