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Edward Dominguez, the main designer of the Mohammed thanks Sgt. Edward Dominguez, the main designer of the "armcycle," fo r his gift. Mohammed told the 1/184th Infantry's mechanic, "You are now my brother." Dan Balda US Soldiers bring wheels to Iraqi man without legs By Spc. Dan Balda December 12, 2005 BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Dec. The proje cts often take the form of food, soccer equipment, and medical aid. But Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment recently delivered so mething a bit out of the ordinary to one small farming village: an arm-c ycle for an Iraqi man who lost his legs as a teenager. The 1/184th Soldiers have frequently visited the village little more than a small collection of thatched homes in the middle of a farming area an d informally named it Estradaville in honor of one of their fellow Soldi ers who died while on leave in California. Maj Edgardo Coronado first struck up a frien dship with the people of Estradaville during a patrol when the Iraqis of fered his Soldiers hints on how to navigate the rough terrain in the are a Leader without legs Mohammed, the head of the clan, struck Coronado as different, not because he has lived without legs since he lost them in a car accident when he was 13, but because of how hard he worked without the aid of his legs. This guy has specially rigged a tractor so he can still plow his fields, and he is going out every day looking to do some kind of work, Coronado said. Ive got Soldiers who complain about working too hard here. I tell them to come out here and see how productive Mohammed is. Mohammed had not been able to be as productive as before since his wheelc hair broke and he was forced to rely on his nephew or his own hands to g et from his house to his tractor. Extra duty for extra spirit Coronado decided to do something about it. He went to his motor pool in s earch of a mechanic willing to build something adapted for Mohammeds nee ds. He found a group of people who were not only willing and able, but w ho didnt mind putting in extra hours each day on top of the normal work day at Forward Operating Base Falcon. One Soldier was especially qualified to help Coronado with his vision. Sg t Edward Dominguez, a mechanic assigned to Headquarters and Headquarter s Company, is a mechanical designer back home in Irvine, Calif. He assur ed Coronado that he and his Soldiers could do the job; We had no parts, no materials, so I searched the whole FOB every day look ing through trash cans, Dominguez said. Once they had the beginnings of the arm-cycle, Dominguez modeled the conc ept on his computer in three days. Then it was time to start cutting ste el and hand-shaping every part of the bike except the nuts and bolts. Scavenger search prevails The Post Exchange store donated broken bicycles and one of Coronados Sold iers picked through the junkyard to find every conceivable part that cou ld be used on the project. The arm-cycle was completed in three months, including many nights where Dominguez stayed up until midnight or later. Soldiers dont collect overtime pay, but Dominguez said he was repaid more than he could have hoped when he accompanied the Soldiers who presented Mohammed with his new mode of transportation. This is the best feeling Ive had in a long time, Dominguez said. Its hard to live in this country as it is He does what he can for his family, his clan. For Dominguez, it was a tangible example of all the hard work the militar y has put into rebuilding Iraq. Im just glad that we could help this guy and to see that we are really do ing something here, Dominguez said.
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