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Army Engineers Arrive to Lead Continued Joint-Service Efforts to Install Temporary Roofs after Yutu

By Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs OfficeJanuary 9, 2019

Joint Task Group Engineers arrive on Saipan; continue recovery efforts
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SAIPAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Jan. 7, 2019) -- Soldiers and Airmen assigned to Task Group Engineer conduct a mass layout of equipment Jan. 7, to ensure they have what is needed to build temporary roofing for residents in Saipa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Task Group Engineers arrive on Saipan; continue recovery efforts
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SAIPAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Jan. 7, 2019) -- Soldiers and Airmen from Task Force Engineer removes damaged roofing at a home in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Jan. 7. Task Force Engineer is tasked with p... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Task Group Engineers arrive on Saipan; continue recovery efforts.
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SAIPAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Jan. 7, 2019) -- Soldiers from Task Group Engineer clear away debris around a home on Saipan Jan. 7, while other Engineer work on replacing temporary medal roofing. Military service members from J... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Task Group Engineers arrive on Saipan; continue recovery efforts
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SAIPAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Jan. 7, 2019) -- A Soldier from Task Force Engineer removes damaged roofing at a home in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Jan. 7. Task Force Engineer is tasked with providing m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Joint Task Group Engineer arrives on Saipan, Tinian to continue recovery efforts.
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SAIPAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Jan. 7, 2019) -- Soldiers from Task Group Engineer conduct a layout of equipment Jan. 7, to ensure they have what they need before heading out to build much-needed temporary roofing for residents ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ASAN, Guam (Jan. 9, 2019) -- More than 140 active-duty service members arrived on the island of Saipan Jan. 5-6, to install temporary roofs and continue to provide Department of Defense support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and work with the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands' civil and local officials in restoring much-needed shelter to those affected by Super Typhoon Yutu.

The service members are part of Task Group Engineer, a newly formed joint team of Army, Navy and Air Force engineers led by the Army's 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, based in Hawaii.

"As CNMI continues to recover from Super Typhoon Yutu, the military will also continue to provide assistance to FEMA in support of the CNMI recovery efforts," said Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, commander, Joint Region Marianas and commander of Joint Task Force West. "The engineers comprised of Army, Air Force and Navy service members will work diligently to provide much-needed temporary roofing to residents of Saipan and Tinian."

Military service members from the DoD have accomplished many of their FEMA-assigned immediate response and recovery tasks, and their current focus is the installation of temporary roofs, of which more than 200 have already been completed by Seabees and Airmen from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 and the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron.

To meet this goal, these additional active-duty engineers will work to restore much-needed shelter to those affected by Super Typhoon Yutu, which struck the CNMI Oct. 24-25.

"We are excited to reinforce the temporary roofing efforts led by CNMI and FEMA," said Lt. Col. Reyn Mann, 84th Engineer Battalion and Task Group Engineer commander. "We know we are stronger as a task group, and our Soldiers, Seabees and Airmen are here to work hard for the people of Tinian and Saipan, who have shown remarkable courage and resilience in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yutu."

The DoD mission is expected to continue until the critical needs are met or FEMA officials have implemented the appropriate mix of civil and contracted solutions to allow them to continue to lead federal government relief and recovery efforts without DoD support.

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