Army helps renovate Iraq universities
By Spc. Bryan Kinkade
Lt. Col. Kendall Penn, 1-153 Infantry commander, and Baghdad University President Dr. Hatim cut the ribbon in front of the campus to recognize the completion of renovations June 24.
Spc. Bryan Kinkade
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, June 30, 2004) -- Completed renovations on Baghdad University and al-Nahrain University were celebrated during ribbon-cutting ceremonies June 24 by the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment.
The $600,000 projects were completed by Iraqi contractors hired by the battalion’s Company A, attached to an Arkansas National Guard unit, 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment.
“It feels good,” 2nd Lt. Robert Kotecki, the company’s civil affairs and information operations officer, said. “It’s a sense of accomplishment.”
The Baghdad University renovations focused on the front entrance of the campus. They included a parking lot for 80 buses, plumbing and gardening improvements, and new walkways and lighting.
Before the lot was constructed, buses would park on the side of the road, the head engineer for the Karada District, said. Traffic jams would occur frequently, so the university’s president made a plan to fix it.
The fountains at the campus entrance were also fixed, after not working for 14 years.
Baghdad University is considered the most prestigious university in Iraq, with more than 70,000 students attending the satellite campuses.
After the first ceremony, the unit took off to the al-Nahrain University. The university received a new political science building, complete with air conditioning, fluorescent lighting, bathrooms, and an amphitheater for lectures.
“The building was started before the war, but it was pretty much a skeleton structure,” Kotecki said. “The floor was littered with anti-aircraft rounds when we first got here.”
The al-Nahrain University, formerly the Saddam University, was an elite school for Ba’ath Party children, Kotecki said.
At each university, Lt. Col. Kendall Penn, the 1-153 INF commander, cut the ribbon for the ceremonies. After the al-Nahrain University ribbon cutting, the Soldiers were treated to a feast of Arabic food and sodas.
On the horizon, Company A, 1-9 Cav. has many projects starting. Some of them include an allergy and vaccination clinic, the al-Zeweia Health Clinic and a building a gas station near Baghdad University, which will be the only one in the area.
(Editor’s note: Spc. Bryan Kinkade serves with 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.)
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