Photo By Staff Sgt. Victor Everhart | A vehicle rolls over a repaired crater on Combat Outpost Soltan Khel to show Soldiers...... read more read more
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WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Pockmarked roads with craters up to 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep caused by IEDs make for a difficult journey for local Afghan citizens aiming to transport goods to a market or travel around the region. Filling in those craters is a high priority and road and crater repair by engineering construction crews is at an all-time high.
Soldiers tasked with the mission of road and crater repair often are scheduled for more repair jobs than they can handle. That is where the soldiers of Fox Company assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment step in and lend a helping hand with a chemical-based foam.
“The biggest pro to the system is after the foam and topcoat are in and you’re done with the clean-up, soldiers can drive over it and head back to base,” said Luis Salivas, a field service representative with Asymmetric Technologies. “After you lay it there’s absolutely no reason to stay and wait; it gets the job done.”
“We taught the operating procedures to the group of soldiers that would be using the equipment and ran some test runs on the combat outpost here. We showed them step-by-step how to put it together and how to utilize the gear, giving everyone a chance to see what works and what doesn’t for them,” said Salivas.
“It’s expedient, and keeps soldiers from being standing targets for the enemy,” said Steve Guerrero, a field servive representative with Asymmetric Technologies. “The mixture of chemicals sets quicker and is relatively harder than concrete. You lose nothing from the road as far as strength or stability. As for setting time, concrete may take 24-hours to 72-hours, where our mixture sets in just around 8 hours, keeping soldiers out of the open for extended periods of time.”
“We use chemical epoxy opposed to concrete because it saves hours if not days of effort and time,” said Spc. Adrian Velazquez, a Chicago native. “Using the chemical based epoxy lowers the time needed to refill craters and the time required for soldiers to pull security.”
“The important thing is to ensure [no other IEDs] are emplaced saving the local Afghan populace and coalition forces from attacks by the enemy,” said Velazquez, a transportation specialist assigned to Fox Company.
“The durability and integrity of the system is great in my opinion,” said Velazquez. “It keeps our guys from becoming sitting targets and as soon as we’re done filling a hole, we can proceed with the mission and civilians can continue with their normal day-to-day lives with no significant disturbances.”
Since Highway 1 is a major mode of transportation for Afghan citizens and coalition forces alike, insurgent networks use IEDs to disrupt traffic flow and attack security convoys leaving craters behind. These craters can be reused for additional attacks against Afghans and coalition forces, making the repair and filling of these craters a high priority.
“It makes me proud to know my hard work helps keep the local Afghans safe and helps repair the routes used for taking their commutes,” said Velazquez.
“This system is great for it’s purpose and I’m proud to be part of a team that goes on these missions to help the local [Afghan] community, because at the end of the day, we’re fighting to help them live as freely as we are in the states,” said Velazquez.
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2012 13:55 |
| Story ID: | 86653 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, AF |
| Web Views: | 556 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Fox Company helps soldiers and local Afghans with hasty road repair, by SSG Victor Everhart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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