Photo By Cpl. John McCall | From left to right: Sgt. Robert Sanchez, 26, a squad leader from Las Cruces, N.M., and...... read more read more
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NAW ZAD, Afghanistan – Usually, engineers with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division (Forward), are called in to expand a defensive position or build one from scratch. During their most recent project, engineers were asked to downsize a forward operating base in Naw Zad, Jan. 4-7.
Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, were relocating to another position and needed to scale back their current FOB. Some segments of the FOB were sectioned off by engineers and given to local Afghans to use.
“After taking down some of the perimeter’s walls and bringing it in closer to the FOB, we had to put it back to make it secure,” said Sgt. Robert Sanchez, 26, a squad leader from Las Cruces, N.M. “It’s not only important to keep the Marines safe but also to provide security for civilians, that way we can maintain a presence in the area.”
Engineers worked quickly to break down and reset the perimeter so that there wouldn’t be any breaches in their security. To accomplish this, troops worked all day and into the night, filling Hesco barriers and setting up concertina wire.
Heavy equipment machinery was used to tear down the old perimeter and set up the new walls using Hesco barriers – square cages lined with cloth that hold dirt.
“It was a different kind of mission than what we usually do,” said Pfc. Daniel Henderson, 21, a combat engineer from Sweetwater, Tenn. “I was glad to do my job since it will provide protection for other Marines.”
Constructing defensive positions is familiar territory for these engineers, but their efforts never tire, as they continue the important work they are doing.
“It is crucial that we do a good job building everything up because eventually we will leave and the next unit will have to rely on this protection,” Sanchez explained. “The grunts can focus on pushing out further and gaining more ground without having to worry about how dependable their defense is.”
After downsizing and resetting the FOB’s security, the engineers stayed ready to conduct their next mission and continue providing support to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, in Musa Qal’eh.
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.16.2011 05:57 |
| Story ID: | 63630 |
| Location: | NAW ZAD, AF |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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