Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp | Golden, Colo., native, Spc. Kyle Taaffe, a heavy equipment operator, attached to the...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – In line with the old adage that busy hands are happy hands, soldiers often say if their time isn’t filled with work during a deployment that slow work days in a combat theater can lead to tedium.
Fortunately for troops deployed with the Little Rock, Ark.-based 489th Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserves, boredom hasn’t been an issue, according to Kingsport, Tenn., native Command Sgt. Maj. David G. Douthat, senior enlisted adviser for the 489th, whose troops have been spending full days deconstructing and downsizing bases.
“When we came in we were extremely lucky as we got here at the right time and we have plenty of work to keep us busy with all the units working very hard to accomplish the mission,” said Douthat. “Our soldiers came in with a ‘want to’ and ‘can do’ attitude. The mission is going well and we came into theater with the challenge of how best to [down-size bases] and leave our work sites better than when we arrived here.”
“But our guys took the mission and ran with it and they’re always finding ways to do things better and to get things done faster. We’re finding that we’re getting things done almost at twice the rate of regular units,” added Douthat.
Troops for the 489th Engineer Battalion can often be found working to pull out interior electrical wiring, insulation, plumbing, wood and other interior fixtures from structures prior to bringing in heavy equipment such as a hydraulic excavator to deconstruct the buildings.
Once all reusable items have been removed and a building has been demolished, the engineers clear off and clean the site using a loader or excavator to load refuse into a dump truck and dispose of it. Prior to completion, engineers also use heavy machinery to improve the appearance of the site.
The engineers take useable recovered items from the site to the retrosort yard where the items will be sorted and made available for use in theater, shipped where needed elsewhere in the military system or given to Afghans.
“It’s great to see that we recycle the items as I’d hate to see it disposed of,” said Waldron, Ark., native Staff Sgt. Guillermo Ozuna, a heavy equipment operator for the Fort Leonardwood, Mo.-based 955th Engineer Company, U.S. Army Reserves. “We all know how the economy can be back home so it’s good to know that we’re saving money by giving it to people who need it. That’s always a plus.”
The 489th Engineer Battalion, which is attached to the active duty Army’s, Fort Bragg, N.C.-based, 82nd Sustainment Brigade-U.S. Central Command Materiel Recovery Element, is comprised of various attached companies from both the Army National Guard and Reserves.
“I feel honored to be working at a battalion level with good, solid troops who have a high level of motivation and it’s a unique mission as we have troops from about 25 different states working together, ranging from California to New York and all over,” said Douthat.
As Afghan National Security Forces have successfully transitioned to taking over security for their country, it has made the 489th’s mission possible, said Douthat, while also reflecting on the significance of his battalion’s efforts.
“The importance of what we’re doing is that we’re setting up the Afghans to be successful, helping them by ensuring deconstructed sites, which will eventually be handed over to them, are cleaned up and in pristine condition,” added Douthat.
With projects throughout Regional Command South and Southwest, the battalion’s mission hasn’t been without its challenges including weather and continual maintenance on machinery.
“Although our operations have gone smoothly, weather has sometimes been an issue but we haven’t used it as an excuse to slow us down,” said Douthat. “On a couple of bases where we worked, our engineers were sometimes the only people working [in inclement weather] so we haven’t let it hamper our production.”
“As for maintenance, we’re using equipment harder than it’s ever been used before, putting a lot of hours on it, and when you do this it’s bound to sometimes fail,” added Douthat. “But we have great mechanics, who remain very busy, keeping our equipment running and ensuring the mission continues.”
As with any unit that works with heavy equipment or works engineering projects, one of the main concerns is safety.
“When you’re tearing things down, there are different safety issues than when you’re doing construction,” said Douthat. “We’ve looked at what those safety issues are, dug into accident data, worked ways to mitigate those risks and pushed them down to the troops.”
“We have great leadership and safety officers who do safety stand downs and have greatly reduced our accident rate,” added Douthat.
Troops who work for the 489th Engineer Battalion said they’re proud of what they’re doing and that the importance of the CMRE mission is not lost on them.
“It’s been a real learning experience and it definitely matures you,” said St. Louis, Mo., native Sgt. Michael Axelson, a wheeled vehicle mechanic for the Fort Leonardwood, Mo.-based 955th Engineer Company, U.S. Army Reserves. “When I first found out I was going to be part of the CMRE mission, I was really excited. It gives us a sense of pride to do these [deconstruction efforts] and to see how far along the Afghans have come toward becoming self-sufficient. It really makes you feel that your sacrifices are worth it.”
“I’ve really enjoyed it and it’s amazing to see how many pieces go into what we’re doing,” said Ozuna. “When you see the amount of work that’s been done, you know we’ve really accomplished something great.”
When their mission is done in a few months, Douthat has a single wish for his troops.
“My hope is that they take away that they were the ones who shaped our deconstruction efforts here, and with all the hard work they’ve done, they will go home with their heads held high,” Douthat said.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2014 07:49 |
| Story ID: | 122104 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | GOLDEN, CO, US |
| Hometown: | KINGSPORT, TN, US |
| Hometown: | LITTLE ROCK, AR, US |
| Hometown: | ST. LOUIS, MO, US |
| Hometown: | WALDRON, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Working deconstruction: 489th engineers continue downsizing efforts, by SFC Jon Cupp, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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