[Khaan Quest 2025] An Army Engineer’s Journey in Mongolia

Photo By Capt. Anthony Kapelka | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Bryan Albertson, the executive officer assigned to 333rd Engineer Company, 365th Engineer Battalion, 302nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 412th Engineer Command, sits atop an Altec AC38-127S-EJ 38-Ton Boom on the road construction project between U.S. and Mongolian forces, during Khaan Quest 2025, at Five Hills Training Area in Mongolia, on June 24, 2025. Khaan Quest is an annual, multinational and multicomponent training exercise led by the Mongolian Armed Forces designed to promote regional peace and security. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Anthony Kapelka)  

FIVE HILLS TRAINING AREA, MONGOLIA

06.24.2025

Story by Capt. Anthony Kapelka 

207th Public Affairs Detachment

FIVE HILLS TRAINING AREA, Mongolia – Amid the rumble of heavy machinery and sifting clouds of dirt, U.S. Army engineers work alongside their Mongolian counterparts to carve a new road through the rugged terrain. Moving tons of earth each day, the bilateral team is laying the groundwork for a paved highway that will support future training and mobility in the region by connecting the nearby military training installation to the closest highway, Tovchoo Road. Leading the American effort is 1st Lt. Bryan Albertson, an officer whose passions for cooking, traveling, and the outdoors shape his approach to leadership in the field.

Albertson, the executive officer assigned to 333rd Engineer Company, 365th Engineer Battalion, 302nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 412th Engineer Command, has served in the U.S. Army for over three years. During that time, he has been afforded the chance to work with a handful of non-commissioned officers who have helped guide his growth and development as a junior officer.

“He has a very strong work ethic,” said Staff Sgt. Adam Bahrey, a horizontal construction engineer assigned to the 365th Engineer Battalion. “He was ambitious to learn about the equipment, the Soldiers’ tasks, and figuring out what tasks he and I worked together as platoon leader and platoon sergeant.”

Albertson, from Harrisonburg, Virgina, has always loved the mountains. He spent much of his life camping in the Shenandoah Valley and spending time in nature or in the kitchen with his family. For him, the steppes of Mongolia are reminiscent of home.

“I told our interpreter when we first got here, it feels a lot like home, because even when you look off into the distance, you notice how the mountains are very blue as they fade away, same way as the Blue Ridge Mountains,” said Albertson. “The hills are about the same size as the Appalachians, but at home they're just covered with forests instead of grassland.”

Growing up, he and his family made a tradition of camping in as many national parks as possible, having gone to 15 parks in total. One of the most memorable parks for Albertson was camping in the iconic Yosemite National Park when he was younger.

“It was awesome being out there in the mountains,” said Albertson. “Camping with my family, we saw wildlife that we don’t see back east, and being up in those mountains there, they’re just incredible, because they’re not to a scale that we see on the East Coast.”

In addition to Albertson’s love of the mountains and his home, he has a thrill for traveling abroad. For Albertson, a lifelong goal has been to visit every continent. His service in the U.S. Army has started to make that ambition become a reality. Last year, he was afforded the opportunity to travel to Hohenfels, Germany.

“When I joined the Army, the slogan was, ‘join the army, see the world,’” said Albertson. “Many Soldiers don’t believe they can see the world with the U.S. Army Reserves, however, I have been afforded the opportunity to go to multiple countries, like Germany and Mongolia, which has definitely shown me a different corner of the world.”

When asked about some of his favorite experiences of being in Mongolia so far, Albertson was quick to answer: the food. Much of the food served in the Mongolian dining facility involves beef, lamb, fish, and an assortment of different vegetables.

“We’ve had some good eats at the dining facility,” said Albertson. “I’d love to try my hand at home with some of these recipes. Recipes such as stir fry, wok cooking, noodle, and mutton, like the meals we’ve had here, to share at home.”

Though an engineer by trade, Albertson is also a skilled cook at home. As a child, his parents instilled in him the necessity and love for cooking. From an early age, his mother taught him and his siblings to cook a variety of meals, such as lasagna, burgers, and salmon, while his father taught him how to make steaks and tacos.

“My mom wanted to make sure that we knew how to cook, because you should always be able to cook some delicious food for yourself. And so we grew up, the kids, making two to three dinners a week just to learn how to do it,” said Albertson.

This method of learning to cook by his parents was similar to how the military trained Albertson his roles and responsibilities.

“When I was coming up as a cadet, I was taught to mentor Soldiers in the left-seat right-seat method,” said Albertson. “That is where a senior Soldier sits next to a junior Soldier, and shows them the way to operate the controls of the equipment until they can do it independently. Out here we are doing the same, pairing up one Mongolian and one U.S. Soldier side by side, making sure the Mongolian Soldier can pick up the finer points of equipment operating from our Soldiers.”

As Albertson has explored the world, he has also taken the time and insight to reflect on how cooking correlates to his position within the U.S. Army. He holds a similar mindset to cooking when it comes to being on a construction site: following guidelines and blueprints of a job to that of a recipe in the kitchen.

“Everything in construction needs to be by the book and properly executed, just like a recipe. If you don’t construct it all properly, then you’re going to end up with issues further down the line.”

“He’s one of the best platoon leaders I’ve worked with. His openness and willingness to work with the non-commissioned officers and ensure we are making the right decisions will make him a good captain in the future,” said Bahrey.

When reflecting on how he feels at the end of past jobs, Albertson likened his sense of accomplishment to completing a journey through the wilderness.

“I’d say in mindset terms, the biggest thing is seeing the payoff from all of your hard work, similar to when we execute a large job like this one,” Albertson said. “All of the hard work and sweat is made worth it by making it to the final portion and seeing the view at the end.”

• Date Taken: 06.24.2025
• Date Posted: 06.28.2025 07:04
• Story ID: 501799
• Location: FIVE HILLS TRAINING AREA, MN
• Hometown: HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA, US