SLC 92FLW40 11-002

WATER CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM I
2003-2004
SFC BRIAN HARRIS

WATER DAWGS
ALL THE WAY!!!

SFC Brian Harris
Mr. Wahid/ Mr. Verrett
SLC 92FLW40 11-002
4 January 2011

In June 2003, I was deployed to Iraq with my unit 82nd Forward Support Battalion, Ft. Bragg, NC. Once operations in Fallujah were underway I was sent to assist the 186th Quartermaster Detachment, Ft. Bragg, NC. I wasn’t with them long just long enough to assist with a few of their set ups, but I moved quickly and ensured every mission that was given was completed with 110% competency.
The first mission was to patrol a fuel pipeline and 12 pump stations leading from Kuwait to Iraq with 24 NCOs and Soldiers which I personally didn’t take part of since I was already in country. The mission consisted of three shifts patrolling the pipeline to ensure that it was not tampered with and if anyone was found on the route they were to be detained. Six Iraqi civilians who attempted to sabotage the pipeline were detained during a 30 day period. The next mission we were given was to set up a water purification and distribution site in Talil, Iraq. The Detachment set up five 3000GPH Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit’s (ROWPU) purifying over two million gallons of potable water. The Detachment supported the Iraqi civilians, the Italian, Turkish, Korean, and American Armies. This mission was continuous throughout the 2003-2004 deployment. The Detachment was then given several other missions, in which we moved to Alhillah, Iraq. Our unit was broken into separate forward operating bases (FOBs) to include Babylon, Diwayneha, Karbala, AnNajaf, and Scania. My team and I were tasked to set up an operational potable water purification and distribution site in AnNajf, Iraq. We supported the mission with one 3000GPH ROWPU, two 50,000 gallon potable water bags, and one 5,000 gallon Semi Mounted Fabric Tank (SMFT). Our primary mission was to set up potable water operations to support the DFAC, and Laundry and bath on Najaf; to distribute potable water to the nearby jail, and to Animal Paw which was another FOB not too far from AnNajf. We also assisted KBR (Kellogg, Brown, and Root), to set-up potable water lines to the DFAC and laundry and bath facilities. We completed this mission successfully purifying over 150,000 gallons of potable water. We then turned the site over to the National Guard to sustain the mission. My team was then tasked to set up potable water operations in Scania, Iraq. Our team set-up one 3000 GPH ROWPU to support the entire FOB. The difficult task that my team faced was that the water source was not accessible to our equipment. I contacted the engineers and they were able to build a channel for us to access the Euphrates River. We then had to figure out how to anchor our intake strainer to the bottom of the source. We achieved that by tying the anchor rope to a tree to secure the strainer. After the preparations were complete we began ROWPU Operations. We had 20,000 gallons on ground by the next morning. Preventive Medicine cleared us, so that we could begin distributing. We purified over 100,000 gallons in a 30 day period and was said to have the best site in theater. By the eighth month of the deployment we turned over five fully operational water sites to the National Guard and returned to Tail, Iraq to continue ROWPU operations. We sustained many pitfalls when we returned. Our equipment was in operation continuously to sustain the demand. Unfortunately, our equipment gave out from overuse, lack of maintenance, and wear and tear. We were able to repair the equipment ourselves and sustain the mission to support the multinational forces in and around Talil, Iraq. Although my tasking was supposed to have been only a few weeks I ended up staying the majority of the deployment. Only returning to my parent Brigade with 30 days left.