Rafting Down the Mississippi

FOUNTAIN CITY, WI, UNITED STATES

05.07.2017

Story by Sgt. Elizabeth Raney 

343rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

The Soldiers worked together to assemble a six-bay float raft on the Mississippi River and maneuvered it using Mark II Bridge Erection Boats.
U.S. Army Reserve 1st Sgt. David Blair, of the 401st Eng. Co. at Fort Smith, Ark., explained the mission.
“We’re doing rafting operations,” he said. “We’re taking two Humvees five miles up and drop them, pick them up, and come back.
“They’re doing their job,” he continued, “They’re actually getting to put their hands on the equipment and getting proficient in their tasks and skills. They’re excited to do their job, they’re excited to be out here doing it, and they’re having fun doing it.”

U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Brandon Quail, a native of Marathon, New York, and observer-coach-trainer with the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, said rafting operations are needed often.
“This mission is to get these guys familiarized with rafting vehicles up and down stream for any type of combat zone or any real world situation,” he said. “In just about every battle zone, this is needed. There are a lot of rafting operations that go on.”
Though bridge and raft operations are not everyday occurrences for these Soldiers, the Soldiers, leaders, and observer-coach-trainers made sure the proper safety precautions were taken, both on and off the water-crafts.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Graham, a combat engineer assigned to the Active Component/Reserve Component of the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is an OC/T for the 401st Eng. Co.
“There’s a lot of very dangerous pinch points on these rafts, and cables going around, and the like so they wear their protective equipment,” he said. “If they fall in the water with the pants bloused, water gets trapped inside the uniform and can weigh you down. So, they unblouse so any water can come right out of the bottom of the trousers.”
For U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jermaine Rhodes, a resident of Fort Smith, Ark., and combat engineer with the 341st Eng. Co., the benefits of the training were immediate and essential.
“It’s really great. They are very excited because a lot of them are green, fresh out of basic and AIT [advanced individual training], so they’ve really only had one field training prior to this. Here, they get the training they need as they progress and they know their job,” he said.

• Date Taken: 05.07.2017
• Date Posted: 05.08.2017 13:45
• Story ID: 233030
• Location: FOUNTAIN CITY, WI, US