Photo By Adam Holguin | Spc. Walter Thorne, center, a carpentry and masonry specialist, 276th Engineer...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - The 276th Engineer Company, an Army National Guard unit from Pierce City, Missouri, re-deployed on Oct. 20 at the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Air Control Group after completing their mission in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
As the drawdown of coalition forces continues in Afghanistan, the need to deconstruct forward operating bases and structures of various sizes has become the main focus of many engineer units. Such is the case with the 276th Engineer Company, whose primary purpose was a U.S. Central Command material recovery element mission during their six-month deployment.
“With our mission being complete there, we go out there as engineers and collapse the FOBs,” said Capt. Todd Smith, commander, 276th Engineer Company.
Smith praised the work of his Soldiers in completing the mission to standard.
“The Soldiers did an outstanding job, they are all very professional, they all worked real hard and they completed the mission. It was a real pleasure to be the commander of the Soldiers, whose hard work led to our success,” said Smith.
While deconstruction may seem a straight-forward mission, it brought challenges that the vertical construction unit had to overcome while deployed.
“We usually build structures. So, to go over there and do deconstruction was a little unique and challenging for us. Our Soldiers were extremely resilient, versatile and very resourceful when it comes to getting the job done,” said 1st Sgt. Timothy Uptegrove, senior noncommissioned officer, of the 276th Engineer Company. “They covered down and figured out the best way to do things and did everything as safely as possible and it was a very successful mission.”
Uptegrove mentioned one of the first and most unique missions of the 276th Engineer Company was to deconstruct a 19,000 square foot case-ban structure. The large metal building was designed for easy assembly, but disassembly proved difficult. The unit accomplished the deconstruction of the massive structure two weeks ahead of schedule. According to Uptegrove, this accomplishment set the standard for future units to follow.
“We tore down everything from large hard stand structures to acres of tents where Soldiers used to stay. So it was a wide variety of different things that we were deconstructing over there. You never knew exactly what you were going to get into on some of the projects,” said Uptegrove.
Spc. Walter Thorne, a carpentry and masonry specialist in the 276th Engineer Company, completed his first deployment after an interesting and uncommon journey. After completing boot camp in 1985, Thorne spent eight years in the Army before taking a 20-year hiatus. In February 2012, Thorne began talking to a recruiter, and despite some doubt of being too old, the recruiter ran the numbers and Thorne was back in uniform for the first time in almost two decades. The break in service did allow for Thorne to find similarities in his and his father’s military careers.
“My dad caught the tail end of World War II, I am catching the tail end of this war,” reflected Spc. Thorne on his deployment, almost 30 years in the making.
On their return home, a stop in Romania reminded Thorne of some of the things he missed most while away.
“It was early in the morning, still a little dark and the sun was coming up. I seen the outlines of trees, and I was just so moved by that. You know, it’s the small stuff you miss like mowing the yard, trees, green grass. For me, it’s the small things that I look forward to seeing,” said Thorne.
After completing all de-mobilization requirements here at Fort Bliss, the 276th Engineer Company will embark on the last leg of their journey, a charter flight home to Missouri, where friends and family await the return of their loved ones.
| Date Taken: | 10.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2014 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 147255 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | PIERCE CITY, MO, US |
| Web Views: | 452 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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