BARAHONA, Dominican Republic -- The 322nd Engineer Company, out of Decorah, Iowa, is finishing up their two-week rotation as part of the humanitarian civic assistance mission Beyond the Horizon 2014. As members of Task Force Larimar, the 322nd in working in partnership with the Dominican Republic to conduct various medical and civic action programs, providing focused humanitarian assistance.
On April 15, the U.S. Army reservists laid the last concrete block for a school being built at Pescaderia, Dominican Republic. This school will not only benefit the people and children of Pescaderia, but this engineering project also provided valuable experiences for U.S. Servicemembers to learn from Dominican Republic's experts. This experience helps ensure that U.S. Servicemembers are able to rapidly respond in support of emergency relief efforts and provides an excellent venue for training personnel to be prepared for those situations.
The engineering projects are built by Army Reservists on a rotational basis. Every two weeks a new engineering company arrives in the Dominican Republic to participate in their Army Reserve annual training requirement. Beyond the Horizon provides a real-world training environment for reservists to hone their skills. The 322nd Engineering Company finished the frame a school that was started over three months ago.
"The third rotation's mission was to go from the sixth course of block up to the last course, which is the 15th course of block," said Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Malchow, a project manager with Task Force Larimar. "The third rotation did an exceptional job."
As the 322nd finishes their mission, they will begin setting up equipment for the new incoming engineering company; setting them up for success.
"They are assembling and setting up the trusts for the roof system so the fourth rotation can follow on with the completion of the roof and start on the interior electrical," said Malchow.
Participating in BTH has been very beneficial for the 322nd. Not only did it give them a chance to learn different skills, but it also gave them the chance to work with engineers from the Dominican Republic.
"I enjoyed working with the engineers here," said Spc. Justin Smith, a native Sumner, Iowa, with the 322nd, assigned to Task Force Larimar. "It was a good experience working with them."
As the 322nd gets ready to head home, they will leave with newly acquired skills while participating in BTH. This gives them the opportunity to share experience to other member back at their home station.
"The soldiers benefited from this mission by acquiring new skills that they didn't have, such as laying blocks and mixing the mortar," said Malchow.
With BTH continuing until the end of June, incoming engineer units will arrive to finish the construction projects in hopes of accomplishing the overall mission.
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