Civil engineers build facilities, friendships during deployment Published Oct. 8, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Christopher Howe 94th Civil Engineer Squadron DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Members of the 94th Civil Engineer Squadron here recently returned home from a 180-day deployment to Afghanistan. The squadron combined with Airmen from the 439th Civil Engineer Squadron at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass., to form the 755th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. During their six months together, the Reservists discovered that they were truly a team. The squadron jelled together well with supervisors and installation teams combined from both bases. The 755th ECES Commander, Col. Jim Lehman of Dobbins, confessed to how well the unit jelled into one effective team. "I was talking with one of my NCOs about some process we'd put in place when we return to Dobbins, when he reminded me that he was returning to Westover!" The 755th constructed a multitude of projects at Bagram and were also tasked to go "outside the wire," or off base. Projects were often from the ground up and included blackwater transfer facility, installation of air conditioning systems, electrical wiring of B-huts (housing structures) and billets, earthwork and concrete placement. They also improved the hardening of base defenses, built office and storage space for Army personnel and aircraft parts. More than 1.5 million dollars of construction materials were purchased and put in place. A key element was the training of Afghan workers in the construction trades. The local nationals were teamed up with crews from a particular construction trade where the Airmen and NCOs would teach them the initial elements of the trade. For example the plumbing shop taught the skills of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe identification, selecting proper fittings and assembly of lavatory drains. The goal is to make the Afghans independent and able to perform their own construction projects. Senior Master Sgt. Dan Jalbert of Westover ARB added, "The two teams from Dobbins and Westover worked excellent together and quickly became one team. We gained each other's respect and were instant friends and teammates. I have a lot of new friends at Dobbins and I look forward to seeing them in the very near future." As is often the case in the Civil Engineer career field multitasking was the norm on the deployment. Though Airmen are trained in specific Air Force Specialty Codes such as Electrician, Heavy Equipment Operator or Structures, all were continually performing work outside their career field. Electricians helped during concrete pouring and wall framing, while the Heavy Equipment shop aided in the burying of electrical service wires. Plumbers even helped built concrete block walls with the leadership of the Structures shop. Senior Airman Peter Holloway of Dobbins was on his first deployment as an Airman and was happy the structures shop integrated so well with his comrades from Westover. "We became a close team who worked, ate, exercised and hung out together." Airman Holloway's words of advice to those who have yet to deploy - "I would recommend being in top physical condition. You'll be asked to work many hours and you need to be at your best."
