Photo By Sgt. Melissa Martens | U.S. Marine Maj. Theodore R. Smith, right, the officer in charge of the Logistics...... read more read more
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U.S. Marines with the Logistics Combat Element, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command, held an opening ceremony to kick off their remodeling project at the Pozo de Agua Elementary School in Guazacapán, Guatemala, Aug. 4.
The Marines welcomed local media, students and their families to attend the ceremony and watch as Francisco Orantes, the Mayor of the Municipality of Guazacapán; Guatemalan Army Col. Emiro Alfredo Vasquez Sánchez, a Guatemalan Army infantry colonel; and U.S. Marine Maj. Theodore R. Smith, officer in charge of the LCE, SPMAGTF-SC, laid the first block of the construction project.
Working in Guazacapán for the next several months, the Marines will be making improvements to the infrastructure of the school, as well as construct two new buildings for the students and staff to use.
“We are building a two-section schoolhouse for kindergarten and first grade children, as well as refurbishing the old school,” said U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Gary D. Munro, the engineer staff noncommissioned officer in charge, LCE, SPMAGTF-SC. “This will be a new education center for the youth and help further their education throughout the community.”
Aside from conducting the engineering project, the Marines and sailors have participated in several community service projects throughout the city.
“Throughout the last month we have been here, we have had several opportunities to volunteer within the community,” Munro said. “We have done trash clean up, planted about 150 trees throughout the city, helped paint a school, and been open to doing whatever we can to help out around the municipality.”
Marines and sailors operating in Jutiapa, Guatemala, have also participated in community relations events and conducted engineering projects.
“Here in Jutiapa, we are partnering with the Guatemalan Army engineers to construct a Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility for the Guatemalans to train on,” said U.S. Marine Sgt. Kenneth R. Storvick, the foreman for the Jutiapa engineering site with the LCE, SPMAGTF-SC. “We have also had the opportunity to get out and interact with members of the local community and experience a little bit of their culture.”
Working with the engineers of the Guatemalan Army has helped to strengthen the bond between the two nations, as well as provided the opportunity to collaborate together and contribute new ideas.
“We have had the opportunity to learn from the engineers with the Guatemalan Army on different techniques, as well as shared ideas to work together more efficiently,” Storvick said. “I hope the Marines take some of the things they have learned out here and bring them back to the United States to put to good use and teach the Marines back at their units.”
The Marines and sailors of SPMAGTF-SC are deployed to Central America to conduct security cooperation training and engineering projects with their counterparts in several Central American and Caribbean nations. Each location brings the opportunity for the task force to strengthen relationships in the region.
“I hope the Marines and sailors get a lot out of their time here and feel confident about what they are doing in Guatemala,” Munro said. “These projects will benefit the school children and members of the community for years to come, and it is something to be proud of.”
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2017 13:55 |
| Story ID: | 244708 |
| Location: | GUAZACAPáN, GT |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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