Lebanon gets new, improved emergency response facilities
The Transatlantic Programs Center was key in providing better emergency response facilities in Lebanon recently.
In January U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele J. Sison attended an opening ceremony for a new forest fire fighting center in Dmit in the Chouf and opened the DOD-funded expansion to the Central Military Hospital emergency room in Badaro.
TAC’s involvement with these facilities included developing the scope, preparing a request for proposals, reviewing the contractor’s bids for the projects, awarding the contracts and then overseeing the construction.
“We were funded by CENTCOM JF [Central Command Joint Staff, Civil Affairs],” Rich Dickson, TAC’s Foreign Military Sales Program manager said. “The Egypt Area Office provided in-country oversight staff [for these projects].”
The forest fire fighting center is a two-floor facility and cost more than $500,000. It was built in Dmit in the Chouf, an area prone to forest fires.
The first floor accommodates all fire fighting equipment and vehicles as well as a conference room, library, kitchen, dining area, and office space. The second floor has ten double rooms with all facilities to house the fire fighters. This new center will assist the municipality as it continues to support the Dmit area citizens.
The additions to the Central Military Hospital emergency room in Badaro cost more than $650,000. The ground floor was expanded and a
TAC takes part in humanitarian project mezzanine was added. These additions will enhance the capacity of the hospital, according to a press release provided by the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon.
TAC contracted with two Lebanese firms for the work on these facilities.
Dickson said that it is possible that TAC might be involved with more than 20 projects with CENTCOM in the near future.
Since 2006, the U.S. Government has committed over $1 billion to Lebanon. The Office of Defense Cooperation, part of the Department of Defense, provides humanitarian assistance to Lebanon and works closely with the Lebanese Armed Forces, providing training and equipment. The United States is committed to supporting the government of Lebanon, its people and its institutions.