MWSS-274 engineers battle weather, elements to prepare future training facility

Photo By Cpl. Jorden Wells | Master Sgt. Richard Thomas, Engineer Company operations chief, Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 observes the falling trajectory of a just-felled tree to ensure it descends where it was supposed to without any collateral damage, Jan. 28. The MWSS-274 engineers were clearing and preparing an undeveloped piece of land aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River for a forward arming and refueling point to be utilized as a future training area.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

01.30.2015

Story by Cpl. Jorden Wells 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines with Engineer Company, Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, transform an undeveloped piece of land aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River into a forward arming and refueling point Jan. 28, 2015.

Once completed, the FARP will have three separate landing areas for rotary aircraft and be utilized as a training facility. The new area will give the air station units a new training tool to increase the overall readiness, which will aid in future deployment training and work-ups.

“One of the major obstacles we are having to contend with out here is the abundance of stagnant water on the landing pad sites,” said Master Sgt. Richard Thomas, the company’s operations chief. “We have to drain a lot of those areas of that water so we can come in and do some light earth work.”

Another of the major obstacles the engineers faced while preparing the training area was the removal of many of the surrounding trees. They utilized many different tools for removal, including chainsaws and heavy equipment.

“We have to clear a lot of the trees from several different future roadways,” Thomas said. “We are also working on the land quality to improve its California Bearing Ratio, the measurement used to determine the density and stability of the soil, which will allow the fuel trucks and other heavy equipment access to the training area.”

The Marines began their task of preparing the land in mid-January and have a completion date set for Feb. 9.

“All of the Marines that have been a part of this project have been doing an outstanding job,” said 1st Lt. Bradley Kuczynski, the company’s heavy equipment platoon commander. “This land had produced many obstacles for the Marines to overcome, and it is just great to see such a high level of work ethic and skill application on this operation.”

• Date Taken: 01.30.2015
• Date Posted: 01.30.2015 11:14
• Story ID: 153134
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US