Photo By Master Sgt. Lynette Hoke | The local mayor along with Spc. Brita Hensel a carpentry/masonry specialist with the...... read more read more
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RACINOVCI, Croatia - Most people appreciate seeing the final result of hard work and efforts they put into anything. For the members of the Minnesota National Guard’s 851st Vertical Engineer Company, the day came where they could see and feel the result of weeks worth of 15-plus hour days of non-stop work to get the job done.
For nearly three weeks 31 members of the 851st VEC worked tirelessly side-by-side with members of the Croatian Army, Mechanized Armored Brigade to renovate and rebuild a community center damaged by flooding last May in the village of Racinovci, Croatia.
The formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 6 included distinguished visitors like Croatian Deputy Chief of Mission, Maggie Nardi; the Chief Defense of the Croatian Forces, Gen. Drago Lovric and local and regional mayors of the area.
Many of the attendees were people from the village who were excited to get the community center back after six-foot high floods rendered the building unusable. The nearly century-old building is the only place for miles that the people of the village can hold gatherings. It has often been used for weddings, parties, plays, movies and more.
“I’m glad we were able to do this for these incredibly resilient people,” said Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ciesielski, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Minnesota contingent of the group. “I think the opportunity to be able to do this type of mission helped many of the younger troops cross-train and being able to experience the endless hospitality of the people in the area has been a experience I don’t think any of us will soon forget.”
Ciesielski and all the other 851st VEC Soldiers worked nearly three weeks straight to complete the project, which included rebuilding the roof by hand – the only power tool used was a chainsaw. Notching and carpentry is the choice of architecture for the area.
The ceremony presented the opportunity for one Soldier to completely immerse herself in the culture. Spc. Brita Hensel was dressed from head to toe in a traditional Slavonian folk costume and beautifully represented traditional wear of women from the area.
“I was so honored they chose me and excited to represent the Minnesota Guard in that way,” said Hensel. “The dress was beautiful and I felt like a member of the village when they helped me get ready for the ceremony.”
The Office of Defense Cooperation and US European Command made the humanitarian civic assistance project possible. The Minnesota National Guard soldiers are expected to return to Minnesota by mid-July.
| Date Taken: | 07.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2015 11:55 |
| Story ID: | 169235 |
| Location: | RACINOVCI, HR |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Minnesota and Croatian soldiers finish repair work in flood-impacted Croatian village, by MSgt Lynette Hoke, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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