Five engineers from the 523rd Engineer Support Company, 84th Engineer Battalion, had a chance to increase their readiness for a great cause: renovation of school facilities and the construction of two concrete buildings and a water collection structures in the Republic of the Philippines as part of Balikatan 2017 (BK 33-2017).
Led by U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC), Balikatan 2017 is also part of U.S Army Pacific's Pacific Pathways 17. Balikatan is an annual U.S.-Philippine military bilateral training event focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, and environmental protection. In its 33rd iteration, the exercise named for a Filipino term meaning "shoulder-to-shoulder" or "sharing the load together" gave the engineers an opportunity to do just that, as they supported civic projects in the cities of Ormoc and Guiuan with their Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) counterparts.
Five Soldiers the 84th Engineer Battalion specializing in masonry, concrete, and plumbing supported the exercise by providing their technical expertise to each of the project sites. The team, consisting of Staff Sgt. Marchal Mitchell, Sgt. Chad Blankenbeckler, Sgt. Sean Wade, Spc. Jacob Service, and Spc. Justyn Richey, brought a wealth of construction and vertical engineering knowledge and experience, making significant contributions to the overall success of the Joint Task Force mission.
The team continually demonstrated its resourcefulness, operating independently in an austere environment at both sites. At Guiuan, Spc. Jacob Service used his ingenuity to manage a small joint team and construct the sidewalk for the Surok Elementary School in only two days.
"Even with a short suspense, we successfully built a 21 x 2 meter sidewalk using improvised tools and techniques," said Service.
The Soldiers managed and supported a variety of tasks in support of the overall mission; aiding in construction, quality assurance, and assuming multiple construction site leadership roles. Throughout the mission, Army engineers paired with the local Filipino community to achieve success not just in the community projects they created, but in forging lasting partnerships.
While the construction was primarily an AFP mission, the 84th EN team assisted by providing knowledge on improving and fortifying structures for future storms. While they were extremely proud of what they created together, it was the dedication and worth ethic of the local engineers that impressed them the most about working on this project.
"When it comes to construction, the Filipinos were the hardest workers I've ever seen. Their work ethic was top tier, and they would work non-stop until the job was complete. The locals are quick leaners; you taught them specific once and they got it right away," said Mitchell.
In addition to the improvements to the community the 84th Engineer team provided, the overall training ensures U.S. and Philippine forces are better prepared to provide relief to remote and austere areas of the Philippines.
"Deployments like Balikatan provide a great opportunity to work with allied nations and demonstrate the U.S. as a good and reliable partner," said Lt. Col. Michael A. Busby, battalion commander of the 84th EN. "It is amazing to see our Soldiers training with our regional allies and having a strategic impact."
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