Communications Airmen help Iraqis connect

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Sean E. Cobb
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) --  Airmen worked for two days rebuilding and improving the communications infrastructure at Baghdad International Airport.

A team of 447th Air Expeditionary Group cable maintenance shop and telephone systems Airmen started a job April 3.

“Basically we were asked to come out here and establish high-speed computer and satellite-communications capability to the airport,” said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Thomas, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron cable maintenance shop.

The contractor responsible for bringing the entire airport up to international-commercial standards, recently ran short on some supplies and tools. Through a meeting with the Air Force group’s leaders, officials determined the communications squadron had the right materials to assist, said retired Lt. Col. Eric Huppert, the company’s deputy program director in Iraq.

Re-establishing communications technology is particularly important to the future of the airport, Mr. Huppert said.

“Communications is our lifeblood,” he said. “All our other operations hinge on the ability to communicate both internally and externally.”

Saddam Hussein’s regime had wired the airport -- but not properly, said Chris Lebiedz, the company’s assistant information manager at the airport. The communications lines were run too far off without equipment to boost the signals. The regime also used substandard materials among other problems, he said.

“Some of the wires are run right across the roof tops,” Mr. Lebiedz said. “In the summer heat here, those wires just melt.”

So, the Air Force donated surplus fiber-optic cable, cable connectors, tools, media converters and communication switches.

“The airport already had low-speed communication,” said Staff Sgt. Ian Powell, the telephone systems NCOIC. “We gave them everything they need for a high-speed communications set up.”

Training Iraqi employees who will maintain the system after contractors and the U.S. forces are gone is a key part of the joint effort, Mr. Huppert said.

To that end, Iraqis followed the Airmen through every task, from running cables through floors to attaching equipment to the cabling.

“All this stuff is so new to me, but I’m learning quickly,” said Sarah Izet, a contracted information technician and Baghdad native.

Working with the Iraqis was easy, Sergeant Powell said.

“The hardest part of the job was finding all the [cable] routes,” he said.

After poking through ceilings, cracks, air ducts and crawling through dusty rooms, the team discovered security was tight throughout the airport. Getting doors unlocked was quite a challenge, Sergeant Powell said.

The Airmen are proud of the time they spent working side-by-side with the Iraqis to rebuild their country, said Staff Sgt. Shawn German, a telephone systems switch technician. Especially heartwarming was the welcome the Airmen felt from most of the Iraqis, he said.

“Once, we were running some cable outside and this older man came over for no reason at all and brought us some tea,” Sergeant German said. “That is something I will remember for years to come.”

The Iraqis are grateful for the Americans help, Ms. Izet said.

“I’m glad everything is so good now,” she said. “We needed the change, and this is for the better.”