Photo By Audrey Gossett | U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from the 401st Engineer Company conduct multi-role bridging...... read more read more
ENNIS, Texas - Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 401st Engineer Company spent the weekend of March 26-29 at Bardwell Lake conducting a multi‑day bridging exercise designed to train new troops and refresh skills that many in the unit had not practiced in years.
1st Lt. Jacob Hawkins, a platoon leader with the 401st, said the company specializes in wet-gap-crossing operations, building floating bridges and rafts that allow military vehicles and personnel to cross bodies of water when permanent infrastructure is damaged, unavailable or tactically unsuitable.
“We basically make bridges that float on water,” Hawkins said, noting that the unit uses specialized boats and modular bridge sections to create rafts capable of carrying Humvees, tanks and other heavy equipment. “Anytime we need people to get from one side of the water to the next, we can create a raft and take them across.”
The company recently relocated from Oklahoma to Seagoville, Texas, bringing in a wave of new soldiers. Hawkins estimated that roughly half the formation is fresh out of Advanced Individual Training, making this their first hands‑on experience with bridging operations.
“There’s not very many times in the military where you get to be on a boat or a bridge floating around,” he said. “Once you’re out on the water, you can see all the soldiers smiling. They’re having a good time. It’s great for morale.”
The training, which began Thursday and ran through Sunday, includes both day and night operations. Soldiers practiced deploying bridge bays, maneuvering boats, assembling rafts and transporting vehicles, skills that can be critical in real‑world missions.
Hawkins recalled a previous large‑scale exercise in which the unit moved an entire battalion across a river in a single night. “Between five and ten minutes, you can do a build,” he said. “It’s really cool to see how fast they can do this little Tetris act with the bridges.”
Capt. Charles LeBaron, the company commander, said the exercise also serves as a field training event for soldiers who have spent little time outside a classroom environment. “Getting them straight into a reserve unit that actually gets to go out into the field and practice their job is amazing,” LeBaron said.
The training was conducted in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Bardwell Lake. LeBaron praised the collaboration, calling USACE “a great partner to work with” and highlighting the value of having access to USACE‑managed facilities.
“They’re more than welcome to have us out here,” he said. “They get activity on their lake, they get publicity, and we get good training. It’s good for the engineer regiment as a whole.”
With clear skies, mild temperatures and open water, soldiers spent their nights camping near the shoreline—an experience Hawkins described as ideal for training and building camaraderie.
The 401st Engineer Company wrapped up operations Sunday afternoon before returning to its home station.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2026 15:07 |
| Story ID: | 562602 |
| Location: | ENNIS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Army Engineers Conduct Bridging Exercise at Bardwell Lake, by Chad Eller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
