As a 2nd Bn., 69th Armor Regt. Soldier looks on, a needy farmer from Khidr, Iraq, signs a contract at a local shaykh’s home that will provide his farm with an irrigation well, Jan. 12. The 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division civil affairs units have been working to provide economic support projects for the local widows and poor families in the Northern part of Babil Province.
As Sgt. Brian Wilson, from Fort Lewis, Wash., attached to “B” Co., 2nd Bn., 69th Armor Regt., looks on, a needy farmer from Khidr, signs a contract at a local shaykh’s home that will provide him with 30 turkeys and feed to support them, Jan. 12. “As long as the applicants are allowed to do what the program is designed for, I think they can all be self-sufficient,” Wilson said.
Staff Sgt. Jon Kirkendall, a squad leader in “B” Co., 2nd Bn., 69th Armor Regt., sorts through contracts during a civil affairs mission in Khidr, Jan. 12. The mission focused on providing economic support projects for the local widows and poor farmers in the northern part of Babil Province.
Sgt. Brian Wilson, from Fort Lewis, Wash., attached to “B” Co., 2nd Bn., 69th Armor Regt., congratulates a farmer in Khidr after he signs an economic project contract that will provide him with 30 turkeys and feed to support them, Jan. 12. The contracts, aimed at helping the needy in northern Babil Province, will give struggling families a way to support their families without having to turn to terrorist cells for support.
A widow from Khidr signs a contract at a local shaykh’s home that will provide her with a bee-keeping farm, Jan. 12. “Honey bees thrive in this area,” said Sgt. Brian Wilson, from Fort Lewis, Wash., attached to “B” Co., 2nd Bn., 69th Armor Regt., “It will really just be a matter of the widows waiting for them to make honey and draining it off.”
