1m 53s | 74 view | 1 rating

Story and photos by 1st Lt. Leanna Litsch, 145th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Video by Sergeant 1st Class Amber Osei, 145th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FORT ALLEN, Puerto Rico – While engineers from the Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) are mobilized overseas, Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG) Soldiers are rotating through Puerto Rico to provide back-up hurricane relief and conduct groundwork operations as part of their annual training. Three of five iterations of platoon-sized engineering elements from the OKARNG’s 3120th, 1220th and 720th Companies, 120th Engineering Battalion, 90th Troop Command, visited La Isla de Puerto Rico, working diligently per the requests of leaders within the PRARNG at both Camp Santiago Joint Maneuver Training Center near Salinas and Fort Allen Training Center near Juana Díaz. “Right now here in Puerto Rico we got two engineer battalions, but our guys are being mobilized,” said Lt. Col. Jose Velazquez, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, director of public works for Camp Santiago. “That’s the reason for our need to have you guys helping us in different projects here in Puerto Rico. It’s also very good to have it just in case we got hit with a hurricane or something like that.” Whether in urban or rural areas, construction seemingly lies everywhere, either for maintenance or building new infrastructure. Dating back to Mayan, Egyptian, ancient Roman times and others, where engineering innovations paved the way to economic and technological growth, the importance of infrastructure has never wavered. A significant piece in not only our nation, but all over the world, infrastructure is what keeps our cities moving, our farms growing, but most importantly, it keeps our citizens safe. The mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to deliver vital public military engineering services, partner in peace and war to strengthen our nation’s security, energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters. Coordination for the missions began last year, when the PRARNG’s engineering battalions were given notice of a mobilization overseas. In late 2015, members of the 120th transported engineering equipment to the Island to stage at Camp Santiago and utilize for future missions, while Velazquez and leaders of the OKARNG discussed operations and the needs of the Puerto Rican force. Read more at: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/203286/oklahoma-guardsmen-provide-engineering-services-and-backup-hurricane-relief Download the broadcast quality video at: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/474098/oklahoma-guardsmen-provide-engineering-services-and-backup-hurricane-relief