Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jason Edwards | Tech. Sgt. Ricky Johnson, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron construction...... read more read more
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With this team the old cliché rings true — 'it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.'
That "somebody", rolling in with heavy machinery and getting the job done, isn't just anybody, it is the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron heavy equipment shop known as the Dirt Boyz.
The Dirt Boyz are a team of 30 heavy equipment operators from nine different bases trained to use various pieces of equipment including backhoes, compactors, excavators, dump trucks, sweepers and paving machines.
The Dirt Boyz operate these machines to complete numerous tasks around the base from setting up the concrete barriers around the base that provide security, road blocks and parking lot control to simply lifting the large fuel tanks on and off fuel trucks, said Master Sgt. Robert Glasco, 379 ECES heavy equipment operator NCO in charge, deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
The Dirt Boyz may work mostly behind the scenes, but their job is essential to the overall mission and security of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.
"Seeing an aircraft launch from the runway, watching a truck roll down the taxiway or simply seeing someone walk into their building on a sidewalk that we constructed are some of the things that make me feel proud of what we are doing here, said Master Sgt. Adam Brothers, 379 ECES heavy equipment operator assistant NCO in charge, deployed from Patrick AFB, Fla. "All of these things have one thing in common, the Dirt Boyz of the 379 ECES made it all possible."
The Dirt Boyz do not just restrict their duties to the 379 AEW. If anyone on base needs their help, they will go out of their way to get the job done, Brothers said.
Recently, the Dirt Boyz helped the Navy connect high voltage cables by digging trenches to lay the cables in, Brothers said. They also helped the Royal Australian Air Force dismantle wing stands for its C-130J-30 Hercules, using lifts to unfasten bolts 20 feet off the ground.
If they are asked to do a job, even if they have never done it before, they will find a way to get it done, Glasco said.
"We were asked to design anchors for the Patriot weapon's radar systems," Glasco said. "We had never done this before, but we sat down and came up with a plan. After we anchored the first radar we sat down again and refined the process. We have now completed the anchoring job here as well as at two other Patriot weapon system sites within the AOR."
Their 'can do' attitude, no matter what the job, is the reason the Dirt Boyz are so well respected on base and throughout the U.S. Military.
"The hours are long and the work is hard, but we know our hard work is worth the effort, because our work is literally under the feet and wheels of the [379 AEW] people and vehicles every day," Glasco said.
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2009 02:56 |
| Story ID: | 41579 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 346 |
| Downloads: | 253 |
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