623rd Engineers build from the ground up in Imam Sahib

Photo By Spc. Jazz Burney | Sgt. Josh Birkel, a Columbus, Neb. native, and Spc. Dillan Hebert, an Omaha, Neb. native, both combat engineers with 623rd Engineer Company, Nebraska National Guard, dig what will be the base for two indoor shower and bathroom facilities for soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, at Combat Outpost Fortitude in Imam Sahib, Kunduz province May 28.  

COMBAT OUTPOST FORTITUDE, AFGHANISTAN

05.29.2011

Story by Sgt. Jazz Burney 

170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

COMBAT OUTPOST FORTITUDE, Afghanistan – U.S. military engineers used cement mix, shovels, wheelbarrows and plenty of motivation to install two indoor shower and bathroom facilities here in Imam Sahib, Kunduz province May 29.

For the past four months, soldiers with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have used outdoor urinals, outhouses and shower points for personal waste and hygiene.

A team of three engineers from the 623rd Engineer Company with the Nebraska National Guard traveled from the company’s main base, Forward Operating Base Kunduz, to provide indoor facilities to soldiers who live on the remote outpost.

Upon arrival to COP Fortitude, the unit’s leadership escorted Sgt. Josh Birkel, a Columbus, Neb., native, now a combat engineer, to the desired location for the facilities. After figuring the best way to begin construction, Birkel and his two comrades grabbed shovels and began digging eight squared-positions out of the rock-filled soil.

They stopped digging six inches down and placed wooden boxes into the newly dug holes. The engineers set the boxes at a slant to prevent flooding when the showers and bathrooms would be used.

“I’ve seen some shower points where the drainage is run uphill and the water overflows. We want to make sure we don’t set up these soldiers for failure,” Birkel said as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

The engineers laid a large white tube across the boxes to ensure the buildings would be level.

Spc. Dillan Hebert, an Omaha, Neb., native, ripped open a bag of cement and poured it into a wheelbarrow and began mixing. The team added rocks to ensure the cement would hold once dry. With the mixing finished, soldiers poured the cement into the empty wooden molds.

The engineers had only shovels, measuring tape, wheel barrows and a few electric tools to begin the construction.

“We are still going to do our best with what we have,” Hebert said.

“Though we are still at the initial phase of building, we can already tell the impact of our labor here,” said Pfc. Jonathan Foster, also an Omaha, Neb., native and engineer.

Soldiers with B Company helped the engineers throughout the two days of construction.

“At the end of the day, after standing in those guard towers sweating for hours, being able to take a hot shower will be a huge morale boost for these infantrymen,” Birkel said.

Birkel and his team also built wooden stairs and platforms for the company’s fortified fighting positions around the post.

The engineers are awaiting a crane to lift the two buildings and set them upon the cement foundations. Once the buildings are in place, the team will connect the water pumps and waste tanks allowing the infantrymen at Imam Sahib to enjoy their new accommodations.

• Date Taken: 05.29.2011
• Date Posted: 06.17.2011 05:58
• Story ID: 72250
• Location: COMBAT OUTPOST FORTITUDE, AF