SDDC junior officer receives award.

A veteran of Iraq and member of the 1173rd Transportation Terminal Battalion won the 2005 Reserve Officers Association's Maj. Gen. Strom Thurmond Junior Officer of the Year Award. First Lt. Joseph Wanat of the Brockton, Mass., unit received the prestigious award Feb. 6 from Lt. Gen. James Helmly, the Chief of Army Reserve at the Reserve Officers Association mid-winter conference.

Staff Sgt. Dana Vietti, a soldier from the 1173rd who served in Baghdad with Wanat said Wanat is a model officer.

"In my five years in the Army, I have never met anyone who exemplified everything a Soldier is supposed to be more than [1st Lt. Wanat]," Vietti said. "He is incredibly professional and has a total mastery of soldiering skills. It's almost like he wrote the [Common Task Training] book."

Lt. Col. Robert Walsh nominated Wanat for the award. After a rigorous screening process, Wanat was chosen as one often national finalists to appear before a selection board. Nominees were judged on basic qualifying criteria focusing on achievement: awards and decorations, experience, military and civilian education, and community and professional activities.

"Because of my deployment to Iraq, I was not even with the 1173rd for 18 months, so it had tremendous meaning for Lt. Col. Walsh to nominate me," Wanat said. "I was not too nervous for the board interview. In my civilian job, I present myself publicly a lot, and it just gets to a point where you feel comfortable articulating your points and views to a group."

Wanat began his journey toward the 2005 Junior Officer-of-the-Year Award almost four years ago. Formerly a staff sergeant with the 1173rd (and 2000 Military Traffic Management Command NCO of-the-Year winner), Wanat was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2002 through the Army's Direct Commission program. While deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom, he had to leave the Cargo Documentation section of the 1173rd to attend the Officer Basic Course.

After completing the course, Wanat deployed to Baghdad in 2004-2005 with the 888th Movement Control Team of Providence, R.I. While in Iraq, he became the senior railway advisor in the U.S. embassy, duties usually performed by a Lt. Col. or higher-ranking officer.

Wanat was eventually promoted to Chief of Staff of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office of Transportation, which was responsible for railways, airports and seaports. There he led an office of about 15 State Department officials and reported directly to Rear Adm. Christopher McMahon, the senior consultant to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation.

"Because of my engineering and my project management background, I was hand-picked by senior State Department staff to assume the role of Senior Railway Advisor in the U.S. embassy," Wanat said.

While in these positions, Wanat implemented and managed the reconstruction of the Iraqi rail system-reviewing construction plans, deciphering equipment specifications and coordinating labor-while acting as liaison between the Iraqi Public Railways Company, construction contractors and equipment managers to ensure that various projects ran smoothly and safely.

The Iraqi rail network is a far cry from the intricately signaled, integrated, and maintained tracks of the United States, Wanat said. The existing signaling was as primitive as the manual, lever-flipping sort you might see in silent cowboy movies from the early 20th century. One of the most important concerns regarding the rail system was undoing years or looting and vandalism and bringing the system into the 21 st century.

All work was done in a less-than-friendly environment; hostile fire and incident reports were a regular part of the job for Wanat and his team of U.S. Soldiers, contractors and Iraqi civilians.

Despite the conditions, Vietti said, Wanat never lost his cool.

"I was inside the building in our office and he took small-arms fire in the parking lot of the rail station one day," Vietti said. "He called me on the radio and, through the whole conversation, he never raised his voice. I would swear his heart rate never even went up."

The "rail station" was the Baghdad Central Train Station, formerly the jewel of the Iraqi rail system. When he first arrived, Wanat encountered a draconian edifice in such a state of disrepair that wiring snaked from the ceilings, pipes leaked unchecked and doors and windows, if present at all, were broken.

The reconstruction of the station would prove to be the most complex and politically visible project of Wanat's deployment. Its ongoing rehabilitation will ensure a safe and hospitable place from which the Iraqi Public Railways Company can rebuild and manage domestic and international rail commerce.

Wanat was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.

A lifelong Massachusetts native, Wanat now works as a project manager for a Boston-area engineering firm in his civilian job. Much of his work comprises environmental permitting for airports and traffic impact assessment so, although his rank might not suggest it, the officer was a natural fit for a high-level transportation position within the State Department in Baghdad.

Wanat is glad to be back, but said it took some time to readjust, both to home and work. His daughter was born while he was away and his son was just under a year old when he left.

"It takes a while to build yourself back up, even with simple things like taking out the trash," Wanat said.

Back in the 1173rd, Wanat is the now in charge of the cargo documentation section, where he intends to stay for a while.

"I'm happy at the 1173rd," he said. "It's a great unit and I'm not looking to move."

Sgt. Richard Scandrett

1173rd Transportation Terminal Bn.