Gazette reporter Rusty Marks has wrapped up his trip to Iraq. This is the final installment in his series of articles documenting the contributions of West Virginia soldiers. For more on his experiences, click here to read his blog. 

BAGHDAD - When the war heated up in Sadr City last month, the Army called on West Virginia's 821st Engineering Company to put up camouflage screens under fire.

The action, requiring the unit to erect a camouflaged wall 40 feet above the city to protect an observation blimp, resulted in several Bronze Stars for the 821st, which draws members from the Summersville and Spencer area.

Lt. Brett Bohannon, 32, of St. Albans, said about 150 men and women serve in the 821st. On any given day, about half are out in the countryside around Baghdad, erecting barricades and building other fortifications.

"We've done over 50 different [outposts] around here," Bohannon said.

The other half of the unit is busy taking care of the 821st's stable of heavy equipment. The unit has the corner on the heavy construction market in the Baghdad area, requiring soldiers of the unit to maintain cranes, bulldozers and other machinery.

"We have just about everything under the sun," said Lt. Trevor Lloyd, a 28-year-old civil engineer from Morgantown.

Soldiers of the unit are modest about their accomplishments, but the 821st has a reputation for quality construction work and the best-maintained machinery in the area. "They're easy to brag about," said Lt. Col. Keith Waddell, who commands the 821st and several other engineering and construction companies around Baghdad.

Gazette reporter Rusty Marks has wrapped up his trip to Iraq. This is the final installment in his series of articles documenting the contributions of West Virginia soldiers. For more on his experiences, click here to read his blog. 

BAGHDAD - When the war heated up in Sadr City last month, the Army called on West Virginia's 821st Engineering Company to put up camouflage screens under fire.

The action, requiring the unit to erect a camouflaged wall 40 feet above the city to protect an observation blimp, resulted in several Bronze Stars for the 821st, which draws members from the Summersville and Spencer area.

Lt. Brett Bohannon, 32, of St. Albans, said about 150 men and women serve in the 821st. On any given day, about half are out in the countryside around Baghdad, erecting barricades and building other fortifications.

"We've done over 50 different [outposts] around here," Bohannon said.

The other half of the unit is busy taking care of the 821st's stable of heavy equipment. The unit has the corner on the heavy construction market in the Baghdad area, requiring soldiers of the unit to maintain cranes, bulldozers and other machinery.

"We have just about everything under the sun," said Lt. Trevor Lloyd, a 28-year-old civil engineer from Morgantown.

Soldiers of the unit are modest about their accomplishments, but the 821st has a reputation for quality construction work and the best-maintained machinery in the area. "They're easy to brag about," said Lt. Col. Keith Waddell, who commands the 821st and several other engineering and construction companies around Baghdad.

The unit's workload occasionally puts soldiers under fire. A soldier of the 821st was shot in the leg last week, Bohannon said, but was not seriously hurt.

"We've been shot at and attempted to get blown up a couple of times this deployment, so it's not that big a deal," said Lloyd.

Members of the unit were last in danger on May 2, when Lloyd and Staff Sgt. Jared Adkins were at a water treatment plant. The pair noticed two Iraqi teens milling around a tractor truck, and Adkins went to investigate.

"I just thought they were trying to steal something," recalled Adkins, 28, of Oak Hill.

But about the time he rounded the corner of the truck, Adkins saw that the boys had put an old mortar round on the vehicle. The homemade fuse was still smoking.

Adkins ran, and Lloyd was about 50 feet from the truck when the mortar round exploded. But only part of the charge of homemade explosives packed into the shell went off, causing no serious damage.

Adkins was able to run down one of the teens, who was turned over for interrogation. The other got away.

To contact staff writer Rusty Marks, use e-mail or call 348-1215