Courtesy Photo | Spc. Kershaw, an engineer assigned to the 500th Engineer Support Compnay, 15th...... read more read more
TAPA, Estonia – For the second year in a row, active duty United States Army soldiers from the 500th Engineer Support Company, 15th Engineer Battalion in Grafenwöhr, Germany have deployed to Tapa, Estonia to participate in Operation Resolute Castle.
Headquartered by the 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard, Operation Resolute Castle is designed to provide security assistance and improve military infrastructure inside the borders of NATO allies Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, and Hungary as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
What is unique about this operation is the number of units from different units working together – the list includes units from National Guards from Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Ohio, units from the United States Army Reserves, a unit from the United States Navy Seabees, and units from the active United States Army.
The leadership of the 500th Engineer Support Company – including the commander and top quality control personnel – has taken notice of the advantages working together gives.
Chief Warrant Officer 1 Borja, one of the survey team leaders, paid compliments to the units. “The ability of Guardsmen and active duty personnel to align themselves and act as one is really remarkable and I look forward to future, similar endeavors.”
Capt. Steven Sfeir, 500th ESC Commander, states “all efforts initiated and completed during this exercise are done to grow our soldier’s skills and abilities, as well as to mobilize at a moment’s notice to complete any mission asked of them.”
“Not only must they perform their basic soldiering skills, but also they must complete their missions at a vigorously high op-tempo,” Sfeir said.
Staff Sgt. Kent, quality control sergeant-in-charge, embodies the diverse-units-working-together principle. He is a military engineer assigned to the Alabama Army National Guard, working as the top quality-control supervisor in Estonia, while under the command of the 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard in Bulgaria.
“It is an honor and privilege to be with these professionals who perform at their highest levels, without a doubt. It is clear why the 194th Engineer Brigade bestows its trust in them,” stated Kent.
The 500th ESC is performing tasks along the full spectrum of construction operations, from planning, surveying, and designing, to horizontal and vertical engineering. Each day, they operate heavy construction equipment: bulldozers, excavators, dump trucks, scrapers, and graders. One of their four projects, building a 154,000 square foot ammunition holding area, combines the efforts of both its horizontal and vertical platoons. Soldiers from the 500th ESC are also improving relationships with the local population through community assistance projects, like neighborhood mailbox repairs, installation of walkways at kindergartens, and school playground facilities.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2016 07:35 |
| Story ID: | 205181 |
| Location: | LASNA, EE |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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