Through Airmen's Eyes: Building partnerships by building a school

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Sarah Bergstein
  • Operation Pacific Unity Public Affairs
ANGELES CITY, Philippines (AFNS) --  (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)

The driver pulled down a small side street busy with activity and I realized my finger was already set on the shutter release button of my camera. I was unsure of what I was about to see, but ready to capture whatever was in store.

He parked in front of the gates of the school under a sign that read, "Welcome Pacific Unity 12-6," but already my eyes looked past the gate into the school grounds where I saw a group of airmen, some in U.S. Air Force uniforms and others in Philippine air force uniforms. Some of them were painting, others were sweeping, while the rest of them were playing with the children.

It was a hot afternoon. The humidity made it feel as though it was about 110 degrees, but no one was complaining. These Airmen were out working in this heat for the last 28 days.

There were so many different, wonderful things going on in the foreground, all because of what was happening in the background.

Behind these Airmen was a schoolhouse. Seven classrooms were renovated and one brand new building was constructed from the ground up as a result of the hard work, dedication and teamwork of the Airmen of the 647th Civil Engineer Squadron from Joint-Based Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; the Filipino airmen of the 355th Aviation Engineering Wing from Basa Air Base, Philippines; and local contractors.

A group of about 15 students ran up and surrounded me. "Hi ma'am! What is your name?" they all asked me in unison as some put up their hands to give me a high five. Others showed me their muscles and the rest laughed and ran around. As I took a minute to fully understand the scope of this project, I was overwhelmed at how important Pacific Unity 12-6 really is to so many people.

Pacific Unity is a bilateral Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) conducted in the Asia-Pacific region in collaboration with host nation civil authorities and military personnel under the direction and coordination of 13th Air Force A7 from Hickam. It is one thing to see U.S. Air Force Airmen working hand-in-hand with Philippine air force Airmen and to know that this relationship helps build peace and stability in the region. It generates an entirely different sort of emotion to hear about what it means to these Airmen and contractors and their community.

Lilyan Ann, sixth grade teacher at Cacutud Elementary School, told me that she was under the impression that it would solely be U.S. Air Force Airmen coming out to work on the school and build the new schoolhouse for her students. She excitedly expressed to me that the community was even more grateful to learn that the U.S. Air Force would be working hand-in-hand with Philippine airmen and local contractors to complete this project.

Before Pacific Unity 12-6, Ann told me her classroom was "not conducive to teaching and learning." As she walked me around the outside of her classroom and then the inside, she showed me and told me about how the airmen from the U.S. and Philippine air forces and the contractors installed lighting, replaced windows and created drainage outside of her classroom so that when it rains, the rain will run off through the new drainage system whereas before she spent a rainy day stepping over puddles while teaching because the rain would drain right through the front door and into her classroom.

"I have been asking my students how this changes school for them and they are filled with excitement to come back to class because of the work that has been done here," said Ann. "This excites me and the other teachers because they have a new willingness to learn and we now have a facility where we can better teach them."

The U.S. Air Force Airmen have worked very hard, but they are extremely humble. They will tell you they received hands-on training doing a number of different projects -- many of them outside their skill set. They will tell you about how they worked hand-in-hand with the Philippine airmen and learned some of the ways they work, but what you don't see is the camaraderie that has developed in the last month between these two services and the relationships these Airmen have developed with the students and teachers and members of the community.

"It's fulfilling both personally and professionally for myself and my whole team to be able to come here for this mission," said 1st Lt. Andrew McPherson, 647th CES public works officer and Pacific Unity 12-6 officer in charge. "I think I speak for my whole team when I say there's nowhere else we'd rather be and no other job we'd rather be doing."

McPherson told me all about the scope of the project -- how they added new roofs to the existing classrooms, put in new windows, renovated the toilets and installed sinks in the bathrooms so the kids can now wash their hands. They created drainage for runoff water when it rains, re-cemented the classroom floors and painted the buildings, among several other projects. The most impressive part of the project is the brand-new school building they built from the ground up that will serve as an additional classroom.

As I walked around and looked at all the work that had been done by this team I was amazed at how much they have accomplished in such a short time.

"A lot of these guys who have been in for a number of years, they come here and say this is the best mission they've been on," said McPherson. "Being in the military, we're warfighters. But you come here for a humanitarian mission where our mission is to help people and train and build relationships. So to help people, that's my dream job and it has been a lot of hard work, but at the same time, it's the easiest work we've ever done because we enjoy what we're doing."

The students really seemed to have developed a relationship with a number of the service members. When they're not busy learning inside the chapel that serves as their temporary classroom, they are outside interacting with the Airmen.

Staff Sgt. Derek York, 647th CES water and fuels systems maintenance craftsman and a plumber for Pacific Unity 12-6, spent a good portion of his time playing and having fun with all the students and getting to know many of them by interacting with them on a daily basis over the course of the project.

"We're here to build a school," said York, "But we've fully realized the humanitarian aspect of the mission that we're doing and how much help this school really needed. We've learned a lot from our Philippine counterparts, as they've learned a lot from us in return. Some of the ways we do things in the States is not beneficial for their way of life here, and so we've learned to adapt to their way of constructing things so that we can provide the best possible service to them that is sustainable."

I walk down the street with one of the Philippine air force officers as he took a break from his work and he tells me about how thankful the community is for the job they're doing.

"This is great for our country," said Lt. Rex Barrameda from the 355th AEW and PAF Pacific Unity 12-6 officer in charge. "We're here shoulder to shoulder, hand-in-hand as one, sharing skills and ideas. But this is not just for our Air Force to get civil engineering training. This joint project is for the children--it is for the people of the Philippines. I believe that what we've made will last for a very long time. For years to come, students will have a better place to come to school."

Pacific Unity helps cultivate common bonds, foster goodwill and improve relationships between the U.S. and the Philippines by conducting bilateral humanitarian and civic assistance operations. The relationships built and sustained with Asia-Pacific region partners through exercises, civil military operations and military exchanges help tremendously in humanitarian efforts and in preserving peace and stability.

By working together on exercises and exchanges such as Pacific Unity 12-6, it increases the ability to respond quickly and effectively together to provide assistance now and for future disasters or crises.

The success of Pacific Unity 12-6, however, is not measured solely by the renovated classrooms and new schoolhouse, but by the camaraderie of two nations working hand-in-hand and the long-lasting relationships that have developed over the course of this month-long project.

The real success of Pacific Unity 12-6 can be seen on the faces of the community; on the faces of the parents who are happy to send their children to a better educational environment; on the faces of the teachers who are eager to begin teaching their students in a more conducive schoolhouse; and most importantly, on the faces of the students of Cacutud Elementary School, who couldn't be more excited to go back into their newly finished classrooms.