Photo By Capt. Eric Hudson | In this file photo, Lt. Col. Michael Baker, left, commander of the 62nd Engineer...... read more read more
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MONROVIA, Liberia – In September when President Barack Obama called for U.S. troops – specifically engineers – to build treatment facilities in Liberia and counter the effects of the Ebola virus, many leaders from the 62nd Engineer Battalion had a feeling their unit would be asked to deploy. The unit’s unique skill set meant a successful mission in Liberia almost depended on the 62nd Eng. Bn.
“My wife was the first one who told me we might go because President Obama’s press conference said it would be engineer heavy,” said Maj. Jonathan Johnston, the executive officer for the 62nd Eng. Bn., 36th Engineer Brigade, when it deployed.
Johnston, who is currently an operations officer for the 36th Eng. Bde. and a Lake Forest, California, native, said the unit is just one of a handful with the capabilities required to complete the mission.
Now just a few months after the battalion arrived in Liberia, it has played a role in building 10 Ebola treatment units, three mobile labs, improving roads and other projects to ensure the mission is completed. Many of these projects will have enduring value to Liberia, whose health care infrastructure was fragile. With these accomplishments behind them, the Soldiers of the 62nd Eng. Bn. are now preparing to return to Fort Hood, Texas.
It is rare for an engineering unit to be the main effort, said Lt. Col. Michael Baker, commander of the 62nd Eng. Bn. and Needham, Massachusetts, native.
“This is what we are made to do – go build things,” he said.
While the unit was told to deploy on short notice, Johnston knew the unit was ready.
“Up to that point we had been doing [Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises] and deployment readiness exercises on a quarterly basis,” he said. “We shifted our focus over the last year and a half to just getting out the door to accomplish any mission at any time.”
The unit deployed quickly in a relatively smooth factor, but it didn’t know exactly what to expect once arriving in Liberia.
“We were preparing for the worst,” said Baker. “It was a surprise being able to ride around in [non-tactical vehicles], and it was a more relaxed atmosphere than we expected.”
He said the unit expected very austere living conditions, but was pleasantly surprised to be living in tents with air conditioning and having shower and laundry facilities available.
But the mission itself brought few surprises, Baker said.
“We deployed the right equipment with the right people,” he said.
Baker reflected on this mission with pride. He was particularly proud of the Gbediah Ebola treatment unit construction, he said.
“That one was built faster than any others,” he said. “What was initially scheduled to take six weeks took 21 days.”
Baker credited lessons learned from previous construction sites in the country and working closely with the engineers from the Armed Forces of Liberia.
“It was essential to our success,” he said. “We were able to learn from them and we built a close relationship. At Gbediah it was really a partnership of us working together.”
Baker and Johnston said young leaders stepping up during this mission were a large reason for the unit’s success.
“A lot of my officers and staff had just switched out,” said Johnston. ”We were rebuilding the staff. Actually, in October we had our initial training event planned – a command post exercise to train the staff.”
He said the newly formed team performed phenomenally.
“We excelled in getting here, getting our systems and communications set up and resourcing,” he said.
This unit is accustomed to deploying to combat zones, but the humanitarian deployment to Liberia was just as important.
“It’s the only time we’ve gone a mission where there wasn’t a tangible threat. You’re dealing with an epidemic. No matter where we’ve been we’ve always liberated people from something. In this case it’s been from a disease and people lost confidence in their government which could have catastrophic effects,” said Johnston. “Restoring hope is big.”
The 62nd Eng. Bde. is scheduled to case its colors – a ceremony that signifies mission completion – Feb. 2.
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2015 12:47 |
| Story ID: | 153226 |
| Location: | MONROVIA, LR |
| Hometown: | LAKE FOREST, CA, US |
| Hometown: | NEEDHAM, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 379 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Restoring hope: Engineers skills key to Liberian mission, by CPT Eric Hudson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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