WE LEFT THE GREEN ZONE, HEADING FOR THE BAGHDAD AIRPORT IN A HIGH-SPEED DASH along a highway known as Route Irish. Adrenaline pumped through our veins on this 130°F (54°C) day as we set off on what is considered the most dangerous road in Iraq. I was traveling in the middle vehicle of a three-car security detail, referred to as a CP (close protection) team. The lead car carefully checked ahead for terrorist threats and roadside bombs. The rear vehicle was on the watch for suicide bombers.

We found ourselves backed up in traffic behind a slow-moving U.S. military convoy patrolling the road, making us an even easier target for potential bombers. The security team in our car became more agitated than I had ever seen them before. Jalal, our head Iraqi guard, was driving with one hand while holding a handgun in the other. George, the head of our security operation, sat next to him with an AK-47 submachine gun in one hand and a radio in the other, telling everyone in our CP to keep away from any car with a sole driver. I was in the back seat; my heart was pounding.

Just as traffic began to ease up, our car jolted forward. Behind us, two cars were in flames — a suicide bomber had struck. We all escaped, shaken but unharmed. Sadly, only two weeks later, Jalal died in another suicide bombing on that very same road.

I was in Iraq working with one of the many international contractors who started reconstruction work in the fall of 2003. At that time, there was a positive vibe, and I had every expectation that the situation in Iraq would improve as U.S. reconstruction efforts took hold. Instead, it got worse by the day.

RECONSTRUCTION DETAILS

USAID and the US Army Corps of Engineers administered the majority of the reconstruction efforts at this time and appointed U.S. contractors to manage the bulk of the power-grid reconstruction projects. We won our first subcontract to rebuild 130 km (81 miles) of a critical 400-kV transmission line that fed power to Baghdad from thermal power stations in the south. The majority of the towers on this line had been pulled down by the Iraqis after the war, and they needed to be completely reconstructed.

TIGHT DEADLINES REQUIRE AGGRESSIVE MEASURES

In order to meet incredibly tight deadlines, we were forced to transport almost everything to the construction site by air. This included 1000 workers as well as tower steel, insulators and tension-stringing equipment. Ultimately, we chartered more than 40 flights from India, Africa, the Middle East, China and the United Kingdom. Finding the pilots and planes willing to fly into Iraq was not easy. The pilots, mostly Ukrainian, were incredibly brave, often landing their aircraft in the most dangerous locations.

Just as our work commenced, the rainy season arrived, turning the Arab marshlands into a quagmire. We couldn't get our vehicles to the tower sites and often had to carry tower steelwork by hand through knee-deep water. With 1000 security personnel working alongside us to protect us from attack, we were able to get the 130 km of line back up within four months of signing the contract, a miracle considering the circumstances. We were awarded subsequent jobs and have since completed an additional six transmission reconstruction projects in Iraq.

WORKING WITH IRAQIS

We worked with each of the ethnic groupings in Iraq — Sunni, Shia and Kurd. They are all very proud, tough and resilient. At a personal level, they are great people who will adopt you as a friend. However, at a nationalistic level, I felt a deep resentment toward us being there. Working across the country highlighted the divisions that exist in Iraq. For example, we could not use Sunni or Shia workers in the Kurdish north. Shia or Kurds could not work west of Baghdad in the Sunni Triangle, and in the south it was preferable to use Shia. We also learned that conflicts exist within the ethnic groupings as we witnessed armed battles between tribal villages living near the transmission lines.

The insurgency has certainly stifled reconstruction efforts, as has the rapid growth in the demand for power. However, it is disappointing that far too many of the U.S.'s accomplishments in the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure have gone unnoticed. Those of us who are involved in these efforts are proud of the progress that has been made under some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable.

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Paul Hinks is now the CEO of U.S.-based Symbion Power and continues to be involved with Iraqi reconstruction projects. paul.hinks@symbion-power.com