• Military Menu                       

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

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Seabees Continue Building Promising Futures During Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090714-02
Release Date: 7/14/2009 7:24:00 AM

By Airman 1st Class Danielle Grannan, Continuing Promise 2009 Public Affairs

CORINTO, Nicaragua (NNS) -- Seabees currently assigned to Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) began renovating a local school July 11 in support of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).

Seabees from Construction Maintenance Battalion Unit 202 began replacing the roof and doors to the school, installing insulation and doing electrical work at the Villa Nueva school, said Construction Electrician 2nd Class Darren Shubert, a Seabee and Comfort crew member.

Groups of approximately 20 people have been working on the project and will continue working until July 14, when Comfort is scheduled to depart.

"I've had a lot of fun out here so far," said Construction Mechanic 1st Class Gregory Blake. "This is a great project. It's very worthwhile, and the kids are a lot of fun. It's definitely rewarding to come out and help people who really need it."

CP09 is a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission through Latin America and the Caribbean. The U. S. military, non-governmental organizations, foreign national military and host nation personnel work together to provide a variety of free medical, dental, veterinary and engineering services to local communities.

The Seabee detachment aboard Comfort has offered its services in each country the ship has visited, performing various tasks that range from renovating pharmacies and school houses to constructing new school rooms, installing security fences and even renovating basketball courts.

"I'm really glad I got the opportunity to participate in this mission," said Schubert. "I've learned a lot and seen a lot of things that I would never have had the chance to see otherwise. It's an amazing feeling of accomplishment to look at a finished project that you had a hand in and know that it will actually make people's lives better."

Nicaragua is Comfort's last stop in the CP09 mission. Comfort and her crew also visited Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Panama, Colombia and El Salvador.

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