Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      First Lt. Renee Kittka paints a window during Operation Pacific Angel 13-4 Aug. 6, 2013,  in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. More than 50 Air Force, Army, Marine Corp and Navy personnel are in Jaffna on a humanitarian mission to refurbish schools and provide medical care to Sri Lankans during PACANGEL 13-4. Kittka is assigned to the 354th Civil Engineering Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Master Sgt. Kerry Jackson)PACANGEL 2013
                        
                        
                        First Lt. Renee Kittka paints a window  Aug. 6, 2013, during Operation Pacific Angel 13-4 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. More than 50 Air Force, Army, Marine Corp and Navy personnel are in Jaffna on a humanitarian mission to refurbish schools and provide medical care to Sri Lankans during PACANGEL 13-4. Kittka is assigned to the 354th Civil Engineering Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Military civil engineers give back to Sri Lankan communityPublished Aug. 13, 2013
                    
                    By Staff Sgt. Blake Mize
                    
                    
                    Pacific Angel Public Affairs
            **JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (AFNS) --**Seventeen engineers from the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps are utilizing skills they have honed in their jobs to give back to a community in need during Operation Pacific Angel-Sri Lanka here.
PACANGEL is ajoint and combined humanitarian and military civil assistance mission led by Pacific Air Forces to provide medical and engineering support to the people of Jaffna.
Alongside their Sri Lankan counterparts, the engineers complete various projects, including the installation of electricity and plumbing where before there was none. The team is also installing commodes, urinals and sinks to replace holes in the ground and water spouts. 
Additionally, the team is repairing roofs, painting buildings inside and out, installing lighting and fans, building walkways, pouring concrete and performing any other task within their capabilities in an effort to refurbish the schools. These repairs will improve quality of life for the students and address safety concerns for the students. 
"For this specific mission, we're providing construction and repair to three local schools to make the facilities a more effective learning environment and more comfortable for the kids," said Lt. Col. Douglas Woodard, the PACANGEL 13-4 mission commander from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. "The work we are doing here alongside our Sri Lankan counterparts will make the local community more resilient when another disaster strikes in the region." 
Military engineers are making improvements at the Atchelu Saivapragasa Vidyalayam grade school, Kuddiyapaulam Mixed School, and the Punnalaikkadduvan Primary Grade school in Jaffna.
Most engineers volunteered to support PACANGEL. Many liked the idea of using their skills to help those less fortunate. 
"I loved what the mission was and what we're doing and I was excited to come along," said 1st Lt. Renee Kittka, the 354th Civil Engineering Squadron base energy manager. "This is a great opportunity." 
There are a total of 55 U.S. military members participating in PACANGEL 13-4. Along with the engineers, there are medical professionals providing health care to in-need Sri Lankans, as well as communication, contracting, logistics, finance, public affairs and security personnel. 
"We all came here from different bases and branches of service to form our team here," Kimball said. "We're all integrating beautifully and getting along great. It's not just a one-branch site, it's a joint effort." 
The PACANGEL operations are carried out annually in different countries throughout the Pacific region.
"We typically conduct four operations per year but this year we're conducting five," Woodard said. "Already this year we've been to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, and we're getting ready to head to Cambodia in September for our fifth mission."
Woodard said operations like these are vital in improving our humanitarian assistance capabilities.
"There is significant benefit in participating in an event like this," he said. "Most obviously, it enhances our ability to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts in the region. Secondly, it gives us experience with deploying aircraft and large numbers of personnel into and out of a partner nation, which is going to be required for a disaster response." 
The Sri Lankan peoples' hospitality is making the operation much easier, Woodard said.Humanitarian 



aid 



engineering 



engineers 



remote 



deployment 



Sri Lanka Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil