Photo By Capt. Aaron Peskuski | 1st Lt. Ramond is now the executive officer of the Illinois Army National Guard’s...... read more read more
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Marseilles, Ill. – Over 150 soldiers of the 661st Engineer Construction Company, 123rd Engineer Battalion, 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, completed two weeks of intensive training May 31 to June 13, at Marseilles Training Center in Illinois to prepare for a deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
And while accomplishing this vital training, the Engineers also improved the infrastructure at Marseilles Training Area making it a better place for Soldiers to train well into the future.
“For this annual training, we are completing our external evaluation and are preparing for our mobilization,” said Capt. Larnell Brown, Company Commander. “We will be going overseas to support CENTCOM doing engineering operations to increase and aid survivability operations overseas. Not only will it give our Soldiers opportunities to do their jobs, but in the future the local population, and any Soldiers stationed there, will have more sustainable living habitat and sound infrastructure.”
1st Lt. Michael Raymond served as an Infantryman with the 82nd Airborne. “In 2009 and 2010, I was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq,” said Raymond. “I was previously enlisted as an E-3, and I was working primarily as base security in Baghdad. The biggest change for me is going from lower enlisted to a leader. I’ll be the executive officer of an engineer construction company as a commissioned officer. Now, I’m leading Soldiers and making them successful.” His mission has also changed from his last deployment to the Middle East. “Instead of being primarily security, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we’re going over there doing a base buildup,” he said.
The 661st Engineer Company and 123rd Engineer Battalion honed their construction skills at Marseilles Training Center by continuing to improve an area that they have worked in before. The 661st Engineer Company and 631st Engineer Support Company worked together to complete a new leader’s reaction course near a battalion-built rappelling tower. They also worked together to build a new gravel road turnaround, a tank ditch, and tank and Infantry vehicle fighting positions using bulldozers, graders, compactors and other engineering equipment.
The unit’s surveyors measured the elevation of several projects using Trimble S7 survey equipment including a battalion-built running track. The 661st Engineers were evaluated on their ability to complete these tasks while maintaining perimeter security and responding to enemy probes and threats.
Their fellow units in the battalion completed additional projects. The 631st Engineer Support Company used over 2,500 tons of rock to expand a parking lot near a rifle range tower. The battalion had previously built the rifle range tower. During this annual training, they installed a French Drain in a parking lot. A French Drain diverts standing water away from infrastructure, Meanwhile, the 616th Engineer Detachment made repairs to the stairs and balconies of the Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain training site.
And the Soldiers trained on the individual tasks they need to survive in combat.
“We've got Army Warrior Tasks and drills going,” said 1st Sgt. Jacob Stegall of Rio, Ill, “We are training on medical response, tactical situational training exercises, improvised explosive device identification, individual weapons qualification and many other tasks … It's important for Soldiers to know the basics like medical evacuation reports. We hope not to be in contact with the enemy downrange, but it's important that they know these things for any mission.”
The 661st Engineers conducted a Soldier readiness program, a physical health assessment, individual weapons qualifications, practiced land navigation, troop leading procedures and other Army Warrior Tasks to hone their individual and collective readiness and prepare for their deployment.
The 661st Engineer Construction Company is part of the 123rd Engineer Battalion that has horizontal construction and engineering capabilities, as well as firefighting capabilities. The 404th Maneuver Enhanced Brigade has a dual responsibility to support the Illinois Governor for domestic operations, such as disaster relief, and can also be mobilized in support of the President of the United States for federal military support.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2025 14:25 |
| Story ID: | 500448 |
| Location: | MARSEILLES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | SPARTA, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 885 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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