In a region of the world where men are often judged on their ability to thwart progress, Hashim Abd Al-Amir Mahdi is counted among a growing number that can make positive things happen.

Working alongside the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, many of whom were Decatur County denizens before shipping off to the Middle East, he had been helping his fellow countrymen long before coalition forces arrived almost six years ago.

Al-Amir Mahdi is an Iraqi business leader who has been able to generate and sustain long-term contracts with coalition forces and provide numerous valuable jobs for local nationals. He recently took yet another step in the journey to help the 76th restore normality to Iraq.

At Joint Base Balad (JBB), Al-Amir Mahdi hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new container repair facility, which marked the most recent and largest contract his business, the Miran Company, had negotiated with coalition forces.

According to Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Crabtree, CSM of the JBB Directorate of Logistics, the contract has the potential for saving the United States government more than $1 million a year.

“The last I heard, we have over 10,000 containers at JBB, and if they needed repaired we had to send them to Arifjan in Kuwait, a country and a half away,” Crabtree explained. “Then we have to ship them back.”

Crabtree also noted that the new facility, an Iraqi-Based Industrial Zone (I-BIZ) project, will be a catalyst for continued progress in Iraq and provide jobs for the sons of Iraq. Most of the credit, Crabtree added, belongs to Al-Amir Mahdi.

“He’s the local entrepreneur,” he said. “The local guy you go to when you need something done. He can work with coalition forces and local leaders.”

Al-Amir Mahdi’s ability to reach across cultures and help others work through challenges had made a difference that is reflected in a recent name change at the largest logisitical base in Iraq, Crabtree said. The previous nickname “Mortaritaville” is rarely heard on the base that was once infamously known for daily indirect fire attacks.

As local leaders have worked to increase security, local business leaders and sheiks have created an alliance to move forward with economic development opportunities, like Al-Amir Mahdi’s container repair facility. According to Crabtree, a result of that has been “diminishing returns” for insurgents.

Al-Amir Mahdi’s efforts had captured the attention of Multinational Forces Iraq and prompted the visit of Rear Admiral Kathleen Dussault, the commander of Joint Contracting Command, Multinational Force-Iraq. Her duties include responsibility for military contracting throughout the country.

Dussault congratulated Al-Amir Mahdi, and said that Joint Contracting Command has two important goals.

“One, to give priority to Iraqi firms for leading roles in rebuilding this nation, and two, to encourage these firms to be participants in growing the Iraqi economy,” Dussault said.

Al-Amir Mahdi emphasized that local Iraqi civilians are now encouraged by the prospect of working with coalition forces for progress.

“Before there were maybe 18 or 19 companies doing business with Joint Base Balad,” Al-Amir Mahdi said. “Now there are 150 companies, maybe more, that have contracts.”