PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Soldiers from Operation Steel Kickoff participated today in a site survey and community outreach mission aimed at getting acquainted with civic leaders, business owners and the streets of Pittsburgh in anticipation of the G-20 Summit later this week.

"Our main challenge is getting to know the area," said Army 1st Lt. Mike Bromley, C Company, 1-110th Infantry, Connellsville, Pa. "We want to see if we can get some rapport built with the people we're going to be working around for a couple days."

Due to street closures, working with local law enforcement to plan logistics and tactics of transportation is going to be another key step of preparation, said Bromley.

"We need to see where we can stage our gear, what assets we can get as far as storing gear, where we can have our drop off points and where Soldiers can get in and out of the vehicles," Bromley said.

With disruption of normal traffic patterns and an influx of protesters who will use the Summit as a backdrop to exercise their rights, some tensions have started to build among native Pittsburghers.

Nichole Jones, a resident of Pittsburgh and a sales associate of a downtown store, said she's a little scared to see how the city will handle the G-20 because it is a very busy city with large numbers of commuters.

"It feels a lot better to know when someone is here and seeing you [servicemembers] here is a sense of security," Jones said.

As for Bromley and the rest of the troops of the 110th, morale is high.

"We're happy our company got this mission," said Bromley. "We're hoping things will go without incident, we'll maintain neutrality with the public and let them know that we're here for their safety and to protect property."