Pacific's Senior Engineers maximize joint effort across region

By Capt. Laura Beebe, 130th Engineer BrigadeOctober 14, 2014

Pacific's Senior Engineers maximize joint effort across region
Army Col. Blace Albert, the 130th Engineer Brigade commander, was the senior Army engineer at the workshop and joined U.S. Navy Capt. Dean Tufts, NAVFAC Hawaii commander, and U.S. Air Force Col. Mickey Addison, the Deputy Director and Command Enginee... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The Pacific's senior Army engineers joined their sister service counterparts for the Hawaii Engineer Training Workshop here, Oct. 7-8, to share experiences, network and discuss how to strengthen the joint engineer mission across the region.

The Pacific is the largest operating theater in the world, and its engineers are constantly engaged in missions that require equipment and personnel to be at the right place at the right time. The workshop provided a venue for engineers from all services, government, and industry to brainstorm how best to break up some tasks and collaborate on maximize the engineer mission across the theater.

The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) lead the event, which included expert boards and training sessions on contingency engineering and installation management. SAME, headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a professional military engineering association, that unites architecture, engineering, construction, facility management and environmental entities and individuals in the public and private sectors to prepare for and overcome natural and manmade disasters, and to improve security at home and abroad.

Army Col. Blace Albert, the 130th Engineer Brigade commander, was the senior Army engineer at the workshop, and in addition to speaking on the capabilities of Army engineers and how they partner with the other services, he also compared the role his brigade is able to assume in the Pacific to its role as the Theater Engineer Brigade lead during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan last year.

Albert joined U.S. Navy Capt. Dean Tufts, NAVFAC Hawaii commander, and U.S. Air Force Col. Mickey Addison, the Deputy Director and Command Engineer, Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, Pacific Air Forces A7, as the senior voices on a Contingency Engineering board where they each shared their experiences and thoughts on the joint-nature of engineer operations.

Albert said, "The ability to work together and use each other's systems is vital for engineers working in the Pacific."

The 130th Engineer Brigade has worked in joint environments in different capacities since 2010 when it undertook Theater Security Cooperation Programs (TSCP) missions, such as Cobra Gold, Balikatan and Civic Action Team (CAT) Palau.

The leaders used CAT Palau as an example of their interoperability, and Addison explained how it has rotated from each service. The program was started 44 years ago on Palau and fulfills U.S. Pacific Command's engagement strategy by directing and supporting the civic action program in community construction, apprentices training, medical assistance and community relations.

"The Air Force picked it up from the Army, passed it to the Navy a few months ago, and will pick it back up in about 10 months," Addison said.

The 130th Engineer Brigade will then take CAT Palau for the Army in February 2015.

Tufts also shared example of an Army engineer element conducting a historically Navy mission, explaining He explained how the 84th Engineer Battalion, a 130th Engineer Brigade subordinate unit, deployed to Guam in 2013 and assumed the lead as a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief quick reaction force, typically held by the Navy.

The workshop explored these same topics at different command levels.

Army Capt. Matt Burgoon, the 561st Engineer Company commander, joined four junior officer and senior noncommissioned officers who recently returned from missions throughout the Pacific, for a board discussion on what contingency operations are like from a small unit, boots on ground perspective.

As the packed two-day event concluded, the engineers of all ranks from all services agreed that working together increases readiness and broadens their ability to efficiently complete their missions in the massive region.

Related Links:

8th TSC website

130th Engineer Brigade facebook

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