Army Engineer news and information…
Regiment selects its best
The Army Engineer Regiment recently presented awards for the best individual Soldiers who demonstrated excellence above all others during 2007. Additionally, after an extremely demanding and grueling week-long competition held at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in May, the Best Sapper Team was presented with the Flowers Award, named in honor of LTG (Retired) Robert B. Flowers, the 50th Chief of Engineers. Each award is sponsored by the Army Engineer Association with the assistance of CASE (Best Platoon Leader), Battelle Memorial Institute (Van Autreve Award) and BAE Systems (Flowers Award).
Outstanding Platoon Leader
Active Army - 1LT Celio Biering, Co B, 864th En Bn, Fort Lewis, WA
Army National Guard - 1LT Todd D. Hotard, 225th En Bde, Pineville, LA
Van Autreve Award
Active Army - Spec Christopher Slack, Co A, 3rd Bde Special Troops Bn, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI
Best Sapper Team (Flowers Award)
CPT Jason Winkelmann, 8th En Bn, Fort Hood, TX and 2LT Joel Groves, 8th En Bn, Fort Hood, TX
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Goodman, a native of Toledo, Ohio, hands a shirt to a child in Sab al Bour, northwest of Baghdad, May 9. Goodman is the platoon sergeant for 3rd platoon, 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. The platoon completed its route-clearing mission with a stop in Sab al Bour to hand out toys to the children there. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti
Warrior Sappers Lead Way for Engineers
By Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 25th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The engineers from the 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, are the 2007 winners of the Lt. Gen. Emerson C. Itschner award, recognizing them as the best engineer company in the Army.
“It feels good,” said Spc. Jose Diaz, about the recognition. “The last two years of training were hard, and now we are being recognized by the Army as being the best engineer company.”
Diaz, a native of Arlington, Texas, who is a combat engineer with the 66th Eng. Co., joined the Army two years ago as a combat engineer. He said the job wasn’t really what he wanted to do, but it was a good option and he doesn’t regret the decision.
“I was told I was going to build and blow stuff up, and that sounded interesting so I took it,” he said.
To prepare for the competition, Diaz said the unit did a lot of demolition training, improvised-explosive device classes, unexploded-ordinance classes and tactical movements.
In truth, there is no preparation for the competition, said 1st Sgt. Jonathan White, the company’s senior enlisted leader, who added that his unit was being recognized for the professionalism of his team.
“You just do your mission,” said White, a native of San Francisco. “This is just a reflection of what we’ve accomplished as an organization throughout the course of the year.”
The prestige of the award is something which will travel throughout the engineer regiment.
“Every year, you hear about the unit who won the Itscher Award, and they are a unique company or a company who has done awesome things,” said Maj. Anthony Barbina, a native of Belmont, Ohio, the unit’s commander.
To be considered for the competition, each engineer company was required to submit a book highlighting the unit’s accomplishments. For the 66th En. Co., the book was 180 pages.
The companies are judged on various criteria, to include retention, education programs, family readiness groups and the unit’s contributions to the Army Corps of Engineers and the Global War on Terrorism.
“It’s a reflection of our Soldiers’ accomplishments. They take pride in what they do every day,” White said. “They have a tremendous amount of spirit.”
Being recognized is akin to the “cherry on the ice cream cone,” White said, adding that it is a great way to acknowledge what his Soldiers are all about.
Their achievement marks the first time an engineer company from the 25th Inf. Div. has been recognized with this award.
“This is a once in a career achievement for most engineers,” said Maj. Anthony Barbina, a native of Belmont, Ohio, who is the unit’s commander.
While deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 66th Eng. Co.’s mission is route clearance. The Soldiers tirelessly travel the roads used by Iraqi Security and coalition forces and Iraqi civilians – clearing them of IEDs.
“We are here to defeat the most catastrophic weapon the enemy has, which is the IED,” said Barbina “We are here to make sure everyone get to where they need to be safely.”
