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To make their dream work, husband takes
By Mary Madewell
The Paris News
Published November 12, 2007
The husband is at work while the wife stays home with the twins, cattle, horses and about 50 goats.
The scenario would be that of a fairly normal rural household, but Bryan Raper works in Iraq, going on his fifth year.
He is home this week, one of usually three trips back home each year to check on his family and their 40-acre home place between Paris and Roxton.
“Bryan being gone is everyday business to our family,” Windy Raper said. “The twins, Brad Mark and Fillip and I feed livestock summer and winter, do quarterly worming, trimming of feet and determining a breeding match up, birthing of animals, mending fence, shredding, planting and putting out hay.”
The family raises Boer goats, BeefMaster cattle and American Quarter horses.
“We enjoy living the country life and raising and showing these animals in the area shows,” Bryan Raper said. In addition to the twins, the family includes three daughters and four grandchildren in the Paris area, a son in Oklahoma and a son in Great Lakes, Ill. in U.S. Navy basic training.
“Sometimes I just flat get sick of it,” the wife laments about ranch work. “It’s hard to go get your nails done and the same day you get four of them broke.”
But Windy Raper said the couple agreed before they married that they wanted a place where they could raise livestock and where the kids could learn how to work and be responsible.
“We knew for this to happen he would be on the road most of the time,” the wife said. “I just didn’t realize he would be 8,000 miles away.”
The husband credits his wife as being “Ranch Boss” on a Web site.
“It should read chief cook and bottle washer, electrician, plumber, carpenter, gardener, vet, transportation director, mechanic, errand runner, grandmother, mother and substitute father,” the petite woman said.
While the family minds the home place, Raper works for Flour Government Group, the prime contractor providing, life support, operations, maintenance and minor construction for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
At the present, Raper works in downtown Baghdad in the International Zone.
“This is a protected area for entry by the Coalition Forces, Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police,” Raper said. “As we all have read of Iraq we are subject to and have received many times indirect fire from mortars, rockets and small arms fire.”
Raper serves as Flour’s site manager on the Freedom Compound, overseeing about 70 mostly Iraqi workers who maintain the Freedom Building.
The building consists of three connecting towers with eight floors and 107,098 square feet.
“My cleaning staff is also responsible for cleaning eight outside office buildings totaling 50,340 square feet and all garden, parking and roadways areas, about 164,495 square feet,” Raper explained. The building houses about 900 tenants including military, civilians, Iraq ministries, Internet technology, security administration and force protection. “My other duties include electrical engineering country-wide, fire investigation, manager training, quality assurance, quality control and safety representative,” Raper said. “I go to work early, pray that there is no indirect fire, work late, sleep and start over the next day,” Raper said of his daily routine. “Daily work can be as routine as changing light bulbs and repairing leaky sinks to repairing damaged electrical service to the building after a mortar attack,” Raper said. While in Iraq, Raper has received numerous awards including, one in particular from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for his work in the Restore Iraqi Electricity Program. Raper outlined in detail a day in May this year that started out routine “but changed rapidly.” “We received 16 mortar rounds from outside the International Zone inside five minutes,” Raper said. Mortar rounds were concentrated on the Freedom Compound with severe damage to electrical service. “This occurred at 4 p.m. and we had back up power to the building eight hours later and then permanent repairs completed with two days,” Raper said. “Lately it’s been quiet here (knock on wood), but there have been many mortars, rockets and small-arms fire into the compound,” he noted. “A number of times I have been talking to Windy on the phone and have had to get down on the floor to avoid shrapnel from exploding mortars. “Windy would ask, ‘what’s going on?’ and I would reply, ‘incoming.’” During his time in Iraq, Raper has worked at Camp Victory, Camp Liberty, the forward operating bases Anaconda , Kalsu, Al Kut and the contingency operating base Speicher as well as air base Warrior. Raper said he plans to stay in Iraq as long as he is with Flour, probably until the U.S. Corp of Engineers and U.S. Army move out. “I am fairly sure that I will here until the end of 2008,” Raper noted. The husband credits “a wonderful family that keeps the ranch running” for his ability to stay on the job so far away from home. But he said he looks forward to returning to Paris “and spending time with my family when my work is completed here.” About his job, Raper said he came to Iraq “to help the people. I am a teacher of my trade and I hope that my time spent here will be remembered by the people that I have worked with.”
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