Fargo, N.D., - On May 3, the North Dakota Air National Guard will
welcome Airmen scheduled to return home from a two-week humanitarian mission
in Ghana.
The 34 Airmen are members of the 119th Wing Civil Engineer Squadron, who
deployed to Ghana April 19 to work on two major construction projects there.
They replaced a group of Airmen from the 127th Civil Engineer Squadron from
the Michigan Air National Guard.
"It was impressive to see everything that was being accomplished by these
North Dakota Airmen," said Army Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, the adjutant
general of North Dakota, who visited Ghana last week. "This was a
humanitarian mission to provide construction in a training environment.
"Since we began working with the State Partnership Program six years ago, we
have formed a great relationship with the people of Ghana and being able to
perform missions like these is not only rewarding, but beneficial in today's
military environment."
Last week, the Airmen finished work on a complex at the School of Trade
Training at Burma Camp, a Ghanaian military complex near Accra, Ghana's
capital. They painted the facility, installed doors and windows, replaced
walls, completed electrical work, installed fans and air conditioning,
plastered the exterior walls and more at the building that will be used to
provide training to the Ghanaian Armed Forces.
"We have had the chance to work side by side with the Ghanaian Army
Engineers on these projects," said Maj. John Gibbs of the 119th Wing Civil
Engineer Squadron. "We are able to share our skills and learn from each
other. This type of training and overall cultural experience is invaluable
in our career field."
The Airmen also worked on a project in Takoradi, in Ghana's western region
to renovate a medical laboratory facility co-located with the Ghanaian Armed
Forces' 2nd Battalion. The Airmen prepared the roof for installation,
installed the underground sanitary hookup and completed masonry work in the
window and door openings of the building. They also hooked up utilities,
such as electric, water and sewer to the building there they stayed during
the deployment.
"The Happy Hooligans have a reputation of working hard and getting the job
done," said Gibbs. "We have definitely lived up to our reputation here and
accomplished everything that we were tasked with, even in the heat. Now that
we've been acclimated to working in temps over 100 degrees, we should be
ready for summer in North Dakota now."
North Dakota has been partners with Ghana since 2004 as part of the State
Partnership Program, which is sponsored by the Department of Defense. The
program aligns states with partner countries to encourage the development of
economic, political and military ties.
During the past six years, more than 180 North Dakota Guardsmen, Ghana
military members and civilians have taken part in State Partnership Program
events and workshops. The current mission is providing valuable training on
contingency skills for the Airmen while helping Ghanaians.