BAGHDAD, IRAQ-Joint Security Station Suj, on the northeastern edge of Baghdad, has very few of the comforts of larger U.S. military bases. Food preparation is done in a small mobile kitchen with no air conditioning, and then driven to make-shift dining halls for consumption. Michigan Army National Guard Soldiers from the 1434th Engineer Company based in Grayling, Mich., however, began construction on a new dining facility that will improve the safety and comfort of Soldiers working at JSS Suj.

"Right now, the eating environment here is primitive," said Sgt. Thomas Johnston of North Adams, Mich. "We need to give our Soldiers a better eating situation, one that is more sanitary, and doesn't require food to be hauled from a distance to be served."

Once the new facility is completed, all food preparation and serving will be done within one large air conditioned building.

Johnston stated that the entire mission has been an exercise in cross training. Plumbers and electricians have become carpenters, and carpenters have become electricians. The cross training efforts have allowed the building to go up quickly.

"For me, this is a whole new experience," said Spc. Scott Vaughn, a plumber turned carpenter with the 1434th and native of Gratton, Mich. "I've had to learn a lot on the job site because this is not something I was trained to do. I've made a few mistakes but overall have caught on pretty quickly to basic carpentry concepts."

"We are working together to honor the units who have already served at JSS Suj and to improve facilities for future units," said unit member Spc. Carl Sammons of Detroit. "But completion will be bittersweet as we prepare to head home at just about the time the facility will begin operations."

Today, nearly 900 Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are deployed across the globe in support of the global war on terrorism; however, as the Michigan Guard serves the nation abroad, more than 90 percent of the force is available, trained and ready to respond to a state emergency including a terrorist event.

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For more information about the 1434th Engineer Company please contact Michigan National Guard public affairs representative Angela Simpson at 517-481-8135.