Cambodian community celebrates maternity ward improvements thanks to joint, bilateral engineer project

8th Theater Sustainment Command
Story by Master Sgt. Mary Ferguson

Date: 03.16.2016
Posted: 03.16.2016 11:30
News ID: 192570
Cambodian community celebrates maternity ward improvements thanks to joint, bilateral engineer project

TAKEO PROVINCE, Cambodia - U.S. and Cambodian engineers celebrated with the local community here, March 16, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of the Prey Sbat Health Center Facility maternity ward improvement project.

The project was sponsored by Angkor Sentinel 2016, an annual bilateral exercise hosted by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces with participants from U.S. Army Pacific and Idaho Army National Guard units. The improvements were completed by Seabees from the U.S. Navy Mobile Construction Battalion Three, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Royal Cambodian Army Engineers.

The engineers leveraged the project as a change to train and build relationships together while improving the ward by adding necessary restroom facilities.

“The quality of our partnership with the local government is what brought us to Prey Sbat,” said Command Warrant Officer 5 Daniel Villarreal.

Villarreal is the 8th Theater Sustainment Command’s Command Chief Warrant Officer and represented U.S. Army Pacific and Angkor Sentinel 2016 as keynote speaker during the ceremony.

Builder 1st Class Frank Guerrero, a U.S. Navy Seabee who worked on the project, said, “Working with the Royal Cambodian Army was great. They have their way of doing construction, and we have ours, and what was great was that we both joined those ways together.”

He said, ”Every day we’d come out to work and we’d always have a crowd of locals, curious, and some even came to try to help, and they are the reason why we are here, so it was really great to see that our work made a difference to them too.”

Villarreal said, “Improving the medical facilities available to mothers and working to make newborn babies of this area as healthy as they can be are most certainly shared desires of both of our countries. Aside from community health benefits that will result from this new building, the U.S. Navy Seabees and Royal Cambodian Army Engineers who worked here will also take home with them new friendships and a deeper appreciation of the people of Cambodia.”

The 26-day project wrapped-up the Seabees’ six month mission in Cambodia.

Angkor Sentinel 2016 began March 14 and runs through March 25, at the Training School for Multi-National Peacekeeping Forces in Kampong Speu Province. It includes other U.S. Army and Royal Cambodian Army engineer expert academic exchanges and events.