RED HORSE wraps up construction in Guatemala

Photo By Senior Airman Alex Lowe | Senior Airman Emmanuel Herring, left, and Staff Sgt. Job Stark, right, pull start a compactor Jun. 14, 2022 at the Ixlu Health Clinic in Guatemala. RS 22 serves to train U.S. civil engineers, medical professionals and support personnel while providing humanitarian assistance and joint training with partner nations like Guatemala.  

FLORES, GUATEMALA

06.17.2022

Story by Senior Airman Alex Lowe 

12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern)

U.S. Air Force RED HORSE combat engineers handed over the keys, Jun. 17, 2022, of their newly constructed school and healthcare clinic to local leaders in Flores, Guatemala as part of Exercise Resolute Sentinel 22.

RS 22 serves to train U.S. civil engineers, medical professionals and support personnel while providing humanitarian assistance and joint training with partner nations like Guatemala.

The construction of El Remate School, and Ixlú Health Clinic and Community Center were a welcome experience to a mostly young RED HORSE team.

“This is their first deployment and first time really laying block, in this scale, in a different country,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Nikko Tanap, commander of the 819th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron.

Of the 14 durational RED HORSE members, 10 were deploying for the first time. They were led by Tanap and U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Hamilton, 819th ERHS project manager.

The two projects were scheduled to last 45 days each and to be completed consecutively. Seeing an opportunity for more efficiency, Tanap and Hamilton strategically organized their limited personnel and equipment to work on both projects simultaneously.

One crucial element to working the sites at the same time, was a diversely skilled and adaptable team. While RED HORSE is composed of multiple disciplines such as Structures, Power Production and Water and Fuel Systems Maintenance, the mentality of working together and assisting outside of their specific roles was key.

“It's an awesome experience really,” Hamilton said. “You have your one part of the job, that is your piece of the puzzle, but knowing how to get there and where to go from there is a really important value.”

The 819th RHS was not alone. Durational support was provided by the 509th Contracting Squadron and the 60th Healthcare Operations Squadron. As well as support from local contractors and local engineer, Estela Enríquez.

The rotational support from the 555th RHS and 556th RHS provided a motivating factor.

“It was like a reenergization,” Tanap said. “We integrated them quickly into the team and they hit the ground running.”

With this joint support and problem solving, the RED HORSE team was able to cut the initial 90-day construction time to 69 days.

At Ixlú, the building means moving medical practices that previously could only be held in tents into a stable environment, said the Mayor of Flores. At El Remate, the school supports education for the town’s 259 students.

“It’s powerful to know that we built something of quality,” Tanap said. “Knowing ‘yeah we’re building a building’, but it's also a school for generations to come.”

• Date Taken: 06.17.2022
• Date Posted: 06.22.2022 15:23
• Story ID: 423377
• Location: FLORES, GT
• Hometown: MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, MT, US