Dover reservists build homes for Navajo Nation

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mercedes Crossland
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Civil engineers from the 512th Airlift Wing returned Aug.1, 2014, from a two-week deployment to Gallup, New Mexico, where the 26-person team constructed homes as part of the Department of Defense's Innovative Readiness Training Program.
 
IRT is a volunteer opportunity for the National Guard and Reserve which provides training benefits for military personnel while addressing the needs of underserved American communities. Through this program, military units can refine their occupational skills by performing projects for communities that otherwise wouldn't have the resources to conduct on their own.

"It's a great experience," said Tech. Sgt. Chris Panico, a 512th Civil Engineer Squadron electrician. "It's not every day you can use your craft to help people, it's very humbling. Being from the East Coast, I didn't take into account that our country has people in need just as much as third world countries."

In Gallup, members of the Navajo Indian tribe make up 57 percent of the population which still lives below poverty with an average annual income of $6,218, according to Southwest Indian Foundation Director Joseph G. Esparza.

He said about 200 homes have been given to families since the SWIF and IRT partnership first began.

"In July 1997, the Southwest Indian Foundation formed a partnership with the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and, in 1998, senior Air Force academy cadets in civil engineering and Air Force reservists from Dover Air Force Base built two-bedroom homes for very poor Navajo Indian families." 

Seventeen years later, Dover reservists are still contributing to the Navajo Nation.

This year, 512th CES reservists completed a three-bedroom module home that was started by another reserve unit participating in the IRT program. The 512th also began working on another three-bedroom home, which another reserve unit will complete. The homes are built in a warehouse then placed flatbed trailers for delivery to home sites in New Mexico.

"I assist in providing the basic needs to the Navajo tribe," said Senior Airman Maria Casuga, a 512th CES water and fuels systems maintainer. "Supplying a means to obtain clean water that is essential for healthy living, means so much to me. I feel blessed to be in the Air Force, which has given me opportunities to use my training to help unfortunate people." 

Throughout the trip from July 19 to Aug. 1, nearly half of the 512th's CES team was able to satisfy some upgrade training requirements with the hands-on training they received in various skillsets such as HVAC, structures and heavy equipment operations.

"This is my second time participating," said Panico. "It's rewarding to be able to learn and teach one another while helping our fellow Americans."