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BAGRAM, Afghanistan – First Theater Sustainment Command, Deputy Commander Brig Gen. Duane Gamble and Sgt. Maj. James M. Lambert, 1st TSC senior enlisted adviser (Afghanistan) conducted a battlefield update brief and tour Oct. 7, from the hard-charging 864th Engineer Battalion, CENTCOM Materiel Recovery Element.
Lt. Col. John Henderson, 864th Engineer Battalion commander, native of Edgemont, S.D., and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Tipton, 864th senior enlisted advisor, escorted Gamble and Lambert during the visit.
“This is the first trip to this specific unit. We try to conduct battlefield circulation/unit visits twice a week,” Lambert said.
Gamble, Lambert, Henderson and Tipton, also took the time to present Combat Action Badges to eight of the engineer Soldiers and thanked them for their service.
After the awards presentation, Henderson presented Gamble and Lambert with a detailed Concept of Operations brief, highlighting the unit’s accomplishments and discussing challenges the unit may face in future operations. The brief covered a range of critical engineering topics, from completing Forward Operating Base de-construction and closures, supporting and sustaining forward operating bases, and the difficulties of convoy movements to the base camps.
“Focus on the mission, from point A to point B, and don’t stop unless you have to,” said Henderson, when describing his advice to the troops conducting combat operations.
The Soldiers of the 864th face numerous challenges: they have to coordinate with two regional commands covering 14 provinces and more than 43,000 square miles, which are supervised by more than 10 battle space owners, in order to move the bulldozers, cranes, dump trucks and heavy rigs needed to conduct their mission. They do this on some of the most challenging and dangerous terrain in Afghanistan while under the constant threat of enemy contact.
The 864th has managed tactical combat missions covering more than 6,835 miles and completed more than 16 successful base closures. They have deconstructed 1,200 physical structures, and removed more than 14,000 truckloads of debris, including more than 15 miles of Hercules Engineering Solutions Consortium (HESCO) Barriers.
Henderson is proud of his unit. They have not lost any Soldiers, nor awarded any Purple Hearts. The unit has earned more than 63 CABs.
Gamble, Henderson, and staff also travelled to a former retro sort yard under expansion where road graders and rollers busily moved back and forth, leveling and packing down the dry, dusty Afghan dirt. In addition, they visited a Redistribution Property Accountability Team yard where they observed Soldiers finishing up emplacement of a Large Area Maintenance Shelter-Version Alpha.
As the unit moves forward, their focus is to see the 864th conduct a smooth transition of operations to the 133rd Engineer Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Dean A. Preston, said Henderson.
“Our goal is to finish the missions that we can, diligently transition operations to the 133rd Engineer Battalion, CMRE, and redeploy every Soldier safely back home to their families,” Henderson said.
“A responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he said. “We are extremely proud of our Soldiers and Families for their selfless service to our Army and Nation,” Henderson added.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.10.2013 11:48 |
| Story ID: | 115013 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 429 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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