19th Engineers begin construction on Fort Campbell unmanned aircraft airstrip

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Members of 887th Engineer Support Company, 19th Engineer Battalion, began work on an unmanned aircraft systems airstrip at Sabre Airfield Nov. 19.

Officials from 101st Cavalry Brigade said when complete, the airstrip will generate a new working site for the brigade to fly out of that is more aligned with its mission set.

"Modifying the Sabre Launch Recovery Site (LRS) allows our Shadow crews to concentrate more on flying and less on maintenance,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Wesley Wilk, UAS operations technician, 101st Cav Bde. “The Shadow system relies on an arresting gear system similar to that found on an aircraft carrier. The site modifications will keep the arresting equipment out of the mud and standing water. It dramatically increases the equipment's reliability and reduces the man-hours required to maintain or fix the equipment when it breaks prematurely.

“The modifications will also add a layer of safety and efficiency as the ground crewmembers will not have to fight the additional hazards of an unprepared site."

The Fort Campbell tenant unit removed 28,494 square feet of topsoil, supplementing it with crushed run to create a stable surface for operations and maintenance. They also constructed eight stanchion and drum areas to allow several variations of arresting systems to catch a myriad of aircraft.

Engineer leaders said an added benefit to the project came in the form of experience and knowledge, which began as a field exercise designed to simulate real-world scenarios.

"Aligning this real-world project with a tactical field exercise provided us a great opportunity to test our technical skills in a scenario that replicated situations from past and current conflicts,” said Capt. Steven Ocasio, commander of 887th ESC. “It also allowed us to push Soldiers outside their comfort zone and establish and refine tactics, techniques, and procedures for upcoming training.”

Ocasio said the experiences provided critical growth to increase the engineering Soldiers’ tactical knowledge base.

“As the only engineer support company here at Fort Campbell, this type of mission is something we'd likely see if deployed, especially in support of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) or when supporting any other joint force entry units,” said Ocasio. “Thanks to Sabre Army Airfield for allowing us to combine these efforts."

The event not only gave junior Soldiers who recently graduated from advanced individual training cycles a first taste real construction, it also accrued them over 1,000 man-hours and saved the Army roughly $60,000 in labor costs.

“Our platoon had the unique challenge of conducting construction operations in a field environment, enabling them to hit many different engineering aspects,” said 2nd Lt. Jake Rosner, 2nd Platoon leader and officer in charge of construction.

The ability to mesh tactical and technical knowledge does not always come easy, according to engineer leaders at 887th ESC. History bears this out with several examples of airfields that were constructed and repaired under enemy fire.

Training scenarios prepare warriors to be deployable anywhere, on any mission, to set the stage for future success, said Rosner: “I hope that the company can continue to provide complex and intricate training in the near future.”