SPC Bailey Bullock
166th Engineer Company
2nd Platoon
Since my last entry, things have gone well for the members of 2nd Platoon. We have successfully completed our first mission and did it with flying colors. By the end, we finished a full week ahead of deadline. This was done with a lot of hard work while on a seven-day-a-week schedule, but we gutted it out and got the job done.
We have now returned to our home station at FOB Sharana and rejoined the rest of our company. I have to say it is good to be back. It is funny how quickly a place can begin to feel like home, though it is less the place and more the people there that make it so. It's great to see our friends again. We are getting some much earned down-time also. Because of our hard work, our Commander, MAJ Thompson, has allowed us to take a few days to get settled back in and rested up. We all needed to recharge.
We will soon begin work on new missions, although we aren't exactly sure what those will be and when they will start. (By “we” I mean all of us below the squad leader level. Our leadership knows what we will be doing, but the details are being ironed out, so the rest of us haven't received that info yet.)
This is a brief tangent, but I want to apologize to all of you who have family members or friends in the other platoons. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to report any information about their activities and well-being, but I and my platoon have been apart from the rest of the group for awhile as you know. Since I can only write what I experience, I haven't been able to update you on them. But on a good note, I know have a little bit of information about them now.
First platoon has been working on a couple of projects here at Sharana for the past month and a half. One group of has been working on a horizontal mission. They are clearing and expanding an area on the FOB that is needed for storage and staging of material and needed items. It has been hard work, but they are making good progress. It is going to take them awhile to complete because of the size of the area being cleared, but they are getting the job done. A second group in First Platoon has been working on an expansion and renovation of the brigade TOC, which basically is a headquarters. I have to say that they are doing a great job, having seen their work myself. The amount in which they are expanding this TOC is almost large enough to be considered a new building added on to the existing one. It is a complicated project as well being that the new area is being tied into the existing building. I think it will look great when it is done.
Our Maintenance Platoon has been hard at work for the last month and a half as well. They have kept the work going for the rest of the group as it turns out. From what I was told, they have more than one vehicle or piece of equipment to work on each day, and it has been that way from the beginning. And as the other platoons keep doing their work, they keep creating more for the maintenance crew. It's a beautiful circle, don't you think? That's is the one thing about the work we are doing over here. It is not ideal for our equipment, so there are always things that need to be fixed. Maintenance keeps us all going. From a troop carrier with a flat tire, to a generator that won't start. They take care of us. For those of you wanting news about Third platoon, I apologize that I don't have any information. The day that we arrived back here they left out on a mission of their own to another FOB. When information of their progress gets back to us, I will pass it on as soon as I can.
I just want to take a second to thank all of the family members and friends of the 166th Engineer Company who are back home. From what I have seen, you have all done so much to keep our spirits up over here. From sending letters and packages, to being available to receive a call at three o'clock in the morning because that is the only time your soldier can call you. We just want you to know that we recognize the effort, time, love and sacrifice that you are putting forth. We know that you are in this with us and that makes all the difference in the world. It doesn't feel like we are quite so far from home. Thank you.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Commander's Update - from May 9, 2009
A few updates from Afghanistan:
We have gained a new platoon of soldiers, 28 of them to be exact. They are from the Indiana National Guard's 1613th Engineer Company and are skilled in earth-moving operations rather than our general vertical construction focus in the 166th Engineer Company. We are also expecting 43 soldiers to be added from the Individual Ready Reserve.
A soldier's contract may commit them to actively serving a certain number of years but every contract requires a total of 8 years of service. If 3 years equals the active commitment, the soldier's name is placed on a list in the IRR for the remaining 5 during which time the military may call them to service when additional forces are needed.
If we do receive these new soldiers, the 166th will have more than 220 soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Within the next couple of weeks, we will begin pushing out to almost 40 different locations to support construction missions ranging from building new housing for soldiers to
preparing current facilities for the harsh Afghanistan winter.
All of the soldiers continue to amaze me in their knowledge, abilities, and resilience. We're now into our 6th week in country and are managing to get into a groove with daily operations. Learning the intricacies of how things are done (how to get from place to place, who to talk to for receipt of supplies, how to order lumber and needed equipment, etc.) has been one of the larger learning curves for us - the soldiers know how to build, they just need the tools and supplies to do it. We're well on our way though.
We have gained a new platoon of soldiers, 28 of them to be exact. They are from the Indiana National Guard's 1613th Engineer Company and are skilled in earth-moving operations rather than our general vertical construction focus in the 166th Engineer Company. We are also expecting 43 soldiers to be added from the Individual Ready Reserve.
