|
||||||||
|
last updated Tuesday, November 21, 2006 |
||||||||
from Vivien Walker, US Embassy, Yerevan
|
||||||||
|
|
I’d like to begin with some of Ray’s accomplishments in Armenia. Ray has been with AHDC from the very beginning, arriving in March 2002 as the Senior Deminer, just as the Centre was opening. In June 2003, Ray became RONCO Chief of Party. He brought new, strong leadership and vision to the program. Under Ray’s guidance, in 2003 the AHDC cleared over 85,000 hectares of land in the village of Davit Bek in Syunik Marz. This includes over 200 mines and hundreds of rounds of other munitions, such as rocket propelled grenades, small arms ammunition and mortar rounds. This year operations have already begun in the village of Yegvard (Syunik Marz), with 10,500 square meters already cleared. Under his watch the AHDC graduated the second company of deminers and increased its capabilities by expanding the dog section to 19 and adding a mechanical flail. Presently over 110 personnel are assigned to the AHDC. However, these statistics, impressive as they are, do not adequately communicate the commitment and passion the Ray brought to the demining program. Ray was on a mission to save the people of Armenia from the devastation that land mines bring. HE earned admiration, respect and devotion from everyone he worked with, from enlisted men to Ministers. He had a soldier’s courage and faithfulness to duty; the negotiating skills and tact of a diplomat; and the heart of a great humanitarian. We will miss him deeply at embassy Yerevan and within the community of expatriates in Armenia. I can only guess at what his loss must mean to his friends and colleagues at the Centre. And I can’t bear to think what his loss means for the many people of Armenia whose lives he saved and, through his accomplisments, continues to save, though he is gone. Ms. Vivien Walker, DCM, U.S. Embassy |
|||||||
|
as
you walk to new horizons |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
