The rear detachment 42nd Clearance Company Soldiers of the 19th Engineer Battalion have overcome challenges to continue and complete its stateside mission while fellow Soldiers of the 42nd have been deployed for the last seven months.
First Lt. Nicholas Stengel, the company's rear detachment commander, said the greatest challenge has been manpower. At one time the rear detachment only had 25 Soldiers but that number has now grown to about 40.
During that time the detachment had to shift their focus from providing and performing improvised explosive device training to maintaining the millions of dollars worth of unit equipment and vehicles that remained stateside.
The unit was also responsible for providing Soldiers from May to August for a detail for the U.S. Army Cadet Command's Cadet Summer Training mission.
"About 10 Soldiers supported Cadet Command for (improvised explosive device) lanes to train cadets on how to look for and find IEDs," explained Stengel.
Although the majority of the unit is deployed to Afghanistan, the rear detachment has also received Soldiers fresh out of advanced individual training. The detachment's noncommissioned officers have ensured there isn't a gap in training that those Soldiers need before a deployment.
Lt. Col. Estee Pinchasin, the 19th Engineer Battalion commander, pointed out that they are also training rear detachment Soldiers to ensure they maintain their readiness.
"We ... maintain readiness so that if we had to surge and push people forward we would be able to support the mission (downrange)," said Pinchasin.
She added that the 541st Engineer Company of the 19th Engineer Battalion has provided training for the 42nd Clearance Rear Detachment as well as part of ensuring all Soldiers in the 19th maintained their readiness.
Pinchasin pointed out that 541st helped the 42nd plus up before the company deployed.
"Personnel management is always a challenge," Pinchasin said. "We've cross-leveled personnel from one company to make sure the folks deploying were fully manned, and now we are replenishing 541st with our incoming."
The commander said that leadership is needed from not only deployed Soldiers but those who are left in the rear detachment. She added that sometimes a unit has to leave some of its best leaders behind.
"People want to go forward and be on the front line, but the (stateside) mission is so important when the company (redeploys)," she said.
She added that rear detachment Soldiers are also tasked with ensuring there is a seamless transition for deployed Soldiers so they are able to reset and assume the regular stateside training.
Once the deployed Soldiers return in early December there will be some changes a few months later. One of them will be a change in leadership when the company changes commanders in March.
Pinchasin said another change will be some of the unit's NCOs attending the Sapper Leader Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
"They will take the lessons and practical experience they learned downrange, share it with the Soldiers in the battalion and sharpen that when they go to the Sapper Leader Course," Pinchasin said.
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