Photo By Capt. Matthew Gilbert | Sgt. David Wylie, with the 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi Army National Guard...... read more read more
NOVO SELO, Bulgaria – Soldiers with the 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi Army National Guard deployed to Novo Selo Training Area in order to be part of the team building an ammunition holding area and tank firing range.
This military construction effort, titled Operation Resolute Castle, is a U.S led effort, spanning across the Eastern European countries of Estonia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Unlike other operations in the area that focus on simulated combat Resolute Castle focuses on military infrastructure improvement in order to increase training areas’ capabilities. By devoting significant attention to this base, the United States has the opportunity to embolden local economies, provide training opportunities for soldiers participating in the construction, improve military infrastructure in Bulgaria, and increase security in the Eastern European region.
Because this was such a large construction mission, several military units were tasked with its completion, including the Mississippi Army National Guard, the Tennessee Army National Guard, the Ohio Army National Guard, the United States Army Reserve, and the United States Navy Seabees. Assuming mission command over this effort was the 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard. They were selected because they have more than two decades of experience operating in Bulgaria under the Tennessee and Bulgaria State Partnership Program.
Large projects like these require more than just sweat and hard work – they require soldiers with experience, leadership ability, and an expertise for coordinating major operations. Sgt. David Wylie and Sgt. 1st Class Cannon are two such soldiers.
These two non-commissioned officers came to Bulgaria and set high goals. They faced many challenges meeting them.
Starting out they ran into two significant problems – first, heavy rains caused thick mud on the construction sites and second, they had to share the training area with the U.S. Army units who were training there.
The weather in Bulgaria is unpredictable. Due to the mountainous terrain, the timing of heavy rains is often a mystery and causes deep mud.
“We had to shut down just because it was so muddy,” said Cannon. “There were areas that were to grade,” meaning they were already at the level they were supposed to be, “If you got out there rolling on it, it could sink down and you’d have to redo several places on it.”
Cannon and Wylie had to work together to overcome these issues. They shuffled around the schedules of their working crews, splitting them into two – an early morning shift and a late evening shift. While this meant fewer soldiers on duty at once, this allowed them to focus on a construction site all day if the other site was unavailable.
“We were able to focus on the lanes during the rain, and when they were firing we were able to focus on the ammunition holding area,” explained Cannon.
“We had the equipment we needed,” said Cannon. “It actually played to our benefit.”
Sgt. Wylie, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, is no stranger to hard work. When it comes to heavy equipment operation, he can do it all – he can proficiently operate a heavy excavator, grader, high speed compactor, and bulldozer. While he is trained on all of these pieces of equipment, his specialty is the heavy excavator – he operated it for more than 1000 hours, the equivalent of more than 40 days, during his deployment to Afghanistan.
“A lot of operators can operate almost anything out there, but some have a specialty. My specialty has ended up being HYEX,” explained Wylie. “When I get on something I want to excel at it. I love to run a HYEX, I get in there and I get in the zone. After 1000 hours of operating it in Afghanistan, it’s like home – you get in there and do what you have to do.”
Wylie’s experience in the HYEX allowed the Mississippi Army National Guard to process over 100 truckloads of gravel per day.
In addition to spending hours using his favorite piece of construction equipment, Wylie trained new soldiers on how to operate it.
Wylie summarized his method, “I try to think how I would want to be trained and not be forceful. It’s easy to get frustrated, but you try to take that frustration out of them.”
To Wylie, safety is important.
“We’ve been spread out and close. We need to make sure the equipment has space to maneuver and operate,” he explained. Safety is a priority when training new soldiers, and Wylie says that he always emphasizes basic safety principles, and places an emphasis on ensuring students are, “looking when they back up, they are not speeding, and that they are doing the right thing at the right time.”
With soldiers like Cannon and Wylie leading the pack, it is no wonder the Mississippi Army National Guard has the strong reputation it does.
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2016 09:55 |
| Story ID: | 203600 |
| Location: | NOVO SELO, BG |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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