FOB FALCON — Although capturing terrorists and finding weapons here make the headlines in the news, restoring essential services and key infrastructure elements to the citizens of Baghdad are considered by Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, Infrastructure Coordination Element (ICE) Team, as the real victories in the Global War on Terror.
All coordination issues, from brainstorming for a contract to the final inspections of a multi-million dollar construction project, are handled by the ICE Team, which works coordination issues between Iraqis and Coalition forces, said Maj. Tom Clark, ICE chief, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion.
The restoration begins and ends with coordination from a small team of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, contractors and Iraqi civilians.
“We make sure the construction in sector is done to standard,” added Clark, who is part of the 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.
Staged at Forward Operating Base Falcon, Clark and his team of Soldiers and civilians work with members of the government of Iraq and the district council in southern Baghdad’s Rashid District.
Six Iraqi quality assurance and quality control inspectors help the ICE Team ensure contracts are completed to standard by holding local contractors accountable for the work produced.
Working with the ICE Team is a good team environment, said Spc. Gregory Chism, a fueler working as a clerk for the ICE, assigned to HHC, 1st STB, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div. Everybody is really easy to get along with.
It is a different kind of accomplishment working with the ICE Team, said Chism, who deployed to Iraq as an infantryman with the Army National Guard in 2005.
“Working for the ICE Team feels like I am working for a purpose,” said the native of Tupelo, Miss. “It feels like I’m making a big difference.”
Bilingual, bicultural advisors (BBA) also work with the ICE Team and provide technical expertise, stated Clark, who calls Copperas Cove, Texas, his home, but was born and raised in Singapore.
“The BBA are a natural bridge between us and the Iraqis,” Clark explained. “They understand the Iraqi culture and how to negotiate with the locals.”
The ICE Team is charged with ensuring America’s tax dollars are spent wisely, said Clark, who has years of engineering experience in underdeveloped countries throughout the world.
“Our mission is very important because we are asked to be good stewards of the American taxpayer’s dollars as far as construction and initiatives in the operational environment,” explained Clark, a 1994 graduate of West Point. “I’m really proud of my team. They have performed very well.”
One of the major projects coordinated by the ICE Team is the Airport Road Renovation Project, a multi-million dollar highway reconstruction effort paid for by the GoI.
As Iraq starts to open up again, it will open its doors to foreign investors, said Clark.
Another major breakthrough for the citizens of Rashid is the opening of a regional office for the Ministry of Labor Social Affairs in the Hayy Jihad community.
“There is a great need for providing support for the unemployed, widows, orphans and people who are on the fringes of society,” Clark explained. “The GoI is looking to extend that support through a headquarters in southern Baghdad.”
Last summer in Rashid, the ICE Team worked with numerous schools to get them ready for the start of the school year.
Clark said he believes when Iraqi people see the neighborhood schools in better condition, they understand the genuine concern the Coalition has toward Iraq and its people.
Throughout their time in Iraq, Soldiers from the ICE Team encourage the local leaders to set goals and develop their own systems, said Master Sgt. Jason Staub, ICE non-commissioned officer in charge, assigned to HHC, 1st STB, 1st BCT.
“As we work with the Iraqi leadership, we make suggestions to them on how to manage ongoing projects and planning for future projects,” stated Staub, who hails from New Cumberland, Pa.
As the GoI and Iraqi security forces continue to gain more control of Rashid, Clark and his team must prepare to decrease the amount of CF involvement in operations.
“Basically we are working with our counterparts to ensure that when we leave Iraq, they are able to pick up where we leave off,” Clark stated. “There is a lot of work to do. Some departments are not quite manned for the synchronization piece, but they are steadily working on it.”