U.S. Air Force Reserve Tech. Sgt. Elmer Domingo, a member of the 624th Civil Engineer Squadron out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, works with Vietnamese military members to make improvements to the Thach Dong medical clinic in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, Aug. 18, 2011, in support of engineering civic action program Pacific Unity 11-4. The operation included more than 60 U.S. and Vietnamese service members, contractors and support personnel, and showcased the potential of total force integration and multinational interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. John Herrick)
U.S. Air Force Reserve Tech. Sgt. Elmer Domingo, a member of the 624th Civil Engineer Squadron out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, works with Vietnamese military members to make improvements to the Thach Dong medical clinic in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, Aug. 18, 2011, in support of engineering civic action program Pacific Unity 11-4. The operation included more than 60 U.S. and Vietnamese service members, contractors and support personnel, and showcased the potential of total force integration and multinational interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. John Herrick)
In support of engineering civic action program Pacific Unity 11-4, U.S. Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 out of Gulfport, Miss., and U.S. Air Force Reserve Airmen from the 624th Civil Engineer Squadron out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, work with Vietnamese military and contractor personnel to make improvements on the Thach Dong medical clinic in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, Aug. 18, 2011. The operation included more than 60 U.S. and Vietnamese military members, contractors and support personnel, and showcased the potential of total force integration and multinational interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. John Herrick)
8/29/2011 - HA TINH, Vietnam (AFNS) -- In an effort to foster friendship and improved relationships between the U.S. and Vietnam, more than 60 military civil engineers, construction workers and volunteers from both countries came together Aug. 9-29 to renovate three medical clinics in Ha Tinh Province.
The 624th Civil Engineer Squadron out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 out of Gulfport, Miss., in combination with People's Committee of Ha Tinh civil and military teams and selected construction contractors, made major renovations to the Thach Dong Clinic, Thach Mon Clinic and Ha Huy Tap Clinic.
Pacific Unity is a U.S. Pacific Command-funded humanitarian assistance mission, coordinated through the People's Committee of Ha Tinh Province. Pacific Unity is a bilateral (U.S. and Vietnam) and joint (U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy) engineering civic action program conducted in cooperation with People's Committee of Ha Tinh Province civil authorities and provincial military command.
As part of the planning process, the three medical clinics were evaluated by local contractors and military civil engineer planners to determine the needs for each, officials said. Following the plan that was created, the construction team of Seabees, civil engineers, Vietnamese military and local contractors and volunteers worked together to provide lasting improvements. The team has laid tile, built incinerators, replaced plumbing, built bathrooms, showers and water catchment systems, repaired roofs, upgraded electrical systems, repainted and landscaped.
But most importantly, team members said, they have built lasting relationships with the Vietnamese military.
"I think our work here is a small piece of the bigger goal of building a relationship with the people of Vietnam," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Hall, a project supervisor for the Thach Dong Clinic project. "I think our work will leave a lasting impression on the community which could grow into a great friendship."
(Courtesy of Pacific Unity Public Affairs.)
Comments
8/30/2011 8:57:24 PM ET The work that our folks do around the world is commendable, but the only thing we should be doing in Vietnam is looking for those men who the Communist Vietnamese are still holding captive. Instead, we kowtow the commies and accept their boxes of warehouse remains.
Mike Blades, Hanover PA
8/30/2011 6:01:14 PM ET JK, the war is over and in order to find the remaining POWs/MIAs it behooves the U.S. to befriend the Vietnamese Government to convince them to cooperate. Would you say "How soon we forget" to U.S. interaction with Germany or Japan -- there are still WWII MIAs...
