JACKSONVILLE, FL--A former Wellington resident who worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers has been killed in iraq.
Dr. Maged Hussein died when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle he was traveling in.
Hussein is the first civilian in the US Army Corps of Engineers to be killed in combat during operation Iraqi Freedom.
Dr. Hussein, who was based in Jacksonville, is survived by a former wife and daughter who now live
in Eqpyt.
TEXT OF ARMY NEWS RELEASE:
The Department of Defense announced yesterday that a member of the Jacksonville District of the US Army Corps of Engineers was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb. Dr. Maged M. Hussein, formerly of Wellington, Fla., was killed May 25 when an improvised explosive device detonated during a visit of construction sites near Fallujah. The IED struck a vehicle traveling as part of a convoy that included Coalition Forces and U.S. Government civilians and contractors. Hussein is the first civilian in the Corps of Engineers to be killed in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Hussein, 43, began working for the Jacksonville District in December 2003 as a senior computer modeler in the Interagency Modeling Center in West Palm Beach, where he contributed to dozens of projects for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
In 2005, due to his technical qualifications and fluency in the Arabic language, he was selected to participate in the capacity development of the Ministry of Water Resources in Iraq where he contributed considerably to the introduction of new techniques and concepts for development of water resources.
In July 2006, Dr. Hussein volunteered for an overseas deployment to Iraq, where he served as the United States advisor to the Ministries of Water Resources and Environment and helped lead reconstruction of the water infrastructure in the country.
Hussein was responsible for projects including water treatment plants, sewer systems, irrigation, drainage and dams, according to an on-line posting by a friend who worked with Hussein. These projects provide clean water and working sewers to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, said the friend, Skip Rohde.
“He was killed while trying to really be a help to the people of Iraq. He was intelligent, noble, and very fine person,” said Dr. Richard Punnett, a friend and former Corps of Engineers co-worker.
Since 2001, the Army Corps of Engineers has deployed slightly more than 7000 civilians to serve in the Global War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. This includes approximately 100 civilians, Reserve Component Military, and active duty soldiers from the Jacksonville District. The Corps primary responsibility in Iraq and Afghanistan is to help build these nations’s infrastructure.
Hussein is survived by his former wife, Marwa Madi, and young daughter, and a sister Maha Emam. His family relocated to their native Egypt during his tour of duty in Iraq.
