Washington state ANG Soldiers go from Thailand to the Middle East

Photo By Ismael Ortega | Soldiers assigned to 176th Engineer Company, Washington State Army National Guard, walk toward the aircraft departing from the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group here Mar. 30.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

04.21.2016

Story by Ismael Ortega 

Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Fort Bliss

Soldiers assigned to the 176th Engineer Company, Washington State Army National Guard, departed March 30 from the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group after completing the mobilization process with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security here.

The vertical engineer company of electricians, plumbers, carpenters and masons maintain and construct facilities on military bases throughout U.S. Central Command in support Operation Inherent Resolve.

To prepare for this deployment, the 176th Eng. Co. spent several months focusing on battle drills and warrior tasks both here and in the Evergreen State. At McGregor Range, New Mexico, they executed several collective training exercises focusing on the construction and warrior aspects of their jobs.

“We worked mostly on our Army Warrior tasks, our basic Army skills: shooting, moving, communicating,” said Sgt. 1st Class Omar Trujillo, operations noncommissioned officer, 176th Eng. Co. “We didn’t do much on the construction side, which is going to be our mission in country, but that’s something that we have handled.”

“As a guard unit, most of us have a lot of construction experience on the civilian side that we bring to the table,” Trujillo said. “So that’s why we’re very good at construction missions- better than most active Army units, I’d wager.”

Their confidence also comes from their consecutive participation in Exercise Cobra Gold from 2010 through 2015. During those five years, the engineers worked with the Royal Thai army and other foreign armed forces in Thailand to construct schools for the local community in support of the engineer civic assistance project to improve the regional partnership, prosperity and security in the Asia- Pacific region.

This time the deployment will be in the Middle East, where Soldiers will upkeep and maintain facilities throughout their area of operations.

Soldiers have set goals to better themselves, such as improving their physical fitness, completing structure self-development courses or enrolling in online college classes.

“We’re going to take every advantage we can to increase our metrics across the board, but obviously, mission fi rst,” Capt. Brandon C. Myers, commander, 176th Eng. Co. said. “Whatever free time we get, we’re going to focus on schooling.”

Spc. Christie Apker, carpenter, 176th Eng. Co., who deployed in 2005 on a similar mission, uses her experience to mentor the younger Soldiers.

“We do have a couple of single moms and I was a single mom the first time I deployed … so I try to give them some moral support and what to prepare for, as well as how to be in the military being a female,” Apker said.

Being no stranger to the call of duty, the history of the 176th Eng. Co. includes responding to local emergencies and situations such as wildfires and other natural disasters. In 2014, 50 volunteers from the unit provided support to fire and rescue personnel by laying a grid to aid search efforts in Oso, Washington, after a major landslide engulfed a rural neighborhood killing 43 people.

“These are great batch of Soldiers. We’re very excited for this opportunity,” Myers said. “We just want to get over there and do our jobs.”

• Date Taken: 04.21.2016
• Date Posted: 04.22.2016 13:19
• Story ID: 196247
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: SEATTLE, WA, US
• Hometown: SNOHOMISH, WA, US