A soldier's contract may commit them to actively serving a certain number of years but every contract requires a total of 8 years of service. If 3 years equals the active commitment, the soldier's name is placed on a list in the IRR for the remaining 5 during which time the military may call them to service when additional forces are needed.
If we do receive these new soldiers, the 166th will have more than 220 soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Within the next couple of weeks, we will begin pushing out to almost 40 different locations to support construction missions ranging from building new housing for soldiers to
preparing current facilities for the harsh Afghanistan winter.
All of the soldiers continue to amaze me in their knowledge, abilities, and resilience. We're now into our 6th week in country and are managing to get into a groove with daily operations. Learning the intricacies of how things are done (how to get from place to place, who to talk to for receipt of supplies, how to order lumber and needed equipment, etc.) has been one of the larger learning curves for us - the soldiers know how to build, they just need the tools and supplies to do it. We're well on our way though.
Commander's Update - from April 20, 2009
The unit departed from the Indianapolis, Indiana (where we'd spent our first month in training) at the end of March and made several stops until our first leg's destination at Manas Air Base, where we spent a few days before flying into Bagram.
The unit spent the first few days in Afghanistan conducting additional in-country training. Personally, I spent the first couple of days doing the same training, getting settled, and starting inventories on equipment there.
I hopped a flight from there to Kandahar late in the evening a few days later to start inventorying our equipment...the unit main body left for FOB Sharana shortly thereafter. I spent the next week flying to different bases throughout the south and southeastern portion of Afghanistan wrapping up equipment inventories and rejoined the unit a few days ago for the Transfer of Authority ceremony with the B Co/62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy).
I expect that the 166th EN CO's company headquarters will remain here for the immediate future. That may change, based on mission requirements, but my hope is that we'll be able to call this location "home" for the duration. The missions we'll be assigned will be, in large part, scattered throughout the country. The same was true for the unit we have replaced, which is the reason the equipment I inventoried was not centrally located when we arrived...hence all of the travel at the outset.
The soldiers have been conducting additional training on first aid, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - MRAP (the vehicle we'll use to convoy from one place to another), etc. They also focused their efforts on building the supply storage facilities and unit operations center and barracks improvement projects.
We sent out the one of our platoons to complete a guard tower construction project at FOB Wolverine, and I expect they'll be on-site there for several weeks before completing the work there.
We're in the planning stage of several projects here at FOB Sharana, which will focus on increased security and facility improvement on the base.
Despite the many challenges of an operating environment requiring personnel to work independently throughout the country, we're all doing well...morale, as it's always been, is excellent. We have everything we need, really. Soldiers have purchased cell phones to call home, and they also have the ability to call for free or use the internet on any of the more established bases. In the case of those going to less established locations, the unit has satellite phones to ensure they retain the ability to keep in touch with family members back home. Our Family Readiness Group, headed by my wife, Lindsay, and by Nikki Whatley, Lindsey Barbee, and Amy Burleson has done a fantastic job of keeping friends and family up to date on our activities and any news pertaining to our lives here in Afghanistan. The FRG's involvement has been and will continue to be integral to soldiers' morale.
For the soldiers, the most difficult part of the mission is likely the flexibility required for an ever-changing set of mission requirements. We're in a rough part of the world that has multiple infrastructure requirements. The increase in the number of US soldiers coming into Afghanistan then requires additional life support, like housing, office space, etc. We have to provide for both sides, and that puts a good deal on our plate. However, we've received an amazing amount of support from our current Battalion Headquarters, the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy). Our homestation Battalion Headquarters, the 877th Engineer Battalion, will be joining us in the summer and will assume responsibility from the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy).
There really has been no "typical" day so far. Depending on where we are and the training or preparation required, we've had to adjust to each day's needs. I expect that once projects are fully under way, we will begin our days at around 6am and work until dark or 6pm. When soldiers aren't working, they take pleasure in playing pool at the FOB Sharana Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facility, playing cards, watching movies, calling home, working out at the gym, reading a book, or sending email to friends and family. Generally speaking, the unit has not encountered any heavy enemy activity so far. There have been a couple on instances of enemy indirect or rocket fire on the unit's locations, but there have been no resulting injuries. I think most of the soldiers feel relatively safe, depending on their location and mission; however, it's well-known throughout the unit that we're in a combat zone. There is no doubt in the mind of any individual that any feeling of safety is fleeting. One moment may be quiet, while the next is filled with explosions and/or gunfire. We work every day to avoid complacency and to be ready to fight if and when required.
Afghanistan could be a beautiful country, no doubt. The mountain ranges are something else, that's for sure. The weather is crazy...two places, only 50km apart, have entirely different landscapes, temperatures, and precipitation patters...very strange really. It's definitely a rough place to live.
