Thomas H. Wakeman III, who currently oversees The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $2 billion port dredging program, has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Defense to assist Iraq in rebuilding its national port system. Wakeman, a White Plains, N.Y., resident, will serve as the Principal Maritime Advisor to the Iraq Ministry of Transportation for up to 18 months beginning on March 1. While in Iraq, Mr. Wakeman will be on a leave of absence from his Port Authority job as General Manager of Waterways Development in the Port Commerce Department. He will report to Ambassador Darrell Trent, the Coalition Provisional Authority’s senior advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation. Ambassador Trent reports to Ambassador L.