by Arwen Consaul, U.S. Army South Public Affairs


U.S. Army South, along with U.S. Navy engineers, worked together with the Nicaraguan National Assembly to construct three water wells in Los Sanchez, Samaria and La Noria, Nicaragua, from Mar. 21 until May 21 as part of Army South's, Beyond the Horizon mission.

Beyond the Horizon is a humanitarian and civic assistance mission in Nicaragua, providing focused medical and engineering support to the people of the region.

The engineering projects for this Beyond the Horizon mission are being conducted by U.S. Navy engineers, better known as Seabees, from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 25, out of Ft McCoy, Wis. The engineers arrived in Nicaragua Mar. 11 to begin preparations for the drilling and construction of the three wells.

"The digging of these wells is important because they provide the community with much needed potable water in a central location," says Ens. Joe Neal, the officer in charge of NMCB 25. "By digging this well, we provided the town of Samaria with a fresh water source. Prior to this, the locals had to walk to the river for potable water, which was some ways out."

Nicaraguan army Lt. Rodolpho Otero, a force protection officer providing security for the Sea Bees, spoke with many Nicaraguan locals who stopped by to talk with and both the military and the civilians engineers.

"Everyone agrees that this well was very much needed for this village and the people living in the surrounding area," says Otero. "The locals are all very happy to see Americans working with the Nicaraguan military on this project."

Since construction began on Mar. 21, the engineering detachment, along with support from Army South and the Nicaraguan army, has completed the well at Samaria, and already has begun construction on the well in Los Sanchez.

The construction of the final water well in La Noria is scheduled to be complete in May.