iraq

When on duty, Major General Eddy M. Spurgin is the commanding general for the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard, but when stateside, he serves as the district conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Big Spring, Texas.

For the past year, Thaddeus White provided education and training to the Iraqi people as an advisor for the Department of Agriculture's (USDA)  Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Baghdad.

Since the early twentieth century, 4-H (head-heart-hands-health) has been an avenue for American boys and girls to develop leadership skills, receive vocational training, participate in community service and much more.

Today, 4-H, which is USDA’s premier youth development program, has clubs in 81 different countries including Iraq, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of one USDA employee—Mary Kerstetter.

By Dan Berman, Senior Advisor to the Administrator, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service