 FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq – The 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, is working to improve the lives of Iraqis by working to facilitate improvements in the area of economics and agriculture in Wasit province.
Soldiers with experience and education in these areas have stepped out of their usual duties to help the Iraqi people help themselves.
“We’re not firing cannons anymore,” said Maj. Jimmy L. Anderson, battalion operations officer, 1st Bn., 77th FA Regt. “We picked these Soldiers out of the formation because of their educational background and previous life experiences.”
Two noncommissioned officers, originally field artillery automated tactical data systems specialists, with backgrounds in biology and economics were chosen to help the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team.
“This job is completely different from the one I was originally trained to do,” said Staff Sgt. Brett A. Castellanos, PRT member, 1st Bn., 77th FA Regt. Castellanos was chosen for his economics experience. “I’m no longer working in a combat job. Instead I’m organizing data with businesses within Wasit.”
To assist with agriculture in the province, Sgt. Mark O. Harris, agriculture advisor team noncommissioned officer, 1st Bn., 77th FA Regt., draws upon his education in biology from Virginia Tech.
“This job presents a different challenge for me,” the Waynesboro, Va., native said. “I’m no longer looking at things in a day-by-day perspective. Instead, I have to look at the bigger picture for projects I work on by looking at the cause and effect those projects have on the land or citizens here.”
Harris is in charge of three agriculture projects using his knowledge to help the PRT and improve the lives of citizens in the province.
“These Soldiers have done an excellent job so far,” said Anderson, a native of Fairview, Calif. “I expect exceptional results from the projects they work on.”
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