|
|
NEW HORIZONS /
NUEVOS HORIZONTES 2003 EXERCISE IN PANAMA (Continued)
|
 During
the early phase of the exercise, members of JTF Chiriqui’s
helicopter detachment (from the New Jersey Army National Guard's
150th General Supply Aviation Battalion) flight-tested a new
apparatus, a heli-basket capable of carrying two tons of equipment.
It was the first time the Army National Guard deployed with the
Model HB 2000 Heli-Basket which can transfer a variety of supplies.
This new National Guard piece of equipment was then used for the
medical tours part of the exercise, where travel to remote areas by
helicopters saves considerable time in transporting personnel and
equipment over traveling by ground vehicles..
|
|
|
| Army
National Guard and Reserve service members with their
Panamanian counterparts extended basic medical,
dental, and veterinary care and screening to thousands of
residents and some animals of the Ngobé Buglé Indian Comarca
in Chiriqui Province during the New Horizons 2003 humanitarian
engineering exercise in Panama. |
|
|
|
The closing ceremony was
held at the elementary school in Quebrada Guabo, a few miles from
the town of San Felix. Officiating at the ceremonies were U.S.
Ambassador Linda Watt (dressed in a Ngobé dress), Major General
Alfred Valenzuela, then commanding general of U.S. Army South,
Vice-Minister of Government and Justice Alejandro Perez,
representing his boss Arnulfo Escalona, Ngobe-Bugle Comarca Governor
Jorge Ellington, and Victor Guerra, president of the Comarca
Council, among other dignitaries.
Speaking in Spanish,
Ambassador Watt noted the hard work and skilled planning that the
mere logistics of the program required, and praised the New Horizons
program for "crystallizing the already strong ties between
Panama and the United States." She noted the medical aspect of
the mission, and said that many of the doctors, nurses and
technicians had told her that the Panama experience was a unique and
invaluable part of their professional training. She also spoke
a few sentences in Ngobé, the first time that anyone present could
recall an American ambassador speaking in one of Panama's indigenous
languages. {Eric Jackson, The
Panama News, Issue 7, April 27-May 10, 2003]
The total cost of the
exercise was about $14 million, including $280,000 for construction
of the three schools, $180,000 for construction of the three medical
clinics, $80,000 for each medical tour, standard operation costs,
and the cost of transporting personnel and equipment to and from Panama.
 |
 |
 |
| Personnel of Joint
Task Force Chiriqui keep track of the progress of the projects
of the exercise |
|
It
doesn't get any better than this, even with tropical rain |
{WHO's endnote: Lt.
Col. Scott Evans, with the Ohio Army National Guard and the Joint Task Force Chiriqui Commander for the
exercise, was later assigned in Iraq commanding an Army engineer
unit.]
RELATED
ARTICLE
Nuevos Horizontes 2003 closes
out to community's cheers, by Eric Jackson, The Panama
News, April 27-May 10, 2003. (http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_09/issue_08/news_01.html)
|
<<preceding
page
Site
developed, owned and maintained by
William H. Ormsbee,
Jr. 2005
|
HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE ENGINEERING EXERCISES (1984 - Present/ 2005)
Known as:
- Minuteman
(1984- 1985) in Veraguas Province, Panama
- Blazing Trails
(1985 - 1986) in Panama and Honduras
- Fuertes Caminos
/ Strong Roads (1986 - 1995)
- Nuevos
Horizontes / New Horizons (1996
- present)
CONDUCTED IN:
Panama (12 such
major exercises)
- Six Central
American Countries
- Six South
American Countries
- 11 Caribbean
Island Nations
_____________
Click
here for history of this exercise program
_____________
828
engineer construction and repair projects conducted in Panama 1984-1997 by
U.S. Military Forces (National Guard units, Reserve units, and active-duty
units)
_____________ |
SCROLL