CE builds Airmen home away from home in Romania

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky
  • 323rd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
CAMPIA TURZII, Romania (AFPN) --  Hundreds of Airmen deployed here in support of Operation Noble Endeavor have a home away from home thanks to the civil engineers of the 404th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron.

In 96 hours the team constructed a tent city complete with hot showers, dining facility and dry living quarters in an empty field adjacent to the Romanian air base.

Campia Turzii is home to the Romanian Air Force 71st Air Base, which houses MiG-21s.

The location will also be home to F-15 Eagles from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, as they augment Romanian forces in policing the skies over the NATO summit in Bucharest.

Since there was not enough room in local hotels to lodge the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Airmen deploying here, civil engineers plowed clean an old Romanian paratrooper obstacle course adjacent to the air base and built a tent city.

"We had seven people on the first day," said Senior Master Sgt. Andrew Drummond, the 404th EABS civil engineering operations chief. "We had the space secured, and we had a plan for tent city that would meet our needs and not encroach on the Romanians, but we needed more people. Trucks started arriving the next day, along with more people, and tents started going up."

More than 70 trucks delivered material to Campia Turzii, dozens of which held equipment specifically for the civil engineers. The only problem was not knowing what would arrive when, said Capt. Greg Orbino, a civil engineer with the 404th EABS.

"All of us were fairly confident that the right materials would arrive," he said. "But, the order in which they arrive is critical in constructing tent city. Some of our tools, like some hammers and saws, didn't arrive until the day after we finished. We made do though, and got the job done."

The civil engineering Airmen deployed here from five U.S. Air Forces in Europe bases to support Operation Noble Endeavor. Each brought a unique set of experience and skills which were tested in the just-above-freezing temperatures, wind and heavy rain of Transylvania.

"Civil engineer squadrons train for this at their home stations," Sergeant Drummond said. "This is our wartime mission -- building in a bare base scenario. The Airmen's success in putting everything together here is a testament to their skill as craftsmen. It's gratifying to see our wartime mission succeed during a partnership-in-peace event."

More than 40 tents, 1,500 feet of concertina wire and 500 tons of gravel went into the tent city.

Additionally, the structures shop constructed cubicle desks for computers and phone stations in the morale tent, while the heavy equipment operators graded the land and constructed two retaining dikes for two 210,000 gallon-capacity fuel bladders.

"Our biggest challenge was the unknown," said Tech. Sgt. Lance Blocher, a 404th EABS heavy equipment operator. "For some it was their first time in a bare base environment. They didn't know what to expect, so it doubled as a great training opportunity for those Airmen without a lot of field experience."

Sergeant Blocher is deployed from the 86th Construction and Training Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, which serves as the USAFE site for Silver Flag exercises. Silver Flag trains CE Airmen for bare-base situations. He is the lead heavy equipment operation instructor for those exercises.

"On the whole, everyone has done a really good job," he said. "As an instructor, you don't often get the chance to practice on such a large scale. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone. It definitely helped me out. There will be a lot of lessons learned that I bring back to home station."

Romanian Airmen stationed at Campia Turzii have done their fair share of helping as well, Capt. Orbino said. They provided security, gave access to water supplies and even cut a hole in the fence between tent city and the 71st Air Base.

"There was a C-17 (Globemaster III) arriving with people and equipment," he said. "It was the first time an aircraft that large has ever landed here, and the signs on the airfield would have been a major obstruction. After the Romanians learned about it, the signs were removed immediately. That's just one example of how they bent over backwards to accommodate us. They have been fantastic, gracious hosts."

Tech. Sgt. Darrain Arbogast, a 404th EABS heavy equipment operator, enlisted during the cold war in 1987. Romania was an "Iron Curtain" country of the Soviet Union at that time. He had the honor of being one of six Airmen who raised the first American flag above Campia Turzii. It's an experience the 20-year veteran won't forget, he said. 

"I start my terminal leave for retirement in May, so this is my last deployment," he said. "After I raised the flag, one of the Romanians told me they had been waiting 50 years for Americans to come here. The significance of that statement didn't hit me until a few hours later. It was quite an emotional experience."

Once Operation Noble Endeavor concludes, work will begin on disassembling everything CE has worked to construct for redeployment to home station. Until then, their mission is infrastructure maintenance, ensuring Airmen deployed here continue to have a home away from home.

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