By Sgt. 1st Class Angela McKinzie
10th Mountain Division Public Affairs Office

However, many Iraqi children have not been afforded the opportunity to attend schools with such amenities until recently.

Iraqi citizens gathered at the Jolan School in Lutifiyah, Iraq, for a grand opening ceremony Oct. 1.

The school, renovated under the leadership of the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, is a sign of progress.

“This school was once used as an al-Qaida recruiting facility,” said 1st Lt. Aaron Hall, a native of Manhattan, Kan., who serves as a civil affairs officer with 2-15’s Military Transition Team. “I remember when this building was covered with graffiti.”

Hall, who saw the need for school improvements, turned in a request to use Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds to his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Bob Morschauser.

With the vision of a new Iraq in mind, Morschauser approved the request and sent it to higher headquarters for approval.

Once this CERP project was approved, coalition forces contracted with local Iraqi contractors for the school renovations.

“We used a contracting company that was widely known for their work before the war started,” Hall explained. “They are one of the largest contracting companies in southern Baghdad.”

Within a few months, the fruits of everyone’s labor showed as hundreds of Iraqi children gathered to see their newly renovated school.

“This really makes me happy,” said Mustafar, a student at Jolen School. “Our school has never been this nice.”

During the opening, Brig. Gen. Ali, the 4-6 IA commander, smiled as he walked through the schoolhouse. As he looked around he smiled and paused to reflect what the school means to Iraq.

“All of this is for our future,” Ali said as he looked down at a child. “Our time is gone (speaking of the Iraqi elders), but our future is right here.”

The mayor of Mahmudiyah smiled as he shook Morschauser hand and thanked him for the school.

“Seeing this today is all worth the money and effort spent,” Morschauser, a native of Fairless Hills, Penn., said of the school opening.

The two-story school is large enough to house 1,200 students – 600 during the day and 600 at night. It is equipped with a computer lab, new desks, renovated classrooms and even a playground in the back yard.

But it is the small amenities that really make the school special.

“Before the school had broken windows and only one bathroom that all 1,200 students used,” Hall said. “Now there are several bathrooms and all of the windows are fixed.”

School renovations are just a small way to show Iraqis the importance of their future.

“This is what children should go to school in,” Morschauser said, smiling.