Photo By Capt. Kayla Edwards | Staff Sgt. Shannon Williams, 189th CES operations manager, replaces ceiling tiles in a...... read more read more
The 189th Civil Engineering Squadron works hard to maintain the buildings and structures on the Guard campus. Typically, the Airmen assigned to the 189th CES focus on repairs, maintenance, installations, and improvement projects to ensure the longevity of the wing’s assets. However, when the 19th CES reached out to request some additional skilled hands for a major project to renovate structures and clear nuisance foliage at Camp Warlord, the 189th CES accepted the task.
1st Lt. Brandon Teel, 189th deputy base civil engineer, explained the importance of the project and how the 189th CES came to support the base effort to revitalize Camp Warlord.
“This project was a top priority for the [19th CES] but they needed some additional support to get it completed within the timeframe that they had been given,” Teel said.
Renovating Camp Warlord, Little Rock Air Force Base’s austere simulated deployed training environment, is part of a larger Air Force mission to revitalize readiness training and ensure Airmen are prepared for deployments. Over the past several years, the training area has not seen much use or upkeep, which has led to deterioration of some facilities and necessitated an overhaul.
Master Sgt. Tyler Peterson, 19th CES water fuel systems maintenance noncommissioned officer in charge, outlined the plan for project completion and noted that the 189th CE would be providing the bulk of the labor hours for it.
“When everything is done, all of the cabins will have new metal roofs as well as cleaned and repainted interiors. Updates will be made to the quality-of-life standards in the bath houses and there will be a real world medical staging area, as well as a Wing Inspection Team staging area,” Peterson explained.
Sergeant Peterson also talked about the contributions that the Airmen from the 189th CES were making to the project. Although the project was initiated through the 19th CES, it was immediately clear that they could use some help to meet their goals.
“We’ve estimated 3500 labor hours for the Camp Warlord project to completely restore it for usage, in addition to the new capabilities that we are adding. The 189th is providing approximately 2500 of those labor hours,” said Peterson.
After a series of meetings and planning sessions, the work flow for the project was determined and the teams assembled to make it all happen.
Part of the project also includes clearing brush and nuisance foliage that has grown up around the property to provide a better training area for security forces personnel to practice anti-terrorism and force protection measures. Additionally, the plan also includes adding a single pallet expeditionary kitchen pad to allow a services flight to train using a field kitchen, as they would in a deployed environment.
“This project is meant to serve the entire base,” said 1st Lt. Colin Biery, 19th CES engineer. “Once this is all complete, it will be available for any of our Team Little Rock partners to use for training.”
Not only does the Camp Warlord project provide a much needed renovation to the base’s deployment training grounds, it also gives the Airmen the 189th CES the opportunity to learn new construction skills.
“This is one of the great things about being in the Guard,” Teel explained. “We get experience doing all aspects of construction on a project like this. We’re jacks-of-all-trades in that aspect.”
As the 189th CE Airmen work toward achieving the TLR goal, they will also be gaining construction experience that they can apply to their upcoming deployment. About 65 percent of the 189th CE Airmen assigned to the Warlord renovation have been tapped for deployment this fiscal year.
“Gaining the knowledge and skills here to do multiple tasks helps prepare our Airmen for what they may need in a deployed environment and even in future missions that we may be tasked with completing,” said Senior Master Sgt. Bill Catton, 189th CES emergency management superintendent.
Beyond the initial renovation project, the base is also planning to expand the grounds of Camp Warlord, adding new roads and training areas to create a better simulated training environment, Biery explained.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2019 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 313421 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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