Master Builder

It would be hard to overstate how important the reconstruction of Iraq is to long-term American security.

While the outcome of American ambitions in Iraq won't be clear for many years, U.S. officials seem to agree: Stephen Browning has worked tirelessly to make reconstruction a success and to bring a semblance of normalcy to the troubled nation.

Browning, then a senior program director with the Army Corps of Engineers, was one of only three civilian reconstruction specialists to enter Baghdad immediately after U.S. troops arrived there in April 2003. Selected by retired Army Gen. Jay Garner, director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, Browning quickly demonstrated leadership that earned him multiple responsibilities. While he initially focused on restoring electricity across the country, his role quickly expanded and he became senior adviser to the ministries of health, religious affairs, transportation and communications. He also helped create a ministry of environmental affairs.

"Iraqi engineers literally were holding things together with baling wire," says Browning. The needs were overwhelming: getting government workers back to work and paid, providing basic security, removing Saddam Hussein loyalists from positions of authority. Browning navigated tricky political currents running through Iraqi society as well. He received death threats, and assassination attempts were made against some of his teammates.

"I was too busy to really think about being afraid," says Browning.

According to Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, the former chief of engineers and senior leader in the Corps, "Browning epitomizes selfless service. He is truly one of the most talented individuals I've known." Colleagues praised Browning's "amazing work ethic" and described him as the "go-to guy" in Baghdad. L. Paul Bremer, former U.S. administrator in Iraq and director of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the successor to ORHA, was so impressed that he named Browning deputy director for infrastructure and senior adviser to the Ministry of Electricity.

Browning volunteered for duty in Baghdad because he thought he could make a difference, he says. He previously had spent time in the Middle East and spoke some classic Arabic. He returned home last winter to San Francisco. There, he is director of programs for the Corps' South Pacific division. But Browning remains disconcerted by what he left behind. "There was a sense of loss there, of abandoning the mission," he says. "There's so much yet to be done."