Photo By Staff Sgt. Aaron Rognstad | Spc. Alexander Allen, of Portage, Pa., with the 14th Quartermaster Company out of...... read more read more
SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR - You’ve just worked a 12-hour construction day in 90-degree heat with equal that in humidity. You’ve lost a couple pounds in body weight, are caked in dirt, smell atrocious and are officially deemed a redneck because you literally have one from all the sun you’ve been getting.
For many, the first thing that comes to mind after one of these days is a relaxing dip in the pool. And for many a soldier at Beyond the Horizon 2015, the nightly routine is to do just that at Comando de Ingenieros de la Fuerza Armada’s (an engineer base in San Salvador, El Salvador) near Olympic-size pool.
“I guess we’re pretty lucky to have it [the pool],” said Staff Sgt. William Droskoski of Boise, Idaho, with the 321st Forward Support Command Engineer Battalion out of Boise. “It breaks up the monotony and cools you off.”
The pool, dating from 1971 as stated by a plaque at its north end, is a relic amongst swimming holes and is maintained by a team of five to eight water treatment specialists depending on the exercise rotational strength.
Staff Sgt. Justin Holtz of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, with the 14th Quartermaster Company out of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is one of those specialists and is quite the pool-smith. He does pool maintenance in the civilian world and is the noncommissioned-officer-in-charge of the water team – aka, the water dogs.
He said the bottom of the pool was not visible when soldiers first came upon it and had to be drained, power washed and refilled, which took about a week and a half.
“I’m glad we got that going and safe for use,” Holtz said. “I’m really proud of the pool, which has been a big help to the morale of the engineers here,” Holtz said
And by the looks of it, it has helped. On certain nights, dozens of soldiers can be found playing, swimming and lounging in its water.
Sgt. Rigo Cisneros of College Station, Texas, with the 211th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment out of Bryan, Texas, is at CIFA for the duration of Beyond the Horizon’s 99-day exercise, and gathers daily numbers on the pool water’s statistics.
Having seen the first two rotations come through and now the third, he said morale is on the upswing.
“It [the pool] has really made a difference in the soldier’s attitudes,” Cisneros said. “With the long work days and the limited facilities, the pool is a real fun stress release.”
Lt. Col. Joseph Dermenjian, Task Force Northstar commander, was a proponent of the pool from the get- go and praised the water dogs.
“You have all done a great job,” he said to the team as they went about their pool maintenance duties in the water. “A lot of times when soldiers think of water purification specialists, all they know is Pauley Shore and “In the Army Now,” but when something goes wrong with the water, water purification specialists become some of the most important soldiers to have.”
“In the Army Now” (1994) is a fictional comedy about two friends that join the U.S. Army Reserves, become water purification specialists and save the day in a made-up war overseas.
“It’s pretty much our theme film,” Holtz said. “And surprisingly somewhat accurate when it comes to the career field.”
Besides the most important duty of ensuring clean water for the soldiers at CIFA, soldiers in the 92W (water purification) career field intend to do everything possible to keep the pool clean and safe by constantly checking it’s pH and chlorine levels, shocking it with chlorine, sweeping its surface and scrubbing its walls.
“It’s a rough job hanging out here by the pool in the afternoons,” said 1st Sgt. Randall Daugherty of the 14th Quartermaster Company. “By doing so we ensure that the pool is ready to go every evening for the engineers, who don’t get an opportunity to enjoy it until then because they’re busting their butts all day long. It’s a good morale booster."
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2015 15:42 |
| Story ID: | 162737 |
| Location: | SAN SALVADOR, SV |
| Hometown: | BOISE, ID, US |
| Hometown: | COLLEGE STATION, TX, US |
| Hometown: | FINLEYVILLE, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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