Photo By Spc. Devin Davis | U.S. Army Soldiers with the 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th...... read more read more
FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines – U.S. Army Soldiers with the 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command partner with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to build a line of communication bridge, enabling bilateral training events on Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, May 28.
The engineers arrived in the Philippines in mid-April and are slated to complete the bridge before the closing ceremony of Salaknib in mid-June.
"The Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), Philippine Army, is the sole capability champion for Airborne Operations, where its Special Forces School is tasked to facilitate the conduct of various courses, requiring students to perform jumps in a designated drop zone," said 1st Lt. Ma Inna Francesca T. Vier, Deputy G4 with the SFR(A), PA.
According to Vier, the SFR(A) has relied on a privately owned drop zone outside the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation to conduct their jumps. Due to the property’s nature, this has posed significant challenges, with scheduling and availability often impacting the unit's training and exercises.
"The continuous bilateral exercises with counterparts showed the importance and reflected the urgency of the Philippine Army to have its drop zone," said Vier. "The SFR(A), PA conceptualized and identified a new drop zone within the camp to address this issue."
With one issue resolved, Vier had one remaining outlier to address so that this new drop zone could become possible.
"A creek lies between the main road and the new drop zone, creating a logistical hurdle," Vier said. However, with the aid of the U.S. Army, a bridge is underway to resolve this problem."
The Army's LOC-B are commercial bridges from contracted vendors that Soldiers can assemble locally with manufactured parts. They provide an expeditious solution to moving equipment across wet and dry gaps where a bridge has been damaged or destroyed.
1st Lt. Nicole Wantlin, a platoon leader assigned to 95th Combat Engineering Company-Infantry, 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, and her combat engineer Soldiers attended two weeks of training at the Army's Maneuver Support Center of Excellence at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to understand how to assemble a LOC-B.
"We have to build this bridge in sections," said Wantlin. "We build about three bays and then use a dozer to push it across the gap. Then we build more bays. We have to use a crane to lift the heavy pieces with each bay. Personnel on the ground hammer pins in and make sure everything is straight."
The assembly of the bridge components, ordered for last year's Salaknib exercise, demonstrates the U.S. Army's commitment to delivering on its agreements. The crane, bulldozer, and other heavy equipment shipped from Hawaii, combined with local AFP equipment and supported by Filipino army personnel to facilitate the bridge's construction, highlight the collaboration between the two armies.
Some of the construction challenges were the availability of hand tools, shovels, drills, hammers, wood, and more.
"A lot of items out here are not what we would typically find in the U.S.," said 1st Lt. James Roache, a platoon leader with the 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade. "Luckily, our AFP counterparts are incredibly creative and solved nearly all our problems. We wouldn't be here without their ingenuity."
Working on unfamiliar land also created setbacks. According to Wantlin, they face some challenges with the terrain and do not know how to "work with the ground," but working alongside their Filipino engineer counterparts has helped them develop innovative solutions.
On top of all this, Soldiers are confronted with the heat and dehydration. They have been working in near 100-degree weather for weeks.
"Giving my personnel the rest they need, but also keeping up with construction, is difficult to balance," said Roache.
Despite the challenges, Roache and his team continue to build the bridge while building their partnership with the AFP.
"Our partnerships this year means that we can continue to grow our relationship next year and continue increasing our interoperability, which is a force multiplier for both nations," said Maj. Nicholas Yager, 84th Engineer Battalion executive officer.
This bridge will serve as a vital physical connection between the Special Forces School and the new drop zone, enabling the Philippine Army to enhance airborne operations capabilities. In addition to being a logistical enhancement, the bridge's construction is another demonstration of the strong partnership between the Philippine Army and the U.S. Army, reinforcing their shared commitment to excellence in joint pursuits.
"This is much more than the tangible project; it represents a commitment to bridging the gap between allied forces and paving the way for other greater interoperability, inter-agency, bilateral, and multilateral training exercises," said Vier.
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2024 02:55 |
| Story ID: | 472837 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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