Monday, May 4, 2009
First Mission for the 166th Engineer Company
SPC Bailey Bullock
166th Engineer Company
2nd Platoon
The members of the 166th EN CO have now been in country for about one month. After settling in at our home station of Sharana our company was given its first mission, which involved the building of critical guard towers for another expanding FOB. This mission was tasked out to the members of 2nd Platoon, headed by 1LT Matthew Penn and SFC Gary Williams.
We, 2nd Platoon, have now been on this mission for two weeks and we are proceeding with great efficiency and speed. The building of the towers, which was planned to take about a week per tower, is being done in two days, and the mission itself is more than 50% complete. If the current trend continues, we will complete the work more than a week ahead of the deadline.
Our success to date lies solely in our platoon's ability to work together. We started this mission with only a set of plans and a Basic Order of Materials (BOM) list. Beyond that, we had to learn and adapt to the situation we found upon arriving at this Forward Operating Base (FOB). We did this very well. On the second day after arrival, we began pre-fabrication of the materials and structural elements for these towers. By the end of that day we had constructed the materials necessary to build four towers, and we were off and running. A few days later, we began construction of our first tower. Although we had to get a feel for the job and find our groove, we did and managed to finish that first tower in two and a half days. We have been flying since.
A key to our success has been the distribution of manpower. Each day we have three key teams: one team works the BOM yard constructing the necessary elements for the towers and staging those elements for loading and delivery to the jobsites; a second team goes out to the expansion site and drills and sets the posts for the towers; the third team goes to the previously set posts sites and constructs the towers themselves. And even within these three groups our soldiers have divided up the duties, having small groups work on different aspects of the construction, speeding up the process. For example, on the construction crew there are usually three soldiers that build the stairs, another five to six that work on the floor and the walls and another three to four that do all of the roofing. At different points in the construction people fluctuate and help where help is needed, but each person has a specific task as well. In addition to the construction of new towers, our platoon was tasked with completing the six towers previously started by the outgoing unit. Most were within the margin of 75%-80% completion when we arrived, but none were completed. We have managed to finish the work on all of these towers within this first two weeks as well.
The work has been hard and the days have been long, but this platoon has managed to end each day in good spirits. I can't say that there hasn't been our fair share of complaining and discouragement at times, but you know how the old saying goes, “When a soldier is complaining you know everything is fine. It's when he doesn't that something is wrong.” That is to say that all is normal and good in our platoon. We work well together and we manage to have a good time with each other while we do it. It is safe to say that this first mission for 2nd Platoon of the 166th Engineer Company has been and will be a success.
Initial Entry
SPC Bailey Bullock
166th Engineer Company
2nd Platoon
The members of the 166th Engineer Company have now been in country for two weeks, and it has been an interesting transition so far. Our entry began on the 29th of March when we left Camp Atterbury, IN and began our trip to the other side of the world. We flew out of Indianapolis that morning and about 25 hours later we arrived at Manas Air Base in Krygyzstan, which is a main entry point for troops into Afghanistan. Our flight was broken into short layovers in Iceland, Germany, Romania, and finally Krygyzstan. This probably sounds odd. It did to me at first, but all these stops were necessary for refueling due to the added weight of all of our gear that was on the plane with us.
Manas: We spent a total of about four days in Manas and after that time I believe I can speak for the company when I say that “We love the Air Force.” It was a nice place to transition into Theater. The accommodations were pretty nice; the food was good; the recreation was nice; and there was ample access to phones and the internet. The time spent there was focused mostly on R & R. We were able to relax a good bit, contact family and friends as much as we wanted, clean our clothes, and more.
April 2: The mission begins. On the morning of the 2nd we boarded an Air Force C-17 and flew from Manas to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. For a lot of us it was our first experience on a military flight. I will say this: it is quite different from a commercial flight. Just think sardines. It was actually a good flight and we arrived at Bagram safe and sound.
Our time at Bagram can best be described as a holding pattern. We did do some more training on Counter-IED tactics, but mostly we were there awaiting our flight farther in country to where we would be doing our missions. A key change that we experienced at Bagram occurred the night we arrived. We were issued rounds for our weapons. BAF, and every other base in Afghanistan (as far as I know) was on a constant “Amber” status. This means that everyone on base has a loaded magazine in their weapon at all times. At this point we knew the training period was over. This is the real thing. I have to say this has taken some time getting used to. For a lot of us, especially those who have never deployed, the only time we have ever had live rounds was on a range. Having them in your weapon at
all times is quite a change.
