Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Kendra Owenby | Members of the 134th Civil Engineering Squadron from McGhee Tyson Air National Guard...... read more read more
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GREAT FALLS, Mont. - 28 members of the 134th Air Refueling Wing Civil Engineering Squadron deployed to Great Falls Air National Guard Base, Montana to help with base improvements. Three major projects were completed along with two other projects.
Twenty-eight members of the 134th Air Refueling Wing Civil Engineering Squadron from McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn., recently deployed to the 120th Fighter Wing for Deployed Field Training. The airmen completed three major projects and two additional projects during the two week field training.
The first of the three projects slated for the group was to deconstruct and remove five inclement weather shelters from the flight line that were used to house F-15 fighter aircraft. The shelters had become less than beneficial during the winter months as heavy snows piled up on the structures creating snow drifts. The maintenance duties of clearing away the snow drifts and having to work around the shelters became an unnecessary and time-consuming chore for the 120th and it also presented a safety issue.
The 134th Airmen teamed up with 819th RED HORSE Squadron members from Malmstrom Air Force Base to clear the structures including canopies, framework, and foundations from the flight line. The heavy-gauge aluminum arches and the folded canopies were turned in to the Defense Reutilization Management Office to be recycled.
New members of the group were able to take advantage of some valuable training on heavy equipment that was provided by the 819th.
“I am tremendously satisfied, especially with the training, as well as our progress. Right now our guys are getting trained working with the RED HORSE unit here getting familiarization with crane operations. We don’t have a crane at McGhee Tyson and this is just an excellent opportunity for us to train as well as to take care of the mission,” said Capt. Bjorn Helgeson, 134th Civil Engineering Squadron Officer in Charge.
The second project for the 134th Civil Engineering Airmen involved constructing a pre-fabricated metal building for a base recycling center at the 120th.
High winds and extreme weather made it difficult for transporting and depositing recyclable goods on base with the existing recycling containers that were exposed to the weather. The new indoor recycling center will house all recycling containers for ease of depositing recyclable materials inside.
The third major project was to improve a pre-existing road to the 120th base Combat Arms Training and Maintenance Range. Rains and continual freezing and thawing in the winter months had created deep ruts in the existing dirt roadway to the base range.
The 134th Airmen utilized heavy equipment such as dump trucks and a grader to haul and spread milled (recycled) asphalt from pre-existing areas on base to the site to build a more-permanent roadway. The result is a problem-free roadway to access the base firing range during the winter months.
“This project has allowed 134th personnel to get specialized experience on such equipment as graders, loaders, and dump trucks,” said Capt. Jack Carley, 134th Civil Engineering Squadron Site Project Manager. “(This project) benefits the 120th Fighter Wing in being able to get better access to their base range, where before it was an unfinished road which had eroded pretty badly and was starting to be an issue getting their vehicles back to their range,” he said.
The 134th Civil Engineering Airmen completed all three projects with time to spare. For this reason they were able to take on two additional projects to help benefit the 120th Fighter Wing.
The first was excavating and removing concrete pillars that were once used as foundations for aircraft static displays on base. The team used heavy equipment to dig out the pillars and level out the areas.
The second additional project that the airmen accomplished was adding curbing around two landscaped areas adjacent to the supply and civil engineering buildings on base. In the winter months the curbs will be very beneficial to help contain stones and foliage from spilling out onto the street when plows remove snow from the roads.
Col. J. Peter Hronek, 120th Fighter Wing Commander, visited the 134th Airmen on the job sites to personally thank them for their hard work. He appreciated the hard work of all of the Tennessee Air National Guard members and presented coins to two of the team supervisors, Master Sgt. Rusty Dawson and Senior Airman Greg Willis.
“134th Civil Engineering members have done a fantastic job. They are an incredibly professional group to work with. The benefits of these projects are huge to the 120th and have helped us immensely,” said Capt. Ken Fechter, 120th Civil Engineering Deputy Commander.
To show their appreciation the 120th Civil Engineering Squadron held a luncheon on Sept. 20, for the Tennessee Airmen. During the event, Lt. Col. Ryck Cayer, 120th Civil Engineering Squadron Commander, presented a sculptured metal plaque to Helgeson.
“Tennessee has been up here before and you have a great reputation. The work you have done has impressed the entire base. Our wing commanders and group commanders are thoroughly impressed with the work, your safety and your strong work ethic,” said Cayer.
The two-week deployment wrapped up on Sept. 21, with 134th members doing project clean up and taking care of last minute issues. Overall, it was a very successful field training deployment building camaraderie between two Air National Guard units as both the 134th and 120th Civil Engineering Squadrons benefited greatly from the training experience.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 11.28.2012 08:36 |
| Story ID: | 98408 |
| Location: | GREAT FALLS, MT, US |
| Web Views: | 148 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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