307 CE Airmen support Youngstown ARS

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 307th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale AFB, La. --  When there's a unit within the Air Force family that needs help, all they have to do is ask. Somewhere, someone else is willing to lend a helping hand, or 56. On Aug. 3, 2012, a C-130H2 Hercules transport and cargo aircraft from the 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Vienna, Ohio, picked up a group of 307th Bomb Wing Airmen at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and took them back to Youngstown, to do just that.

Those Airmen, who are assigned to the 307th Civil Engineer Squadron, spent their two weeks of Annual Tour at Youngstown ARS, working with the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron to assist in the building of a Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force (Prime BEEF) training area for the 910th CES.

Civil engineer units are required to perform construction projects, bivouacs, and recurring hands-on technical training activities, many of which are required to be performed outdoors. This new dedicated area will allow us to fulfill engineer and readiness training requirements under realistic austere conditions that are perfect for simulating a deployed environment, said Senior Master Sgt. Karen Satterfield, who is the superintendent for the heavy equipment shop at the 910 CES.

According to Satterfield, bivouac training activities in the past, which include erection and use of small shelter systems, have been conducted in an open field subject to weather and drainage problems, and heavy equipment operations training was also limited to another separate area.

From the planning stage to where the 910 CES is today, the future Prime BEEF training area has not come without challenges.

"Two years ago funding came in with a time frame for this project to be completed," said Satterfield. "We realized we were going to need some help to meet the deadline. So, a message was sent out for assistance."

The 307 BW is one of the units that answered the call.

During their two weeks at Youngstown, 307 CES personnel assisted with facilitated grading and drainage for a troop assembly/training area, and surveying the readiness training site to provide accurate maps of locations of perimeter fencing, towers, defensive fighting positions, and tent pads. But, the main focus was the construction of a 60' x 120' Pre-Engineered Building.

The metal building will house classrooms for training.

"We really wanted to get the building done before we left," said Chief Master Sgt. Randall Noble, civil engineer superintendent, 307 CES. "But, it's a month long job, and we were only there for two weeks."

"The crew has given me everything I've asked for, and they were working on a building none of us had ever seen before," he said. "We wanted to get it done so badly, but time and mother natural never seem to cooperate when you want them to, so we battled the elements for a couple of days and worked hard during the time we had."

"Moral was good and we all became a team quicker than usual," Noble said. "It rained a bit and we worked right through it, but there were no complaints. This has been one of the best working crews I've ever deployed with."

To their credit, the 307 CES Airmen left Youngstown ARS with the landscape on base visibly changed. The skeleton of the PEB was up and the metal siding had been started. Drainage systems are in, site pads have been poured, fields are graded and DFPs have been constructed.

"We are so grateful that Barksdale was good enough to stand up and send a team out," said Satterfield. "They were outstanding and put us ahead of the game as far as this building goes."

"The (307 CES) has done nothing but impress everybody here, from the commander on down. This has been good training for these guys," she said. "They're one hard working bunch, and we would love to have them back."

The training site is scheduled to be completed by the end of September. Another team is scheduled to arrive soon to help finish the construction and concrete work in the building.

When completed, the Prime BEEF training area will be a fenced and gated compound that will contain training equipment and facilities. It will have HESCO type protective barriers subdividing portions of the compound for a realistic deployed location. There will be defensive fighting position structures, simulated utility (power, water, sanitation) distribution systems (electrical power pole, transformers, switchgear, water and wastewater valves, pumps and piping.

In the same area will be a heavy equipment and vehicle operations yard.

It may not be just the 910 CES benefiting from the hard work of so many different units. The Prime BEEF training area could also be used by other units to support Ability to Survive and Operate (ATSO) war fighting training activities, including shelter and vehicle hardening, construction and use of defensive fighting positions, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Emergency (CBRNE) Management exercises, Prime Readiness in Base Services (Prime RIBS) training and Security Forces training.

"This has been a great experience for our guys and they have many reasons to be proud about their accomplishments over the past two weeks," said Noble. "The 910 CES has been one of the most gracious host we've ever had. They're grateful and we were glad to be there."

"What strikes me so much about this assignment is the fact that our team was mostly Senior Airmen and younger NCOs. They just prove just how great our younger Airmen are," he said. "I'm very proud of what they have accomplished."

Airmen from the 307 CES did not completely finish the work needed at the training area, but they walked away from the project smiling, proud of what they as a team had accomplished at another Air Force base.

"This trip was an excellent opportunity for my Airmen to work outside of their specialties. Having the administration, utilities, HVAC, and heavy equipment operators learn about building structures makes us much more effective at our wartime mission," said Lt. Col. Charles Chapman III, commander of the 307th Civil Engineer Squadron. "Having a team that can work outside of their specialty is a force-multiplier for any commander. Not only does it provide squadron confidence in working together as a team, it gives me the flexibility to tailor the team to the task, moving personnel around as needed to fit the mission. These guys have proven time and time again that they are not afraid to work long and hard to get a job done. I am very proud of every one of them."