GUAM, USA — The Roofing Installation Support Emergency Utilization program, or RISEUP, in response to Typhoon Mawar ended with the installation of the final metal roof on the home of Gerald and Fely Baza in Dededo, Guam. The milestone was marked with a celebration at the couple’s home July 27.

RISEUP was launched June 9 by the Governor of Guam, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and provided temporary metal roofs to 537 homes on the island of Guam with the final one going to the Baza family.

“I can sleep at night now that it’s not raining in my home,” said Fely Baza at the ceremony. “We’re a senior couple and we have five grandchildren, and it has been so hard for them. It is nice to come home.”

Governor of Guam Lou Leon Guerrero praised the combined federal response to Typhoon Mawar and thanked all of the military partners, most of whom live and work on the island, for coming out to help their own local people.

“That’s what we are about, our Guam,” said Guerrero at the ceremony. “And here you see Fely and Gerald who worked very hard to provide quality of life for their children and their grandchildren and they just needed a little help to get them back on their feet.”

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Chelsey O’Nan, the senior officer on the ground for Task Force RISEUP, noted that the ceremony was a tremendous event to recognize everyone’s efforts to help the island get back to normalcy.

“We had a significant partnership not only with the government of Guam but also working with representatives from each of the different areas. It’s been 61 days since the storm made landfall, 48 days since we kicked off Task Force RISEUP and we were able to finish ahead of schedule because of all the support and dedication of each of the teams,” said O’Nan.

The roofing teams were supported by three different service branches to include U.S. service members from the Army Reserve (9th Mission Support Command; 797th Engineer Vertical Construction Company and 368th Military Police Company), Navy SEABEES (Commander, Task Force 75) and Air Force Engineers (554th REDHORSE Squadron) and two contractors.

This team was able to move through to help homeowners in 19 villages said O’Nan.

The program was for a primary residence used for shelter and after the roof installation are safe to occupy. Residents signed up at their village mayor’s office and had to meet certain criteria to be eligible.

Geralynn Stanley, acted as a liaison between the Governor of Guam, the homeowners and the DOD. She assisted homeowners by relaying their questions about the program and the process to the governor’s office and the DOD. Stanley said that through her involvement with the typhoon response she learned how important it is for the community to pull together after a disaster.

“It was sentimental to meet the homeowners and a lot of them cried because they were just not in position to help themselves,” said Stanley. “So, the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers, the military, and the Government of Guam came together – and we did this for over 500 families – you know that was a big thing. Thank you so much for everything. The people of Guam are grateful.”

The program was scheduled to run through the second week of August; however, the military units and contractors were able to complete it early.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles McGrue, Deputy Dual Status Commander for Task Force 671 and the Deputy Task Force commander said his group provided administration and command and control for Task Force RISEUP and helped support the mission as they were building roofs on Guam.

“Guam is very family-oriented environment, so bringing together different DOD activities federal agencies, to get together to do the right thing with the RISEUP mission is just like bringing family together to help each other out by putting roofs back on houses,” said McGrue. “This is something where the 9th MSC was able to task their engineers who are already on the island living within the community to come over here and do great things. Basically, doing their mission as engineers. Everybody did a great job and it shows.”

Every year, USACE, as part of the federal government’s unified national response to disasters and emergencies, deploys hundreds of personnel to provide technical engineering expertise and to promote capacity development at home and abroad.

To learn more about USACE Emergency Operations visit: https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Operations/