BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN – Engineers normally work in platoon or company size elements but for the hard working Wranglers from the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade, they have assisted in de-scoping Bagram Air Field and parts of Afghanistan as a two-man shop.
Capt. Rachel M. Hardesty a Neoga, Illinois native and Staff Sgt. Jeremy J. Hodson a Flint, Michigan native are in charge of de-scoping operations for the Wrangler brigade here on BAF.
The Wranglers are in charge of maintaining multiple land parcels on BAF ranging in various sizes from one acre to 150 acres.
They are responsible for ensuring these parcels are properly maintained which includes the cleanliness, sanitation of unwanted structures, and ensuring proper security for equipment stored on certain parcels or the tenants that live there.
“They (BAF) have given us 110 parcels, and our job is to manage those whether it is our tenants or other units on that land and ensure that they keep the area clean, free of debris, and remove any unused or unwanted equipment, buildings, or containers. Any assistance they need we will provide that for them,” said Hodson. “We manage about 60 percent of BAF with just two people.”
Hardesty and Hodson have to inspect all the parcels routinely to prepare for de-scope missions, maintenance or inventory of barriers, housing units and other structures to be utilized in other areas around BAF. This ensures that all of the assets are being properly utilized or removed inadvertently saving the tax payer’s dollars and preventing waste.
“Managing the parcels is a giant part of our mission here in Afghanistan,” said Hardesty.
Hardesty and Hodson have completed more than 170 projects on BAF de-scoping many of those projects by coordinating with contractors to execute the mission or they take it upon themselves to de-scope smaller structures. By de-scoping certain projects themselves they speed up the downsizing of BAF and also save man hours and resources that can be utilized for larger projects.
The wooden structures on BAF are being de-scoped to make way for more efficient structures or they sanitize the grounds the structures were on to reduce the footprint left by them.
Hardesty said that the wooden structures on BAF require a large amount of cost to maintain due to the time it takes to heat and cool those buildings, and the buildings longevity is also shorter. By replacing those buildings with more permanent structures they reduce the cost of maintenance and also provide better protection against indirect fire.
“One of the projects we completed ourselves took a full day to tear down and then we had to get a dumpster to dump the wood in,” said Hardesty. “The second part of the project only took half a day and that was tearing down a stairwell, a shed, and a big water blivet.”
The Wrangler engineer team said that their mission is very challenging but they feel like they have accomplished a lot of work since they have been here and it helps that they can see a finished product.