Photo By Staff Sgt. Catrina Herbert | U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Dickens, a native of Woodworth, La., with 1022nd Vertical...... read more read more
Subscribe
GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers walk through muddy trails made from the springtime rain and melted snow as buildings start to take form. Excavators fill Hesco barriers, sounds of hammers fill the air, tent floors and walls are constructed, and tents become ready to receive incoming tenets.
Soldiers of the 1022nd Engineer Company, 528th Engineer Battalion of the Louisiana National Guard, have overcome the weather, the terrain and the massive scope of the project in making one of Afghanistan’s biggest builds a success story.
“We faced many challenges during the winter months, such as snow covering our whole work project site. Sometimes the air compressors were so cold that they wouldn’t start,” said U.S. Army Spc. Aberon Young, a native of Monroe, La., 1022nd Vertical Engineer Company, 528th Engineer Bn. “I look back at this place and what it used to be when we first got here, and just that look alone tells me that we worked hard and we should feel really good about what we have accomplished.”
The operation required more people in order to complete the build-up of nine combat outposts and improve the security conditions of Highway 1, a key artery that brings travelers from the south of Afghanistan towards Kabul.
“We recognized a need for additional personnel,” said Col. Paul M. Palozzi, Task Force Sword commander, 18th Engineer Brigade, and a native of Utica, N.Y. “When you bring in additional soldiers you have to be able to provide them a place to live and operate from, and that required an engineer construction program.”
The support came from every part of the 1st Cavalry Division, Combined Joint Task Force-1, including help from 10th Sustainment Brigade Muleskinners for logistics, and aviation assets from the combat aviation brigades from across Afghanistan. Most of the construction work came from the Louisiana Army National Guard soldiers.
“It’s exciting, to know that every soldier that has been doing this [construction] mission comes from the Army National Guard,” said Palozzi. “Those soldiers came to Afghanistan with the expectation that they are going to be doing something important.”
When the project first started, Forward Operating Base Arian had only two hard standing buildings. Nearly five months later, there is a tactical operations centers, morale, welfare and recreation center and a dining facility.
U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Dickens, a native of Woodworth, La., volunteered to deploy and join the 1022nd Vertical Engineer Company.
“I feel really good about this project because it has helped me and my guys cross-train to learn different military occupational specialties,” said Dickens.
The Louisiana Army National Guard soldiers have a variety skills and employment backgrounds; some are engineers, electricians and plumbers in their civilian lives. It added to the combined experience they brought to this project, making building these FOBs a much easier task.
The construction project has not been without the dangers of insurgent activity, poised at disrupting the soldiers’ progress. Highway 1 has been a hot bed of IED activity due to its importance not only to the local population, but as a highly traveled route for coalition forces’ logistical support.
“The enemy has shown their presence,” said Palozzi. “We have been doing this from December through March timeframe, so the [insurgents] had decreased operations because it was cold.”
Palozzi added that another enemy was the weather with it’s cold rain and ice. Through the harsh winter months in Afghanistan, the soldiers would work for 30-minute stretches before warming themselves by a man-made fire. The weather also affected the air and ground support.
“We had to overcome those challenges by doing what we had to do as soldiers, to keep the morale up so we could finish what needed to be done,” said Young.
Dickens said he feels great about what his soldiers came out to do every day, giving 100 percent, regardless of the conditions they faced.
According to Palozzi, the soldiers have done something critically important - accomplishing the mission with a great deal of pride.
“It’s great to see something so big be done ahead of schedule,” he added.
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2012 03:37 |
| Story ID: | 85876 |
| Location: | GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 947 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Operation Devil Hammer one of Afghanistan’s biggest builds during winter months, by SSG Catrina Herbert, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT