NELSON ISLAND, Alaska -- Marines with 6th Engineer Support Battalion, Battle Creek, Mich., are spending their summer building a future for the isolated villagers of Newtok, Alaska.
The Alaskan natives that live in the village of Newtok are watching their village slowly disappear into the Bering Sea.
The village, which is built close to a large river near the Bering Sea, is only accessible by small plane or boat. The flow of the tides and current of the river have begun to eat away at the foundation beneath the village and are covering the wooden walkways used by the elders of the village to walk around.
Nine miles away, Marines are constructing a road across the spongy summer tundra of Nelson Island, the villagers’ future, more geologically stable home.
“It's not just training to keep our skills sharp, but training with a purpose of helping others,” said Sgt. Ty Paff, the basic utilities operations chief for 6th ESB.
The citizens of Newtok plan to move their village to the new site upon completion of the road.
“Instead of building this road in the middle of the city where it won’t be needed, we are building something they will probably use for the next 20 years,” said Gunnery Sgt. Arthur Harris, the constructions chief for 6th ESB.
The project is being funded by the Innovative Readiness Training department, who funds military units to work on civilian projects and acts as a liaison between the military and the civilians who need assistance.
Navy Capt. Karen Trueblood, the director for IRT, explained the program’s involvement in the road project.
“IRT supports many projects at more than 30 locations in the United States,” she said. “We provide funding to units which can be used to cover the costs to transport equipment or supplement annual training funds.”
Although the engineer Marines are used to getting their hands dirty and working with heavy equipment during their annual training, the low temperatures, isolated location and unique ground conditions provided a challenge for the Marines.
“The tundra and the permafrost (a layer of frozen ground that never thaws) underneath have provided one of the biggest challenges,” said Harris. “We are used to being able to cut as deep as we need when building a road. We can only go a few feet before hitting the permafrost, which is hard as a rock while frozen and becomes unstable when exposed.”
Despite these challenges the Marines have laid out three quarters of the road that is schedule to be finished by Aug. 18, 2010.
Some Marines said they found the strength to face the harsh conditions knowing that they aren’t just training, but building something for their fellow Americans.
“It’s cold,” said Lance Cpl. Euiseok Kim, a member of the road construction team, 6th ESB. “But I wake up feeling motivated because I am doing something good for the locals.”
The project to move the village began in 2009 and is expected to be completed in approximately five years. This is 6th ESB’s second year participating in this training.