PACOM civil engineers give back to Sri Lankan community

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Blake Mize
PACANGEL Public Affairs

8/12/2013 - JAFFNA, Sri Lanka -- 

Seventeen U.S. Pacific Command civil engineers have been given the opportunity to utilize the skills they have honed throughout their time in service to give back to a community in need.

The engineers include troops from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps who are supporting Operation Pacific Angel- Sri Lanka, a joint and combined humanitarian and military civil assistance mission led by Pacific Air Forces to provide medical and engineering support to the people of Jaffna. 

The construction projects the engineers are completing alongside their Sri Lankan counterparts include installing electricity and plumbing where before there was none. The team is also installing commodes, urinals and sinks to replace holes in the ground and water spouts. 

Additionally, the team is repairing roofs, painting buildings inside and out, installing lighting and fans, building walkways, pouring concrete and doing whatever else is within their capabilities to refurbish the schools. These efforts seek to improve quality of life for the students and to address safety concerns for the students. 

"For this specific mission, we're providing construction and repair to three local schools to make the facilities a more effective learning environment and more comfortable for the kids," said Air Force Lt. Col. Douglas Woodard, PACANGEL 13-4 mission commander from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. "The work we are doing here alongside our Sri Lankan counterparts will make the local community more resilient when another disaster strikes in the region." 

The construction projects are being conducted at the Atchelu Saivapragasa Vidyalayam grade school, Kuddiyapaulam Mixed School, and the Punnalaikkadduvan Primary Grade school in Jaffna. 

For the most part, the engineers volunteered to support PACANGEL. Many liked the idea of using their skills to help those less fortunate. 

"I loved what the mission was and what we're doing and I was excited to come along," said Air Force 1st Lt. Renee Kittka, 354th CES base energy manager. "This is a great opportunity." 

There are a total of 55 U.S. military members participating in PACANGEL 13-4. Along with the engineers, there are medical professionals providing health care to in-need Sri Lankans, as well as communication, contracting logistics, finance, public affairs and security personnel. 

"We all came here from different bases and branches of service to form out team here," Kimball said. "We're all integrating beautifully and getting along great. It's not just a one-branch site, it's a joint effort." 

 

The PACANGEL operations are done every year in different countries throughout the Pacific region. "We typically conduct four operations per year but this year we're conducting five," Woodard said. 

 

"Already this year we've been to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, and we're getting ready to head to Cambodia in September for out fifth mission." Woodard said operations like these are vital in improving our humanitarian assistance capabilities. "There is significant benefit in participating in an event like this," he said. "Most obviously, it enhances our ability to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts in the region. Secondly, it gives us experience wit deploying aircraft and large numbers of personnel into and out of a partner nation, which is going to be required for a disaster response." 

 

The Sri Lankan peoples' hospitality is making the operation much easier, Woodard said.