15th Engineering Battalion puts its platoons to the test
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Army Pfc. David Miller, a plumber with 902nd Engineer Vertical Company, 15th Engineer Battalion, uses a jigsaw to cut lumber for the construction of a B-Hut May 12 in at the Hohenfels Training Area. Platoons from 902nd Eng. Co. built real-world projects while being evaluated on construction tactics, warrior tasks and interactions with simulated media and Afghan citizens. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Aislinn M. Amig)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Army Spc. Arturo Hernandez, a heavy equipment operator with 500th Engineer Horizontal Company, 15th Engineer Battalion, uses a grader to flatten the area on a construction site May 5 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area. Soldiers from the 500th Eng. Co. spent two weeks in Grafenwoehr being evaluated on construction tactics, warrior tasks and their interactions with simulated media and Afghan citizens. (U.s. Army photo by Spc. Aislinn M. Amig)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Army Spc. Leonard Witucke, a heavy equipment operator with 500th Engineer Horizontal Company, 15th Engineer Battalion, takes cover and provides security during an escalation of force exercise in the Grafenwoehr Training Area May 4. Platoons from 500th Eng. Co. were evaluated on warrior tasks and their ability to interact with the media while conducting a real-world construction mission. (U.s. Army photo by Spc. Aislinn M. Amig)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - Soldiers from 15th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade spent two weeks simultaneously completing construction projects and conducting platoon evaluations May 27 at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas.
Platoons from the 500th Engineer Horizontal Company and the 902nd Engineer Vertical Company were evaluated on their construction skills, warrior tasks and their interactions with simulated media and Afghan citizens.
Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Jackson, a squad leader with 500th Eng. Co., said his platoon's training mission was to flatten out an area that had been previously occupied by a U.S. operating base.
Since the operating base closure, the area had become an enemy stronghold and a danger to the local populace in the area.
"This will deter the enemy from coming back here," said Jackson. "We are here to win the hearts and minds of the local Afghans. The first step is to have respect for these people and their culture."
As part of their relationship building and interactions with the simulated local populace, many platoons were evaluated on their participation in key leader engagements.
Throughout each meeting, Army leaders discussed with local leaders the current food resources, medical services and opportunities for development in their perspective communities.
To complete their real-world mission of reconstructing roads and building B-Huts throughout the training areas, the engineers used multiple types of construction equipment. Graders, rollers, water distributors and a variety of power-operated tools were used to facilitate the quick progression of each construction site.
Army 1st Lt. Joe Caperna, the 3rd platoon leader with the 902nd Eng. Co. said his platoon's training mission was to construct a B-Hut that was to be used as a shelter for local Afghan citizens.
A B-Hut is a small building that serves a variety of functions, from office space to living area for example. And in all actuality, the B-Hut they constructed will be used as training facility at Hohenfels.
While soldiers who train and work at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas will benefit from the new facilities and roadways built by the 15th Engineering Battalion doldiers for many years to come, the immediate benefit to the soldiers from 15th Engineering Battalion was valuable knowledge and experience gained from the training and evaluation portions of their real-world mission.
Find more articles tagged with:
- Army
- Grafenwoehr
- Construction
- Germany
- Engineering
- Brigade
- training
- Hohenfels
- Soldier
- Afghanistan
- NATO
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 1990
Less than one year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany come together on what is known as "Unity Day."Find more articles tagged with:
-
Civic leaders receive preview of Baumholder's future
Leaders of the U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder, the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and local civic leaders came together for a garrison hosted civic leaders working luncheon recently in the Rheinlander Community Club to discuss issues affecting the military and civilian communities.Find more articles tagged with:
-
USACE forward engineers train with Italians
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Forward Engineering Support Team-Advance (FEST-A) conducted training and remote engineering missions in partnership with Italian Army Reconnaissance Engineers here September 9-21, 2012.Find more articles tagged with:
-
EIAMDC officially opens
The Warrior Preparation Center opened the European Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony here Sept. 26.Find more articles tagged with:
-
EUCOM senior enlisted seminar hits its mark
ISES, a weeklong U.S. European Command event held at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, concluded on Sept. 13.Find more articles tagged with:
-
173rd Airborne Brigade, Italian carabinieri share training, experiences
Noncommissioned officers from the rear detachment of U.S. Army Europe's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team shared deployment experiences and lessons learned with Italian military law enforcement officers during cultural awareness and information operations training here, Sept. 11.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Schweinfurt flexes combat capability muscle with NATO exercise
Despite its announced closure earlier this year, the U.S. Army garrison here still has something to prove: Pitted between closing and remaining operational, it can also host a large-scale NATO exercise in its own backyard.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Kansas National Guard partners with HDTC for Humanitarian Demining in Armenia
Four soldiers from the Kansas National Guard are working with a civilian representative from the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Training Center to teach international Humanitarian Mine Action standards to members of the Engineering Companies of the Armenian Peacekeeping Brigades Sept. 18-28.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Operation Rhino Serpent 2012: US, German, British medical troops learn from one another during exercise
Operation Rhino Serpent, a multi-national medical field training exercise comprised of more than 550 U.S. Army Europe, German Armed Forces and British Armed Forces active duty Reservists and volunteersFind more articles tagged with:
-
Panther PacStar makes debut at CE12
For the 20 Airmen of the 1st Combat Communications Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, supporting Combined Endeavor 2012, this could potentially be a real scenario for them.Find more articles tagged with:
Comments: 0