Courtesy Photo | Citizens of Tapa and Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored...... read more read more
TAPA, Estonia – From the calm railroad station to the large Russian Orthodox Church and hidden cafés, the quiet town of Tapa, once home to a large Soviet military air base, is laced with history. It is also laced with ruins and rubbish left behind from that era.
Under clear, sunny skies and a cool, gusty breeze Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, of Fort Stewart, Georgia, partnered with members of the Tapa community and met at a nearby neighborhood June 7, to clear away some of the debris.
“Today we are doing a community clean-up project with the local Estonian population of Tapa,” said 1st Sgt. Victor Haven, of Covelo, California, with C Company, 2/7 IN, 1-3 ABCT. “The mayor coordinated this with American forces through the Estonian military forces here as an outreach program.”
With upbeat music playing over the loud speakers, the day’s plan was to partner with the people of Tapa, clean up the designated area and end with a community barbecue, said Haven.
As soon as they arrived, the Raiders quickly got to work sorting rubbish into various piles of recyclables.
“I think this helps to show the population that we are not going to just stay on the base, train and leave,” said Haven. “We are going to be here out in the community seeing and doing projects like this.”
The community clean up took place during Operation Atlantic Resolve which is an on-going series of training events designed to build relationships, trust and interoperability between the United States and its NATO allies.
Spc. Jorge Herrera, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, agreed that an event like this could only serve to reinforce that intent.
“I think this helps especially in Tapa,” said Herrera. “This neighborhood is right outside the base so, they see us every day, they know what we do and see us out while we are on convoys.
“Even though we are here to train with the Estonian Defense Force, this is a way to show the world that we aren’t just here for training for ourselves and the EDF, but we are here for the people as well,” he added.
Alari Kirt, mayor of Tapa, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Soldiers presence in Estonia and on site.
“It is great to have you,” he said. “You understand our problems and you help us. Our security, economy and culture has benefited from American Soldiers interacting with our people.”
It was Haven’s hope that his Soldiers walk away with a greater sense of what it means to be a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
“It’s not just to come here and train with our allied partners, and reinforce those partnerships but it’s also to be a part of the local communities as well and kind of lay a positive foundation for future units to come.”
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2015 06:38 |
| Story ID: | 165824 |
| Location: | TAPA, EE |
| Hometown: | COVELO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | LAS VEGAS, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, ‘Raiders’ join Tapa’s community clean-up project, by SGT Juana Nesbitt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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