The Maine Army National Guard 185th Engineer Support Company is conducting their annual training (AT) this month at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada in order to improve their unit capabilities, proficiency, and relations with Canadian forces.
The company is working with the Canadian Army in order to restore and rebuild roads and training sites as part of exercise Strident Tracer.
“This AT were doing Strident Tracer, we’re building our relationship with the Canadian Military while also helping them with their training grounds,” said Spc. Brad E. Jamison, an engineer with the 185th.
Strident Tracer, is the culminating training event for the 5th Canadian Division. This year American units were invited to join the training event in order to mutually benefit both militaries.
Soldiers are repairing roads, constructing a foundation pad for a future structure, and removing debris from old buildings using various construction vehicles.
Dump trucks continuously transport dirt to the construction site, delivering thousands of cubic yards of dirt and gravel throughout the week while rollers and graders compact and level the dirt to create a stable building pad.
“We have received missions from both American and Canadian units and we’ve been able to go out and support them,” said 1st Lt. Russell Boynton, the executive officer of the 185th. “We’ve worked on three different projects…we’ve grated about three miles of roads to increase the safety of operators driving on the range roads…where we’re at now at the Hersey Breaching site, it’s our largest project site so far and we’ve moved over 3,000 yards of dirt in just two days…”
Once the building site is completed, Canadian forces are slated to build a shoot house to further enhance their soldier’s tactical skills.
This project is not only giving Canadian forces a training site, but it’s giving new soldiers in the 185th an opportunity to see a project from start to finish.
Some soldiers are experiencing annual training for the first time, expanding their horizons within the Army and their understanding of joint force operations.
“I got out of school in May,” said Pvt. Thomas J. Hannigan, a new engineer with the company. “Jumping right into this was definitely an experience and a learning curve.”
Fortunately for Hannigan he has experienced peers and leaders like Jamison and Boynton to help show him the ropes.
“We did just take on a new private, we do have some new guys that only have three years in or so,” said Jamison. “This is very new to them. Finished product is definitely going to be very valuable to them. It’s one thing when you’re training but it’s another when you actually have to give something to another person.”
The soldiers and leadership of the 185th are thankful for this opportunity and look forward to working more with their Canadian counterparts in the future.
“I personally wish that we do so well that they invite us back,” said Jamison. “This is serious work, we’re giving this to the Canadians so it has to be done well.”
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.07.2016 11:53 |
| Story ID: | 208971 |
| Location: | CANADAIN FORCES BASE GAGETOWN, NB, CA |
| Hometown: | AUGUSTA, ME, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 185th Engineer Support Company Conducts Joint Training, by SGT Jarod Dye, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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