Gates Views Massive Expansion Effort at Fort Bliss
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
FORT BLISS, Texas - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates got a firsthand look yesterday at the massive growth under way here to prepare for the arrival of 1st Armored Division in one of the Army Corps of Engineers' largest ever construction projects.
Army Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg, the post commander, gave Gates a tour of the $4.1 billion expansion program that will bring an additional 30,000 Soldiers to Fort Bliss by 2012.
The lion's share of the incoming troops will be "Old Ironsides Division" Soldiers moving from Germany as part of the Defense Department's global reposturing strategy and the Army's modularization effort.
Gates told military family leaders and community supporters last night that he considers the building boom nothing short of "awesome."
"Today, this post –– which encompasses an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, and most of which is in New Mexico -- is transforming itself to serve a nation and a military facing the strategic challenges of this century," Gates told the group.
He called the Fort Bliss expansion part of a wider transformation effort across the military to ensure the Army, and the military as a whole, can protect the security, prosperity and freedom of Americans for the next generation.
A six-year construction boom that began in October 2006 will transform stretches of mesquite brush and sand dunes on the post's eastern side into state-of-the-art living and training facilities.
Ultimately, the expansion will include new headquarters and administrative spaces, aircraft hangars, arms rooms, unit storage facilities, barracks, dining facilities, fitness centers, medical and dental facilities, motor pool areas, maintenance facilities, and wash racks, Clark McChesney, director of the post's transformation office, told American Forces Press Service.
Gates toured one of the first facilities to be completed for the incoming 1st Armored Division's 1st Brigade yesterday. The first of the unit's soldiers already are at Fort Bliss, with the rest to arrive in time for the brigade's official activation, Aug. 16.
The secretary noted that $207 million of the expansion funds will go toward new construction at three training range complexes in New Mexico. The plan will tap into space and capabilities at neighboring White Sands Missile Range, N.M., collectively offering 800,000 acres of on- and off-road maneuver area, McChesney said.
"Future expansion means that the ties between the region's installations -- Fort Bliss, Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range -- will also continue to grow," Gates said. "This region will continue to be known by the twin hallmarks of partnership and cooperation."
A brigade combat team to be based at White Sands will share Fort Bliss's "robust new training facilities," he noted.
Another big part of the expansion is dedicated to housing, child-care facilities, shopping areas and other quality-of-life facilities for the incoming soldiers and an expected 40,000 family members, he said.
Gates told senior non-commissioned officers attending the Army Sergeants Major Academy earlier yesterday that he decided to temporarily delay moving some 1st Armored Division troops to Fort Bliss partly because their housing facilities weren't yet ready for them. "It would have been unacceptable for soldiers and their families to live and work under those conditions," he said.
Because the post is smack in the middle of El Paso, one of Texas' biggest cities, success of the expansion depends heavily on cooperation with state and local officials, McChesney said. That includes not just the city and county government, but also five local school systems expected to absorb about more than 12,000 school-age children from Fort Bliss, business developers, homebuilders, realtor associations and transportation officials, among others.
Gates said he's impressed by the local community's support and the way its citizens have embraced the incoming Soldiers and their families.
"The mayors of El Paso, Las Cruces and Alamogordo and their respective chambers of commerce have been partnering with the Army to try to prepare for this growth," he said.
He noted that the post's welcome center is permanently staffed by a team from the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce that helps arriving soldiers and their families find housing and arrange for their children's schooling and child care.
"As the population of Fort Bliss continues to grow, the residents of West Texas and New Mexico have stepped up to welcome the newcomers," Gates said. "And I know you will continue to do so as the post population increases by an astounding 300 percent by 2012."
Construction Improves Sayafiyah
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Construction on numerous community buildings in Sayafiyah is nearing completion. A health clinic, middle school, elementary school and community center will be completed by the end of April.
The Sayafiyah Health Clinic will be fully-furnished, funded and controlled by the Mahmudiyah Qada.
