JUTIAPA, Guatemala -- -- Guatemala City, a modern metropolis with gleaming high-rises and Western franchises, resembles many American metro areas at its fast-paced commercial core. But the vast green mountains to its south give way to a much different environment -- one of tiny farms with mud shacks, sparse livestock and a much simpler lifestyle. It was in these old fashioned villages where Marines from Bravo Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group lent their expertise to their sister services and to the people of Guatemala. Marines traveled to a small base camp near the town of Jutiapa to participate in NEW HORIZONS, a Latin American exercise designed to team engineers from each branch of the service with their local counterparts. Together, they work to improve developing communities and strengthen interservice relationships. The Marines constructed two clinics and a schoolhouse, and pitched in to assist the Army’s engineers and Navy Seabees in their projects, according to Capt. Jeffrey Beelaert, Bravo Company’s commanding officer.The schoolhouse was built in a rural town called El Aguacate, and replaced an aging structure in a converted greenhouse, according to Staff Sgt. James Magoon, a combat engineer from Manchester, NH. The old facility was extremely hot inside and had to house more than 250 students, he said. “This is a lot cooler…we have tint and insulation that keeps it about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the other building. Also, this is synthetic concrete cork fill, and it keeps this building much, much cooler for the students. When the ceiling fans get going, it’s really nice.” Each classroom was built with an adjacent room for the teacher or for storage. Outside, the Marines constructed a fully functional latrine, and the inside was partially furnished with furniture donated from Bravo Company, he said. The engineers used a new technique for building the structure. It was built using RBS, or Royal Building Systems. “We had to learn a lot about RBS before we came down here. It’s like a Lego system; we put the sections together, and reinforce them with rebar.” Later, they pour concrete into the walls to solidify the building. “The building itself is basically a plastic shell with a webbing inside, filled with concrete. It’s not going anywhere, anytime soon. It’s a very permanent structure,” said Magoon. In the nearby cities of Jutiapa and El Progreso, Marines built clinics adjacent to health care facilities, which will assist tremendously with the crowding and patient overflow, said Cpl. Joey McCall, a combat engineer from Waldorf, Md. While the location designated for the clinic in Jutiapa was ideal, its elevation was anything but. It was to be situated on a fairly steep slope, and required 46 truckloads of fill dirt to achieve a level base for the foundation. “We had to build it level with the existing clinic,” said McCall. Locals working at the old clinic enjoyed watching the Marines work and showed their support. “They loved us. They came out and watched us every day – every day for hours. We had big crowds. They’d stay up on the sidewalk and not get in our way, but when we’d sit down for chow, they’d come talk to us, we’d talk to them,” he said. Toward the completion of the project, the townsfolk threw a going away party for the Marines at the home of a local politician. “We went out there, played soccer, danced, ate, it was really nice,” he said. At the clinic in the town of El Progreso, the Marines surprised workers at the old adjacent health clinic with the addition of hot water. “No buildings around here have any hot water, so yesterday when we had the hot water hooked up they were very surprised by the fact that we have it,” said Lance Cpl. Courtney Waddell, Buffalo, NY. Her team included four engineers from the Guatemalan Army, which made the days go by smoothly. “They show you different ways of doing things, and if things go wrong, they find ways to laugh about it. They just brighten up the day, even with the language barrier.” Overall, the Marines finished their projects 16 days ahead of schedule, said Beelaert. “It’s a result of the Marines just working hard. Whatever tasks we had to accomplish, if we needed to stay past 1900, we got light sets out here, and the Marines kept working. So on most of the pours we actually did, pouring the concrete (in the walls), Marines worked until about two in the morning.” Once they started to pour, they were determined to continue until it was completed, he said. This went on seven days a week for over five weeks, with precious little down time. “In the time we were down here, we took one day off to swim in a lake in a volcano, and we took another day off where each of the Marines got to spend a night in Guatemala City,” he said. Thanks to their hard work and efficiency, they were able to do much more than the school and two clinics. Collectively, they worked on seven projects in all. “Early on, they got ahead on their projects, so they were able to take their knowledge to other sites and keep them on track as well,” said Beelaert. Not only did the teams help their sister services, they also came to each other’s aid. The school was the largest project, but the roofs on the clinics went up much faster, so some of the Marines from the clinics came to the school to provide assistance on the roof. One of Bravo Company’s U.S. Marines helped put a familiar face on their projects and kept them close to the local populace. In fact, he said while the locals are thrilled with their new facilities, they are sad to see the Marines depart Guatemala. Lance Cpl. Edin Grinaldo is a native of Guatemala City, and his mother is from Jutiapa. “I’ve got family down here. They’ve known me since I was little and they’re glad that I’m here, they like the way we work, and they’d like to see more coming in the future. They love what we’re doing for the community, and they don’t want us to leave.”