Story by: Sgt. Frank Magni
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan ---- Extensive planning goes into every building, road and airstrip that's constructed in Afghanistan. Even before the plans can be drawn, surveyors document the landscape. And before the first shovel moves earth, surveyors discuss exactly where it needs to be moved.
As permanent construction continues throughout Operation Enduring Freedom, teams of surveyors are spread throughout Afghanistan to facilitate new projects.
On Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in eastern Afghanistan, the new construction on the drawing board is an airfield and the installation of lavatory facilities.
A three-man team from the 367th Engineer Battalion has a large impact on the total construction effort on the FOB in Paktika province.
Though each member of the team is from a different unit and hometown, their job in OEF is an opportunity to come together to accomplish an essential mission.
Using a Geodimeter, a system that automatically calculates elevation, northing and easting, the surveyors construct a computerized model of the terrain.
The bulk of their work is methodically canvassing the terrain by lining up the Geodimeter with a marking rod.
Predominately a two-man job, having three on a survey team keeps a person free to speed up the mission by compiling computer data, running another marking rod or simply helping the team move from place to place, said Sgt. Joseph Rivers, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 367th Eng. Bn., team leader.
"With having such a small team, it is nice to have another person," said Rivers.
As technical engineering specialists, each of the surveyors has a wide range of skills.
All have training in both computerized and manual drafting on horizontal and vertical projects, in addition to their surveying skills. They can also analyze soil samples.
"Our predominate mission here in Afghanistan has been surveying airfields," said Spc. Travis Clifford, HHC, 367th Eng. Bn.
At FOB Orgun-E, surveying the terrain before beginning construction on something as simple as a flat stretch of land is still very important, said Clifford.
"Once the planners get a computer model of the land, they can plan for how much material or equipment they will need before coming out to this location," said Clifford.
For the lavatory project, the computer model they design will determine the location of the facilities.
"A lot of planning can be done based on what we find," said Rivers. "Because our information impacts so much in the planning phases, we do the most thorough job possible."
The battalion's ten-man survey section is organized into smaller groups during many of their missions, creating special relationships within the survey teams.
The team in Orgun-E began their relationship at advanced individual training, giving the members something to look forward to when coming to Afghanistan. Rivers volunteered for the mission once he knew who would be on his survey team.
"Once I knew who would be going, I did everything I could to come along," he said.
While every member of the Orgun-E team gets a great amount of satisfaction contributing his skills to Operation Enduring Freedom, all say working with friends takes the experience to another level.
Spc. Kenneth Thompson, HHC, 367th Eng. Bn., said one of his major motivations in creating a good product is knowing he is working with professionals.
"Working with these guys just makes all of this better," he said.
When the team takes their computerized model back to Bagram Air Base, the construction projects will move into a different stage of planning and, eventually, execution.
For the surveyors, it is on to a different mission in a different location.
"It is very satisfying to have our own little part of the mission," said Rivers. "What we do does matter and improves things in Afghanistan."