Australians and NGO Join Seabees to Complete Clinic for Pacific Partnership 2010
By Lt. j.g. Nelson BalidoPacific Partnership 2010 Public Affairs
TERNATE, Indonesia - Australian engineers from Second Combat Engineer Regiment (2CER) and a nongovernmental organization (NGO) joined forces with Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 from Gulfport, Miss., July 22 to complete renovations to the Puskesmas Kalumpang medical clinic.
2CER based in Gallipoli Barracks, Brisbane, Australia, and volunteers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Pre-Dental Society NGO have been working alongside NMCB 11 and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, out of San Diego.
Once a thriving clinic that began to fail over the years due to the elements, the Puskesmas Kalumpang medical clinic was all but closed by the local government. Through outreach efforts and collaboration with the Indonesian government on a local and national level, it was determined worth the time to bring back to life.
"The Seabees are doing a heck of a job out here, and we are happy to join them in putting the finishing touches on this beauty," said Sgt. Andrew James Burbury, assigned to 2CER. "These are the type of jobs that I enjoy the most, working with people from other places and cultures and combining our experiences to learn new things, this is what this exercise is all about."
"I volunteered to work on this clinic because I heard that it was a challenging project," said Sean Masavage, a mechanical engineer who is working with the UCSD Pre-Dental Society. "The best part of this is the opportunity that I get to work with an international crew and learn new tricks of the trade while building relationships that will extend much further than this job - I am ready to do it again!"
The building was initially opened in 1970 and was the first social service clinic in the entire town; currently there are four others in operation. It services about 1,500 people per month and is staffed by three primary and family care physicians and 12 paramedics.
The project is part of Pacific Partnership 2010, the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet endeavors conducted in Indonesia as a disaster relief exercise aimed at strengthening regional partnerships and increasing interoperability with U.S. interagency, host nations, partner nations, and international humanitarian and relief organizations.
To date, Pacific Partnership 2010 has included visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
This article was originally published at: http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=54816
(Posted Jul. 23, 2010)