WEBVTT

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today .

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I'm Freedom Journal Iraq . Iraqis look

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to the north for ideas for economic

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growth and meet the felons mechanics

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who fix tactical vehicles .

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Welcome

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to this edition of Freedom Journal Iraq ,

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I'm tech sergeant chris madness as U .

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S . Officials renew efforts to boost

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economic development in Iraq's most

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troubled areas . They're looking at a

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vocational training program in the calm

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kurdish capital . As an example .

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Sergeant frank Pellegrini was at Camp

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Zeitoun in Erbil to see Iraqi skill

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building in action . The relative

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political stability and economic

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prosperity in Iraq's Kurdish north is a

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kind of living laboratory for the rest

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of the country . As U . S . Ambassador

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to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters

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in the kurdish capital of reveal last

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week , it is easier because it think

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there's an example that you can show

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this as a , it is an example of a

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model . Uh , the circumstances here

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are much more favorable . One elements

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of Kristan success that's the best to

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spread southward is the kind of

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vocational training centre run by the

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Koreans here at camp as coalition

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forces renew their efforts to stabilize

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Baghdad will be making a special effort

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to boost economic reconstruction

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projects in the Iraqi capital . But

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such projects are still in need of

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skilled labor in order to have the

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workers needed to remember those

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projects , there is a need for training

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people with vocational training program .

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What the Syrians that started . It is a

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good thing . The VtC here offers

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courses and heavy equipment operation

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as well as vital small business skills

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like baking , automobile maintenance

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and computer operation shingle back

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here . A former student who now works

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at the center of the translator and

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teacher's assistant says the schools

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producing that Iraq's struggling

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economy desperately needs its , you

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know , nowadays because we're somehow

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developing country so we need to learn

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especially computer industrial school ,

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both 100% job placement for its

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graduates guaranteed by the Kurdistan

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regional government as the coalition

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moves forward with plans to replicate

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the korean success here . With 20 more

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such schools throughout Iraq officials

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are confident that this kind of economy

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building will be replicated as well .

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Sergeant frank Pellegrini Erbil Iraq

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traveling by humvee in Iraq is a

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dangerous way to get from Point A to

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Point B Specialist kurt Bell tells us

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about a newly created unit that's doing

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all they can to keep troops safe on

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Iraq's roads . Service members on L .

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S . Anaconda are working hard to

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protect the lives of their comrades by

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installing improved armor onto 11 14

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Humvees . The service members

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responsible for installing the

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additional armor come from different

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units that fall under the command of

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the 13th sustainment command

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expeditionary The 1114 that are getting

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the extra armor . Our vehicles that

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travel outside the wire either on

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patrols as part of convoys . The

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additional armor is made to better

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withstand attacks from anti Iraqi

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forces , but before soldiers can add

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any new armor , the old armor must come

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off just one of the doors of the humvee

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weighs hundreds of pounds and forklift

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helped secure the heavy door to the

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humvee . We got the back door and the

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passenger side , the driver's side

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putting it on , SecuritE , get

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that secure this door or around more

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secure . There is no mos school for the

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job that these soldiers do .

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It is strictly on the job training for

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these soldiers . L . S . Anaconda is

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not the only place service members are

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up armoring Humvees 200 miles west of

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balad at Camp Ramadi soldiers and

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marines are working side by side and

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stalling the same armor upgrade who

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increased the speed and efficiency and

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the assembly process . These special

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teams were created to help get the

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improved Humvees into the field faster .

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There are 11 places in theater that

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have enough trained personnel , space ,

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supplies and equipment to do the work

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that these service members do every day

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as troops enter into another year

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traveling by ground throughout a war

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zone . The hope is the hard work of

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these service members will continue to

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save the lives of their brothers and

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ours reporting for the 2/10 in pad and

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the 13th S . E on specialist Kirk fell

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after the break . We need a vehicle

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repair team called the felons stay

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with .

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From

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where I sit . The mission in Iraq is

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going pretty well . We're making

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progress in in all of the areas that

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were trying to uh , the Iraqi security

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forces are getting better every day .

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The police , the army and so forth .

