KAGMAN — Operation STRONG, the federal-territorial temporary roofing program for Sinlaku-damaged homes, launched Wednesday afternoon in Kagman with the first roof installation, Governor David M. Apatang and federal partners said at the site.
The acronym stands for Sustainment of Temporary Resilience and Operational Needs on Ground.
Apatang was joined by Federal Coordinating Officer Andrew Grant, Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho, Joint Task Force Micronesia Commander Rear Adm. Joshua Lasky, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel led by Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff at the kickoff site.
“This is the first house we’re going to do today and for the following month until we’re finished,” Apatang said. The Governor thanked FEMA, the Red Cross, the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard, Navy and Army personnel on site.
“At least they can shelter, they have something to be above your head and sleep well out of the rain,” Apatang said.
Grant, the Federal Coordinating Officer, said he had met with the property owner before the kickoff and learned the family had sheltered together at a neighbor’s home for 96 hours during the storm.
“For us to come full circle to the point where we’re with delicacy doing what we’re doing to enable him to come back to his home is pretty special for him,” Grant said.
Grant said the STRONG acronym reflects the combined federal-territorial effort behind the program. He said Kagman was particularly hard-hit by Sinlaku, including the loss of the main road into the community.
“They’ve been able to recover and make a difference, and this is another step in that line of effort to come to that recovery,” Grant said.
Lasky said the deployment shows the pride service members feel in the recovery work.
“As you look around, you’re going to see an awful lot of pride as service members here prepare to do the work that they signed up to do,” Lasky said. “Just a note of thanks to the people of the CNMI for your strength, your patience and your partnership as we work together to get on a better path.”
Camacho thanked federal partners and asked for community patience.
“This is the third day, and it shows the result of the well-coordinated projects here in Saipan,” Camacho said. “I want to ask the entire community to please give us your full cooperation and be patient. We’re going to reach you out there.”
Biggerstaff, speaking on behalf of USACE, said the first roof of the program was a milestone but not the end goal.
“It’s always a good day to have the first roof up, but we have many more roofs to build across all the islands,” Biggerstaff said. “We’ll be here until they’re all put up and we confirm that everyone’s got a nice place to live and get out of the shelter.”
Apatang told Biggerstaff he hoped the program would be complete in six months. Biggerstaff said he would aim for that timeline.