A local contractor is also finishing the work on the Sayafiyah Community Center. The center has been completely renovated with the addition of two administrative rooms and four new restrooms.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sponsored the renovation of the al-Inbaath elementary school. They expanded the school by six additional classrooms and two laboratories.
The Musab Bin Omir middle school had new floor tiles installed, classrooms repaired and a new playground constructed.
The improved security developments in Sayifyah’s key infrastructure have made projects like this more prevalent.
“Because of the [al-Qaida in Iraq] threat, the area was neglected,” said 1st Lt. Jonathan Gerson, assistant operations officer for 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “Now that AQI is gone the local government is beginning to communicate with Sayafiyah.”
Gerson said the schools and clinic will be supported by the government of Iraq while the community center will give the people of Sayafiyah a place to voice concerns to the local government.
Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division - Baghdad, presents an impact Bronze Star Medal to Spc. Zachary Whitlatch, a native of Flatwoods, W.Va., Whitlatch, who serves with 769th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, was one of six of the battalion's Soldiers recognized for their hard work and dedication in installing approximately 130,000-square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and sniper-screen material over a 1,200 foot distance, with heights measuring up to 40 feet, at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City District of Baghdad to veil the aerostat and its docking station. (U.S. Army photo/Capt. Patrick Jenkins)
MND-B CG Presents 6 Impact Bronze Star Medals to 768th Eng. Bn. Soldiers
By Capt. Patrick Jenkins
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – It had been only a few hours since the Soldiers of 769th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, returned from the monumental task of installing approximately 130,000-square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and sniper-screen material over a 1,200 foot distance, with heights measuring up to 40 feet, at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City district of Baghdad to veil the aerostat and its docking station.
Unbeknownst to them this morning, with most of them receiving very little sleep, would be the surprise of a lifetime as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and MND-B, took a moment from his packed schedule on April 12 to honor six of the battalion’s Soldiers for their accomplishments as he presented them with impact Bronze Star Medals.
Perhaps General George C. Marshall, who wrote in a memorandum to President Franklin P. Roosevelt, wrote it best: “The fact that the ground troops, Infantry in particular, lead miserable lives of extreme discomfort and are the ones who must close in personal combat with the enemy, makes the maintenance of their moral of great importance.”
Thus, it signifies the appropriateness of the presentation of the impact Bronze Stars to the Soldiers of the 769th Eng. Bn.
“The sniper screen will enable us to protect Soldiers and provide us the ability to see and disrupt insurgents,” said Hammond. “Do you realize what they did? asked Hammond. “They put up this screen under fire, day and night, and under terrible conditions. You have something to talk about a couple of years from now.”
Indeed, the Soldiers would have something to speak about.
“The mission took 13 days to complete despite several setbacks caused by high winds, indirect fire or enemy small-arms fire directed at crews as they worked suspended at heights up to 40 feet in the air,” said Capt. James Hoover, native of Ponchatoula, La. “Although the mission presented challenges, these Engineers lived up to the regimental motto: ‘Let Us Try!’”
Soldiers presented the Bronze Star Medal for their achievements were: Staff Sgt Stephen Choat, a native of Denham Springs, La.; Staff Sgt Lee Given, a native of Flatwoods, W.Va.; Sgt Shawn Griffith, a native of Richwood, W.V., Spc Raymond Myers, a native of Vienna, W.Va.; Spc Jasper Stull, a native of Durbin, WV.; and Spc Zachary Whitlatch, a native of Walker, W.Va.
As the presentation drew to a close, the words from Luke 14:28 seemed to resonate through for all that have been in harms way: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost.”
The Soldiers placed their lives on the line to accomplish this important mission, and Hammond proudly thanked the team for their bravery and service to their nation.
ISAF Breaks Ground for Panjwayi Road Project
Headquarters International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan – Gov. Assadullah Khalid, district leader Hajii Baran and Brig. Gen. Guy Laroche, Canadian commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, joined Afghan workers as they began work on the road construction project in Panjwayi recently.
