US SOLDIERS STAND UNDER US AND NICARAGUAN FLAGS, 1999-08-19 (photo)

U.S. troops stand under the U.S. and Nicaraguan flags during a ceremony to inaugurate a new school and clinic in Casa Blanca August 19, a Nicaraguan mountain hamlet 120 miles (195 km) north of Managua, that was ravaged by Hurricane Mitch last fall. Some 2,400 troops have moved through Nicaragua to help rebuild from Hurricane Mitch, a humanitarian initiative that represents a new age in relations between the two nations and their militaries. The remaining troops, most of them reservists, return home later this month after completing the third phase of the U.S. reconstruction effort throughout Central America. LO/TRA/KM