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Soldiers still understand the mission

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and they're out there getting after the

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soldiers collected terms . Airmen ,

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marines are civilians , are sailors ,

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uh and so forth . Our coalition

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partners . Most importantly the mission ,

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I think it's going very well , but as

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you know , it's it's a difficult thing

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to fight an insurgency uh when when we

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don't have the political ends and means

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working as fast as we want to , the

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government really is coming along now

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and that's , that's gonna be the key I

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think , to the future here in Iraq and

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help put a stop the insurgency is

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having having the government provide an

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alternative and some economics and

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security and stability and electricity

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and water and so forth . But on the

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whole , it's going very well

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for the regional headline update . We

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check in with cars and frank Pellegrini

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at the news day . The new

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Baghdad security plan faces some

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skepticism from critics who wonder how

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it can succeed where previous efforts

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have come up short in a press

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conference in Baghdad this week . Mnf I

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spokesman , Major General Bill caldwell

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pointed to the establishment of joint

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security stations as one of the

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technical adjustments that planners

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hope will make all the difference . We

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got 10 of them up and operating as we

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speak . Um , so when you go down and

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look at one of these security stations ,

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you know , you actually see and

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understand this idea of establishing a

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24 by seven presents where we're going

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to stay and remain an interface with

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the population uh , in the past , you

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know , we came in and we started , did

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the clear area , we hold it for a while ,

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do some building and then we moved on .

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Uh , this time the Prime Minister has

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committed enough forces where they can

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maintain and retain a presence in that

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area that shouldn't go away afterwards .

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General caldwell said part of the

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security officials are already up and

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running in the capital , headlines from

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around the region and President frank

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Pellegrin roadside

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bombs and I . E . Ds present dangers to

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coalition and Iraqi troops , but even

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in an ideal situation where no one gets

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hurt and I d can take its toll on

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tactical vehicles . Staff Sergeant

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David Howell introduces us to a team of

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mechanics who repair tactical vehicles

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in Baghdad . These mechanics call

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themselves the felons . This work they

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import operating base , Stockton is

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home to a special breed of mechanic .

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They do the improbable shooting Humvees

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and other vehicles damaged by roadside

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bombs and making them serviceable .

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Welcome to the world of the felon's one

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of the second image , your division's

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assets in the war against terrorism .

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Once the vehicle is damaged out online ,

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uh , we'll send a record , I recover

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team out after it . Once he gets back

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here , we'll sit on the ground

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inspected to see if it's irreparable

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and then once we've identified all the

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faults , we'll uh start pulling parts

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and repairing the average recovery and

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repair time is astounding even for

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heavily damaged vehicles . Uh Most

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times we get it back out within a few

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days . Uh If it's been heavily damaged

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but it's still preferable . The longest

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we've had . One in here is a week and a

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half . And that was because we waited

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for apart . Even Iraqi security patrol

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vehicles get the same loving care as

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the american one . Speaking of love , I

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love personally I love my job , I love

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being a mechanic , I love working with

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my hands . It's a great joy to see a

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vehicle that I've worked on basically

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come back to life after it's been

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broken , felons are truly an army

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family . As in the case of shop foreman

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sergeant john smith affectionately

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known as Shrek . His focus isn't drift

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on his job but I make Mr Speaker , I

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enjoy being around the soldiers and I

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think that if I can pass a lot of my

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experience in this field to the younger

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soldiers that the maintenance will be a

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better place to work out the level of

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coordination ability to maintain over

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112 vehicles in a combat zone and still

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have an upbeat attitude is summed up by

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the felons . Top enlisted man . First

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sergeant brian wheat and I have to say

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I've got the utmost respect for all

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these mechanics . I mean through their

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hardships and working conditions and

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seeing these vehicles and coming in

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every day with you know coming from I .

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E . D . Explosion or just off a mission

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covered in mud . Uh these guys with all

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the Greeks and the working conditions ,

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they still maintain a very high morale

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and their number one priority is to get

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these vehicles back on the road if

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possible to get them back out in the

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sector for the for the entry soldiers

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so they can perform their mission , had

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the best possible chance for success

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and they never quit a good 24 7 and

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just have the very utmost respect for

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mechanics . Staff Sergeant David Howell

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bob falcon . Iraq tune in to the next

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step . Gi when sergeant paul roberts

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introduces us to a joint construction

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team at L . S . Anaconda . The ability

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to work side by side sharing trade

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skills and labour and taking the

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knowledge learned back home is

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irreplaceable . This is a running

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relationship between the Iraqi

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population and coalition forces and

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that does it . For this edition of

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Freedom Journal . Iraq tune in next

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time for more stories from the front

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lines of Operation Iraqi . Freedom

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until then from all of us here at A . F .

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N . And Freedom Journal Iraq case take

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out there . Yeah