Soldiers and airmen set boots on Serbian soil on Aug. 5, but rather than rifles, helmets and ammunition, these military members carried hardhats and drills and loaned their helping hands to the Serbian people.

The Ohio Army National Guard’s 1194th Engineer Company and the Ohio Air National Guard’s 200th RED HORSE (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers) assisted the Serbian Armed Forces with refurbishing schools in Sokobanja, Lapovo and Prokuplje as part of the National Guard State Partnership Program.

The program supports the U.S. European Command’s military-to-military exchange program, designed to facilitate familiarization with U.S. Armed Forces operations.

More importantly than the political connotations, however, the soldiers and airmen helped form a relationship with the Serbian people by

providing their children with more functional education centers.