Civil engineers play role in Honduras exercise

Airman, July, 2004 by Mike McGuire

SABA, Honduras -- The 934th Civil Engineer Squadron at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport took 48 of its Airmen and deployed here in April to participate in New Horizons 2004 as part of Joint Command Task Force Orengo.

The main focus of the exercise was to build schools and medical clinics and provide medical support to the local villages, said Senior Master Sgt. Timothy Tamlyn of the squadron. The civil engineers planned to make numerous improvements to the base camp where exercise participants lived and worked and to provide assistance to projects in local villages.

"It was evident that the part of Honduras we were in was a desolate country with poverty everywhere you looked," Master Sgt. David Sowers said. "The level of poverty was a good example of why we should be thankful for what we have."

The Airmen graded sidewalks and poured concrete pads at locations where humanitarian projects were under way.

"We learned that private-school children attended class during the day, while public-school students met at night," Sergeant Tamlyn said. "That explained why so many kids were around during the day. Kids would stand at the wire and look in at us. It was priceless to see the looks on those kids' faces after receiving something from us."

Master Sgt. Mike McGuire

934th Civil Engineer Squadron