Engineer Soldiers team up with AFL

NEWS
A2
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
November 26, 2014
Engineer Soldiers team up with AFL
BY SGT. ANGE DESINOR
13th PAD
MONROVIA, Liberia — On a
hot and humid day, the eagerness of Soldiers to help make
a difference brought joy to a
local community. Soldiers of the
36th Engineer Brigade and the
Armed Forces of Liberia worked
together to complete the Sinje
Ebola Treatment Unit in support
of Operation United Assistance
Nov. 19.
“Our mission was to provide
assistance to AFL so that they
can have the facility up and running as soon as possible,” Staff
Sgt. Michael Ashton said. “We
helped them with the electrical
system, wooden structure and
assisted with the plumbing – all to
standard. My Soldiers came out
here ready to help out and they
also had an amazing time.”
One Soldier in particular was
eager she was able to get out and
work.
“I’m just glad to have came
out and provide support to the
AFL,” Spc. Cara Lipford said.
“When I came out here, I knew
we would do a lot of work, but I
didn’t mind it because I knew I
was helping the Liberians, and it
also keeps me busy. So far this has
been a great experience.”
The AFL and the engineer
Soldiers worked side-by-side
exchanging ideas on ways to complete their mission.
“I think it’s great that we have
both forces coming together
and exchanging ideas,” said AFL
Capt. Abraham Kamara, the deputy project officer for the Sinje
ETU site. “We have our own
way of construction and the U.S.
Soldiers have their way, also.
I’m impressed by how well we
combined both forces ideas and
worked together as a team. Everyone knew what they had to do,
and no one shied away or separated themselves.”
Ashton said that they all had
a great time learning from each
other and learning about local
materials while applying their
own knowledge to the mission.
“The Soldiers were very
thoughtful and would always ask
me if I needed help or where
should I move this,” Kamara said.
“The equal amount of effort made
things run very smoothly.”
Photos by Sgt. Ange Desinor, 13th PAD
Sgt. Fitzroy Nugent Jr. (right), 902nd Eng. Bn. out of Grafenwoehr, Germany, shows Iyouba Kabbah how to extract
fuel from a barrel at the Buchanan Ebola Treatment Unit construction site Nov. 18 in support of Operation United
Assistance.
Pfc. Omar Gonzales (left), 902nd Engineer Battalion out of Grafenwoehr, Germany, and Christian Ebenezer Woods, a Monrovia, Liberia, native, carry a pile
of wood to a pallet at the Buchanan Ebola Treatment Unit Nov. 18 in support of
Operation United Assistance.
Armed Forces of Liberia Capt. Abraham Kamara, the deputy project officer for
the Sinje Ebola Treatment Unit site, briefs Brig. Gen. Frank Tate, deputy commanding general – support for the Joint Forces Command – United Assistance,
on the progression of the ETU site at Sinje, in support of Operation United
Assistance Nov. 19. Operation United Assistance is a Department of Defense
operation in Liberia to provide logistics, training and engineering support to U.S.
Agency for International Development-led efforts to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in western Africa.
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