March engineers embed with Army in Afghanistan

Published April 11, 2011
By Megan Just
452 AMW Public Affairs

MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. -- The 22 combat engineers from the 452nd Civil Engineering Squadron who deployed at the end of January have completed combat skills training at Fort McCoy, Wis., and have been embedded with Army units in six locations throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan.

The engineers' mission with the Army gives them a rare opportunity to have a direct impact on the living conditions of troops at primitive combat outposts and to improve the quality of life for the Afghans in villages nearby.

Capt. David Simons, Jr., chief of operations with the 452nd Civil Engineering Squadron, returned from a similar deployment in the fall of 2010. Knowing his experience would be an asset to the deployers, Captain Simons volunteered to serve on active duty orders to ensure the logistics of the squadron's deployment preparation ran smoothly.

"I've been very impressed and proud of these Airmen and their determination. I can see it in their eyes, they want to go over there and make a difference," he said. "Because of what we do and our skill sets, we can affect people's lives in ways that go on and on
for generations."

As the father of three young girls, Captain Simons felt most connected with the youngest generation of Afghans, the children he would see playing in the streets as his convoy drove through villages. He said it was heartbreaking to know the children's only source of water was from ditches, rivers and shallow wells that were contaminated with high counts of cholera bacteria from fecal matter and urine, and frequently tainted with improperly disposed engine oil.

However, being engineers, when Captain Simons and his team would drill 1,800-meter wells for the forward operating bases, they were sometimes able to divert a portion of the clean water to local villages. Some of the Airmen who are currently deployed will have the opportunity to build wells like these directly inside the Afghan villages.

"Thirty years from now, it will be my children's responsibility to work with these children on a global scale," he said. "We have the opportunity to make the Afghani children's lives better. This will help them grow up healthy and educated, making it easier for the next generation of Americans."

During his deployment, Captain Simons and his team built seven new forward operating bases and combat outposts and helped bring countless others up to standard by installing wells, plumbing, electricity and various other infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.

"What I've found with a lot of forward operating bases that have been established, is they were done utilizing expedient methods usually converting old Russian bases," he said. "They weren't done with thoughts of waste, sanitary sewer issues and water."

The 452nd combat engineers who are currently deployed are responsible for similar projects in some of the same remote -- and often hostile -- regions of Afghanistan.

"It's always a high ops tempo," Captain Simons said. "You always have to be thinking four or five steps ahead, especially when it comes to what the enemy is doing and how are you going to stay safe. Then, you're still expected to go out and do your job, which along with holding a weapon and walking around a city, includes doing such things as plumbing, electrical, HVAC and surveying."

Captain Simons estimates he spent 75 percent of his deployment outside the wire and his team frequently encountered small arms fire, improvised explosive devices and mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Sometimes, when there wasn't enough daylight to return to a FOB after a day's work, Simons' team would fill HESCO bastions with sand, set up watches, and sleep under the stars.

"We're taking ordinary Airmen who are accustomed to an Air Force mentality of 'only the pilots fight' and putting them in extraordinary situations, expecting them to fight and still do their job," he said about the engineers who are currently deployed. "They're going to excel at this."

Simons helped the engineers before deployment by showing them photos and videos of his deployment and talking with them about what to expect.

"Almost all of them had never deployed before and many of them were apprehensive," he said. "Once they knew more about what to expect, they were excited to be able to help the fight."

The pinnacle of their pre-deployment preparation was combat skills training at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where the snowy terrain and negative 20 degree temperatures gave the Airmen practice operating in extreme conditions. At Fort McCoy, the 181st Infantry Brigade led the three-week course that is specially designed to prepare Air Force engineers to assist the Army units they are partnered with.

"We just can't sit there if there is a firefight," said Lt. Col. Leslie Canaar, commander of the 577th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron. "We have to help. They are teaching us about crew served weapons, combat lifesaver, driving, even truck commanding, so if things do go bad, at least we can contribute."

The combat engineers from March who are deployed to Afghanistan are assigned to the 577 EPBS, along with engineers from the 934th Civil Engineering Squadron at Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station and 81st Civil Engineering Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Through the 577 EPBS, the Airmen work with Army units
in Afghanistan.

"We are highly sought after by our sister forces because of our Air Force engineering skill sets," Captain Simons said. "The Army and Marine Corps are war fighters first and they do their engineering jobs second. As Airmen, we are trained to be technicians first and war fighters second."

Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hickey, 934th Airlift Wing public affairs, contributed to this story.