Engineer Soldiers land project for aviators

By First Lt. Brent VanceMay 24, 2010

Engineer Soldiers land project for aviators
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Engineer Soldiers land project for aviators
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FORT POLK, La. (Army News Service, May 24, 2010) -- The Joint Readiness Training Center here is committed to providing rotational units with tough, realistic training. During the April JRTC rotation 10-06, the 93rd Engineer Company, 46th Engineer Battalion, 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, took advantage of being a tenant unit on Fort Polk by participating in a general engineer support role with the a brigade combat team from 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colo.

Working with the JRTC Operations Group engineer to identify real-world troop construction projects that could improve training facilities at the combat training center, the 93rd was tasked to construct six 50-by-75-foot concrete pads that will be used during future rotations as a helicopter fueling and ammunition resupply point, or FARP.

The concrete pads are large enough to support all of the aviation refueling and ammunition resupply needs on Forward Operation Base Forge, located in the JRTC training area called "the box."

The project was an ambitious undertaking for the platoon to complete during just one rotation due to the relatively large scope of work involved. Due to the anticipated heavy loads that the helicopter fueling and ammunition resupply point or FARP, each pad had to be six inches thick and reinforced with steel rebar.

In fact, the Soldiers in 1st Platoon placed more than 450 cubic yards - or 69 cement trucks worth - of concrete. Even more impressively, the Soldiers cut, tied and emplaced enough steel reinforcement that, if laid end to end, would stretch more than seven miles. Spc. Matthew Gutowski oversaw a crew of Soldiers that secured the reinforcement using more than 60,000 wire ties.

Lt. Col. Natalie Pearson, commander, 46th Eng Bn, praised the platoon's efforts. "I am very proud of 93rd's accomplishments. Under tactical conditions, the platoon's leadership safely trained and cross-trained Soldiers in technical tasks while exceeding the standard," she said.

"The 46th Engineer Battalion appreciates these training opportunities, and we look forward to continuing this relationship with JRTC in our future endeavors," she added.

"I had only done small concrete jobs before. With the size of this project we really had to rely on teamwork to get it done," said Pvt. Michael Laughridge. "All the different Soldiers from private on up had to get their parts done and work together."

Clarence Mccann, Fort Polk Operations Group engineer, said he was impressed with the unit's work. "They displayed great leadership from the officers and NCOs, and a can-do attitude by all. I was particularly impressed by the way the unit planned their work and worked their plan.

"They accomplished some amazing feats that included placing and finishing over 100 cubic yards of concrete in a single day using all hand tools, something professional contractors only attempt when they are supported with the best power concrete placement and finishing tools," said Mccann.

"This project will contribute to the success of training at JRTC and Fort Polk for years to come by providing permanent, safe, fixed pads for helicopter hot refuel points, allowing the aircraft to participate in important air/ground integration and close air support training events," he said.

Through the construction project, Sgt. Sherwin James served as the safety NCO in charge. He oversaw more than 3,000 hours of work with no accidents.

"Cement placement can be dangerous work. I kept the Soldiers in buddy teams to watch out for each other, and I rotated the Soldiers in and out on the most dangerous jobs so they'd maintain their focus. I'm really proud of what they did," he said.

This mission allowed them to hone their technical skills in a tactical environment, making them more operationally capable to perform their mission during future deployments. The willingness of Ops Grp to include the engineers into the rotation is one reason why JRTC is the Army's premier combat training center. This project also symbolized the 46th Eng Bn's commitment to improving JRTC and Fort Polk installation training venues for other units.