| Samuel WhyteWho are the Guyanese or persons with Guyanese parentage on board the United States flagship USS Iwo Jima on the Continuing Promise 2010 journey?Kaieteur News was part of the Media team that had an opportunity on Friday to have a firsthand meeting with these persons.The USS Iwo Jima, which is the flagship of the United States ‘Continuing Promise 2010’, on Friday sent all four Guyanese-American Service Members ashore mainly to meet with family members and have a chat with the media. The meeting place was the Central Corentyne School.The four Continuing Promise 2010 (CP10) U.S. Service Members with Guyanese connections are Marine Cpl. John Charles Eversley II, Navy First Class Petty Officer Kurt Powdar, Petty Officer Third Class Daniel Singh, and Army Capt. Devicka Sahadeo.US military personnel aboard the United States flagship USS Iwo Jima meet with their Guyanese relatives in BerbiceDevicka Sahadeo The most senior of the four, Devicka Sahadeo, who is a captain in the U S Army, was all smiles and joy as she interacted with family members. A simple looking woman, she was more than willing to facilitate our interview, whilst having a wonderful time with her relatives.Achieving the rank of a captain in the US army is no mean feat and Devicka, 31, has been a member of the United States Military for 13 years. Born in Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, Devika the last of seven siblings’ (five boys and two girls), migrated to the US with her family in 1983, when she was five years old. She has faint memories of Guyana, remembering when she attended nursery school. This is her first time back home in 17 years; her mother and sister return quite often. Work commitment does not allow her the time. However, she plans to return in 2011 for a longer stay and a family reunion.Devicka is the holder of a BSC in Psychology and is at present pursuing her Masters’ in management. Her position on the USS Iwo Jima is a Medical Planner, which entails her coordinating with the Navy, the rotation of staff. There are four rotations of 24 personnel, which include Doctors, Nurses, Technicians and other technical staff. This is her second stint on the ship. Having served from July to September, She was back on in October in time for the Guyana leg which will also take them to Suriname and will serve until December, when the ship returns to the United States.She was encouraged to join the Military by her older sister who was already serving in the military. She took her sister’s advice and joined and hasn’t regretted one moment of her stint in the military so far. Her sister was a nurse and rose to the rank of Major before she left. She has all plans to stay on until she is ready to retire, but said plans can change. She chose the army other than the other military services, because as she puts it, the army gives you a good foundation in life to build from. You can pursue your career while still being a member of the military. The military she said provides you with a lot in life and it is not just fighting wars. In fact, she said the US Military does more humanitarian work than anybody else in the world. She has toured quite a few countries, including stints in Iraq where e she served from 2005-2006. Other countries include Britain, Germany, Australia, Bahrain, Haiti, and Columbia, the latter two during her first stint on the Ship.Most of her immediate relatives are in the USA. Her family is mixed (her mother is Sahadeo and her father is Corlette) and she plans to see her father’s relatives before she leaves. Her brother, Bisham Goberdhan, who is in Guyana, introduced other relatives to Devicka.She is not married and as she said it is not her ultimate priority at the moment.Devicka was having a wonderful time with her family who had journeyed from various parts of the Corentyne to meet her. She was looking forward to having a meal of Hassar curry which her Aunt had gone to fetch.Kurt Powdar Kurt Powdar was pacing most of the time eagerly awaiting the arrival of his father in law who travelled from Mahaicony. The 35 year old is a member of the US Navy and is a first class Petty Officer. Powdar was born in Guyana and was raised in Plaisance. He migrated to the United States in 1989 and joined the Military in 1996. So far, he has toured a number of countries including Spain, Italy, Canada, England, the Middle East and also Iraq which he did during the war.Most of Powdar’s immediate and close relatives are overseas. He is married to a Guyanese woman and has five kids. This is also his first trip back home since he left Guyana. He said that it is difficult to get the time to return due to work commitment. Whatever time he has is just enough to spend with his kids.Powdar’s job entails working in the Engineering Department since he helps to make sure that the ship is prepared to sail.Kurt Powdar enjoys a good Guyanese curry chickenHe plans on returning to Guyana some day after retirement and building a beautiful home. His father was a professional boxer by the name of Brown and fought among the likes of Lennox Beckles and Lennox Blackmore. He does not know all his siblings since his father, being a popular sportsman did not introduce all of them to each other.He decided to join the Navy because of the opportunity it offered.Powdar was at the time enjoying a good box of curry chicken and said he was enjoying every spoon of it.Daniel Singh Petty Officer Third Class, Daniel Singh, 22, is a part of the Navy. He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Grandmother. Singh was born in Canada, but now lives in the USA. Singh knows that his mother is from Berbice and his father is from Georgetown, but is not sure of the specific locations. He has been to Guyana once in 2007 on the insistence of his parents to see the Cricket World Cup which he thoroughly enjoyed.He has been a part of the military for the past four years. He said that his main reason for joining the military is because it offers you a lot of opportunities including Education and Travel.He said he is interested in becoming an Aeronautical Engineer and at the moment is an Aircraft Mechanic. Before he joined the military, he was a mechanic and wants to go all the way in achieving his goal of becoming an Aeronautical Engineer, an opportunity which he can get by being part of the military. His father was an Engineer. He has not been involved in combat, but is looking forward to the day, since being in the military one has to be prepared for the eventuality. He has so far toured a number of countries in the Middle East, Iceland, Dubai, Kuwait and the Mediterranean among other. He has one sister who is in school in Canada.John Eversley II John Eversley II, 25, is a Marine Corporal,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, born in the United Sates to a Guyanese father and American mother. He was having a wonderful time with his Guyanese relatives. He has been in the Military for three and a half years and his main reason for joining the military was to be able to provide for his family. He also says that the military offers you the chance to have a good foundation. He says that being part of the Marines is very challenging. At the moment he is pursuing a degree in Business Management.His job is mostly logistics, looking after the trucks, dispatching and doing radio communication. His father is from Agricola and Everseley was in Guyana once, when he was 16 years old.He is excited to be in Guyana and is hoping to see some more relatives and have a nice time before he leaves. He has plenty of close relatives in Guyana.He, like his other colleagues, has toured a lot of countries including Iraq, Germany, and Iceland. His present sojourn on the ship over the past three months, has taken him so far to Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Guyana, while they are expected to visit Suriname before returning home.He is the only one to have been involved in combat which was in Iraq, where his vehicle was shot at and they had to take cover and return fire. Whenever he is not driving, he acts as the Gunner on missions. He is married and the father of three, ages six, three and one.He is planning on coming to Guyana again next year. His Uncle Thomas Everseley and cousin Wesley Deen were among those visiting and having a wonderful time, sharing meals and eating a good Guyanese pepperpot.The Guyanese were accompanied on the trip by Lieutenant Alegundro Agilera who is the marine Public Affairs Officer on the USS Iwo Jima and a team of military media operatives, also from the ship.This is the third time Guyana has hosted the Continuing Promise mission. The first visit was in 2008 when USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) spent 13 days providing medical, dental, veterinary and engineering services for CP08. In September 2010, HSV Swift visited Guyana for the first time. |
