Engineers campout to complete Continuing Promise mission

  • Published
  • By Spc. 3rd Class William S. Parker
  • Continuing Promise 2008 Public Affairs
PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua (ACCNS) --  Seabees from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 and engineers from the Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron (CES) 5's Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force, both embarked aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), camp out nightly here during renovation and construction projects, Aug. 12-25, as part of the Caribbean phase of Continuing Promise (CP) 2008.
CP is an equal-partnership mission enabling American and partner-nation civil engineers to share ideas to provide effective infrastructure solutions to an array of challenges in order to demonstrate the lasting bonds and shared interests among neighbors.
The joint-military engineering teams established a forward operation base (FOB) near the Puerto Cabezas Airport in order to maximize the amount of work they could accomplish on projects at nearby Juan Comenius High School, Municipal Park and Nancy Bach Hospital.
Even after eliminating transit time from ship to shore, the teams still average a 15-hour workday to ensure they complete all projects by the end of the mission.
"It's a good experience for all of us," said Senior Airman Steven Veronee. "This mission gives us the opportunity to learn more about our trades, as well as give us a chance to be more efficient in them."
The team is currently involved with building sea huts at the Regional Government Compound, rebuilding the roof of Juan Comenius High School, and installing a playground in Municipal Park.
"The things we are doing here are going to positively impact the Puerto Cabezas community and help these people out," said Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Scott, onsite project leader. "The playground will give children a place to play; the roof at Juan Comenius High School will keep teachers and students cooler in their classrooms; and the sea huts can serve as multi-purpose buildings for whatever the government needs."
Despite several rainy days making the campground muddy, the engineers "can do" attitude keep their focus on the mission at hand - improving quality of life and building strong bonds of friendship with the country.
"We are working toward making these people's live just a little better," said Air Force Airman First Class Andrew Bastic. "Knowing that, every day we evaluate our job sites and come up with a plan for the next day so we can be on track to complete our mission."
After a nightly muster, the team relaxes by playing football, soccer and hackey sack. They were even treated to special barbeque to help keep the morale of the camp high.
"They have such high spirits. I am just amazed at these guys and how they work hard all day," Air Force Maj. Thomas DeFazio, CP engineering contingent commander. "They know they are doing great things for a lot of people, and their hard work is going to be a direct result of that."
Kearsarge's mission during CP 2008 is to conduct joint civil-military operations including humanitarian and civic assistance, as well as veterinary, medical, dental and civil engineering support to six partner nations and to send a strong message of United States compassion, support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean.
After Nicaragua, the ship is scheduled to visit Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
Kearsarge is under the operational control of U.S. 4th Fleet.
U.S. 4th Fleet's mission is to direct United States naval forces operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape maritime environment.
The CP Caribbean phase is the second of two HCA deployments to the Southern Command area of focus for 2008. The first CP deployment was conducted by USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Pacific.
For more news on Continuing Promise, visit U.S. Southern Command's Web site at www.southcom.mil.