Photo By Sarah Lupescu | Soldiers in Honduras for Beyond the Horizon 2012 construct a school at the Micheletti...... read more read more
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MICHELETTI, Honduras – A Missouri Army National Guardsman is serving as a project manager for Beyond the Horizon 2012 Honduras, a civil-military exercise that is dedicated to working together with the Hondurans to provide humanitarian and engineering assistance.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Vitale, of Belleville, Ill., and member of the 294th Engineer Company, 203rd Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, manages the Micheletti construction site where service members are building a schoolhouse.
“It has been really great to watch the project come together from the very beginning,” Vitale said.
Beyond the Horizon Honduras is an Army South exercise deploying military engineers and medical professionals to Honduras for training, while providing services to rural communities. U.S. Army engineers working with host nation personnel are building medical clinics and schoolhouses for the local Hondurans.
Service members working at Micheletti have poured the foundation, put up the walls and poured concrete into the exterior walls. Some of the next projects include putting together the roof trusses, installing doors, electricity, plumbing, and pouring sidewalks.
“One of the best parts of this exercise has been watching the abilities that young soldiers possess put to use for a good project,” Vitale said.
As the project manager, Vitale has had the opportunity to work with troops from units in Missouri, Florida, and Tennessee.
“Working with the soldiers from different states and Reserve units has been great,” Vitale said. “We’re able to learn from each others experiences and skill sets.”
Working on a humanitarian exercise brings obstacles that stateside missions don’t always have.
“So far the language barrier has been the biggest challenge I’ve had to face,” Vitale said. “A lot of the soldiers from the Miami area speak Spanish so they’re able to help translate when we’re talking to the local people here.”
The local people are grateful for the work the U.S. troops are doing for their community and accept the schoolhouse with open arms, Vitale said.
Vitale arrived in Honduras in mid-March. As the project manager, he will stay in Honduras for the duration of the exercise. He is schedule to return home in July.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing my daughter when I get home,” Vitale said. “She has learned how to roller skate since I’ve been gone so she is excited to go skating together.”
Vitale also has some fun summer plans scheduled when he returns to the states.
“I’m going to a Chicago Cubs game in July,” Vitale said. “I’m also planning a trip to Seattle later this summer.”
Vitale has been in the military for 14 years. He deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the 1438th Engineer Company.
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.moguard.com/blog; www.pinterest.com/monationalguard/
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2012 10:12 |
| Story ID: | 89288 |
| Location: | MICHELETTI, HN |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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