U.S. Army Soldiers Serve on Palau [Image 6 of 10]

PALAU

09.29.2016

Photo by Amy Forsythe 

Defense Media Activity - Guam

(Koror, Republic of Palau) - U.S. Army soldiers from 84th Engineer Battalion, based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, serve a 6-month deployment on the small Pacific island of Palau. Led by 1st Lt. Breawna Davis, the team provided a continuous favorable U.S. military presence with community service projects and apprenticeship training.

The CAT Palau mission is to provide construction capabilities, apprenticeship training, medical outreach, community relations, as well as disaster relief and humanitarian support.

It’s a tri-service rotating team of Army, Air Force and Navy Seabees and each is typically comprised of one officer and 12 enlisted personnel with a variety of engineering and medical skills. Teams have been deploying to Palau for more than 45 years and continue to serve the community in critical areas of need. The team’s dedication to the mission is unmatched and reflected in the quality construction and genuine relationships with the community.

Here, the team stands in front of the Airai Bai ("Men's Meetinghouse of Airai" in Palauan) which is a traditional meeting house in the Airai municipality on Babeldaob, the largest island in the island nation of Palau. It is located in the center of the village on a stone platform. Its façade and interior beams are decorated with depictions of Palauan legends. It was built around 1890, and underwent a major restoration in the 1970s. The building and site have long been the spiritual and civic centerpiece of the community.

The building was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places (as "Bai Ra Irrai") in 1976, a time when Palau was part of the United States Trust Territories of the Pacific.
(Photo by Amy Forsythe, Defense Media Activity Guam)

• Date Taken: 09.29.2016
• Date Posted: 05.11.2017 03:42
• Photo ID: 3376956
• VIRIN: 160929-D-AW818-757
• Resolution: 1200x1794
• Size: 548.24 KB
• Location: PW