Photo By Sgt. Carlene Vera | U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with the 471st Engineer Company, 448th Engineer Battalion...... read more read more
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CANOVANAS, Puerto Rico – Fostering a relationship with local community members can be compared to restoring a house. You have to make sure you have a solid foundation, see what areas need to be improved, make the changes, and finally, look at the progress that has been made.
U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with the 471st Engineer Company, 448th Engineer Battalion headquartered in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico are doing just that. Since Aug. 24, 28 Soldiers have been working hard to help the local town of Canovanas restore their community center that has been closed for approximately one year.
Spc. Daniel Araujo, 471st EN CO, has been diligently working with the rest of his unit to complete the project at hand. “I have been working here for two weeks. My military occupational specialty (MOS) is carpentry, but in this kind of project everybody works together and you learn about everything, from painting to electrical work,” said Araujo, “I just want the community to enjoy the center once we are done fixing it. A lot of people from around the community have come by and asked us about the progress of the center and it is great seeing the progress that we have accomplished,” added Araujo. The Soldiers are not only helping the community but they are also enhancing their technical job skills. From plumbing to electrical work, pressure washing, painting and carpentry work, these Soldiers have been hard at work as part of their Annual Training. Working together as a team enables them to not only practice their MOS, but they also learn other skills from their fellow Soldiers.
Staff Sgt. Josean Orengo, the noncommissioned officer in charge of this project, described this as another great opportunity to give back to the community. “It has been an intense 28 days,” said Orengo. “We have worked towards fixing and renovating the electrical system, the bathrooms, the ceiling, the doors and the surroundings of the center. We started the renovations on Aug. 24 with 14 Soldiers working per day, now we are just taking care of small details,” added Orengo after mentioning that he has been part of seven other community outreach projects with this unit.
The local community is very proud of the work these Soldiers have put towards renovating the center. Lorna Soto, mayor of Canovanas, expressed gratitude to the Army Reserve for helping bring it back to functional conditions. “The Community Center had been closed for one year. First we fixed the ceiling and now thanks to the Reserve we can open it and give it back to the community. The community needs this center to be able to do their social activities in a safe and secured place,” said Soto.
After some additional work to the community center is completed by contractors, the City of Canovanas will host a ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Having the Puerto Rico Army Reserve Soldiers help us and work with the renovations allows us to have the center available for the community a lot faster and it is an honor to have our Soldiers working for the community,” said Soto. “We are proud of them and thankful that they have been able to help us.”
According to 1st Lt. Juan Rivera, 471st EN Company, officer in charge, every Soldier loves the opportunity to help their surrounding community. They work hard and the results are a true reflection of their abilities.
“I am proud to be part of an Army that allows me to serve my community,” said Rivera. “I think the community will appreciate our hard work. For the people that are thinking about joining the Army Reserve, I would encourage them to join a unit like ours, an engineering company, that will allow them to work close with the community like we are doing right now.”
There is a process to follow before the U.S. Army Reserve can become involved in community projects like this one. “To request our help, the community has to submit a request letter that goes directly to Brig. Gen. Jose R. Burgos, 1st MSC commanding general and after his review we start the whole process of conducting visits and assessments,” said Mr. Isaias Diaz, unit administrator technician for the448th Engineer Battalion. “After every detail is discussed, it goes thru a legal review for approval,” added Diaz.
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.28.2015 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 177398 |
| Location: | CANOVANAS, PR |
| Web Views: | 466 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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