LASNA , Estonia – Soldiers from the 902nd Engineer Construction Company, 15th Engineer Battalion, United States Army spend months improving military infrastructure and widening community ties in Estonia during Operation Resolute Castle.
The United States Armed Services and NATO are teaming up in Eastern Europe to improve relationships, embolden local economies, and increase the number of joint military trainings in the region. Unlike other operations in the area – Operation Dragoon Ride, Operation Sarmis, Operation Anakonda – which focus on joint simulated combat operations, Operation Resolute Castle encompasses a set of military engineering goals. The operation stretches from Bulgaria through Romania, Hungary, and into Estonia. Since 2015, the Tennessee Army National Guard has held command over Operation Resolute Castle, and was picked to hold this command because of the decades long partnership between Tennessee and Bulgaria.
The 902nd Engineer Construction Company’s role in this Operation is to spend several months improving infrastructure near Lasna, Estonia and on the Estonian Military’s Central Training area.
Their numbers are impressive. They have completed nearly four kilometers of two-way road for a live fire range capable of supporting military vehicles which weigh over 60 tons. They have laid over 10,000 square feet of concrete foundation. Their executive officer, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Likins-Smith, has ordered 44.3 metric tons of gravel, 47 thousand yards of geotextile road support material, 418 cubic yards of concrete, nearly 10 tons of rebar, and over 12 tons of lumber, all of it used for the improvements.
Their improvements to the work-flow of the military infrastructure are impressive as well. Laundry is collected twice a week and processed by a local business. Mail is collected and deliver to the post. New recycling programs are responsible for 4000 recycled plastic bottles and cans. A new morale and wellness store was also created for the post, supplying snacks and beverages to the soldiers, the profits going back to the unit to pay for a custom challenge coin for every soldier that deployed to Estonia.
A different road to partnership is being built by the 902nd in Vohnja, Estonia. Not one of sand and rock, but of trust and friendship. The Headquarters section has offered to build a playhouse for the school, as well as a footbridge for the students to safely cross the stream behind the school. This gesture was readily been met in kind. Those that visited the school were invited back for the following day’s festivities to celebrate the students’ final day of school for the year. Additionally the teacher Kadi opened her home to a group of soldiers for an archery lesson.
As a thank you to the Gladiators teacher Kadi, a former competitive archer, invited 13 soldiers to her home for a lesson on the fundamentals of archery. She began with describing the equipment and its proper use. Then followed up with a detailed block of instruction on proper technique and form. The soldiers then lined up and fired volleys from 10, 15, and 20 meters to practice the fundamentals and familiarize themselves with adjusting aim depending on distance. Once everyone was comfortable they were lead on a mock hunt across the property to five artificial animal targets at varied distances and different firing positions. Meanwhile a score was kept for each soldier and at the end everyone was given a certificate with their name and score.
A strong coalition will be built through the cooperation of nations as well as the interoperability of their military forces. A true alliance includes acts of selfless service and demonstration of the friendship one hopes to gain.