92nd Engineers pave the way

Photo By Sgt. Uriah Walker | Pvt. Logan Estrada, from Colton, Calif., and Sgt. Stephen Steere, from Donalsonville, Ga., both assigned to 92nd Engineer Battalion, work to level an area, Jan. 21, in preparation for a new sidewalk to be poured between the Building 1 parking lot and the Soldier Support Center on Fort Stewart, Ga. (Photo by Sgt. Uriah Walker, 3ID Public Affairs)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

01.24.2014

Story by Sgt. Uriah Walker 

3rd Infantry Division

FORT STEWART, Ga. - The task of replacing a gravel path between the Building 1 parking lot and the Soldier Support Center, on the other side of Hase Road, on Fort Stewart was completed using military manpower from 92nd Engineer Battalion. The mission was also completed under budget and ahead of schedule.

The project began when Division Command Sgt. Maj. Edd Watson witnessed several soldiers, including Wounded Warriors, navigating the existing, narrow gravel path between the parking lot of Bldg. 1 and the SSC, explained Sgt. First Class Patrick Lowe, 92nd Eng. Bn. senior technical engineering noncommissioned officer in charge. The intent was to provide a safer alternative to the gravel path and install new drainage from the SSC building to prevent erosion at the same time.

With the shift from combat to garrison operations, the soldiers from 92nd were able to take on this project instead of outsourcing the work to a civilian company. Completing the project utilizing a military workforce the Army saved nearly $1,400 on the completed project. The most valuable part though was the work put in by the soldiers.

“I think these soldiers are absolutely loving being able to get out here and do something besides details and whatever comes down [from above],” Lowe said. “Any time that you get to go out and do your job, your specific job the Army trained you to do, it’s a great thing. Especially as an engineer because you can go back later on, ‘Hey man, I put this sidewalk in over here’ or ‘I put this building up over here.’ It brings a lot of pride out in the soldiers to see their crafts being utilized here.”

For many of the soldiers this is the first time completing a project like this. Several of them are new to the unit straight out of advanced individual training. For others this is the complete opposite of what they have been training for leading up to and during previous deployments.

“Normal training for deployments, like our last train up for our last deployment, we weren’t really training to construct anything we were training to deconstruct,” explained Sgt. Stephen Steere, a Donalsonville, Ga. native. “This really helps us, [it] keeps us going [and] keeps us doing what we’re supposed to be doing really. I mean it’s just good for the soldiers to get out here with this type of work and get it done.”

• Date Taken: 01.24.2014
• Date Posted: 01.27.2014 16:34
• Story ID: 119718
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US
• Hometown: COLTON, CA, US
• Hometown: DONALSONVILLE, GA, US