Photo By Sgt. Breanne Pye | Soldiers from 322nd Engineer Company, 368th Engineer Battalion, currently attached to...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed construction on a Morale, Welfare and Recreation pavilion May 13, at Forward Operating Base Walton in Kandahar City.
“The pavilion is part of an ongoing effort to improve and expand troop facilities on FOB Walton,” said 1st Lt. Michael Skaar, engineering officer assigned to 322nd Engineer Company, 368th Engineer Battalion, currently attached to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
The pavilion project was actually started by a local contracting company, said Skaar. The company lacked the tools and resources necessary to complete the job, so the Engineer Corps decided to step in and take the project over during their spare time.
The engineers certainly had their work cut out for them. Much of the construction previously completed by local contractors had to be torn down and rebuilt, said Skaar.
“It took 15 to 20 soldiers nearly a week and a half of working on the pavilion around the clock to complete the project,” said Sgt. Robby Lill, project non-commissioned officer in charge, assigned to 322nd Engineer Company, 368th Engineer Bn., currently attached to 1BCT, 4th Inf. Div. “As we are a reserve unit, it took the combined expertise of all our soldiers, many of whom work construction back home, to complete the carpentry on the pavilion.”
Lill explained that engineering companies usually work on what is referred to in the Army as ‘vertical construction’. This means focusing on large-scale security improvement projects like building guard towers and tactical operations command centers for combat outposts and forward operating bases.
“We don’t often get the opportunity to work on projects like this, which directly affect the soldiers’ quality of life,” said Lill. “It’s been incredibly rewarding working on a project that will give soldiers from other combat outposts, who don’t have the comforts we have at FOB Walton, a place to relax and kick back when they come in from a long mission.
“Our primary job as engineers is to provide maneuver and sustainment companies the workspace they need to complete their mission,” said Skaar. “This has been an opportunity to go above and beyond our primary objective in order to give those same companies the space they need for rest and relaxation.”
As a token of thanks for the engineers’ hard work, Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Tatem, and Capt. Jerome Russell, Battalion Executive Officer, both assigned to 4th Brigade Support Battalion, Task Force ‘Packhorse’, 1BCT, 4th Inf. Div., presented each of the soldiers who worked on the pavilion with certificates of appreciation.
“The soldiers who live and work on FOB Walton waited anxiously for this project’s completion,” said Tatem. “Because of [your] hard work, those soldiers will now be able to look forward to events here for months and even years to come.”
True to Tatem’s words, the soldiers of FOB Walton showed up the very first night the pavilion opened, to celebrate its completion and enjoy a little down time by holding a Salsa dancing event, which was attended by over 100 soldiers.
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2011 00:49 |
| Story ID: | 70637 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 960 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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