Thanks to the efforts of the Oregon National Guard, people with physical disabilities can now play baseball at a local neighborhood sports complex in east Vancouver, Wash.

On Sept. 22, representatives from the Oregon Army and Air National Guard, including those from the Oregon Army National Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training program, joined representatives from the Columbia River Miracle League and about 150 other people for a dedication ceremony at the Harmony Sports Complex.

Since the last week of August, Oregon Soldiers worked to upgrade the park in order to provide full access for children and adults with disabilities. The upgrades include wheelchair ramps and sidewalks, hand rails, and 16 handicapped parking stalls.

Art Liss, President of the Columbia River Miracle League – a Vancouver-based league for children and adults with disabilities – called the project a true community effort. He thanked all those who donated time, equipment and building materials.

“The adaptability, attention to detail, and commitment from these guys was incredible,” Liss said about the Oregon Soldiers’ effort on the project.

The group hopes to make the sports complex their new home. The ongoing construction project is being monitored by inspectors with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure proper accessibility requirements.

For Oregon Guardsmen who worked on the project, the work was fulfilling on both a community and a personal level, said Sgt. Mike Germundson, of the 234 Engineers.

“This is really satisfying,” he said. “This is going to give people with less opportunities in life a chance to have some fun,” he said.

Germundson, who lives in Portland, Ore., is no stranger to construction projects. He deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 52nd Engineers during the early days of the Iraq War. He worked on construction projects alongside local Iraqis in and around Mosul, Iraq for most of 2003, building block houses and schools.

He said projects like the Harmony Sports Complex shows that Soldiers can deploy around the world and do their mission, but can return home and go right back into important civilian jobs.

“The purpose of the IRT program is to match up the training needs of our Soldiers with construction needs in communities,” said Maj. Dan Brewer, IRT Program Manager.

The Soldiers take pride in the projects because they often live, work, and have family members in the community where the project is being done, said Brewer.

“We want to do good things for the community,” Germundson said.

As a member of the IRT program, Germundson, and other Oregon Soldiers also gain valuable field experience while helping out their local communities.

Col. Steve Dickenson, a special projects officer for the Oregon National Guard, said participating in projects like the Harmony Sports Complex increase community support of the military by integrating citizen- Soldiers into important local projects.

“Even though there’s an enormous amount of respect and support for the military, but when they actually see folks working on a project that’s going to help the community, I think it really boosts the support,” he said.

“In today’s society, you wonder how many people support the military,” Liss said.

“What happened here is clearly a reason for saying that the military doesn’t just defend the country, but it also makes contributions in the community and I don’t think a lot of people know that.”

There is a lesson to be learned here, said Liss.

“Don’t overlook the Guard,” Liss added.

“Because they won’t overlook you if you ask for help.”

For more information on the Columbia River Miracle League, schedule of upcoming games, or to obtain a press packet, contact Art Liss via e-mail at aeliss1@comcast.net, or you can visit the organization’s website at www.columbiarivermiracleleague.org.

For more information on the Oregon Army National Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training Program, contact Maj. Daniel Brewer at 503-584-2866, or via e-mail at daniel.brewer@us.army.mil.

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