Iowans Talk About Working in Iraq

By KCRG-TV9 News Reporter Dave Franzman – TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom

You won't find many workers with Iowa connections employed as civilian contractors in Iraq. But one company is an exception. Stanley Consultants is a well-known name in both Muscatine and around the world. At least 35 engineers, architects and others worked on Iraq projects. 11 employees are still there right now. They think about the risks, but they still think what they are doing there is worth it.

Stanley Consultaning engineer George Gardner told TV9, “I still think people are willing to go over there, they want to do their part to make the place a better place to live.”

A lot of Stanley Consulting employees in Iowa stepped-up to go to Iraq when asked. In the early days of the reconstruction as many as 23 workers were in the country at the same time. Those workers were involved in things like water and electric projects. It was a less than secure workplace months ago, but manageable.

“We had protection, occasionally there would be rockets at night. We could hear gunfire and helicopters but no one was particularly concerned. John Sayles came out of retirement to go to iraq. But left last winter.

George Gardner says things got more dangerous for civilians in recent weeks. But unlike the Pennsylvania contractor, Stanley employees got full military protection whenever they traveled. “Traveling with the military you would have hummers front and rear, you'd drive in the center, they'd have four or five soldiers in each convoy... so driving around Baghdad I felt pretty safe.”

The kidnapping and executions of civilians have raised the question of risk. But so far, no civilian volunteers have backed out. Senior managers say the Stanley company has a policy of not sending workers anywhere management is not willing to travel. Over Christmas, some senior managers did visit workers in Iraq. Despite the growing danger they are sticking with their contracts to rebuild the country.

From: http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=82070&cat_id=123