Carlo Cruz, originally from Union, El Salvador, makes doing
his job on stilts look easy, though Hensel Phelps Construction officials said
stilt-walking takes special skills. Cruz, along with other Salvadorans on work
permits, are employed by Hensel Phelps Construction on the Pentagon renovation
project.
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.
|
Ricardo Velasquez, a foreman with Hensel Phelps Construction, has been working
on the Pentagon reconstruction since just after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.
"I feel proud to work on the Pentagon," said Velasquez, who has been with
Hensel Phelps for nine years. "I never thought in my mind I'd work on the
Pentagon, but here I am."
From Chalatenango, El Salvador, Velasquez followed his parents to the United
States and has been in the country for 20 years. He holds a work permit, and he
is working toward citizenship.
The ties between El Salvador and the United States have been knitted a little
closer in recent years. Velasquez's home country is the only Central American
country that still has troops supporting the efforts in Iraq.
The 380 Salvadoran troops have proven their dedication and bravery working with
Iraqis on shrine patrols in the thick of it all in Najaf. Six Salvadoran
servicemembers were involved in hand-to-hand combat in Iraq and saved the lives
of U.S. soldiers, said Rogelio Pardo-Maurer IV, deputy assistant secretary of
defense for international security affairs.
As a way of expressing the United States' gratitude to El Salvador for its
support during the war, the Department of Defense has invited Salvadoran
Defense Minister Gen. Otto Alejandro Romero to visit the Pentagon on Sept. 30.
There he will meet with Velasquez and several of the other Salvadorans working
on the Pentagon renovation project. He also will tour the construction area.
Romero's visit is symbolic, said Pardo-Maurer. "His countrymen are literally
part of the fabric of rebuilding the Pentagon, and we appreciate that," Pardo-
Maurer said.
While viewing the construction site, Romero will see the work being done on
Wedge 2, which is in the third and final phase, to be completed in 2005. Wedge
1 is complete, and with each sequential completion, occupants displaced from
the next wedge to be worked on will move to the recently completed wedge. Those
originally displaced from Wedge 1 will remain in swing space away from the
Pentagon reservation and will be the last to move back to the building in 2010
when the project is set to be complete, four years ahead of the original
schedule.
The work to be done on Wedges 2-5 will renovate more than 4 million square feet
of space in the world's largest low-rise office building. Along with updating
the building's appearance, the renovation will bring the building into
compliance with modern building, life safety, accessibility and fire codes. It
will also ensure that all hazardous materials have been removed.
The renovation also will allow for upgraded building systems, security and
telecommunications equipment, and more elevators and escalators. And, of
course, after the Sept. 11 attacks, security measures are even part of the
physical construction.
So when Romero visits the Pentagon, he'll get the grand tour and be warmly
greeted not only by appreciative U.S. officials, but also by his fellow
countrymen.
 | Ricardo Velasquez, right, helps Ramone Zamora attach a conduit
through which cables will run, to a wall in the Pentagon's Wedge 2. Velasquez
is originally from Chalatanengo, El Salvador, and Zamora is from San Miguel, El
Salvador. The workers are employed by Hensel Phelps Construction on the
Pentagon renovation project.
|
 | High resolution photo
|
Printer-friendly Version
Email A Copy
Printer Friendly