Engineers build the force
Posted 2/24/2011
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Commentary by Terry Edwards
Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment
2/24/2011 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Force engineers trace their roots to World War I and the construction work they did to build the military's early flying schools. In the more than 90 years since, engineers have played an integral role in developing the Air Force's global airpower projection capability while sustaining the home installation.
No matter the location or circumstances, engineers have planned, designed, built, maintained and sustained installations and facilities -- the Air Force's warfighting platforms -- to ensure the mission to fly, fight and win ... in air, space and cyberspace could continue unabated.
The National Professional Society of Engineers sponsors Engineers Week each year to celebrate the contributions of engineers and encourage today's youth to pursue engineering careers. This year's celebration, the 60th anniversary of the event, takes place Feb. 20 through 26. The observance is held around President George Washington's birthday, because many view the nation's first president, who was also a military engineer and land surveyor, as America's first engineer.
From air and water quality to construction and remediation, engineers at the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment make contributions daily in various areas of engineering. As a field operating agency of the Air Force Civil Engineer at the Pentagon, AFCEE officials manage the Air Force's military and housing construction, environmental restoration and military family housing privatization programs.
The engineers who conduct the mission here, at three regional offices in Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco, and at more than a dozen other locations around the globe, follow in the footsteps of the Air Force engineers who established the legacy of excellence we strive to honor and maintain today.
Name a significant event in military history, and you will find engineers' hands involved. Engineers were among the troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. By D-Day evening, engineers had constructed an emergency landing strip on Utah Beach. In the two weeks that followed, engineers had completed four airfields in Normandy that supported the fighter-bomber groups the Allies relied on to turn the tide of World War II. By Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945, engineers had constructed or repaired for use nearly 250 airfields.
Engineers went on to meet the challenges of airfield and other troop-support projects in Korea, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia from the 1950s to present. As the Air Force's global operations evolved, so did the mobility of the engineers to meet the needs of these advanced capabilities. In the relatively short Operation Desert Storm campaign, for example, engineers supported the bed-down needs of more than 55,000 personnel and 1,500 aircraft at 25 locations. This effort often involved building an expeditionary base from the ground up -- runways, utilities, barracks and tent compounds, dining facilities and latrines, roadways, force protection hardening, and myriad other projects required to launch and sustain air operations from highly remote areas.
I am proud to be an engineer in the Air Force and to continue the achievements of the great engineers who brought us to this point in our history. We have some similar and some very different challenges than our forebears, but we share their same drive and desire to sustain the force. At AFCEE, we focus on providing excellent installations to the warfighter, and we never lose sight of our purpose. We're here to serve the country and the men and women who wear the uniform and put themselves in harm's way to preserve our freedom.
For more information on Engineers Week and programs to promote engineering in the workplace and in schools year round, visit the National Engineers Week Foundation website at www.eweek.org. |
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