SFC George Luedike from the Civil Affairs Group, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, attached to the 2nd Marine Division, talks with the Iraqi people who have assumed responsibility for operating the post office in Fallujah. USMC Photo by LCpl Brian M Henner
 

Soldiers from the Polish CIMIC (Civil Military Cooperation) unit unload and distribute pillows, blankets, and toys to children at the Al Azhar Kindergarten School in Ad Diwaniyah. The CIMIC conducts various projects that work toward rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure. Pic: SGT Arthur Hamilton
 

A Marine from Marine Light Attack Squadron 269 performs a flight inspection before an AH-1W Cobra helicopter takes off from the flight line of Al Qaim. Pic: CPL Alicia M. Garcia, USMC
 

Iraqi Border Patrol Academy graduates hoist U.S. Marine Corps CPL Morton onto their shoulders in celebration after their graduation ceremony in Al Asad. Horton, an instructor at the academy, is part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. Pic CPL Alicia M Garcia, USMC


 

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), keep watch from outside a police station during a patrol in Mosul. Pic: SPC Jory C. Randall


 

SGT Raczykowski with the Polish Civilian-Military Cooperation (CIMIC), unloads and distributes supplies during a humanitarian aid mission in Al Diwanyah. The CIMIC conducts various projects that aid in the rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastructure. Pic: SGT Arthur Hamilton

 

Reconstruction efforts in the Salah ad Din province continue to return big dividends to the Iraqi people. In the Iraqi Reconstruction program, visible signs of progress are everywhere-with the two biggest events in March being completion of the Bayji Gas Turbine Upgrade, and renovated schools with their new doors open.
The Bayji project places an additional 260 megawatts of electrical power on the national grid. The rehabilitation project totaled $54million.
 

First Class of Highway Patrol Academy Heads for Iraqi Streets
TAJI, IRAQ - With cheers and chants of loyalty to the new Iraqi government, 247 exuberant recruits picked up graduation certificates from the Iraqi Highway Patrol Academy and headed for new jobs guarding their country's streets and thoroughfares.
 

An Iraqi Soldier with Delta Company, 201st Battalion, hands a young boy some candy after clearing his home during a stabilization and security operation in Tikrit. Pic: SPC Jmil Watts
 

Iraqi construction workers build a gate at a school outside Al Iskandariyah. U.S. Army Civil Affairs Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 155th Brigade Combat Team, are surveying the school for materials needed to finish construction on the school. Pic: Airman 1st Class Kurt Gibbons III, U.S. Air Force.
 

U.S. Army soldiers help an Iraqi medic move an injured civilian to an ambulance after a car bombing in South Baghdad. Pic: Spc. Ronald Shaw Jr. 

As U.S. and Iraqi forces respond to a car bombing in South Baghdad, Iraq, a second car bomb is detonated, targeting those responding to the initial incident. The attack, aimed at the Iraqi police force, resulted in 18 casualties, two of which were police officers. Pic: SPC Ronald Shaw Jr. 

SPC Theodore Amell scans the horizon for insurgent activity during a patrol near Mosul. Amell is assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment. Pic: TSGT Mike Buytas, U.S. Air Force. 

SGT Mark J. Meunier (left) and SGT Anthony Faul tighten down lug nuts on their M1117 Armored Security Vehicle at Camp Liberty. Meunier and Faul are Military Policemen with the 940th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, from Fort Bragg, N.C. Pic: SPC Jeremy D. Crisp
 

A Danish soldier uses a backhoe to dig for weapons and ammunition in the village of Shakarta. British and Danish soldiers conducted surprise operations to catch terrorists and criminals in Shakarta. Pic: Kelly Burkhart
 

A British soldier digs up an ammunition cache in the village of Shakarta. Ten cases of small arms rounds were found after British and Danish Soldiers conducted a surprise operation to catch terrorists and criminals in Shakarta. Pic: SPC Kelly Burkhart
 

U.S. Army Soldiers deploy a robot to confirm a box on the side of San Juan Road is an improvised explosive device in Al Iskandariyah. The soldiers discovered the box had two mortar rounds inside, with metal shards, wired to a Motorola two-way radio. The soldiers involved are assigned to the 725th Ordnance Company. Pic: Airman 1st Class Kurt Gibbons III, U.S. Air Force
 

U.S. Marine Jonathon Burks stands guard in the turret of his Humvee on a roadway near a burning oil pipe south of Camp Al Taqaddum. Burks is assigned to 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Military Police Battalion. Pic: PFC Brian A. Jaques, USMC
 

A Slovakian Explosive Ordnance Detachment Soldier carries a mortar round collected outside of the city of Al Diwanyah. The detachment's mission is to collect and destroy old munitions left over from Saddam Hussein's regime. Pic: SGT Arthur Hamilton 

Slovakian Explosive Ordnance Detachment Soldiers stack artillery with a remote-controlled "Bobcat" outside the city of Al Diwanyah. The detachment's mission is to collect and destroy old munitions left over from Saddam Hussein's regime. Pic: SGT Arthur Hamilton 

Iraqi Soldiers from the 1st Presidential Iraqi Army look over boxes of new AK-47's delivered by U.S. Army Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, in Mamadia. Pic: SPC Ronald Shaw Jr.
 

Pope John Paul II 

A U.S. Soldier with 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment, 155th Brigade Combat Team, stacks up mortar rounds found during a series of raids near Forward Operating Base Dogwood in Babil. The joint mission, conducted with the Iraqi National Guard and Sailors from a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, resulted in the capture of over 25 suspected insurgents along with numerous weapons caches. Pic: Photographer's Mate 1st Class Brien Aho, U.S. Navy.
 

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq -- Renovations and improvements are essential for the nation of Iraq to change for the better, and the 1088th Engineer Battalion, 256th Brigade Combat Team, is committed to making that happen.

Pay officers from 1088th traveled to Forward Operating Base St. Michael to join forces with the 407th Civil Affairs Bn. to pay Iraqi contractors for the work that they have done to improve the quality of life for their own people. Three contractors, and three projects, are on or near completion, and the community is already reaping the benefits.

“They (insurgents) have been putting a lot of improvised explosive devices in the roads, so we’ve hired local contractors to fix the potholes, and to pave, clear, and widen the streets,” said SSG Robert Bourgoyne, of Headquarters Company, 1088th. Bourgoyne, who is from Donaldsonville, La., is a pay officer for the 256th BCT, and says that this process is important and necessary for keeping Soldiers safe. By SPC Erin Robicheaux, Task Force Baghdad 

According to Bob Hanacek, GRS resident engineer, the $10M contract includes improvements to the water, sewer, and power systems; roof replacement, heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems, medical supplies, and cosmetics.

"Every portion of the 260-bed hospital will be touched," said Hanacek. "The contract also includes new operating suites, tons of new medical equipment, and many donated medical supplies. We are re-equipping the entire facility."