Photo By 1st Sgt. Luisito Brooks | Spc. Eric Gladden, a truck driver assigned to Company A, 702nd Brigade Support...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – It was a very dirty job, but they wanted to do it.
Soldiers assigned to Company A, 702nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division helped move about 25,000 pounds of new dirt onto bare areas of the fields at Fort Steilacoom Park, April 19.
“We wanted to give back to the City of Lakewood for their support while we were down range,” said Capt. Wayne Dahl, the company commander. “We are spending time together as a unit and doing something positive for the community.”
The soldiers teamed up with Stan and Sharon Uhlig, the owners of Federal Construction Consultants, and the Lakewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department to ready the popular field for spring reseeding.
“We share this community and this park with soldiers from [Joint Base Lewis-McChord],” said Stan, whose company is partnered with Company A through the brigade’s Adopt-A-Company program. “This is about integrating the Army with our community.”
He added that on many occasions he sees soldiers use the fields to play soccer for physical training.
The Lakewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department had all the equipment, but what they were missing was the manpower to execute the project.
“We provided dozens of rakes, shovels, and 15 wheelbarrows to move about 25,000 lbs of dirt to areas of our fields that will be seeded with grass,” said Jerry Schalar, a Lakewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department employee supervised the distribution of the equipment. “The [unit] created an assembly line of wheelbarrows to transport the dirt and used the rakes to smooth out any lumps.”
He added that because of the help that the soldiers gave, they can plant grass seeds about two weeks sooner than originally planned.
“We are saving the community a lot of money and time by us coming out here to help,” said Spc. Travis Washington, a fuel specialist assigned to Atlas Company. “I am a little tired right now, but I got to say that it is very rewarding to do something like this.”
After the job was done, the volunteers and their families got together for a barbecue and a few games of football and soccer.
“I am very happy with the success of the event,” said Dahl. “It is events like this that bring friends and families together.”
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2011 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 69427 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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