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Guam sailors answer call, volunteer to help local cleanup program
Petty Officer 3rd Class Deanna Mentzel paints the community center in Agat, Guam, during a cleanup project Saturday. One hundred sailors volunteered to pick up trash, cut overgrowth and paint the village’s community center. So many volunteers turned out to help, the work was completed two hours ahead of schedule, Public Affairs Officer Lt. Arwen Consaul said.
By Frank Whitman | Special to Stars and Stripes March 1, 2005
AGAT, Guam — As part of the 35- year-old Sister Village program in Guam, 100 sailors spent Saturday morning picking up roadside trash, cutting grass and painting in the village of Agat.
Faced with a village beautification project larger than her small staff could handle, Agat mayor Carol Tayama contacted a representative of the village’s sister squadron — Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Marianas — to ask for help.
Public Affairs Officer Lt. Arwen Consaul, in turn, solicited volunteers and said she was overwhelmed with the response. “We thought this would take about five hours,” Consaul said. “But with so many volunteers, most of the work was finished by 9:00,” three hours after the cleanup began.
Seventy of the workers were members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7, which is in the fourth month of a six-month deployment to Guam from Gulfport, Miss. Twenty members of the Naval Base Guam Security Force also helped, as did about 10 members of various other units. With Agat being next to Naval Base Guam and the Seabees’ Camp Covington, both the Navy and Seabees have helped the village before. For instance, this marked the second time during NMCB 7’s current deployment that its members helped clean up Agat.
The volunteers picked up trash and cut back overgrowth along the four-mile stretch of Route 2, the main road that runs the length of the village and continues around the island. They also painted the village community center, which includes the mayor’s office. After the cleanup, in keeping with Guam tradition, the mayor hosted a barbecue for the Navy volunteers and villagers at Nimitz beach, a public beach in the village.
Despite six-day work weeks, NMCB 7 members said they were happy to spend Saturday helping the community. “Anybody can be a tourist,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Misty McLeod. “But it’s a privilege and a blessing to come here and do something and be a part of the community. The ocean and the beaches are great but this is another side that’s just as beautiful.”
Such projects are standard during unit deployments, said Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Bryan. In addition to being a great way to learn about and be involved with the populace, “we always try to do something for the community,” he said. “After all, they put up with us for six months.”