The project, employing 475 Afghan workers from Panjwayi District, will stretch for six and a half kilometres and marks a new beginning for the district which has witnessed significant unemployment throughout the last several years.
This particular road construction project was guided by discussions with community members, including the governor and district leaders, and with Canadian government development workers. ISAF engineers in conjunction with Afghan technologists collaborated to design the road.
“This project represents a new beginning for the residents of Panjwayi,” said Brig. Gen. Laroche. “This is a road that is being built by Afghans for Afghans and will bring prosperity to you and your families for many years to come.”
Once completed, the paved portion of the road will be eight meters wide; however, with the inclusion of gravel shoulders, this will extend the width to 16 meters, allowing for plenty of traffic manoeuvrability in and out of Panjwayi.
The workers are progressing at about 500 meters a month, according to Captain Pascal Blanchette, a Canadian construction engineer supervising the project.
Negotiations with local Afghan leaders are already underway to extend the road beyond its current limit. The construction will continue well into 2009.
ANA Brigade Headquarters Construction Begins in Farah
By International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan – A construction project to build an Afghan national army brigade headquarters near Farah City started recently.
The project, which will employ 4,000 workers for the year-long construction period, will house 2,000 soldiers.
General Jalandershaw, 207th ANA Kandak commander in Herat, praised the construction project as an important step in the development of the ANA. “We are very happy to see the construction of a new base that will become one of the most important in western Afghanistan.”
The ANA headquarters is part of the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to improve security in Farah province. An excess of $85 million will be spent in Farah on a variety of projects throughout the coming year. Projects include eight Afghan national police headquarters; one in each of the following districts: Shib Koh, Lash wa Jowayn, Gulestan, Purchaman, Bakwa, Pusht Rod, Khaks-e Safid and Qal-I Kah and a border police headquarters for 100 men in Qal-e Kah.
Fazlullah Construction Engineering Company will build the headquarters, which will be built using pre-cast construction, a building method new to Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Jonckowski, a native of Browerville, Minn., drives a nail while building stairs while helping to build a new headquarters building for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Forward Operating Base War Eagle. Jonckowski serves as a construction supervisor with the 851st Vertical Engineer Company, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. (Photo By Spc. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo)
Engineers Construct 3rd BCT Headquarters at FOB War Eagle
By Spc. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
BAGHDAD – Soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard’s 851st Vertical Engineer Company, attached to Multi-National Division – Baghdad, are constructing a three-story structure that will soon become the headquarters building for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Forward Operating Base War Eagle in northern Baghdad.
“The structure consists of more than 10,000 square feet of construction, what would be considered in the United States as a commercial site,” said Spc. Michael Passeretti, a native of Saint Paul, Minn., who serves as a carpenter and non-commissioned officer in charge of the project with the 851st VEC.
Thus far, the crew has torn down and rebuilt most of the internal structure – in little more than 2.5 weeks, he said.
Passeretti, who has more than 20-years of experience in the field as a civilian general contractor, along with his team, was given the responsibility to deliver this project before, April 10.
The project is “a high profile mission,” said 1st LT. Josh Savage, a native of Saint Paul, Minn., who serves as a platoon leader for the 851st VEC.
“This is the first three-story building we have ever built,” Savage said.
On the economy, a construction of this kind would cost an estimated $600,000 to $1 million in the United States, Passeretti said, adding that most of the Soldiers of the 851st VEC working on the project have military occupational skills other than vertical engineers.
The project, he said, has provided him the opportunity to teach the Soldiers how to use the tools and deal with the measurements. Even though the Soldiers may not have the school-trained skills for working on this type of a project, the team is running ahead of schedule and is projected to be meet its, April 10, target date.
“We are fortunate to have the leadership we have,” said Passeretti. “They allow me to do my job based on my 20 years of experience.”
