Indonesian School Project the Capstone of Seabees� CARAT Experience
By Lt. Ed Early, CommanderTask Group 73.5 Public Affairs
BEKASI, Indonesia - The dedication and turnover of a new school building and playground pad at Pusaka Rakyat Primary School on Aug. 14th represented not only the end of a collaboration between U.S. Navy Seabees and their Indonesian counterparts, but also the conclusion of a summers' worth of projects throughout Southeast Asia.
Starting in the Philippines in May as part of its deployment for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2009, the Port Hueneme, Calif.-based Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40 have also labored on engineering civic action projects (ENCAPs) in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, saving the largest and most complex project for last.
For nearly a month, the Seabees teamed up with engineers from the Indonesian Marine Corps to assemble a new school building from the ground up. In addition, the engineering team created a new concrete play area where, previously, there had been only a ditch full of mud and water.
“I feel that this project has turned out to be the best of the four we have worked on,” said Lt. j.g. Phil Schuler, officer-in-charge of the NMCB 40 detachment for CARAT. “The need for an ENCAP was the greatest by far here in Indonesia, so our work was definitely cut out for us.”
But the Seabees’ mission wasn’t just about assembling steel and concrete – it also involved building new working relationships and friendships with their military counterparts as well as the local residents who will benefit from their hard work.
“I’ve made many friends among our counterparts,” said NMCB 40 Construction Electrician 2nd Class Katherine Harris. “We have many differences, both in construction methods and cultures, but learning is what makes the experience so much fun.”
NMCB 40’s final project for CARAT 2009 reached its completion Aug. 14, as a new multi-use building and outdoor play area was dedicated at Pusaka Rakyat Primary School by Rear Adm. Nora Tyson, Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific.
The dedication marked the official close to the first phase of CARAT Indonesia, which began July 20 with the arrival of the Seabees, medical and dental personnel and U.S. Marines attached to Task Group 73.5, the U.S. task group for CARAT. Two more Navy ships are scheduled to return later this month for the second phase of CARAT Indonesia.
But the work was balanced by the reception the Seabees received – not just from their Indonesian counterparts, but from the community at large.
“The people here in Pusaka Rakyat have been so welcoming and friendly to us,” said Builder 1st Class Brian Cornwell. “Seeing the smiling faces on the children as they say goodbye to us each day as we leave the jobsite, it makes all the hard work that we are putting in more than worth it.”
The new facility at Pusaka Rakyat is virtually identical to multi-use buildings constructed by NMCB 40 at LO-OC National High School in Cebu, Philippines; Seberang Tayor Primary School in Kuantan, Malaysia; and Ban Khao By Si School in Pattaya, Thailand.
“Each phase brought different challenges and opportunities, with no two situations being the same,” he said. “Though we did build a similar school building in each of the four locations, each was unique as the counterparts, materials, and general surroundings and situations all differed.”
The Seabees’ first project for CARAT provided a surprise for the students and staff of LO-OC National High School. Not only did NMCB 40 provide the Cebu-based school with a new building, it also renovated an outdoor stage on the school grounds.
“I was only expecting repairs, but they built a new stage,” said Arturo Go, principal of LO-OC.
In Kuantan, NMCB 40 teamed with the Malaysian Army’s 91st Royal Construction Regiment on multiple projects around Seberang Tayor. In addition to the multi-use building, the Seabees and Malaysian engineers created a new reading area and renovated a gazebo, as well as fixing up a nearby clinic.
The Seabees received a great deal of help in Pattaya, where the Royal Thai Marine Engineers assembled more than half of Ban Khao By Si’s new special needs center by the time Task Group 73.5 arrived.
“The Thais were such great people that there was no issue having us join them midstream,” said Schuler.
Since 1995, the CARAT bilateral exercise series has provided the U.S. and six Southeast Asian nations – Brunei, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – the opportunity to exchange knowledge and expand and sharpen maritime security through shared training, equipment and manpower.
This article was originally published at: http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2009/08-August/20.htm
(Posted August 17, 2009)