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Show AIR FORCE RESERVE Supplement to th Hilltop Timet "y HEADS UP .April 6, 1990 ; 1 V" .Si: H IliiltlSilSili IMP U .S. Air Force Photos by TSgt. Mike Martinez All eyes Children from Choluteca school in Honduras had 30 days of watching 419th; Tactical Fighter Wing civil engineers construct a new school building and latrines during their annual tour recently. More than 900 children attend the school in split shifts. im (Qi n on ir by Capt. Tess Cowan 419th TFW Public Affairs Office "We'd go back in a heartbeat," 419th Tactical Fighter Wing civil engineers respond unanimously as they reflect on their recent return from Honduras. Two teams of 50 reservists rotated in and out of Choluteca two misweeks at a time for a y sion of building and repairing schools and latrines plus a host of other needed construction. The project, dubbed AHAUS TAR A 90, was supported jointly by the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. CMSgt. Rick Potokar, 30-da- Air Reserve Technician on the last leg to Honduras, said the 110-12- 0 degree working conditions were just unreal. "Everybody dropped weight working with kind of full-tim- e 'we've-got-to-finish-th- is hustle. One sergeant dropped pounds in two weeks and I dropped 13 pounds myself." Tan and tough, the engineers said it was the best training they've ever had. "Everything we've ever learned got practiced on this tour," Chief Potokar commented. "We're taught how to get conthe job done from a bare-bas- e cept, but what we accomplished and the meaningful experience associated with this tour will go down in our squadron history as the training of the century." Flown to Soto Cano! AB by then helicoptered, bused to the enand banana-truckegineer campsite near Choluteca, about three miles from the north 21 C-14- 1, d s mi s'B'riui ern Nicaraguan border, construction crews added a third building to a tiny school complex in the poverty-strickevillage where 900 children attend school in shifts. ' Detachment commander of the first 14 days, Capt. Allan Dalpias, said, "Though some people on the team were trained only in refrigeration and heating, they all pitched in to pour cement, lay brick or do whatever, was needed to get the job done." The building got initiated with a ribbon cutting, and the local mayor and school board renamed the effort the Friendship School. After the school, the engineer n 1,200-square-fo- iro ,B,-:--.lr- ot dl yy fct fd McGowan went to a local blacksmith and drew a picture of the parts needed and then on to a leather shop to buy a flat of leather to cut and make flappers. Between the newly formed parts and the strong leather, the well was repaired. The villagers were so overjoyed they collected centavos and bought the reservists a universal present of "gracias" 18 bottles of soda pop. Second-lecommander, Maj. Craig Hansen, said, "These guys cinder-bloc- k g lh A la- trines, repaired a local chapel, conbrick structed a wash and kitchen facility, repaired roofs, built sidewalks and brought power to a handicap home workshop. Refrigeration and electrical experts were flown into base Camp Las Delicias for repair jobs. The group faced a language barrier, but four reservists served as translators: SSgt. Freddie Reyes, SSgt. Joe Molton, Sgt. Alex Reyes and MSgt. Jose Guiterrez. Chief Potokar said the smallest effort they were asked to do had the biggest impact on the Utah reservists. A native woman reported the area well was broken and many were walking five miles to get water. When the engineers saw the antiquated well probably dug in the early 1900s, they realized the parts could not be purchased. MSgt. Stan Charlton, SMSgt. Charles Chatlin and MSgt. Jim s finished jobs in record time and accomplished things they shouldn't have been able to do." Heating technician, TSgt. Neil Werenskjold, said, "We were still primed from our recent Operational Readiness Inspection, and we were just exploding with ideas and ways to do some of these impossible jobs. The training and experience was just immeasurable and it was rewarding to be able to share repair methods with the Hondurans," he said. . force built two - ot ' A V i i J 7 I'll. ia S x i - v" v- v. 4 ft. x. Digging in 120 degree heat TSgt. Don Rowley, 419th TFW heavy equipment specialist, operates a back-hoas he digs footings for the 1,200 sq. ft. school foundation in e Honduras. |