MANDRIN, Haiti, - Louisiana National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau and Belize Defence Force Commander Brig. Gen. Dario O. Tapia visited with Task Force Kout Men troops during a trip here Aug. 19.
Louisiana has a state partnership with Belize through the National Guard State Partnership Program, which links states with foreign countries in an effort to develop international affairs. The National Guard State Partnership Program, was created in 1993, has grown to include 37 states, two territories, and the District of Colombia partnering with 42 countries around the world.
“I’m very proud of the work that our guardsmen and BDF have accomplished here,” said Landreneau.
During their stay the TF Commander, Col. Michael Borrel led Tapia and Landreneau on tours of the four engineering projects that Belize Defence Force troops, U.S. Navy Seabee’s Battalion 25 and Louisiana National Guard’s engineers have been building for the past two and half months.
“I was amazed at how quickly the BDF and our soldiers were able to bond together as a team,” said Borrel. “They were able to jump into any job on the construction site with some sort of expertise or familiarity, whether it was new construction or renovation.”
Three of the engineer sites used NuForm Building Systems. These systems consist of solid concrete walls and a steel roof. They have been used in the Caribbean and South Pacific withstanding hurricane winds and typhoons.
In Mandrin where the estimated population of 1000 is almost half children, the only available school consisted of two tents. The task force engineers built a three room school with offices to house the estimated 350 school children.
The Lycee Louis Diaqoui engineering site, which is an all-girl school in the city of Gonaives, was one of the task force’s toughest challenges. Constant flooding issues made preparing the concrete foundation a slow process. None the less, the project was completed with three classrooms with offices. The Seabees also built a hand pump water well nearby and the BDF constructed a fence to add security for the students.
The K. Georges engineer site, which educates approximately 2000 students, task force Seabees constructed a two classroom school with offices. In addition, they built a soccer field for the students and people in the community.
The Desronvilles engineer site was severely burned during a fire in October of last year. Both the roof and walls were charred rendering the school unusable. Task Force Kout Men troops removed debris and pressure washed the building before installing a new roof and adding fresh paint.
“It’s remarkable how these buildings were transformed,” said Landreneau. “I saw these buildings before and now they look like brand new buildings.”
This was a great opportunity for Belize to help out a fellow Caribbean nation in their time of need, said Tapia.
New Horizons – Haiti 2010, which began in June and is scheduled to end in late September, is a collaborative effort with the government of Haiti to provide medical and engineering assistance in response to the January 12 earthquake which caused an estimated 222,570 deaths and displaced 1.5 million people into spontaneous settlements across the affected area.
“I believe this exercise has paved the way for future New Horizons exercises, encouraging our partner nations to make it a truly joint mission” said Borrel.
The partnership between Belize and Louisiana is very strong and he looks forward to working with the Louisiana National Guard on future projects, said Tapia.