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