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SAUKA, LATVIA – Sappers from the Michigan Army National Guard joined their Latvian counterparts in the demolition of two towers near Sauka, Latvia, Friday, in order to create a safer environment for the local town’s residents.
The demolition was part of preparation for Operation Silver Arrow, a multinational, Latvian-led training exercise this week in conjunction with U.S. Army-Europe and Operation Atlantic Resolve.
The towers, one centuries-old wooden historical structure and one Soviet-era concrete block water tower, were in disrepair and had become dangerous to the local populace.
Several Michigan Sappers from the 1431st Engineer Company, Baraga, Michigan, and 1433rd Engineer Company, Augusta, Michigan, assisted with site preparation and explosives placement.
Sgt. David Smith, 1431st Engineer Company, was behind the detonator trigger for the wooden tower. Although the blast occurred as planned, the rotted wood in the tower supports absorbed more of the blast than had been expected and a second set of demolitions were required to complete the job.
“I thought I blew up the building,” smiled Smith. “I was really excited and I had a lot of energy but, when I got back, and they said, ‘Turn around.’ I realized the tower was still standing.”
The follow-up demolition of the concrete water tower went down without a hitch.
Michigan Soldiers will continue training with the Latvian military through the end of the Silver Arrow exercise in early October, after which they will return home.
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2014 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 143807 |
| Location: | RIGA, RIX, LV |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Michigan Sappers and Latvian Army blow up towers, by Douglas Halleaux, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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