Army Reserve engineers end Iraq tour supporting troops in Afghanistan

Photo By 2nd Lt. Rebecca Linder | Sgt. Tyler Daniels, Bravo Company, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, Vermont Army National Guard, welds two poles together, Oct. 14, at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. Daniels is working with the 492nd Engineer Company, Minnesota Army Reserve to help complete seven pre-engineered buildings at Camp Phoenix, which will house more than 1,200 U.S. and coalition forces.  

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

10.18.2010

Story by Sgt. Rebecca Linder 

196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan – Soldiers deploying to support two wars in one year doesn’t happen often, but soldiers of the 367th Engineer Battalion and 492nd Engineer Company, both of the U.S. Army Reserve, have supported soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait. They are now supporting service members in Afghanistan.

Initially mobilized to help sustain construction projects for the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, these vertical engineers have taken on a new mission to finish construction projects in Afghanistan and provide more permanent-living space for troops within the Kabul Base Cluster in the capital region.

“The biggest reason this mission is important is that housing is a very limited commodity within the KBC, and there are a lot of troops that need to move in to accomplish missions. There just isn’t the permanent housing available right now,” said Capt. Joel Welter, 367th deputy of operations. “We want to move people into these buildings and out of tents before winter sets in.”

Relocating from Kuwait, these units have taken on a number of high-priority construction projects within the KBC, but the main focus is the pre-engineered buildings located on Camp Phoenix and Camp Alamo.

“A PEB refers to a building that essentially comes in a kit,” said Welter. “It comes together as subcomponents, and they are put together on site.”

A total of 10 PEBs are being worked on by this Minnesota-based unit for the next month and will complete as many of the PEBs as possible before finalizing their year-long tour.

To help bring these unfinished buildings up to code, the soldiers are ensuring electrical standards are in compliance and are safe for service members,” said Sgt. Jordan Dibble, electrical supervisor, 492nd.

Ensuring these buildings are safe comes with ease for these engineers – having had prior experiences with PEBs in Iraq – they are ready for the challenge and started working on the project within days of arriving to the construction site.

“The 492nd was actually selected for this mission based on their experience of putting together a pre-engineered building in Iraq,” said Welter of St. Anthony Village, Minn. “They had a large degree of success with that. It was a mission that sat idle for more than two years … and the 492nd rolled in with their 2nd platoon and actually knocked it out two months ahead of schedule.”

Because of their dedicated work, soldiers living in tents will soon be able to enjoy the comforts of living in permanent housing. The 10 two-story buildings, which will house more than 1,200 personnel, will contain rooms made for two people with showers and bathrooms located inside each building. Each room will also be wired to accommodate cable and electricity-needed items such as computers and lamps, said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Toleno, 492nd platoon sergeant.

“The electrical work we have started on will provide lighting, heat, air conditioning, outlets for utilities, fire alarms, which will all help to boost morale,” said Dibble, of Westbrook, Minn. “There are enough outlets to plug in what you need, not like in a tent where everyone is waiting around one outlet to use their computer.”

“All the soldiers are excited to be here, excited about the nature of the work they are doing and having the chance to do something gainful,” said Welter. “A lot of them haven’t had the chance to come here before and it is good to end the deployment on a positive note helping other service members.”

With the soldiers working eight to 12-hour shifts to complete as much as possible, they will be able to achieve their goal of providing more permanent housing for the troops serving in the KBC.

“I’m glad to be finishing up these buildings here so our troops can move out of the tents into these nicer buildings,” said Spc. Colton Rozeboom, electrician for the 492nd, of Sioux Center, Iowa. “It is going to be a good accomplishment for us ending our tour to improve the soldier’s way of living.”

• Date Taken: 10.18.2010
• Date Posted: 10.18.2010 08:36
• Story ID: 58304
• Location: KABUL, AF