Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Davis | Sgt. Matthew Weathington (left), 1312th Engineer Detachment, Alabama National Guard,...... read more read more
Cincu, Romania. – Precision and attention to detail are the hallmarks of great engineering and result in structures that are solid and long lasting.
Soldiers from the 1312th Engineer Detachment from Anniston, Alabama, just finished working on vertical construction projects at the Cincu Training Range, Romania in June of 2016. They were part of a larger group of engineers from the 877th Engineer Battalion of the Alabama National Guard working side-by-side with engineers from the Romanian Land Forces.
“We have an opportunity to meet other units and work with other units and see how quickly we can create a cohesion and work together,” said Sgt. Mason Shaw, 1312th Engineer Detachment. “We got on the same page real fast and created a rhythm.”
The 1312th Engineer Detachment is a relatively new unit in the Alabama National Guard with only 12 members. Their occupational specialties include heavy equipment operator and concrete and asphalt specialist. They were activated in 2010 in preparation for a deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
They were designated as a rapid crater repair team in the area of Combat Outpost Sayed Abad, Afghanistan. The detachment repaired approximately 20 craters created by improvised explosive devices along Route 1, the main highway for military operations in Afghanistan. They distinguished themselves by developing Standard Operating Procedures for their type of mission that was adopted as doctrine for all such operations.
Soldiers of the 1312th Engineer Detachment described themselves as a multi-talented group that has learned to handle and do just about everything. They were particularly proud of their can-do attitude and performance.
“That is the thing about the National Guard; we are not all just specialties in one field,” said Sgt. Matthew Weathington, the detachment noncommissioned-officer-in charge. “We all have spent a majority of our life doing something completely different, and in times like this is when it really shines.”
The 1312th Engineer Detachment had split themselves into two sections to be able to take part of Resolute Castle 16 at Cincu Training Range over the course of two rotations. What they lacked in size, they made that up for in experience from the construction field back in the state of Alabama.
Sgt. Johnny Box, 1312th Engineer Detachment and vertical site noncommissioned-officer-in charge, has more than 30 years of construction experience as a civilian contractor. He has since retired from the profession but still enjoys passing his knowledge and understanding of construction and quality workmanship to the new members of the unit.
“I want the 1312th Engineer Detachment to do everything in the construction field,” said Box. “So when they pull up, they can handle it, and leaders know they can do it.”
“I believe a unit should not be just inside the box as one MOS (military occupational specialty),” said Spc. Jonathon Hathcock, a concrete and asphalt equipment operator with the detachment. “I mean the time could come when they call us to do any job, and I feel if we have the capability to perform outside the box, it just makes us a better unit.”
With the permission of 1st Lt. Jospeh Prinzinger, vertical site officer-in-charge with the 1151st Engineer Company, Box instituted opportunities for the junior enlisted and new noncommissioned officers to be in charge of a worksite as the foreman.
As the foreman at one of the vertical construction sites, Hathcock was responsible for assigning tasks to engineers, inspecting the work in progress and answering questions when quality assurance and control inspectors were on site.
Soldiers from the 1312th Engineer Detachment worked alongside their Romanian counterparts, engineers from multiple battalions, at the vertical construction sites. While the Alabama engineers showed the importance to measure twice and cut once, the Romanian engineers showed how teamwork can improve the time to completion ratio.
“Honestly, I have learned just as much from them as I have from these other guys who I have been working alongside and who have been doing this for years,” said Hathcock. “I am big on if you have an easier way to do it, let me know and I am down to try it.”
Soldiers, like Hathcock, said that an opportunity to work with an allied nation and build relationships is rare and rewarding. Pvt. Matthew Browning spent his first annual training period with the Alabama National Guard in a foreign land, working 10 hours each day, seven days a week.
“I never thought I would go overseas and did not really want to,” said Browning. “The first time has not been too bad. I am actually kind of starting to like it.”
The future for the 1312th Engineer Detachment will be different when they return from Resolute Castle 16. They will no longer fall under the 877th Engineer Battalion. According to Pvt. Weathington, the detachment will now be part of the 111th Ordinance Group, who specializes in explosive ordinance disposal, and will fall under the 731st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
Their specialty is in high demand to handle any job required as engineers, crater repair and concrete asphalt operators. The Soldiers of the 1312th Engineer Detachment have proven their mettle in combat and in peacetime, being able to work with and for anyone who needs them.
“Working with other units and coming together as one, we acted like we have known each other our whole lives and busted it out,” said Hathcock. “It took no time for us to get to work and all of us being on the same page and rolling smooth.”
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2016 07:18 |
| Story ID: | 203095 |
| Location: | CINCU, RO |
| Web Views: | 564 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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