• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Seabees Enhance Vital Facility in Dominican Republic

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090502-07
Release Date: 5/2/2009 3:09:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Marcus Suorez

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (NNS) -- Crew members aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 1 at the National Reference Laboratory to celebrate the opening of an extension built by Seabees.

Seabees worked alongside two Dominican engineers for 100 hours to build a 900-square foot refrigerated room which will be used as a blood-holding facility.

"When we were here last October, the Minister of Health and the National Reference Laboratory identified this great center as a place we could come and perform an engineering mission to make the laboratory a better place," said Navy Capt. Bob Lineberry, mission commander of Continuing Promise 2009.

"We made an additional cold storage room on the backside of the facility," said Navy Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class John Ford, project supervisor.
"We added six masonry unit walls, added electric and air conditioning and concrete padding and a side walk to the building."

The National Reference Laboratory links directly with U.S. national preparedness plans and is needed in case of disasters, natural or man-made.

"We are very pleased with the results here at the National Reference Laboratory and it has been an honor to serve with Dominicans side-by-side over the past eleven days making these great efforts to continue our relationship within the Dominican Republic," Lineberry said.

The cold storage room at the laboratory was one of two projects the Seabees aboard Comfort completed during their time in Santo Domingo. The other project was an extension to a classroom at the Otto Martinez schoolhouse.

"At Otto Martinez we added an additional 15-foot by 15-foot room to an already existing classroom to enlarge it," Ford said. "We also added much needed electricity and two walls. This will hopefully help the kids learn."

The Dominican Republic is on a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission to seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The next scheduled stop is Antigua and Barbuda.

For more news from USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), visit www.navy.mil/local/tah20/.