176th civil engineers improve local clinic in Alabama

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. N. Alicia Goldberger
  • 176th Wing
Four Airmen from the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Civil Engineer Squadron, along with six Marine reservists from the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, are building a canopy for the patio  of a local mental health clinic here the first week of May.

The service members are in Alabama with 25 members of the 176th Medical Group, a few other support personnel with the 176th Wing, and 35 members of other services as part of the Innovative Readiness Training program. The IRT program is meant to provide participants with readiness training, while leaving a positive and lasting effect on underserved communities.

The Director of the Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority expressed excitement about having the service members improve the building.

The military personnel are friendly and willing to communicate, said Carolyn Taylor. That makes it nice to have them around the consumers, because they smile and look like they want to do the work, she said.

The clinic was unable to put up a patio covering prior to now due to budget restraints.

"We can now get it done now that we're buying the supplies and they're doing the labor," Taylor said.

The service members seemed to understand the importance of the project.

It helps the visitors that come here to enjoy using this facility without having to worry about the rain and the sun, said Tech. Sgt. Mark Smith, a structural specialist from the 176 CES.

The two military teams, Air Guard members and Marines worked side by side.

Lance Cpl. Ashley Beckman, a combat engineer from the Marines' 6 Engineering Support Battalion, said it was nice working with the other services. The training is lot different than what they normally get, he said.