Post project proves power of partnerships

Photo By Terrance Bell | Troops from the 59th Ordnance Brigade walk across a tactical troop crossing during the brigade's culmination exercise July 30. It was built in roughly two weeks at a fraction of the estimated cost.  

RICHMOND, VA, UNITED STATES

08.03.2020

Story by Terrance Bell  

Fort Gregg-Adams

FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 3, 2020) -- Work on training ranges here that promote Army readiness continues to move forward in ways that are innovative, efficient and resourceful.

The latest example is a new tactical troop crossing in Training Area 14. Used for the first time July 30 by Soldiers participating in a 59th Ordnance Brigade field training exercise, the 20-foot structure with handrails crosses a deep creek bed, providing a path for units to austerely move from bivouac areas to training lanes nearby.

“I’m really happy we were able to get as much done in a short time as we did,” said Jason Walters, Integrated Training Area Management coordinator, of the two-week project he spearheaded in June. “I’m also ecstatic about the many people we had to support it. This has been a success story from start to finish.”

Walters cited savings of more than $127,000, explaining that an initial construction and material estimate of just over $140,000 was whittled to a mere $12,500 as a result of donated materials and free labor.

The range control team knew Virginia Dominion Energy had been burying electric lines along Sisisky Boulevard and would likely have an abundance of telephone poles available. They asked, and the company delivered … more than 100 of them … enough to complete this project and a few others planned for the near future.

“We already identified two other locations that need similar troop crossings, and we’re going to need smaller versions to complete other trails. We now have enough stockpiled poles that we’re not going to have to purchase bridging materiel for any of these.”

The TA14 project also benefited from the ingenuity of Fort Lee Fire and Emergency Services personnel. One of their emergency response requirements is knowing how to rig a block and tackle pulley system that could be used in a situation such as a victim being trapped under a vehicle or building debris. They turned the range need into a training opportunity, coming up with a system that successfully moved heavy materials down the trail and across the creek bed.

“We weren’t allowed to bring heavy equipment to the site because of the historical features there (a series of fighting trenches built during World War I),” Walters said. “The bottom line is that we wouldn’t have been able to do it without the fire department’s help.”

After securing and moving the poles, the project carpenters went to work. Walters said Denis Todd and John Miller, both Range Operations employees, along with a team of contractors from Colorado State University, finished off the build.

“They did the brunt of the heavy lifting at that point,” he said of the team from CSU.

Walters further noted how he worked closely with the Environmental Management Division’s Cultural Resources Management team to ensure the project cleared administrative obstacles and did not impact the area’s historical features. That partnership also shortened the time originally projected to complete the project.

“We have been very fortunate to receive the contributions of so many,” Walters observed. “It probably would have taken us at least another year – maybe closer to two or not at all – to get the additional funding (for) the support trusses (that would have been needed in lieu of utility poles if Dominion did not provide them).

“Nor did we have the expertise available for the engineering or sling/pulley system employed by the fire department to complete the TTC,” he continued.

“To be honest, I’m not certain we would have ever been able to complete the project in a manner that would have been adequate for the (historical) sensitivity of the site. A ‘normal’ engineered effort would have required large-scale excavation work that would not have been approved by the Environmental Management Division.”

The Tactical Troop Crossing is one of many enhancements made to installation training ranges over the past two years. Others include the expansion of TA 23 as well as the addition of grenade practice ranges supporting each training brigade.

• Date Taken: 08.03.2020
• Date Posted: 08.03.2020 16:34
• Story ID: 375186
• Location: RICHMOND, VA, US