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Soldiers pull security at the brigade entry control point Sept. 2, 2015, at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La. The 1192nd Engineer Company, based in Newton Falls, Ohio, is a heavy construction engineer company that provided support to active-duty engineers during the unit's annual training.
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FORT POLK, La. (09/02/15) — The 1192nd Engineer Company, a heavy construction engineer company, supported the 9th Brigade Engineer Brigade, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during rotation 15-10 this September at the Joint Readiness Training Center, during the unit’s two-week annual training.
Capt. Nate Anderson, the 1192nd commander, said during the defense phase of the exercise, the unit’s primary tasks included building up fighting positions, establishing tank ditches and creating berm survivability positions.
The 1192nd, based in Newton Falls, Ohio, supported two maneuver battalions and the brigade main position outside of training area Dara Lam, providing a much-needed capability for the defense with new assets for the 9th BEB. Overall, Anderson said the unit was very busy providing heavy survivability and counter mobility support for the brigade.
Lt. Col. Michael Biankowski, commander of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, said that he was able to conduct earthwork normally impossible to replicate.
“We don’t have the big heavy equipment that the 1192nd Engineer Company has. So for us to have that capability while we’re (training), is amazing,” Biankowski said. “It’s a win-win. We get their capability; they are using their skills and developing their skills even further as engineers.”
First Sgt. Mike Kingery, 1192nd first sergeant, said the company has bulldozers, back hoe loaders, and large excavators for moving the dirt around to build defensive positions. The 96 pieces of equipment took two weeks to prep for movement to JRTC.
“We’ve challenged them too,” said Biankowski. “They (were) a little bit out of their comfort zone.”
Sgt. Bryan Miller, a noncommissioned officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd IBCT, said he appreciated what the 1192nd Soldiers did to enhance fighting positions.
“Tactically it’s wiser. Because of this defilade (use of natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal), we are a smaller target if the enemy approaches the (entry control point),” Miller said.
Sgt. Josh Young is a maintainer of the heavy equipment who makes sure everything is running smoothly. These pieces of equipment are the lifeblood of the unit and gives the 1192nd its sought after capability.
“It’s a new experience for me,” said Young on supporting an active-duty unit during a large training exercise. “It’s something that I was really looking forward to; I learned a lot of new things.”
Heavy machinery is not easy to maintain, and no one knows how valuable operable equipment is more than the Soldiers who utilize the equipment.
Sgt. Matthew Fuller, an operator who established berm emplacements for fire support equipment, said the 1192nd’s work provided the 2nd IBCT standoff distance from the enemy and provided defilade for field artillery equipment.
“We’re helping those Soldiers by protecting them before the fight,” Fuller said. |
