Seabees in Ethiopia, Ambassadors in Hardhats

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Michael Lindsey | Water pours over the splash plate of a well drilled by Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Detail Horn of Africa in the village of Jedane, Ethiopia. The 302-foot-deep well provides clear water to more than 3,400 locals and their livestock.  

DIRE DAWA, ETHIOPIA

03.27.2011

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lindsey 

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74

DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia - Several functional water wells and a new school is what about two dozen Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Detail Horn of Africa hope to physically leave behind for the people of Ethiopia. Thoughts of the Seabees as welcome neighbors and good ambassadors are what they hope the Ethiopians will carry in their memory once they are gone.

Currently deployed to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, the Seabees there are drilling and repairing several water wells and are building a school from the ground up. Lt.j.g. Jose Mora is the officer-in-charge for the Seabee detachment in Ethiopia who says he is happy to have the unique opportunity.

“So far we have provided clean water to remote villages that were getting their water from the same sources as their animals.” said Mora. “We are also building a new school house to help a community educate their youth… I can say that I have never done anything more rewarding than what we are doing here.”

CJTF-HOA’s mission in Ethiopia is a part of the U.S. Maritime Strategy of building partner nation capacity. Their goal is to increase trust and confidence among the people in their own government, enabling it to create and maintain a stable, secure environment where education and prosperity takes hold and violent extremist ideology is rejected.

Mohamed Ahmed Hashi is an Ethiopian native who has worked as a linguist and driver for CJTF-HOA since its establishment eight years ago. He has seen many different facets of CJTF-HOA and its success over the years and can bear testament to the importance of their mission.

“For the most part, I have seen happiness from the peoples faces and gratitude from the Ethiopian government, but I have also seen a few instances when I go to do campaigns like MEDCAP and VETCAP and I would see people wearing an Osama Bin Laden shirt or something like that… some locals are trying to spread that idea, you might say they have their own civil affairs missions going on too.”

Hashi said that he is amazed by the dedication of the Seabees, especially of the water well team who work around the clock in the dirt during their drilling operations, and was fortunate enough to be present at the time the team finished their first well in the remote village of Jedane.

“The Seabees did magic when they hit the pump for the first time! You should have seen the people’s faces. When you give people water in their village, people who actually walk kilometers and kilometers just hoping to find water, usually dirty water, imagine how that changes their life. It’s the greatest gift you can give to anybody,” said Hashi.

Not far from Jedane is the other half of the detachment, a crew of Seabees building a school from the ground up in the small town of Gende Gerade. The building will be a 108-foot by 30-foot, single story brick and concrete structure divided into four classrooms. It was designed by a local Ethiopian engineering firm to match existing buildings in the area.

Chief Petty Officer Christopher Jefferies, a builder, is the mission commander for the project and says that they are often visited by curious students coming from one of the overcrowded school buildings nearby. He explained that when his crew has free time they engage with the children by playing soccer or holding pull-up contests.

“Since our arrival we have been treated like family by everyone that we’ve come into contact with,” said Jeffries. “The students at the school are wonderful and provide us with constant entertainment. At times, it’s hard to figure out whether the students are more interested in us or the construction of their new schoolhouse.”

Hashi said the Seabees in their hard hats represent an America that wants to help people and that they are excellent ambassadors to Ethiopia.

“Those kids will grow up and say ‘I learned in a school that was built by Americans,’” said Hashi. “And then maybe one day they’ll see American military walking by and remember the Seabee who was there building his school when he was a kid. Imagine the connection.”

• Date Taken: 03.27.2011
• Date Posted: 03.30.2011 03:31
• Story ID: 67956
• Location: DIRE DAWA, ET