Engineers with the Maine Army National Guard are hard at work this spring, conducting critical training to keep their skills sharp and simultaneously providing a valuable and direct service to their communities.
Through the Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training program, Soldiers under the 133rd Engineer Battalion performed a variety of community development projects in locations all across Maine.
Projects are specifically selected by the Guard to maximize training value for the Soldiers performing the work and for the economic and social impact on the community’s where the projects are taking place.
“Engineers, as part of their mission essential task list, have to conduct construction training, both vertical and horizontal, to stay ready,” said Maj. Adam Davis, executive officer for the 120th Regional Support Group who oversees many of the state’s engineer units and is a member of the panel that reviews projects for consideration. “Training typically involves collective projects that can include both those horizontal and vertical units, and the best way we found in the state of Maine to identify these opportunities is to partner with communities that have identified the need for this kind of support.”
The collaboration that is developed between the Guard and the communities that request engineering support is considered to be of significant economic benefit, not just for the services that can be born out of these newly rehabilitated grounds, but also because of the savings seen in construction costs.
According to Guard leadership, a lack of funding availability for these projects is actually a prerequisite for most applications.
“We find construction projects that otherwise would not be able to be done usually based on funding constraints,” added Davis. “The community provides the building plans - permits, and such - and we provide the manpower, expertise and equipment to make these projects happen. It’s a win-win to say the least.”
Heather Kerner, a resident of Canaan, Maine and former president of the Lake George Regional Park, offered testimony as to the recreational value engineers from the Maine National Guard are providing to her community through one of these projects.
“The facility these guys are working on sits on a 320-acre parcel that only became available to the town in 1992,” Kerner said. “Since then, this building has not been widely used. With these improvements, we will look to use this facility for a variety of recreation opportunities all year long.”
Those opportunities include things like a summer camp for kids, as well as winter sports like ski-jouring, ice kayaking and kite skiing, whose participants will have access to the newly renovated facility to use as a warming hut.
There are other benefits that communities see when redevelopment projects like the Lake George hut come to fruition through these collaborations.
In East Millinocket, a vast property that has been unused since 2014 is being redeveloped through a partnership between the Guard’s IRT program and the town, which took ownership of the property in recent years. The area was once a booming paper mill that employed hundreds of local residents. But since the closing of the mill, the site has gone mostly unused, leaving it in disrepair and requiring a great deal of effort to breathe life back into the property. Some have been taking steps to make the location functional and desirable to new businesses and are starting to see the fruits of their efforts as the Maine National Guard roars through the property with their heavy construction equipment, moving hundreds of tons of dirt and debris to make way for a potential new construction.
“It will have a huge economic impact,” said former U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud. Michaud worked at the mill for more than 30 years, is a life-long resident of the area, and has been an active proponent for economic reform in the town since the mill closed down. “The value of another business setting up here is several million dollars into the local tax base, and does not even count the jobs from the business itself, the restaurants, and all the other businesses that support people in the community,” Michaud added.
A key element of the program is its emphasis on collaboration between the Maine National Guard and local, state, and non-profit organizations. Coordination ensures that IRT missions are logistically feasible, legally compliant, and tailored to community needs. Additionally, the program helps to foster stronger relationships between the military and the public, improving trust and building relationships with residents that witness the projects as they unfold.
Ultimately, the program allows Soldiers to apply their skills in real-world environments during peacetime, providing mutual benefit for both the military and the local communities. This dual-purpose approach strengthens unit cohesion and improves readiness for deployments, all while supporting community redevelopment in Maine.
Social Sharing