NCWG-1 Warfare Reservists Provide Humanitarian Aid to Iraq
Navy Newsstand
Story Number: NNS030805-09 Release Date: 8/5/2003 11:52:00 AM
By Lt. Cmdr. John Garofolo, Naval Coastal Warfare Group 1
UMM QASR, Iraq (NNS) -- Reservists assigned to Naval Coastal Warfare Group (NCWG) 1 returned to the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr to deliver school supplies and child-sized picnic tables to children in this poverty-stricken community.
During major combat operations, Naval Coastal Warfare (NCW) units provided port security and harbor defense at the port of Umm Qasr.
The Sailors from NCW delivered the supplies to one of the schools in Umm Qasr and interacted with many of the town's children, who were naturally interested in the convoy. When final exams were completed for the day, the Sailors passed out packages to the students and teachers.
After the visit to the school, the convoy made another stop at the Umm Qasr Town Council. The Sailors delivered the rest of the boxes of supplies to the Council Leader so they could be distributed to other local schools.
"This was a great opportunity for our families back at home to help us do something really positive for the people of Iraq," said Capt. Mike Shatynski, commanding officer of the Long Beach, Calif.,-based Harbor Defense Command Unit (HDCU) 114 and the force security officer for the Port of Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait. "I know the people at home and the troops were both really excited about this humanitarian mission."
The project started when Shatynski's wife, Valorie, and her friend Nona Reimer developed a plan to aid Iraqi school children. Reimer, who is on the faculty of John Malcom Elementary School in Laguna Niguel, Calif., got her students excited about helping Iraqi school children.
The students assembled 200 packets containing pencils, crayons, papers and other school supplies. Additionally, each package included a personal note from the student who put it together.
Lt. Greg Settelmayer from HDCU-114 also had a conversation with his wife about the needs of the Iraqi children. Previously, Settelmayer had been a part of the Naval Coastal Warfare forces operating in Iraq, and had made valuable contacts with U.S. Army Civil Affairs personnel and town residents of Umm Qasr.
Settelmayer's wife, Suzanne, and his sister, Ann Mazzeo, contacted the parishioners of their church, Our Mother of Confidence, San Diego. Church members and a local school group gathered 26 boxes of school supplies.
Thanks to a parishioner who donated the $800 needed to pay for shipping, the boxes were shipped to the NCW forces operating in the northern Arabian Gulf.
To complete the project, Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate David Garza had a team from Inshore Boat Unit (IBU) 15 from Corpus Christi, Texas, constructed 16 mini-picnic tables. The IBU 15 Sailors built the tables during their off-watch time.
Navy chaplains from San Diego also provided support to the NCW humanitarian mission. Father Francis Foley, who was a chaplain in Kuwait during the war, coordinated with the Navy chaplain's offices in Bahrain and San Diego. Catholic, Protestant and Methodist churches of the greater San Diego area sent donations. Lt. Cmdr. (CHC) Paul Shaughnessy, chaplain aboard USS Belleau Wood (LHA 2), on assignment in Kuwait, accompanied the convoy.
On the long drive back through the Kuwaiti desert, Shatynski reflected on the day's events, stating, "I'm really delighted with the way things came together. Schools and churches stateside shipped these supplies, some Sailors found scrap lumber from war material and built mini-picnic tables in their spare time, then a bunch of Reservists delivered it all to kids in Umm Qasr. It shows real American spirit."
Information Technician 2nd Class Elizabeth Kelch, who participated in the delivery, observed, "I'm a firm believer if you get people working together, the world would be a better place. I think being here today allowed me to help make a little bit of progress toward that."
Units participating in the NCW humanitarian mission were HDCU-114, IBU-15, NCWG-1 staff and Commander Maritime Pre-positioned Force, Kuwait.
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