Photo By Staff Sgt. Sarah Myrick | Spc. Tyler Wheeler, a heavy construction equipment operator with the 262nd Engineer...... read more read more
The Maine Army National Guard built the base of a multipurpose field as part of an Innovative Readiness Training project at the Raymond Elementary School June 16-28, 2017.
The 262nd Engineer Company (Horizontal) honed their skills in this project that will benefit the school and surrounding community.
“I’ve been running the excavator and grater, and I’ve also had the opportunity to train some younger Soldiers who don’t have licenses on equipment yet,” said Sgt. Kory Peckham, a heavy construction equipment operator with the 262nd Engineer Company (Horizontal). “This has been a great opportunity for me to use my role as a noncommissioned officer and also use my civilian engineer training.”
The 262nd was responsible for the first phase of building the field. Their goal was to complete this part efficiently so the Raymond Elementary School can move forward in the process.
“When we are given the opportunity to take on a project of this caliber it’s important to train Soldiers, but it’s also important to have a finished product at the end of the training period,” said Peckham. “If we meet our goals and expectations there’s potential for us to get more projects down the road and more opportunities.”
The engineers independently hauled in over 500 loads of base gravel from a gravel pit on route 85 in Raymond.
They raised the ground up to sub grade and leveled it out where there previously was a steep decline. This required a lot of compacting. For every 8-10 inches of lift they had to compact and aerate the material so that during heavy rains it won’t slide or enter Panther Pond just behind the school.
“This is the first Annual Training in which all the components of the 262nd Engineer Company (Horizontal) (Belfast, Westbrook and the detachment) have been working together on a project in about four years,” said Staff Sgt. Brian Babbage, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the site. “Overall this is a training event. It’s great to see how other operators work and find out what our strengths and weaknesses are as a platoon or company. To me it’s a personal pride to get above where we were before this.”
An unknown civilian engineer company will be contracted to complete the project. The project’s anticipated completion date is the fall of 2018.
“It’s very rare that we have all this equipment on one site,” said Babbage. “So having the opportunity to get experience on equipment gets us ready for any movement in the future, whether it’s a drill weekend, next year’s AT or future deployments.”
This project was excellent training for the engineers, but also a great service to the Raymond community.
Babbage said the teachers and students at the Raymond Elementary School were very thankful that the National Guard helped them with this project. “The big equipment we have and man hours we can put in it will help the students be able to utilize this field much faster.”
“The kids came out on their last day of school and thanked us, as well as making over a hundred cards,” said Babbage, “and that means a lot.”
Alissa Messer, the playground project manager, who has two children currently attending the Raymond Elementary School said the playground was overcrowded and unsafe for the 200 plus children to play.
The new field will include a boundary that prevents strangers and wildlife from entering the playground, and also removes an electrical panel that was in the middle of the playground.
“As a parent it’s wonderful to know that our kids are safe,” said Messer. “It’s going to be a great place for them to play and get energy out, which leads to better learning.”
The unit’s involvement with this project brings awareness to the community of what the National Guard actually does said Cpl. Jeffery Taylor, a heavy construction equipment operator with the 262nd Engineer Company (Horizontal).
“This puts a mark that’s going to be there forever,” said Taylor. “Once it’s finished it’s going to be a field that everyone can use, and that’s part the reason why I joined the National Guard; to do projects like this.”
There are high hopes that the community will make use of this multipurpose field for basketball games, baseball games, physical education classes, connections to a trail network and much more, said Assistant Principal Deborah Hutchinson.
“I’m retiring at the end of this year and it was my goal to get this project under way before I retired,” said Hutchinson. “I’m so happy that this has started and that within the next two years there will be a safe and wonderful place for the children to play.”
Messer said she loved having the National Guard involved in this project.
“It was very important to me to have our kids and our community recognize the military for all that they do,” said Messer. “The fact that when they go on the playground every day that they will remember who gave that to them.”
“When I told the kids that the Soldiers coming were all Mainers they thought that was amazing,” said Messer. “There is something really special about the fact these people are their neighbors who are sacrificing their time for us.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2017 14:09 |
| Story ID: | 239220 |
| Location: | RAYMOND, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 472 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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