ROTA, Spain – Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 Detail Rota had the opportunity to not only volunteer for a community relations (COMREL) project while deployed to Rota, Spain, but also work side-by-side with U.S. Sailors from the USS Leyte Gulf (CG55), German Sailors from FCS Niedesachsen, and Turkish Sailors from TCG Kemalries.
Over 20 personnel, including eight German and two Turkish Sailors, volunteered for a gesture of goodwill at The Sisters at the Monastery in La Cartuja in Jerez, Spain. For over six hours, everyone worked hard helping the nuns with manual labor ranging from heavy lifting to organization of a storage facility at the monastery.
Significant coordination was involved with the three ships, which are deployed together as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO. The three ships have sailed together, visited ports, and strengthened relationships since July 2014.
“I found out about the monastery through the base chapel on Naval Station Rota, Spain,” said Lt. Andrew Hoyle, chaplain for the USS Leyte Gulf. “I then contacted the religious program specialists who informed me of potential events, providing a list of a few COMREL opportunities, one of which was the monastery. It sounded promising, so we received the contact information. From there we set up a date, approximate number of people, and time for the event. While Personnel Specialist 1st Class Hector Moncibais aboard the Leyte Gulf made initial contact, NMCB 133 Chaplain Holly Short arranged the phone call that gave greater detail about the event.”
Not only were there two U.S. chaplains involved, a German chaplain participated and helped with the coordination.
“German chaplain Ekkehart Woykos has consistently garnered excellent participation from Neidersachen Sailors,” said Hoyle. “I have discovered that U.S. chaplains can often find great camaraderie and like-minded care for Sailors in their foreign counterparts.”
Even though there was a lot of planning and execution involved, the event was a tremendous success. “I thought the event was incredibly successful,” said Lt. Holly Short, chaplain and community relations officer for NMCB 133. “The sisters there said that what we accomplished in a day would have taken them six months. They were incredibly grateful, which is very rewarding.”
Despite every Sailor volunteer being covered in sweat and dirt, all were in good spirits.
“We did a lot of manual labor. A lot,” joked Construction Electrician Constructionman Santana Marin. “When we got there, they put us to work. We did everything; we moved sheds, threw away heavy items, and reorganized their storage facility. It was a lot of work, but definitely worthwhile.”
Following a hard day’s work, nuns from the monastery were gracious enough to provide a tour of the facility including areas of the monastery dating as far back as the 7th century.
“I was simply stunned by everything I saw; there was so much history. It was totally worth getting a little dirty and sore to see that,” said Utilitiesman Constructionman Daniel Lamers.
Despite the language barrier with volunteers speaking English, Spanish, German, and Turkish, there was no denying that everyone enjoyed the day and had a great time by the smiles on their faces when they departed the monastery.
| Date Taken: |
09.29.2014 |
| Date Posted: |
10.16.2014 04:26 |
| Story ID: |
145166 |
| Location: |
ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: |
228 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
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