Photo By Staff Sgt. Brianna Passi | Sgts. Sgts. Trevor Wassel, a carpentry and masonry specialist, 210th Engineer...... read more read more
DEVILS LAKE, North Dakota - Devils Lake is one of North Dakota’s four-season tourist destinations where people usually go to get away and enjoy recreational sports like ice fishing or camping. However, this year, Devil’s Lake welcomed about 25 members of the New Hampshire Army National Guard (NHARNG) for their 13-day engineer annual training.
Members of Detachment 1, 185th Engineer Support Company (ESC), 210th Engineer Detachment, and Detachment 1, 262nd Engineer Construction Company (ECC) all came together to hone in on their tactical, practical, and leadership skills at Camp Grafton.
Units within the Army National Guard have mission-essential task lists (METL) and training and evaluation outlines (T&EO) which consist of lists of measurable designated capabilities that a unit should be able to proficiently perform according to the unit’s assigned mission.
“That’s the reason for coming out here is the Army has this massive list of T&EO and METL that we need to perform,” explains 2nd Lt. Jacob Rolfe, Engineer Officer with Det. 1, 185th ESC.
“This [Camp Grafton] is a training haven for engineers across the U.S. and saw all of the projects and opportunities to perform tasks that we can’t in New Hampshire,” he added. “The training here allows us to practice skills that we haven't done before, measure them, record them, work on them for future use, and then put them into action at a later date.”
There were four projects simultaneously being completed during annual training: replacing siding on a building used by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to train their police officers, completing a building by constructing rafters, trusses, putting on shingles, and re-siding it so it can be used for room clearing training, grubbing roads using an excavator, front end loader, and 20-ton dump truck, and, lastly, running electrical conduit, putting in switches and outlets in a building that will be set up as a permanent tactical operations center.
This year was only the second year in the last 15 that significant electrical work was a part of annual training due to training restrictions in New Hampshire.
“Electrical work is really hard to find,” explains Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Howard, Detachment noncommissioned officer in charge with the Det. 1, 262nd ECC.
“It's a big morale thing just getting to experience something different and we are doing our actual jobs out here.”
Operating heavy machinery such as the excavator, front end loader, and 20-ton dump truck is a vital skill needed for NHARNG members with a 12N heavy equipment operator military occupational specialty (MOS). Conducting annual training at Camp Grafton provided the opportunity for these guardsmen to hone in on their abilities to effectively perform their MOS.
“Due to equipment shortages we don't have excavators in the unit even though we are supposed to have them,” said Howard.
“So them [NHARNG Soldiers] getting some time on that equipment, where we weren't going to be able to do that in New Hampshire, was a big selling point to coming out here as well.”
“I think any kind of training is important when you're in an engineering unit,” stated Spc. Stephen Smith, a carpentry and masonry specialist with the Det 1., 185th ESC.
“If you have people that don’t do this full time, the only time they really swing a hammer is with the Army. So It’s important that, you know, when we are here, that we are getting in every kind of aspect of construction that we can.”
Smith is one of the few engineering NHARNG Soldiers that does carpentry and masonry as his civilian full-time job as well. He stated that he knew he wanted to get into carpentry when he was around 6 or 7 years old and was given a small hammer, nails, and a couple pieces of wood as a gift.
“[The NHARNG] kicked off my career in carpentry because I knew I wanted to become a carpenter but it was kind of tough to find the right kind of job where I could have no experience and be helpful and learn,” said Smith.
“That's the reason I chose the MOS as a carpenter in the Army. So that I could get that training and get that head start so that I could get a job on the civilian side with some experience already.”
Carpentry, masonry, construction, heavy machine operating, and conducting interior electrician tasks were not the only things evaluated during the 13 days.
There have been a lot of recent promotions in the units that has allowed new Sgts. and Staff Sgts. to move into new leadership roles such as crew leads or project supervisors.
“A lot more people are jumping into some leadership roles so that's been a positive too,” added Howard.
“Regardless of rank, it allows them to step up and be leaders. So if you're a Spc. and you do it [construction] on the outside, you might know more than a Sgt., MOS wise, so the focus with those people is more leadership.”
This annual training marks Rolfe’s first annual training as an officer after spending years as an engineer enlisted Soldier before recently completing the accelerated Officer Candidate School and becoming a 2nd Lt.
As Rolfe reflects on his time in the engineering field, he states, “to become an engineer you will have more opportunity to go and perform a mission and see a tangible result than any MOS.”
“You are building the thing in front of you, utilizing it, and you come back year after year,” he added. “You look around after a long time and realize ‘wow, this is a significant impact of physical things we’ve built for the army,’ that’s a good feeling.”
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2023 12:16 |
| Story ID: | 450209 |
| Location: | DEVILS LAKE, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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