Soldiers work for future of Iraqi children

Pvt. Zachary Zuber/3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division

DIYALA, Iraq – Classrooms in the Khalis Secondary School have been bustling during the first two weeks of February. The traffic has not been from the students most people would expect for the school, but rather from a dedicated team of about 40 Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 23 Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Members of the 1-23 Inf., the Tomahawks, have been working with great fervor to perform a makeover modeled after the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” television program that is popular among many American families. The project, deemed the “Extreme Tomahawk School Makeover,” was to refurbish a school that has lived through its share of strife during the recent years, and to provide hope and opportunity for the children of the community.

Soldiers worked for at least nine hours a day, with the final stretch carrying through the night, to complete the overhaul of every foot of the school. They assembled new desks, painted walls, installed windows and air conditioners, and provided new textbooks and bags for the students.

“This was a huge challenge for us to get done on time,” said Spc. William Chanda, a forward observer for 1-23 Inf. “I am still catching up on sleep from the last push, but it was definitely worth it.”

Lack of sleep wasn’t the only difficulty the Tomahawks had to overcome, but each obstacle was taken in stride during the construction process. They did not have all the equipment and tools they might have wanted, but through perseverance the job was completed.

“We had to make do with the few tools we had available,” Chanda said. “There weren’t enough hammers to go around, but everyone just passed stuff around to work with.”

Although many of the Tomahawks, who are trained in combat arms specialties, lacked experience in construction, those who did stepped up to play vital roles.

“I had done framing all my life, working construction,” said Pfc. Wesley Loria, an anti-sniper specialist. “With my experience I was put in charge of all the framing in the building.”

According to Loria, another challenge was the degeneration of the building foundations.

Along with general construction, Soldiers provided some basic amenities for students and teachers, such as rewiring the school and providing air conditioning for the warmer times of the year.

As the school was unveiled to community members by driving back one of the Tomahawk Strykers from in front of the building, students rushed in to see all of the new improvements

“My favorite part of this is the desks and the new air conditioning,” said Ausama Adel, a 15-year-old student at the school. “With all these new things it will be much easier to perform our studies.”

His sentiments wre reflected in his classmates’ smiles.

The school staff was pleased, as well. The school’s headmaster saw it as a wonderful display of the opportunities opened for the future.

“Every part of this school was completely damaged before the Soldiers started working here,” said Qasem Mohammed al-Qasi. “With all these improvements we can really push toward hard work and a better future for our students.”

Those goals are now that much closer to being achieved, and the students of the Khalis Secondary School have a fresh set of possibilities for their future. Even though this project is finished however, there are still more that the Tomahawks have in their sights.

“This is the first of several schools that we are planning to overhaul,” said Chanda.

“Never in a million years did I think this is what I would be doing in the Army, but it really felt good to make a difference in these kids’ lives,” he said.

Visit this week's Downrange gallery for more photos of Soldiers and Airmen serving their country:

February 26 downrange gallery