BARAHONA, Dominican Republic -- The four-year-old girl stood in line and waited patiently among hundreds of fellow villagers, sheltered by her relatives. Marines flanked the families and ensured their safety on the side of the dusty street while small, noisy motorcycles roared by at close range. When she reached the gate, Caribbean soldiers guided the family into the makeshift clinic.
Inside, the clinic was buzzing with activity while hundreds of voices speaking English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole filled the air. When she was seen by the medical staff, they discovered that her vision was limited to within inches of her face. By the day’s end, she received a full ophthalmology exam and was outfitted with a pair of special eyeglasses supplied by an American charitable organization, her vision corrected. She left the clinic elated: Laughing, smiling, and eager to explore the world around her.
The girl was one of more than 18,000 patients seen and treated when Marines of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group based in Eugene, Ore., participated in excercise New Horizons 2006 in the Dominican Republic this spring.
In addition to providing security for medical outreach events, they also constructed a clinic in a rural community in the southwest region of the island nation.
The exercise is a series of humanitarian projects that benefits poor and rural communities, said Army Staff Sgt. Gilberto Andujar, the Combined Joint Task Force Public Affairs Officer.
This year, U.S. forces also provided support in Honduras and will be traveling to Peru to provide free medical, dental, civic and humanitarian assistance to people there, he said.
Marines with units from the Pacific Northwest to Long Island joined forces to bring improvements to the people of Barahona Province in the Dominican Republic. There, they supported MEDRETES, or Medical Readiness Training Exercises during their two-month stay on the Caribbean island.
The MEDRETES enabled rural residents to be seen by physicians, dentists, ophthalmologists and their assistants, and even receive veterinary services for their pets and livestock, said Master Sgt. Richard Skinner of Longview, Wash.
In addition to supporting medical care, the team of Marine engineers plied their expertise in helping construct the base camp for more than 600 personnel, and developed innovative ways for the host nation to benefit.
For example, when the Marines cleared away hundreds of cubic yards of dirt to create a level surface for the camp’s construction, they hauled the dirt five miles away to build a berm for a rifle range to be used by Dominican military forces, Skinner said.
But the greatest undertaking for the Marines was the construction of a medical clinic for the people in the rural neighborhood of Barrio Milton. The area is named after a prominent resident who donated the land for the clinic, Skinner said. The clinic was one of four built during the exercise designed to treat between three and five thousand people in the surrounding areas, which currently have no nearby healthcare facilities.
“They love the fact that we’re doing this,” said Army Capt. Reginald Kornegay, combined joint task force civil affairs team leader. “This is something that helps a community that has a functional healthcare system, and (in this case) actually a pretty good one, but it’s not always accessible at the times of their needs. So being able to come in here and meet their needs across the board, they can’t ask for anything more.”
The Marines worked steadily and by accelerating progress to weeks ahead of schedule, were able to help their sister services with their projects. One of the other clinics was built by a team of National Guardsmen made up of licensed contractors, professional plumbers and electricians, who were impressed with the Marines’ rapid progress and productivity.
One of the biggest challenges the Marines faced was the need to learn and develop brand new skills in a short amount of time. Mechanics and military police had to learn construction techniques in a matter of days or even hours.
Such was the case with Sgt. Brian Howard, a heavy equipment mechanic from Racine, WI. Howard’s construction training was limited to completing a correspondence course on surveying through the Marine Corps Institute.
The basic skills that course provided him with enabled him to read the blueprints for the building of the clinic and effectively supervise much of its construction from start to finish.
The clinic’s construction site became an attraction for local residents of all ages. Some would come by to observe the Marines at work, or to chat with them and express their support and enthusiasm. Others would remain in their yards or on their porches, turn their chairs toward the job site, and smile as the work took place. Without exception, the people of Barahona Province are looking forward to putting the new facilities to use and enjoying the shared benefits it will bring their quality of life and their communities.