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Nestled in the foothills of the San Joaquin Valley lies one of the last vestiges of the oak riparian forest,
an area with a unique ecosystem where various animals and plant life exist in harmony. The Kaweah
Oaks Preserve allows visitors the ability to experience nature as it once was before settlements and
farming took over most of this area.
The 672 nd Engineering Company, out of Missoula, Montana, is spending five months at this site,
performing various repairs at the preserve and constructing a permanent restroom facility for the
visitors. They are working as part of the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program in which the Army
Reserve provides services for community programs and entities such as the Kaweah Oaks Preserve. The
idea behind the IRT program is to provide a community service while allowing Army Reserve units to
train and practice their skills. The 672 nd is proof that this program is very successful.
“Soldiers get a chance to learn their skills in the classroom and apply those skills with hands-on
experience,” explained First Lt. Renn Scott, executive officer of the 672 nd Engineer Company.
“Having five months out here give Soldiers the chance to do things right instead of having to rush
through a project, and enables the Soldiers the chance to do things they don’t always have the chance
to do in other missions. It really adds to their readiness as a unit,” said Scott.
The IRT mission also takes advantage of civilian skills and gives lower ranking Soldiers the chance to
teach higher ranking Soldiers new skills. This is unique in the Army Reserve; typically in the active
component of the Army, skills and experience come with rank. The civilian experience in the Reserve
adds to the capability of the unit.
After the project is over, the visitors to the Kaweah Oaks Preserve will enjoy updated facilities and the
Soldiers of the 672 nd will have additional construction skills that make them that much more of an asset
to the Army Reserve and active component of the Army.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2016 18:13 |
| Category: | Interviews |
| Video ID: | 465410 |
| VIRIN: | 160522-A-CR911-002 |
| Filename: | DOD_103333193 |
| Length: | 00:03:14 |
| Location: | US |
| Downloads: | 0 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 0 |
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