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V CORPS, RESERVE SOLDIERS WORK WITH IRAQIS TO PUT BAGHDAD FIREBOAT BACK ON DUTY

V Corps Release

Release Date: 1/12/2004

By Spc. Ryan Smith 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Baghdad has a fireboat patrolling the Tigris River.

Soldiers of V Corps' 40th Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division, found the boat, looted and inoperable, on the bank of the Tigris near the 14th of July Bridge. Division Soldiers and Iraqi firefighters rededicated the boat, the Future 2, with a ribbon cutting and christening ceremony conducted on the Tigris near where it was found.

Soldiers discovered the fireboat during the summer and saw its potential for use in river patrols and search and rescue missions, said Maj. Robert J. Bayham, operations officer, 40th Engineer Battalion.

"This was a great opportunity for the coalition forces to help improve public services for Iraqi citizens," he said.

The unit hired a contractor with experience in marine repair to rebuild the boat, which they initially thought the Iraqi Police could use to patrol the river, Bayham said. However, the police did not have the means to maintain or man the vessel, so it was turned over to the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, which includes the fire department.

The $12,000, 40-day repair project on Future 2 included rebuilding the engine, repairing its water cannons and repainting the hull and deck. The work was completed about a month ago, and the boat has been in service since, said Capt. Mark St. Laurent, executive officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, an Army Reserve unit from Riverdale, Md., that is part of Task Force 1st Armored Division.

Before the war, the civil defense corps had 12 boats, including the Future 2, for patrolling the river. Now the Future 2 is the only boat in use. The rest were stolen, damaged or destroyed, so projects to restore more boats are being planned.

Although the Future 2 is designed to put out fires, its main use will likely be in search and rescue or recovery operations, and assisting boats in distress on the Tigris, Bayham said.

St. Laurent, a firefighter and paramedic in Washington, D.C. when not in uniform, must have felt a special bond with the Future 2 project. The captain said there is an international brotherhood of sorts among firefighters.

"It does not make a difference what part of the world we're in, we are one."