Bagram itself was okay. There are a lot of people crammed into a relatively small space so it is crowded to say the least. Also, there was very little to do. All we could really do was go over to the PX and "AAFES town" and look around to shop a little - too much shopping in some cases. We were staying on the other side of the base from most things, so going anywhere involved a 20 minute shuttle ride around the base, which got old. Needless to say, by the time we left, most were ready to go. On the bright side, the regular schedule of take-offs and landings of the jets made alarm clocks unnecessary.
Sharana: From Bagram our company moved on to FOB Sharana, which will be our base of operations for the duration of the deployment. We have now been here for about a week. Most of our time has been spent settling in and continuing with some final training. Most of the unit is being housed in K-Span buildings which have individual rooms in them, which is better than we expected. Many people have been busy putting their carpentry skills to the test, creating the best setup they can in their rooms. In short, we have been making it home, or as close to it as we can get. The training we did consisted mostly of more Counter-IED training, First Aid techniques, communications systems, and more. Most we had already covered before, but all are important to have fresh in our minds.
2nd Platoon: Second Platoon is the first of our company leaving FOB Sharana for a mission elsewhere in country. It is going to be a challenging one and is something that has been on our minds a lot over the last week. We are preparing ourselves and realize it will be tough being apart from the rest of the company. We have all been together now for the last month and a half, but more than that, we know we can rely on them if we need them. We will be on our own. It will take some getting used to, but we can handle it.
166th Engineer Company
2nd Platoon
The members of the 166th Engineer Company have now been in country for two weeks, and it has been an interesting transition so far. Our entry began on the 29th of March when we left Camp Atterbury, IN and began our trip to the other side of the world. We flew out of Indianapolis that morning and about 25 hours later we arrived at Manas Air Base in Krygyzstan, which is a main entry point for troops into Afghanistan. Our flight was broken into short layovers in Iceland, Germany, Romania, and finally Krygyzstan. This probably sounds odd. It did to me at first, but all these stops were necessary for refueling due to the added weight of all of our gear that was on the plane with us.
Manas: We spent a total of about four days in Manas and after that time I believe I can speak for the company when I say that “We love the Air Force.” It was a nice place to transition into Theater. The accommodations were pretty nice; the food was good; the recreation was nice; and there was ample access to phones and the internet. The time spent there was focused mostly on R & R. We were able to relax a good bit, contact family and friends as much as we wanted, clean our clothes, and more.
April 2: The mission begins. On the morning of the 2nd we boarded an Air Force C-17 and flew from Manas to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. For a lot of us it was our first experience on a military flight. I will say this: it is quite different from a commercial flight. Just think sardines. It was actually a good flight and we arrived at Bagram safe and sound.
Our time at Bagram can best be described as a holding pattern. We did do some more training on Counter-IED tactics, but mostly we were there awaiting our flight farther in country to where we would be doing our missions. A key change that we experienced at Bagram occurred the night we arrived. We were issued rounds for our weapons. BAF, and every other base in Afghanistan (as far as I know) was on a constant “Amber” status. This means that everyone on base has a loaded magazine in their weapon at all times. At this point we knew the training period was over. This is the real thing. I have to say this has taken some time getting used to. For a lot of us, especially those who have never deployed, the only time we have ever had live rounds was on a range. Having them in your weapon at
all times is quite a change.
Bagram itself was okay. There are a lot of people crammed into a relatively small space so it is crowded to say the least. Also, there was very little to do. All we could really do was go over to the PX and "AAFES town" and look around to shop a little - too much shopping in some cases. We were staying on the other side of the base from most things, so going anywhere involved a 20 minute shuttle ride around the base, which got old. Needless to say, by the time we left, most were ready to go. On the bright side, the regular schedule of take-offs and landings of the jets made alarm clocks unnecessary.
Sharana: From Bagram our company moved on to FOB Sharana, which will be our base of operations for the duration of the deployment. We have now been here for about a week. Most of our time has been spent settling in and continuing with some final training. Most of the unit is being housed in K-Span buildings which have individual rooms in them, which is better than we expected. Many people have been busy putting their carpentry skills to the test, creating the best setup they can in their rooms. In short, we have been making it home, or as close to it as we can get. The training we did consisted mostly of more Counter-IED training, First Aid techniques, communications systems, and more. Most we had already covered before, but all are important to have fresh in our minds.
2nd Platoon: Second Platoon is the first of our company leaving FOB Sharana for a mission elsewhere in country. It is going to be a challenging one and is something that has been on our minds a lot over the last week. We are preparing ourselves and realize it will be tough being apart from the rest of the company. We have all been together now for the last month and a half, but more than that, we know we can rely on them if we need them. We will be on our own. It will take some getting used to, but we can handle it.
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