Combat engineers conduct week-long bridge construction training

Photo By Cpl. Khoa Pelczar | Marine combat engineers with Bridge Platoon, Charlie Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, put away pieces of a 108-foot bridge during a week-long bridge construction training exercise at Port Hueneme Naval Training Center, Calif., Nov. 18. By using manpower for almost everything they do, Marines were able to completely build the bridge with minimal heavy equipment support.  

PORT HUENEME, UNITED STATES

11.18.2010

Story by Lance Cpl. Khoa Pelczar 

1st Marine Logistics Group

PORT HUENEME NAVAL TRAINING CENTER, Calif. – Combat engineers with Bridge Platoon, Charlie Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, conducted a week-long bridge construction training here, Nov. 14-19.

“Seventh ESB has just set up a bridge company so this is a great way to train and familiarize the Marines before we deploy to Afghanistan,” said 2nd Lt. Zachary Pederson, commander for Bridge Plt., C Co., 7th ESB, 1st MLG. “It’s a great opportunity that the Navy’s 31st Construction Readiness Group provided us with to allow our Marines to come out and use their equipment for training.”

On Monday, Navy personnel with 31st CRG introduced the tools and equipment that will be available for the Marine engineers to use in the field during the familiarization course. Wasting no time, the Marines got their hands dirty by constructing bridges as soon as the training was complete.

To prepare themselves for the big bridge building project on Thursday, Marines started out with smaller projects to grasp the flow of operation, explained Pederson, 25, from Paola, Kan.

“This is their first time since [military occupational specialty] school that they get to build a bridge,” said Sgt. Christopher Ivester, combat engineer with Bridge Plt., C Co. 7th ESB, 1st MLG. “Even with their lack of experience, the Marines were able to fly through it in a timely manner.”

The Marines are the first group of service members who completely assemble the 108-foot bridge, then take it apart, everyone else who went before them had only put half of the bridge together and take it apart, said Ivester, 25, from Gastonia, N.C.

“As Marines, we do things differently,” said Ivester. “We use manpower for almost everything we do. By doing so, we can complete the bridge with minimum logistical support and therefore, less time consuming.”

With just five days to train, Marines tried to learn as much as they could about the flow of operation and the equipment they will be using overseas, said Ivester.

“The Marines are doing an outstanding job,” said Pederson. “They worked long hours with a heavy work load and never complained. The harder it gets, the more they push. They’ve received nothing but compliments from their instructors, the Navy personnel on base, their peers and myself. They’re ready for their upcoming deployment and I have no doubt they will accomplish every mission.”

• Date Taken: 11.18.2010
• Date Posted: 11.19.2010 17:28
• Story ID: 60517
• Location: PORT HUENEME, US