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Trinidad Military - Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force Pvt. Brian Francis, left, and U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nathan Arguin of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Transport Group, lays wood for a school construction project during Beyond the Horizon 200... (Photo: Credit: U.S.) VIEW ORIGINAL

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Students at the Princess Elizabeth Center for Children with Physical Disabilities will be delighted to have their facility renovated by US Marine Corps Engineers and members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF).

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US Navy combat engineers from the 6th Engineer Support Battalion (ESB), 4th Marine Logistics Group are rotating in Trinidad and building additional classrooms for the school as part of a joint international and humanitarian service known as Beyond the Horizon (BTH) 2008.

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The BTH mission is designed to promote good and improve relations between the countries of the United States and the Caribbean in support of the Partnership for the Americas program. USSOUTHCOM coordinates all US military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has a long-term commitment to the governments of the Caribbean island states and the entire region.

The construction project involving personnel from the US Corps of Engineers, Navy Seabees and engineers from the TTDF will construct and repair a health center, two schools and an orphanage. The combination of US military personnel and T&T military personnel is collectively known as the Partnership for American Engagement Team (PAET) - Caribbean.

Col. Robert Casias, PAET-Caribbean Commander, Southern United States, said the main objective of BTH 2008 is to build the capacity of Trinidad and Tobago to increase security at home and throughout the region.

Eugene Master Sgt. Graham Hilson, inspector and full-time instructor of A Company, 6th ESB, said the additional classrooms will be made from the Royal Building System (RBS), a very strong and wind-resistant prefabricated structure.

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His unit will be followed by several other sea rotations during the summer. Teams of six men are required to pass each sea rotation.

"On this particular project, we are a combination of the 6th Marine ESB from Portland and Eugene, Ore., from Peoria, Ill., South Bend, Ind. and even Tucson, Ariz." Hilson explained.

Lance Cpl. John Viaene of Corvalis, Oregon, whose three-week personal mission is almost complete, said his experience was great.

"It's a great opportunity to be able to help children with disabilities," said Viaene, a combat engineer with the 6th ESB. "In addition to the classrooms, we also built a little confidence course during our downtime in between (the construction phase). The old room was made of wood about 18 years ago and it rotted, the new one will be made of concrete." ."

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Viaene added, rowers have a confidence course that helps strengthen their morale, and it may be the same victory for children as they hit stairs, turns, curbs and sidewalks.

"The confidence course puts them a little above ground — places they might not be used to seeing," Viaene explained.

Pvt. Lennox Carr, a construction equipment driver from the TTDF, spent the afternoon working alongside the Marines, as they all helped transport two trucks of construction materials.

Carr, a member of the Field Engineer Command, 1st Engineer Battalion, who has been on the ground level at two different construction sites, said the interaction with the Marines was interesting and their presence here in Trinidad was very helpful.

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Lance Cpl. Nathan Arguien, from Co. And, the resident of Bend, Ore., said that while he wanted to blow something up, as combat engineers often do, he "learned a lot about concrete" and "had fun on the job. And got to know a boy from Trinidad who was very friendly and helpful.''

Just like many international operations intend to do, BTH 2008 participants are creating more than just classrooms, confidence courses and one-on-one friendships - they are creating relationships between nations.