Photo By Scott Sturkol | An explosion is detonated by Soldiers with the 106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry) on a...... read more read more
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Soldiers with the 106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry) were having a blast June 8-9 at Fort McCoy when they coordinated a pair of quarry demolitions at the installation to help take apart a sandstone hill that’s part of an ongoing troop project at the post.
The project leader was 1st Lt. Nicholas Bures, commander of the 106th. Ironically, Bures had previously worked on the same project in 2021 when he was the 4th Platoon leader with the 950th Engineer Company (Route Clearance). The site plan is to make it into a base operations support site for installation service contractors, such as facility maintenance, roads and grounds, solid waste, custodial, pest management, and more. Plus, it also serves as a borrow pit for sand for projects around the installation.
For the June 8-9 quarry demolition event by 106th, Bures said his troops prepared extensively for it and worked with installation officials to make sure it was conducted safely and correctly. Both blasts were at the top of a hill in the borrow pit area.
Four explosions took place — one borehole test blast to start on June 8, then a a grid blast on the afternoon of June 8, then two more grid blasts on June 9 at midday and late afternoon.
“It all went great,” Bures said. “We figure we blasted around 3,400 tons of sandstone from the hill. There’s definitely more up there but it was a great first step and proof of concept.”
Sgt. Alejandro Schloesser, a 12N/12G horizontal construction engineer/quarrying specialist Soldier with the 106th, went to various quarries in Wisconsin to gain extra knowledge about this project, just to make sure things went well. Then, as a unit, the Soldiers of the 106th devised a concept of operations to make it all happen to include selecting a time frame when the installation would have less people on it.
“I’ve read the training manual cover to cover,” Schloesser said. “I’ve gone into different chapters about actually designing a quarry … to building a quarry. … And also, … how to actually do the blasting versions of the quarry operations. That’s one of the things that we get to do down at Fort Leonard Wood (Mo.) to learn that we don’t really get to do here. So having an opportunity to plan it all and get it all done here is pretty sweet.”
With each grid blast, Bures said approximately 25 bore holes, 10 feet deep, for each grid blast were completed and filled with required amount of explosives.
To create the bore holes, Schloesser and others operated special equipment that was attached to heavy equipment. Other unit members operated an excavator and a bulldozer to move material as needed.
He said the drill they used is a very capable piece of equipment.
“He we were only drilling 10 feet, but we have the capability with a variety of steels to drill anywhere from 10 to 50 feet depending on what the mission is,” Schloesser said.
Bures said quarry units like the 106th are unique, and he’s glad to serve with them.
“We are one of six in the entire country, and all of them reside in the (National) Guard,” Bures said.
Bures added the success of this quarry demolition event happened largely because he has a great team of people getting the work done.
“It's crucial to have a great team,” Bures said. “Nobody can do it alone. I’m just a supervisor. I really don’t have to do the work. It’s all these guys, they’re the ones who make it happen.”
He also said it’s been great to see the three years of growth on the project.
“It was cool to see the project start and then kind of come to completion,” Bures said.
Earlier in 2024, contractors worked at the site as well, said Directorate of Public Works (DPW) General Engineer Gareth Ferguson. Those contractors completed more permanent infrastructure work under a project named the “Prepare Garrison Operations Support Area Site and Install Utilities Project.”
“The Prepare Garrison Operations Support Area Site and Install Utilities Project will complete the initial utility and parking lot work for the eventual consolidated Garrison Operations Support Center,” Ferguson said previously.
Contractors installed culverts, storm sewer, water, and sanitary mains with stub outs for the future buildings as well as a parking lot and curb, Ferguson said. Project cost was approximately $2 million.
DPW Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow and other directorate officials have said work will continue to develop the site until it meets the needs of the installation. Morrow also has said that having units like the 106th support projects at Fort McCoy helps them not only get the training they need but also helps the installation get projects completed.
“If we didn’t have these projects, many of these engineer troops wouldn’t get the training they need, and the installation wouldn’t benefit from the work they do to improve Fort McCoy training ranges and quality-of-life programs,” Morrow said in a previous news article.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2024 16:16 |
| Story ID: | 474555 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 612 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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