Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Eugene | Pvt. Mario Marin, Belize Defence Force, operates a circular saw while Lance Cpl....... read more read more
Subscribe
GONAIVES, Haiti – As part of an ongoing partnership with Belize, the Louisiana National Guard is working with the Belize Defence Force to conduct a humanitarian engineer training exercise dubbed Task Force Bon Voizen or “Good Neighbor,” in the Artibonite Department, Haiti.
The BDF committed engineers from their Light Engineer Company, a hybrid engineer-infantry unit, to two 30-day rotations that span the duration of the joint mission. Since the end of April, they’ve lived and worked alongside engineers of the Louisiana National Guard, Florida National Guard, and Army Reserve. The four buildings they’re helping build, a three-room school, a latrine facility, and two medical clinics, are slated to be completed by May 20, and are running ahead of schedule.
Louisiana’s partnership with Belize has been nurtured through the National Guard State Partnership Program, which links U.S. states with foreign countries to promote and enhance bilateral relations.
According to United States Southern Command, sixty-two countries are currently linked to 48 states, two territories (Puerto Rico and Guam), and Washington D.C. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 15 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. help increase the capacity and capabilities of 20 partner countries.
Capt. Tomas Cal, the commander of the first BDF 30-day rotation, described his detachment’s mission as being one of support and assistance to their American counterparts.
“This is my first time in Haiti; for my troops, it’s their second. They’re the same guys that came last year, so it was quite an honor for me to be out here with them this year,” said Cal, referring to Task Force Kout Men, last year’s exercise that was commanded by the Louisiana National Guard between April and September of 2010.
Lance Cpl. Elias Camara is one BDF engineer who served in Haiti with both Task Force Kout Men 2010, and Task Force Bon Voizen 2011.
“We had some new guys that came this year, so it was kind of challenging since they didn’t have experience working with this kind of construction, but we got together and formed a plan so that we could get the job done,” said Camara.
He also said that he appreciated the benefit of cultural exchange garnered during the joint effort, mentioning that he made new friends from different states in the U.S.
Louisiana National Guardsman Col. Kenneth Donnelly, the commander of the task force, said that the Belizean’s experience from last year added to the value of their contribution to this year’s exercise.
“They are very good with working concrete. They have experience with the NuForm Building Systems being used to erect walls filled with concrete on the new school, latrine, and two medical clinics being constructed during this exercise as part of New Horizons 2011,” Donnelly said.
“The construction itself is going a bit faster than last year because it was new to us last year. This year – same type of work, same type of construction systems and so forth, and so for my guys it was a bit easier to coordinate and work with, and assist in terms of getting the project well ahead of schedule,” said Cal.
Cal described the exercise as mutually beneficial, as the opportunity for his troops to get their hands on the construction equipment brought to bear by U.S. forces was a valuable training experience. “Having the Louisiana National Guard’s heavy equipment gives us additional knowledge in terms of how it operates. So it’s always a learning experience for us.”
Cal went on to explain the difference between how the Belizeans and the Americans conduct construction operations, describing the American approach as communication-intensive, which involves detailed briefings and planning phases, whereas his troops are used to more direct methods.
“One of our challenges was communication, as far as letting our friends from Louisiana know what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. Unlike the Americans, we aren’t used to that sort of communication. Whereby they get that briefing, explain what needs to be done, and then explain to the others how to go about doing it. For us it’s pretty much – get the hands on right away," said Cal.
In spite of these small differences, the atmosphere at the construction sites is one of mutual respect and camaraderie.
“I see them doing a lot of the same things that we’re doing, procedure wise, making sure that everybody has what they need, and making sure that they’re using the right tools. They’re always following safety procedures. That shows discipline,” said Spc. Eric Kenton, a member of the 716th Engineer Company, an Army Reserve unit out of Somersworth, N.H., that forms the main body of U.S. engineers currently on the ground in Haiti with the task force.
“They’re good guys, and it’s good to work with them. They seem to have a real bond with each other too. It’s like another guy in the Army, one of our own,” said Spc. Scott Martin, also of the 716th.
Donnelly said that he was amazed at how quickly Belizean and American troops were able to bond as a team, lauding the Belizeans as “experienced engineers who form a well-disciplined and hard-working unit that are up to any challenge.”
“They are also great athletes having won the volleyball tournament the second year in the row here at task force headquarters. The quality of our work together is a testament to the relationship formed between the Louisiana National Guard and the BDF,” said Donnelly.
“Belize gets to enjoy that prestige of working with the Americans on missions in Haiti, and we get to go back feeling confident, feeling satisfied, feeling happy knowing that we’ll have Haitians going to those schools that we built, getting educated, and making things better for their lives and future,” Cal said.
Task Force Bon Voizen is a Commander, U.S. Southern Command sponsored, U.S. Army South conducted, joint foreign military interaction/humanitarian exercise under the command of the Louisiana National Guard. Task Force Bon Voizen is deploying U.S. military engineers and medical professionals to Haiti for training and to provide humanitarian services. Task Force Bon Voizen will build a school, two medical clinics and a latrine facility, as well as staff three medical clinics and one dental clinic between April 28 and June 25 in the Artibonite Department.
Please visit: Task Force Bon Voizen on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/tfbonvoizen for the latest New Horizons Haiti 2011 news and imagery.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2011 11:03 |
| Story ID: | 71943 |
| Location: | GONAIVES, HT |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Louisiana National Guard and Belize Defence Force pool efforts in Haiti, by SGT Aaron Leblanc, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT