Impeccable Glove 2011

Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Sarah Mattison | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kyle Moore of the 158th Civil Engineering Squadron, Vermont Air National Guard, removes tree branches from an improvised explosive device training track at Rygge Air Force Base, Norway, Aug. 18, 2011. Moore participated in a joint training mission with 43 other Vermont Guardsmen in Operation Impeccable Glove 2011.  

RYGGE AIR BASE, 2, NORWAY

09.01.2011

Story by Senior Airman Sarah Mattison 

158th Fighter Wing

RYGGE AIR BASE, Norway — In August, forty-four members of the Vermont Air National Guard traveled to Rygge Air Base, Norway to participate in Operation Impeccable Glove 2011. Airmen from the 158th Civil Engineering Squadron worked in collaboration with the Norwegian Royal Air Force, Army and Military Academy cadets on a joint NATO training mission. This mission spanned two weeks, with the first week focusing on various engineering projects and the second geared towards Force Protection training.

Airmen from the 158th CES teamed up with third year engineering cadets from the Norwegian Military Academy to tackle a variety of projects. In May, the cadets are given a list of projects to choose from. According to Maj. Tore BjØrnetrØ, second in command of the Force Protection Squadron and project coordinator “the students plan, make equipment requirements and material orders. They figure out the labor that they will need and make all sketches and drawings of the projects. They prepare in May and then build in August.”

“I think it is important to have this partnership. We are honored that you would come and visit us. You are doing missions in other places, you are in Iraq and Afghanistan and you find time to visit us in Norway. We learn a lot by discussing engineering projects with you, we have many benefits from these two weeks,” said BjØrnetrØ.

This joint mission allowed 10 different engineering projects to be completed in one week’s time. These tasks included constructing an environmental station to house garbage dumpsters, grading and restoring the surface of an existing soccer field as well as installing a new fence around it, removing trees, improving the drainage and building a new permanent BBQ at the base recreation area, installing concrete bollards in front of the main gate, constructing a concrete foundation for a base sign, building a moveable storehouse for security force’s K-9 unit, groundwork and installation of a bike rack at the base gym, constructing a concrete foundation for display and creating a barrier for fire prevention around the Rygge Museum, and constructing a counter IED Track for a vehicle and counter IED training area.

Airman 1st Class Kyle Moore who works in Operations Management with the 158th CES had the opportunity to work on the IED track construction. He said “the roles change fairly quickly here. I started out and I was initially working the chainsaw clearing the road. That was completed the first day and since then I’ve been operating heavy equipment, using either the loader or the dump trucks to haul in the heavy stone to lay the foundation for the road.”

“What I like about this opportunity is that it give us a chance to work with people that we would work with out in the field. It’s made me more comfortable working with different equipment that I don’t normally get the chance to operate on our base” said Moore.

One of the projects was located off base at the Rygge Museum. Staff Sgt. Dayton Brown was assigned as “team lead” with group of engineers working on creating a fire strip around the museum to protect it from possible fires. In addition to removing and replace all of the soil around the museum, they also constructed a concrete foundation to display a WWII tank turret.

“This is my first project that I’ve been the lead on and I’m learning a ton and it’s been a really good experience all around,” said Brown.

Airmen from the 158th CES were also able to enjoy utilizing some the projects once completed. There were a couple pick-up games of soccer on the new field and a joint dinner with some of the cadets and staff on the new BBQ grill down at the recreation area. Airmen also had an opportunity to visit the Rygge Museum as well as train on one of the largest projects of the mission, the counter IED track.

According to Lt. Col. Adam Rice, commander of the 158th Civil Engineering Squadron “We like to do training projects that have direct value to the unit we are supporting and the counter IED track is going to have the best training value for the Norwegians.”

In the next two years there will be additions to the counter IED track that airmen from the 158th built. According to BjØrnetrØ “it will give opportunities to choose different directions and create new obstacles for those training on it, which is why we want to extend it.”

Impeccable Glove originated as War mission in which airfield damage repair units rotated bases throughout Norway working on rapid runway repair. After the Cold War ended the ADR’s were moved to Rygge AB permanently and focusing on a variety of base projects. This exchange between the Air National Guard and the Norwegian military has been ongoing since 1991.

• Date Taken: 09.01.2011
• Date Posted: 04.19.2012 09:55
• Story ID: 86964
• Location: RYGGE AIR BASE, 2, NO