FORT A.P. HILL, Va. -- Under a steel-gray sky at remote Rappahannock Camp here, Soldiers from the 642nd Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, Fort Drum, N.Y. roamed the tall grass searching for concertina wire.
Thick leather work gloves protected their hands as they pulled the razor-sharp coils from the grass. The Soldiers loaded the wire into the bucket of an excavator which in turn dumped it into a nearby dumpster.
The Engineer Soldiers are at Fort A.P. Hill for about six weeks to work on a number of construction and demolition projects.
While at Rappahannock Camp the Soldiers will gather and dispose of the old concertina and metal stakes and demolish the eight wooden guard towers that ring the camp.
Rappahannock Camp was built about 25 years ago and used as a prisoner of war camp by units training here. The camp is no longer used and the guard towers are unsafe due to their age so the post decided to demolish them.
Site noncommissioned officer in charge Staff Sgt. Loren Russell said the project provides good experience for his Soldiers, especially the chance to operate the excavator, a piece of heavy equipment not in his unit's inventory.
Fort A.P. Hill will recycle the concertina and scrap wood once the job is complete.
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