Red Horse builds it all at Q-West

  • Published
  • By Army Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp
  • Multinational Corps-Iraq Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATION BASE QAYYARAH WEST, Iraq (AFPN) --  The sounds of hammers smashing nails and the buzzing of saws cutting wood, typically resonate through this forward Army outpost -- simply known as Q-West.

The 200-plus civil engineering Airmen of the 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron are nowhere near an airfield. And they are nowhere near any of their Air Force brothers and sisters.

“It’s just us flying solo, wherever we are,” said Senior Airman Jesse Gent, a structural journeyman. “We’re kind of like a contractor, and we support the Army wherever they need us.”

“We’ve had a pretty good gelling of sorts with the Army,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Leonard, a structural craft team leader. “If they need something built, we’ll build it.”

On a six-month deployment, the unit is right at home when it comes to building structures from the ground up.

“We do a lot of bed downs -- building quarters for people to sleep in,” Sergeant Leonard said. “We are currently working on a (morale, welfare and recreation) building for the 101st Airborne Division and our Airmen to use.”

The squadron has Airmen from all over the States and Europe. And the unit is a mix of electricians, plumbers, carpenters and engineers. Although there aren’t any runways at Q-West, airfield workers operate heavy equipment here.

Sergeant Leonard, deployed from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Airman Gent -- a maintainer and member of the honor guard at Cannon AFB, N. M. -- don’t always have opportunities to do hands-on structural work at their home duty stations. That’s why deploying with the Red Horse is a great opportunity to get experience, Airman Gent said.

“This is where we really learn,” Airman Gent said. “It just gets thrown at you, and there are is wealth of experienced guys in the unit who help us. We really get hands on with what we do and that’s what the Red Horse is known for. I’m pretty excited to be out here and be a part of the unit.”

Not only are the Airmen capable of constructing most anything, they are prepared to handle themselves on the battlefield. Before deploying, the troops went through a month of practical training with the Army at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The training has paid off since the engineers run convoys throughout Iraq.

“We trained on various weapons systems, convoy operations, tactical movements and close-quarter marksmanship,” Sergeant Leonard said. “We came prepared for just about everything.”

Not only have the Airmen trained with Soldiers, the two recently had the chance to work together. The Army sent Soldiers to help the Airmen and to learn from them as well.

“When the Army came out and worked with us, it was a lot of fun,” Airman Gent said. “There were a lot of guardsmen. And for them to come help us out was an awesome experience.”

This dual-service relationship is nothing new. The Airmen go to technical school to learn their trade in Gulfport, Miss., the same place the Army sends their troops to learn engineering career field specialties.

Airman Gent -- who studied carpentry, welding and sheet metal layout at technical school -- said the reward of doing what they do is the thanks they get when a job is done.

“It’s great when Army commanders come out and say ‘Hey, that’s an awesome job,’” Airman Gent said.