Soldier in Focus - Sgt. Richard Dusenberry
May 30, 2009
BAGHDAD - Sgt. Richard Dusenberry, a 26 year old native of Orion, Ill., with the 46th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 225th Engineer Brigade, leads a mobile electrical task force of nine electricians and carpenters. Their efforts bring power to Joint Security Stations and ensure that pre-existing electrical hazards are identified and corrected.
Dusenberry earned the highest score in the 46th ECB (H), while becoming certified in the Task Force Safe Course, a Multi-National Corps Iraq level electrical safety course, and has run over 100 football fields worth of electrical cable since his team's inception.
Sgt. Dusenberry supervised the upgrade of Joint Security Station Ur after an attack damaged several facilities, along with Soldier morale. His team wired eleven Containerized Housing Units, a dining facility, and a recreation building; returning operations capabilities and improving quality of life for the deployed Warriors of Task Force 1-6 Infantry.
During this effort, he and his team ran parallel runs of 4x240mm electrical cable, which weighs a staggering 64 pounds per foot, in full gear, in temperatures exceeding 120 degrees Fahrenheit. After completing one of the connections, one of the runs was severed under vehicle traffic, causing the entire run to be replaced. Sgt. Dusenberry kept his young team moving forward, fueling them with his "lead-from-the-front" attitude, mixed with a healthy dose of mid-West sarcasm.
Sgt. Dusenberry inspected and certified shower units at eight separate locations in less than 72 hours throughout MND-B. His efforts to properly ground each water heater, panel box, CHU frame and ensure the interior wiring met specifications, safeguarding Soldiers across the theater.
"The consequences of one, even minor misdiagnosis can make a bad day for the units on ground, so I remained seemingly nonplussed, steadfastly ensuring the safety of the maneuver units on the ground," stated Dusenberry.