FORT A.P. HILL, Va. - Soldiers, families and government officials from nearby Caroline County came together to witness the activation of the Army Reserve's 310th Engineer Company in a ceremony held here Oct. 13, 2012.
The ceremony uncased the unit's colors since it was inactivated 62 years ago and provided an opportunity for Col. John R. Seeley of 411th Engineer Brigade, 412th Theater Engineer Command, to introduce the unit and its soldiers to the community.
Seeley said the event marks the beginning of a new chapter for the 411th, and for Maj. Michael J. Trofinoff, commander of 365th Engineer Battalion, and Capt. Dustin Lahiff, commander of 310th Engineer Command, to get the unit to mission capable, ensuring soldiers are trained, prepared and ready to get the job done, wherever they may be called to serve.
The 310th, as a Multi-Role Bridge Company, is armed with a mission to transport, assemble, disassemble, maintain and retrieve Army bridging systems. Trofinoff is confident that the soldiers, thrilled to be a part of reliving history, will achieve their path toward success as they continue to train as one team, one fight in the months ahead.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith Hafemann, who served as provisional commander, echoed Trofinoff's remarks and challenged non-commissioned officers to remain focus on doing the right thing and moving the unit forward.
He also thanked the A.P. Hill team for their tremendous support in the past months.
"I couldn't have done it without them. They were always there, never hesitated to help out when asked," he said.
Following the ceremony, Hafemann provided a guided tour of the unit's new $15 million "home" located right here on A.P. Hill, a 33,170 square-foot facility equipped with administrative, educational, assembly areas for up to 200 people - a library, vault, maintenance shop, storage building, physical fitness area, and an indoor non-live fire weapons simulator.
The new facility is a testament to the Army Reserve's commitment to ensure units have the means to train and be ready to accomplish their mission. It also fulfills today and tomorrow's missions to standard, by managing resources, conserving and securing energy, and operating and building future capabilities to achieve the Army's triple bottom line of mission, community and environment.
The Army Reserve center comes to Fort A.P. Hill as part of the Grow the Army Program, which supports the Army's goal to sustain force readiness, match Army force capabilities with mission requirements, and preserve soldier and family quality of life.
The 310th was constituted Feb. 25, 1943 as the 676th Engineer Light Equipment Company, inactivated in August 1950, and redesignated as the 310th Engineer Company Sept. 24, 2009 - campaigns included World War II, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
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