PACANGEL engineers build deeper bonds, brighter futures

  • Published
  • By 2d Lt. Ashley Wright
  • Pacific Angel Nepal Public Affairs
SHAKTIKHOR, Nepal --  Children crowded up against windows and peeked around doors, watching, wide-eyed, as their school nestled in the rural, mountainous outskirts of Nepal was transformed.

The lives of more than 2,000 students in remote regions were affected by this year's engineering civic action project efforts for Operation Pacific Angel - Nepal.

U.S. military engineers worked with their Nepal Army counterparts to conduct various structural, concrete, electrical and plumbing projects that aimed to improve the safety and functionality of schools in the region.

"It's a good partnership," said Staff Sgt. Benjamin Bogedain, PACANGEL plumber. "It's give and take. They see our techniques, we see their techniques. It's been an eye-opening experience."

U.S. forces, along with regional military partners in Australia, Bangladesh and Mongolia, were invited by the government of Nepal to support its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capacity building efforts with health services outreach and engineering projects.

According to Master Sgt. Chad Louis, PACANGEL lead engineering planner, this project not only built bonds between the two military forces, but established relationships with locals by improving the lives of thousands of children in Nepal.

"What we're doing here is not just helping this generation," Louis said. "It's going to help future generations as well."