Airmen restore Vietnamese clinic during Pacific Angel

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kerry Jackson
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
QUANG TRI PROVINCE, Vietnam (AFNS) --  A 15-member Air Force civil engineer team is refurbishing the Cam Thuy Medical Clinic here as part of Operation Pacific Angel 2009, taking place Sept. 15 to 24.

The civil engineers are completing the electrical, plumbing and structural work while humanitarian medical operations take place concurrently at a local school, where nearly 4,000 patients have been cared for since Sept. 17.

"This project had its challenges, but I could not have picked a better team of CE Airmen for the job," said Master Sgt. Todd Andersen, the CE team chief of Pacific Angel operations in Vietnam. "As a team, we're just happy that we can make a lasting contribution to the welfare of the Vietnamese people. Our work complements and sustains the good work our medical team is doing here."

The construction work is one of many U.S. military engineering civic action program projects, which provide for the construction of buildings and other basic infrastructure that aid many communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.

"We are very grateful that the Pacific Angel team came here to help us to renew the clinic, so that people can have a better place to receive medical service," said Dr. Nam Nguyen, the Cam Thuy Medical Clinic director. "The Air Force worked very hard despite the hot weather. We appreciate all their hard work, and we are very, very happy they were here."

This is the first time many of the Pacific Angel team members have visited Vietnam, and the consensus has been that of excitement and appreciation for the opportunity to meet and care for the people here.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be here in Vietnam, and I'm excited about all the work we're doing and all the people we are helping," said Airman 1st Class Lloyd Mosher, a civil engineer technician from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. "The Vietnamese people are friendly, and I'm proud to be part of a mission that helps so many people in need."

This is the third Pacific Angel civil engineering project this summer. Air Force civil engineers, as well as medical personnel, took the Pacific Angel humanitarian and civic assistance mission to Indonesia and Timor Leste in July.

Operation Pacific Angel is a recurring joint and combined humanitarian and civic assistance program aimed at improving military civic cooperation between the United States and countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It is a Pacific Air Forces operation led by 13th Air Force at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.