Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Carmen Fleischmann | Senior leaders of the Florida National Guard join members of the Florida Highway...... read more read more
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Florida National Guard senior leaders joined members of the Florida Highway Patrol Training Academy for the groundbreaking of the Advanced Vehicle Operations & Training Complex in Havana, just outside Tallahassee, on Tuesday. The 83rd Troop Command's 868th Engineer Company Horizontal Construction and the Florida Air National Guard's 202nd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (REDHORSE) will combine their unique skills over the next few months to complete this facility, which will provide advanced training in driving and vehicle operations to law enforcement officers.
“This is an opportunity for them to leave an enduring mark on our state and help the public safety community and the Highway Patrol by providing this track,” said Brig. Gen. Paul B. “Trey” Chauncey II., The Assistant Adjutant General - Army - Training Installations and Programs.
Soldiers and Airmen will spend nearly 18,000 man-hours on this project, and Chauncey assured the public about the success of this mission moving forward.
“I am certain this is going to be a very positive outcome. We look forward to the day when we can come back and see it in action,” said Chauncey.
After the project is completed, the Florida Highway Patrol will receive a state of the art training facility, where they can prepare themselves to respond effectively and safely throughout Florida’s roadways. From the Florida National Guard standpoint, both Army and Air units get a rare opportunity to exercise their skillset. As engineers, it’s often difficult to find a venue in which to hone their skills, let alone produce something of value that will last for several years. This project allows them to do just that and at the same time benefits interagency partners, which is one of the strategic goals of the FLNG.
“The Florida National Guard is committed to its interagency partners, not just during times of crises, but year round,” said Maj. Gen. Michael A. Calhoun, The Adjutant General of Florida. “This project in conjunction with Florida Highway Patrol ensures that we are constantly working to serve Florida and its communities.”
The 868th Engineer Company is essentially responsible for the site prep of this project, which will take place over the next six weeks, alternating a different platoon every two weeks before the Air assets can move in. Over the last five days, the first platoon was already able to clear connecting dirt roads that led to the main location of the construction and the site of the groundbreaking ceremony.
That same team will continue clearing and grubbing the remaining acres, while ensuring no sensitive environmental areas are damaged. Once that footprint is set, the next group will bring the soil to a certain amount of density in order for the REDHORSE engineers to come in and pave the track. After that, the Florida National Guard’s role in the project will be complete and the units involved will have a completed mission of which to be proud.
“When we do training missions, we’ll build and then cover it up, and then maybe next drill build it again, so there’s really no heart and soul in it because we know it doesn’t really mean anything. But out here, what we’re building is history,” said Sgt. 1st Class Robby Creech with the 868th. “Not only are we getting good training, we’re helping a good cause and it’s something we can be very proud of. These guys are putting their heart and soul into it.”
While Army and Air engineers working together is monumental, Col. Robert Niesen, commander of the 202nd REDHORSE, says the true coordination began prior to even breaking ground, with regards to organizing assets, coordinating resources, and ensuring proper management of personnel and equipment. Once everyone gets down to work, it all becomes second nature for his well-trained Airmen and the Soldiers that proceed them. And while his 70 Airmen that make up the REDHORSE have a training location to test their skills, he too sees the lasting impact this type of project has for them.
“We have an area where the guys can go out and train and get the basics down, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing tangible left behind, nothing they can look and feel that they accomplished,” said Niesen. “They haven’t actually had to work within a set of parameters and produce a product that has to meet a target goal.”
After the Army teams move out and Niesen’s Airmen move in, he estimates their piece of the project will take two to four weeks. Manpower is somewhat limited as many of the REDHORSE members have just returned from Beyond the Horizon 2018, which was a combined readiness exercise between U.S. Army South and El Salvador government agencies that provided medical and construction programs for communities throughout El Salvador.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2018 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 284755 |
| Location: | HAVANA, FL, US |
| Hometown: | ST. AUGUSTINE, FL, US |
| Hometown: | TALLAHASSEE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 214 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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