All together now: Civil engineers team up for project

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lara Gale
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) --  Almost nothing changed on the outside of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing headquarters here until the final week of the renovation. There was always something indicating work -- trenches, heavy machinery, dusty workers taking a quick break at the gazebo. But the metal exterior itself didn’t give any indication of the work going on inside until the end. 

“You couldn’t see any difference on the outside,” said Staff Sgt. Scott Williams. “People were probably watching this whole time thinking -- what have those guys been doing all day?” 

What they’ve been doing "all day" the last three months is creating an entire building. It was built from the ground up inside an existing Soviet-era metal bunker by base Airmen, saving the Air Force more than half a million dollars. The ribbon-cutting for the new facility was held last week.

“In all my deployments, in all my travels, I have never seen a project like this,” said Master. Sgt. Gregory Tesch, noncommissioned officer in charge of the heating, ventilation and cooling shop. “I tell my guys they’ll probably never see anything like it again. They’ll look back on this and say, ‘Wow.’” 

Every shop in the 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron came together over the past three months, working 12-hour days and longer, even volunteering to work on days off. Their objective: build the wing headquarters into a two-story office-space about 60 percent larger and more visually appealing than what they tore down. 

“It was a barn-raising,” said Tech. Sgt. Phillip Hull, overall project manager. 

Generally, this type of project is the realm of Red Horse civil engineer units, trained to build bases in austere environments. With only a handful of structures specialists in the squadron, civil engineers from every career field lent a hand. Firefighters raised bearing walls, entomology specialists shaped beams, electricians took up paintbrushes and plumbers hammered nails. 

“There is no way we could have pulled this project off in this amount of time without the teamwork,” Sergeant Hull said. “Teamwork is what made this run.” 

An outstanding work ethic is what made it happen to such a high standard of quality, he said. 

“I don’t care what any of the guys tell you -- when it’s 7 or 8 o’clock, and they walk into the chow hall just covered in dust and sweat, and people are looking at them like, ‘Where have you guys been?’ -- they’re proud,” Sergeant Hull said.

Forty to 50 percent of the squadron's Airmen have never been deployed before; some are veterans with multiple deployments under their belts. All took something away from this project, said Tech. Sgt. Bill Flemming. 

“I’ve learned a lot and it’s my sixth deployment,” he said.

As lead craftsman for the project, Sergeant Flemming said he gained experience in management and leadership, while the Airmen he supervised worked to turn training into skills through hands-on experience. 

Many of the Airmen saw all the components of building construction come together for the first time. They also benefited from experiencing firsthand what happens when a CE squadron puts its mind to something, Sergeant Hull said.

In an expeditionary setting, the project required plenty of flexibility and adaptability, he said. 

“We really couldn’t make plans very far in advance. They changed constantly because there were so many variables,” he said. 

Sometimes the obstacles seemed endless as they juggled metric measurements, the strange angular workspace inside the metal shell exterior, working with foreign materials and tools. 

Every day, the objective-driven specialists performed minor miracles and moved ahead, Sergeant Hull said. 

Just for Airmen to know they are capable, with teamwork and dedication, of completing such a project in an expeditionary setting, is worth every drop of sweat, said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Fraher, chief of the 376th ECES. 

“What makes me feel better than anything else in this project is that they have confidence in these skills now,” he said. “Next time they deploy, if they go somewhere less secure, they’ll be able to do their job that much more easily.” 

Col. Randy Kee, commander of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, said he could not be more proud of the squadron, or pleased with the result of their hard work. 

“These truly are some of the finest men and women I could have the privilege of serving with,” he said. “This building is nothing short of incredible. 'Wow' is a good word for it.”