haiti relief

BAINET, Haiti -- Airmen from Minot Air Force Base's 5th Civil Engineer Squadron Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force and Navy Seabees, currently embarked aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in support of Continuing Promise 2008, reconstruct a water pipeline that was destroyed in recent storms. CP 2008 is a collaborative effort between the United States and partner militaries, non-governmental organizations, and partner-nation support organizations to build strong partnerships that can be called upon in the event of a regional situation requiring cooperative solutions. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass ?Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW/SW) Gina Wollman)

haiti relief

BAINET, Haiti -- Senior Airman Joseph Joiner, 5th Civil Engineer Squadron Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force heating, ventilation, air conditioning journeyman, works with a local Haitian man while reconstructing a water pipe which was destroyed in recent storms. Airman Joiner, along with other Airmen from Minot AFB's 5th CES, is currently embarked aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in support of Continuing Promise 2008. CP 2008 is a collaborative effort between the United States and partner militaries, non-governmental organizations, and partner-nation support organizations to build strong partnerships that can be called upon in the event of a regional situation requiring cooperative solutions. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass ?Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW/SW) Gina Wollman)

Engineers ‘lead the way’ to wrap up support activities in Haiti

Published Oct. 10, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Thomas Dow
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Airmen from Minot Air Force Base's 5th Civil Engineer Squadron Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force, currently embarked aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), recently wrapped up their humanitarian assistance/disaster relief mission in Haiti as part of Continuing Promise 2008 - a four-month humanitarian assistance mission.

Lt. Col. Monte Harner, 5th CES commander, said the Airmen currently deployed in support of CP lived up to the motto: engineers lead the way!

"In addition to direct food and water relief, they also provided engineer assessments of bridges and roadways detailing conditions, measurements, and recommended courses of action in support of the larger U.S. Southern Command relief effort," he said.

In total, 5th CES engineers provided:
· 12 engineering assessments of 350 kilometers of roadways, 15 bridges, three roofs and three aerial surveys
· More than 1,700 hours of work details
· More than 1,600 metric tons of food
· More than 12,000 2.5-liter containers of water
· 1,200 feet of water line restoring water to the approximately 12,000 people in the town of Bainet, Haiti
· Validation of $94 million in infrastructure repairs
· Guidance of expedient repairs to two critical bridges and roadways to hardest hit area of Gonaives, Haiti

U.S. Navy Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds, commander of the U.S. military relief efforts in Haiti, expressed his gratitude to those involved and said everyone did a terrific job during the mission in Haiti.

"The operation was executed with precision, passion, and most of all compassion for those in need," said Captain Ponds. "The lives that you touched and hope that you spread may not have met the relief that was needed; but it did provide a space in time for those that should...do what needs to be done."

The commander went on to discuss the team's ability to consistently go above and beyond the call of duty.

"As always, I am in awe of everything that this team does on a daily basis; not because it is getting done, but because it is done with professional and superior results," Captain Ponds added. "The standards are being met and exceeded daily and the outcomes are evident throughout."

Kearsarge's mission exemplifies the U.S.' maritime strategy, which emphasizes deploying forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests.

The CP Caribbean Phase is the second of two missions to the Southern Command area of responsibility for 2008. The first mission was conducted by USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Pacific.

For more information about CP 2008 and Kearsarge's HADR mission in Haiti, logon to www.southcom.mil.