For the second time in two days, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Iraqi engineers have commissioned new generators near Baghdad. The commissioning of a second 96-megawatt generator marks the largest two-day increase in electricity generation since the U.S.-led reconstruction effort began last year. The addition of the two generators puts enough electricity on the Iraq national power grid to service 576,000 Iraqi homes. Electricity production in the country hovers near 5,300 megawatts—a level that far surpasses the pre-war level of 4,400—and services an estimated 15.9 million Iraqi homes. The Corps’ team of civilian and military engineers has helped resurrect more than 20 electricity plants across the country.
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RQ-7A “Shadow” unmanned aerial vehicles are the “eyes in the sky” for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stationed at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Baqubah, Iraq. The Shadows enable the brigade commander to eye the surrounding area for at least 10 hours a day. The Shadow is so effective that during one flight, Soldiers were able to spot an enemy sniper, report his location, and then shoot a 40mm grenade through the window and eliminate him. GPS systems on the aircraft and on ground antennas “talk to each other,” triangulating the Shadow’s position, and allowing the operator to control it remotely from the ground. While the Shadow has a “textbook” range of up to 50 kilometers, Soldiers have flown it to nearly 80 kilometers.
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Soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division are preparing to move numerous items of historical interest from bases slated for closure along the Korean demilitarized zone. Soldiers who recently visited Camp Howze found it mostly empty, but plenty of reminders of its past remained to preserve, including hundreds of exotic trees planted by Soldiers who served there. Many of the trees include plaques dedicating them to particular Soldiers. Officials plan to remove the plaques and may even move some of the trees to other division facilities. However, moving trees is a tricky business that can be done only at certain times of the year. Bases closing include camps Howze, Greaves, Edwards, Garry Owens, Giant and Stanton.
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