Photo By Staff Sgt. Michelle Brooks | 152nd Civil Engineer Squadron members pose for a group photo during Deployment For...... read more read more
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Airmen from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Civil Engineer Squadron (152 CES) traveled to Moron Air Base, Spain for Deployment for Training (DFT) June 17-July 2, 2023.
The group of 28 engineers were tasked with main projects which included: constructing a communications storage facility, demolition of 150 yards of railroad tracks, asphalt, and crushed stone to create a concrete pavement approach for an existing ramp and unloading for semi trucks, removal of debris, in addition to clearing airfield obstructions, which included a finishing grade, eliminating three airfield waivers that were hazardous to aircraft operations. 152 CES also worked on other smaller projects while there.
“The Nevada Air Guard came in and hit the ground running; they were motivated and excited to get started,” stated Capt. Theresa Bowie, Civil Engineer officer with the 201st Red Horse Squadron, Fort Indian Town Gap, Pa. and duration staff Officer In Charge of DFT operations at Moron Air Base stated, “This is a unique environment that we’re working in, and they’ve been resilient, flexible, and persistent. We’ve really come together to ensure we’ve maintained focus and are on track for our projects.”
In addition to extreme heat which ranged over 100 degrees daily during the projects, the 152 CES faced other challenges during the DFT which tested their resilience, while also increasing readiness for future operations.
“Being in another country, there is a different way of constructing buildings and a different way of laying concrete pavement,” said Maj. Brent Nasset, 152nd Civil Engineer Squadron Officer in Charge of the DFT, “We had issues from material on-site that was available to us, and some of the design for what we were doing was not fully finished or vetted. We had to recreate and rework designs. That caused a delay because we had to buy materials off of the Spanish market. It’s all metric and it’s all different building materials than we’re used to. It created some constraints and also it’s work that we haven’t done a lot of.”
The DFT provided the 152 CES Airmen the opportunity to enhance and test their skills. Senior Airman Jordan Yurmanovic, an apprentice heavy equipment operator in pavements and equipment with the 152nd civil engineers, experienced his first DFT with the civil engineers. “This was my first time out of the country and it was a great experience and team effort,” said Yurmanovic, “I was the only heavy equipment operator, and I was able to apply my knowledge to help my team and this base. It was hard and challenging work, but I am proud of what we got done in Spain.”
Many of the Airmen assigned to various projects were tested in a discipline in which they had limited experience. For example, of the 16-person crew assigned to concrete work, only two members had experience in that specialty. Similarly, the structural crew working on the communications storage building were from various other specialties including power production, plumbing and HVAC. Through these training experiences, the civil engineers were able to increase their collective capacities and versatility as a squadron. This not only helped the Airmen on the team, the base in Spain, and it also highlights the concept of Multi-Capable Airmen (or MCA), Airmen trained in expeditionary skills and capable of accomplishing tasks outside of their core Air Force specialty. Specifically, these personnel are often trained as a cross-functional team to provide support to Agile Combat Employment force elements. They are enabled by cross-utilization training and can operate as part of a team in an expeditionary environment to accomplish mission objectives within acceptable levels of risk--which carries on the Air Force Doctrine 1-21 the Air Force's first doctrine publication on Agile Combat Employment, implemented by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. in December of 2021.
“This is a great opportunity for our squadron,” said Nasset. “It’s a great opportunity for the members to experience something they don’t normally do during home station. A lot of people were training, so that took time to get everyone spun up, but everyone worked hard to lean in and accomplish the mission.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2023 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 448514 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 416 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Paving the Path: 152nd civil engineers utilize Multi-Capable Airmen concept and improve Spanish air base and increase squadron readiness, by SSgt Michelle Brooks, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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