MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Service members, master labor contractors and individual hire agreement employees volunteered to restore flooded areas in Iwakuni City, Japan, July 12-13, 2018.
This volunteer event was coordinated by the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) Single Marine Program (SMP), and provided service members with the opportunity to help local Japanese residents clean up and recover after the area was flooded by excessive rainfall earlier this month.
Service members from the station volunteered in Shuto Town. They started this event on July 12th and it goes until Sunday from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. every day.
The SMP shuttled station residents to the sites that needed aid, providing tools and gloves to help in the relief efforts. So far there have been more than 150 volunteers involved.
Station residents helped elderly locals and used translators from the air station to help determine what they needed help with.
“The Japanese residents were very thankful for the help that station residents provided,” said Oana Ivanoff, a marine lounge manager with the MCCS SMP. “They were very amazed with how much work was able to get done with their help.”
Water-logged furniture and other household goods were damaged and needed to be removed and thrown away. They also removed damaged floorboards, and salvaged any wood that could be used for new flooring.
“This type of event is especially important to be prepared for,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Caryle Rehmann, a volunteer and military police officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “We have to show that we are there for them and able to help out when they are in need.”
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