BATURAJA, Indonesia – U.S. Army engineers with the 610th Engineer Support Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, engineers with the Canadian Armed Forces, and Armed Forces Indonesian (TNI) service members, renovated a school as an Engineer Civic Action Program during Super Garuda Shield 25 in Baturaja, Indonesia, Aug. 31, 2025.
“The school was in pretty bad shape,” said 2nd Lt. Jacob Carmichael, the officer in charge of the U.S. engineers during the Engineer Civic Action Program. “It was becoming a hazard for the kids attending the school.”
The multinational team of engineers started the restoration project on Aug. 9, and plan to host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the school on Sept. 3.
“Working with the U.S. and TNI was great,” said Aviator Tyler MacDonald, a Royal Canadian Air Force engineer. “Supporting this exercise was a great experience overall.”
Some of the major projects include replacing a damaged roof, repairing floors in classrooms, building culverts to mitigate flooding, repairing the plumbing and restrooms, and repainting the entire school.
“We repaired their plumbing, rebuilt a brand new roof, added new tiles and added a new coat of paint to the entire school,” said Carmichael.
While many of the training events during Super Garuda Shield focus on building combined arms readiness and interoperability, the school restoration project highlights the strong relationship between the partnering nations.
"It's really great to be able to do something like this and really make a difference,” said MacDonald.
Super Garuda Shield is an annual exercise between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and U.S. Military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, and cooperation.