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A Cham boy helps Lance Cpl. Rudy Olivares, a combat engineer with Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, carry a bucket of sand. (Official U.S. Marine photo by Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke)
Extreme Makeover: Marine Edition
Sihanoukville
August 15 - 28, 2007
Story by Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke, MCB Camp Butler
Residents of the Ma'Ahad El-Muhajirin Islamic Center warmly welcomed Marines and sailors from 1st Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Wing Support Squadron 172 (MWSS-172), who came to complete several renovations during a two-week engineering civil assistance project. The detachment of mostly Marine combat engineers also consisted of medical and dental personnel who provided medical care and preventive medicine training for residents during the project. The engineers made several infrastructure and cosmetic improvements at the center including rewiring and improving electrical equipment that powers the center, installing ceilings in classrooms and ceiling fans in the center’s mosque, and painting.
The center is an Islamic school for high school graduates from Cambodia’s religious minority Cham, an ethnic group of Islamic peoples in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. The project was part of the Cambodia Interoperability Program, which is intended to build on the relationship between the U.S. and Cambodian governments and develop interoperability between U.S. forces and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.
Nasiet Ly, an English teacher at the center, welcomed the American humanitarians. "We are very thankful for the help, and we hope to build on the warm relationship between the U.S. and Cambodian people," he said.
Gunnery Sgt. Kirk Taylor, staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the project, echoed Ly’s message of goodwill. "We’re excited to be here helping the Cambodian people," he said. "We hope the friendships we build here will last for generations to come."
The project marks the second time in two years that MWSS-172 has conducted a civil assistance project in Cambodia. In October 2005, the unit completed construction on the Kompong Chhnang Friendship Clinic, a medical clinic in Kompong Chhnang Province that is staffed by local medical personnel.
Piper A. W. Campbell, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, praised the Okinawa service members for their role in enhancing the relationship between the two countries as well as the Muslim community. "Providing assistance to Cambodia’s rural population is an important part of the United States government’s outreach efforts here, and we sincerely appreciate the significant contributions MWSS-172 has made to this ongoing commitment," Campbell said.
