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    Whatever you do, strive to be the best

    Sgt. Cowan analyzes tanks lanes

    Photo By NaSwana Moon | Sgt. Cowan, an Army Reserve Soldier with the 702nd Engineer Company, looks over the...... read more read more

    CINCU, ROMANIA

    07.29.2017

    Story by NaSwana Moon 

    926th Engineer Brigade

    CINCU, Romania -- Sgt. Brandon Cowan was born in Asheville, NC, raised in the small town of Black Mountain, NC, and joined the Army Reserve while he was a junior in high school. He is a member of the 702nd Engineer Company, 844th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, which is a company located in Gray, TN. He is currently working as a member of the duration staff for Operation Resolute Castle 17, a multi-national NATO exercise at Joint National Training Center, Cincu, Romania.

    Cowan is a heavy equipment operator, and he works as a Horizontal Quality Assurance and Quality Control representative. With his experience, he performs his job more effectively because he has a significant amount of experience working with the same equipment and on similar projects

    As a Quality Assurance and Quality Control representative, his main focus is to “ensure high quality of all of our projects, such as the 350 moving armored targets, the light demo range, and the non-standard live fire lanes." He ensures that all projects are built to quality standards and are in accordance with the plans.

    Sgt. Cowan usually starts his day off by driving his HMMWV to different projects to talk with the supervisors about any issues that may have occurred due to equipment, planning, or terrain. His first stop was a tank battle position on the non-standard live-fire range. By the end of the day, Cowan visits all sites 3-4 times to answer any questions the constructing unit may have.

    Tanks will use this battle position to fire at armored targets which will be moving on a rail system located 2000 and 1800 meters away. He discussed the plans with the officer in charge of that lane and resolved minor issues that had occurred due to the terrain and the plans.

    As a civilian, Cowan works for a contractor that builds interstates and highways all over the south eastern region of the United States. He described how his civilian job complements his military, “I’ve learned a lot about the army standards as far as construction, and from a construction standpoint. How the army does things compared to the civilian side varies a little bit, so I have gotten the pleasure to grasp the military's way of doing construction.”

    Cowan’s family is very supportive of his military career. One of his favorite quotes that he applies to his life and work is something that his father always said: “Whatever you do, strive to be the best.” Cowan said that as a Quality Assurance and Control representative, as well as a non-commissioned officer, it is his job to do the best that he can.

    Sgt. Cowan also describes the value of working with their NATO allies on the projects “their officer in charge works closely with us, and back in February I met with Maj. Ciuta, who has been one of their main representatives. We work closely with him to this day.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.29.2017
    Date Posted: 07.30.2017 10:31
    Story ID: 243092
    Location: CINCU, RO
    Hometown: ASHEVILLE, NC, US
    Hometown: BIRMINGHAM, AL, US
    Hometown: BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC, US
    Hometown: GRAY, TN, US
    Hometown: MOBILE, AL, US
    Hometown: MONTGOMERY, AL, US

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