U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Air Force logistics personnel Master
Sgt. Guadalupe Rodriguez Valdez (left) and Capt. Dennis Widner load
equipment onto a hardened truck in Kabul, Afghanistan for
distribution to a forward operating base on Oct. 12, 2011. Photo by
Mark Rankin |
|
KABUL, Afghanistan (12/19/2011) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in northern Afghanistan increasingly is taking on the blue hue of
the Air Force.
Air Force service members fill more than a
quarter of the military positions within the unit, including several
of the top leadership positions. Consider this: The district's
deputy commander,
the top non-commissioned offer and the chief of
the force protection team are all Air Force members.
The
airmen's contributions are critical to Afghanistan Engineer
District-North, said Army Col. Christopher W. Martin, commander of
district.
“I don't think we could accomplish the mission
without all the Air Force personnel that we have,” he said. “Just
the number of engineers and military engineers that it takes to
execute here, we just have it in the Army, so it takes a blend of
all the services.” |
The district's line-up of employees already has something
of a pick-up team feel to it. The group of 1,400 is
comprised of U.S. military service members, U.S. Army
employees, private-sector U.S. contractors and Afghan
employees plucked from locations around the globe.
The mix-and-match composition is further evident even among
the military members. The specific numbers change on almost
daily, but the composition of military service members on
Aug. 27 illustrates the joint nature of the district's
military team. On that day, 66.7 percent were soldiers, 26.4
percent were airmen, 5.4 percent were seamen and 1.5 percent
were Marines. All armed service members arrive in
Afghanistan knowing that the task is tough and aligned with
peril, but they're united in the mission to defend freedom
and eradicate terrorism, said Air Force Maj. Keithen
Washington, who heads the human resources operation for the
district.
“This is definitely a team and
close-contact sport,” he said. “Our success is dependent on
the ability to operate in this joint environment, bringing
the full capability of our strengths to the forefront. I've
visited all the forward operating bases and the
camaraderie and esprit de corps has been nothing short of
phenomenal.”
Because the Army is largely tasked with
the fighting operations of the war in Afghanistan, the other
services have been called upon to fill vital roles within
the Corps of Engineers, said Air Force Lt. Col. Aaron
Benson, who serves as deputy commander of the district.
“The Air Force, the Navy and other services have come on
line to accept these taskers,” Benson said. “There's just so
many Army
resources out there, and there just aren't
enough to go around, so the other services have stepped up.”
The joint nature of the Corps of Engineers is especially
beneficial to airmen, Benson said, because it provides
opportunities for airmen to contribute directly to the war
effort in at the Corps of Engineers, he and others might
have missed the chance altogether. “In the back of my mind,
I always wanted to get here to Afghanistan, definitely,”
Benson said. “I got to go to Iraq for 90 days, so I thought
it would be really neat to say later in life that I was able
to serve in both of these theaters while I was in the
military.”
In fact, the Air Force has been extending
the tours of its members, so that they can serve in
leadership positions and make greater contributions to the
effort. Benson began his year-long tour in May.
The
general consensus among airmen within the district is that
the biggest impediment to serving in the unit is simply
learning the Army's unique and sometimes puzzling lingo. In
contrast, the greatest benefit is exposure the Army's
protocols and methodologies.
Two key components to
developing a sense of teamwork across the
branches is for
non-Army service members learn the Army's acronym-laden
language and for all service members to pick up each of the
other branches' rank structures, said Air Force Chief Master
Sgt. Chad Brandau, who serves as the top enlisted member in
the district.
“We're very fortunate,” he said. “We
have soldiers, sailors, Marines, and of course, we have our
airmen. They work together. I haven't seen a hiccup.”
Brandau noted that almost immediately after Martin assumed
command of the district on July 10, he ordered posters
highlighting the Army's values be displayed prominently at
Corps of Engineers facilities across the district. The
posters, which focus on loyalty, duty, respect, selfless
service, honor, integrity and personal courage, by design
feature photos of the district's service members from every
branch. “What the boss is saying is ‘Check your sticks on
these values.' He's not telling the Sailors or the Airmen or
the Marines that they have to get of the values from their
services. All he's saying is ‘Check your sticks on these
values.' It's a good thing,” Brandau said. It helps, of
course, that the services' ethoses have commonality.
Despite the joint nature of the district, it's hard to
overlook the sheer number of Air Force service members
within the district's ranks. One of Brandau's favorite gags
is to casually mention to Soldiers that the district's
population of airmen just hit the 51 percent mark, always
produces a gulp. (At least it did until publication of this
article, anyway.) While there are similarities among the
Army and Air Force, there are differences, as well.
The Air Force's institutional culture toward processes
generally is businesslike and technical in nature, said Air
Force Capt. Trent Arnold, who heads the district's logistics
operations. In comparison, he said, he's found the Army's
culture to be based in strength, accountability and can-do
attitude. During his yearlong tour, which began in September
2010, Arnold has tried to blend the organizations'
respective tactics, techniques and procedures.
He
plans to incorporate some the new blended mythologies into
his regular duties when he returns to his Air Force unit in
England at the conclusion of his tour in Afghanistan. “We
bring in more of the transport specialization, like the
cargo prep and pallet build-up of moving and manifesting
cargo, which here is probably 90 percent of our effort in
supporting the forward operating bases,” he said.
Arnold is particularly proud of a new procedure he guided to
develop a small pallet that fits inside Russian-made Mi-8
transport helicopters, which are under contract to the Corps
of Engineers in Afghanistan. Furthermore, he directed an
effort to develop a standard packing list of materials and
to make the entire operation accessible through Internet
systems, which he based on the Air Force's model of
in-transit visibility.
“We used those same
principles and applied them to the Army concept of
operations,” he said. The result is that forward operating
bases now receive supplies in organized shipments on a
regular schedule, which marks an improvement on the previous
method of delivering supplies piecemeal on a haphazard
schedule, he said. The improved system should benefit the
Corps of Engineers long Arnold rotates out. Conversely,
he'll take with him the Army's concept of standardized of
property accountability, he said.
Working alongside
Army personnel has been particularly beneficial, as might be
expected, concerning security measures. “They're security
forces by trade. They know that business. It's inherent in
their jobs,” Benson said in regard to Army personnel. The
Army is renowned for security training, which greatly
streamlines planning and reduces risk while working in a war
environment, he said. “I've learned a lot,” he said. Martin
said he appreciates the diverse perspectives that Air Force
personnel have brought to the organization. “It's a good way
of mixing things up to fill critical spots. A fresh set of
eyes is good thing to have,” he said.
By Paul Giblin
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Afghanistan Engineer District - North
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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