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CENTCOM/CC presides over groundbreaking ceremony

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  Army Gen. David Petraeus, Commander, U.S. Central Command, presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for a building which will soon be renovated to become the Women's Center in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, during his visit to the Transit Center at Manas March 11, 2010.

The center, which was formerly a hospital and is now too dilapidated to be used without a total overhaul, will be a place of refuge for women. The renovation project was initiated by the Congress of Women of Kyrgyz Republic and funded by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

"It's truly an honor to be with you today, especially to be with ... all of the Airmen and partners from the Embassy and Manas Transit Center," General Petraeus said. "We appreciate your characteristically warm hospitality and feel privileged to be your guests here."

The ceremony is another important reminder of the strength of America's partnership with Kyrgyzstan, the CENTCOM commander said. He recognized Kyrgyz partners in his speech, thanking them for their contributions.

"Zamira Akbagysheva, president of the Congress of Women, congratulations on playing the important role you did on turning the vision for this center into the reality we celebrate today," General Petraeus said.

The people of Kyrgyzstan, Airmen of the Transit Center, and by extension the people of America, are fortunate to have the partnership and friendship of a lady of such distinction, he said.

"This shelter will be the latest of the Congress of Women's initiatives to improve lives in Kyrgyzstan," he said. "This center will assist women in distress, offer job training to those in need, and help to empower and support a cherished component of any society. That component is, of course, Kyrgyzstan's mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters.

"As I think of this project I am reminded of an old proverb," he said. "It says: be kind to women, for they make up half the population and they are the mothers for the other half."

From the CENTCOM perspective, this shelter will mean improvements for the women of the region of course but also something more, he said. It will also symbolize thousands of volunteer hours by the American Airmen who have been privileged to serve in this wonderful country. These Airmen are young men and women who just want to help make the world better by their actions, he said.

"Many of them are engaged in projects like this one, and we feel privileged to be able to do it."