The Soldiers have managed to keep up with the pace and demands of the given jobs while down-range, as evidenced by the fact they have constructed more than 100,000-square feet of floor in little less than the six months they have had “boots on ground,” he added
“I’m highly impressed,” said Savage. “I feel like a coach – coaching a pro team.”
For the Soldiers of the 851st VEC, the construction of the brigade headquarters is merely one of numerous projects the team will face together. Next up for them will be building a Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility at War Eagle, which, of course, will be followed by various other missions throughout Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
IA and CF Engineers Team Up in Mosul for COP Inman Rebuild
By Capt. Richard Ybarra
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Mosul, IRAQ— On Sunday March 23, Combat Out Post Inman, a new COP in West Mosul manned by the 2nd Iraqi Army Division suffered a blow that al-Qaida in Iraq had intended to be fatal to the strategic post; a suicide-truck-bomb crashed through the gates at approximately 7 a.m., detonating in the main compound, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and wounding 35.
“All the damage the terrorists have caused to the people and their homes, I do not understand these men, why would they do that?,” said Nami Ibhrahim, a soldier in the 2nd IA Division, clearly more concerned about the damage to the surrounding area than to the COP.
Despite the COP being devastated, the IA soldiers did not abandon their post. They held it in anticipation of the help they knew would come. The help came in the form of engineers from the 2nd IA Division and the U.S. Army 232nd Engineer Company, which arrived to start reconstruction of COP Inman just five days after the bombing.
Both engineer elements completed projects in other parts of Ninewah Province and then made assessments of the damaged COP. The units gathered supplies and equipment as rapidly as possible, arriving on the scene within hours of each other.
Work commenced as soon as heavily armored front end loaders, road graders and excavators were unloaded from their trailers on the evening of March 28. IA infantry Soldiers eager to help improve security of their post also chipped in by helping to string Hesco barriers and unload supplies during the night.
In the morning, the heavy equipment took over the operation, as dismounted operations were stopped as the sun came over the horizon due to an elevated sniper threat. The front end loaders the IA brought to the project tripled the expected output for filling the newly strung Hescos.
The IA and CF Soldiers were completing the project in a very rapid fashion, working as one unit. If one unit, they seemed veterans, as the loaders quickly fell into a rhythm; one picking up fill material, one filling Hescos and one moving between the Hescos. If all the equipment had been the same type, it would have been an impossibility to distinguish one unit from another based on performance.
“The IA has been great…last night they were stringing Hescos (barriers) with our guys,” said 1st Lt. Nathan Foust of the 232nd Engineer Company, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. “We had their two bucket loaders…all day helping with the filling. We only had one (bucket loader) out here, so it was a huge help, it would have taken a lot longer without them.”
Lt. Foust’s compliments of the IA engineers were echoed by members of his platoon. Any engineer in any Army would be happy to have the compliments of this group. 3rd platoon has been a major part of the COP building program which is ongoing in Mosul. They have constructed seven COPs in the previous two months, in the most difficult of circumstances. The unit has experienced all the hazards that fighting terrorists has to offer, bar none.
However, the unrelenting schedule and associated dangers has not affected the morale of the platoon.
“They are doing real well, their morale has been unbelievable, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Foust proudly. “The NCOs have really been on top of it, they are great. The Soldiers are all solid, they all work very hard.”
IA and CF engineers, as well as IA infantry, continued to work around the clock to rebuild the COP. The Soldiers took steps to improve security, develop the defensive characteristics of the roads and to re-level the surface inside the perimeter.
“By rebuilding we are showing the people that we have the will to continue this fight, to win, that we will not abandon them,” said Ibhrahim, a Soldier in the 2nd IA Division. “We will carry the fight, wherever they make it, we will win. With all my friends in the IA, I will stay and fight, forever if we have to. I am from Diyala and he is from Baghdad, but together we are the IA.”
In a testament to both IA and CF resolve to complete this mission, the job which was slated to take three nights took only two. The two units parted ways, hoping not to meet again under similar circumstances, but nonetheless proud of what they had accomplished and the respect they had earned.