163d RW Civil Engineers Train and Build

  • Published
  • By Maj. Brenda Hendricksen
  • 163d RW/PA
  What do a tropical island and thirty-eight 163d Reconnaissance Wing Civil Engineers have in common? Both were surrounded by water during a Deployment For Training (DFT) exercise at Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, Mar. 3 to 17.
  The DFT project involved renovating a barbershop/class six into a gym annex that included two bathrooms with showers and two storage areas. The project had its list of challenges starting with the unavailability of blue prints. The base was constructed in the 1930s as an Air Force Base (Ramsey). "When the Air Force left, they took the blueprints with them," said Engineering Assistant Master Sgt. Vinie Bravo.
  Another challenge was obtaining materials and using outdated equipment. "Because
of where we are, its not easy to get what we need," said one of the construction site managers Chief Master Sgt. Don Ulstad. "Equipment kept breaking," said Utilities teammate Senior Airman White.
  The project began with the demolition phase. "This is grueling. It's a lot of work," said CES potential recruit Tech. Sgt. Greg Jackson (MXS). The roof was patched, three doorways were cut open, windows were taken out, walls were stripped and tiles were removed. "Removing the tile was labor intensive. It took a day and a half, maybe more," said electrical journeyman Tech. Sgt. Craig Jones.
  The project not only gave the civil engineers great training but also helped to save the government money. According to Base Facilities Manager Lt. Commander Dennis Evans if the job was contracted out it would cost the government four times as much.
  During trenching a communications cable was accidentally cut. For a while the team thought the cable could be to something important. It was later found out that the cable was unused. Over the course of the project three lines we hit. "Normally you would dig into sand then caution tape before hitting the line," said Master Sgt. Earl Rankin. The color of the tape tells you what kind of line it is. "The lines are old. No sand or tape was present," said Sgt. Rankin. Something that would normally help in a situation like this is a dig permit. When a dig permit is obtained a map with electrical, mechanical or waste lines are usually depicted. "Without a dig permit we were pretty much expecting to hit something," said Sgt. Bravo. "We did get a verbal ok from the base for the digging," added Sgt. Bravo.
  The electrical shop had their work cut out for them as well. "The original electrical system had to be gutted and the team started from scratch," said one of the site managers Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Myers. A 150 amp system was changed to a 200 amp system. This involved putting in new boxes and running new lines, conduit, circuits and pipe. putting in new boxes, conduit, running circuits and pipes. "The job was fast paced. Because of some challenges that arose, it involved more than we expected," said electrical team lead Master Sgt. Michael Bunting. The team won't be able to put the finishing touches on their part of the project since this would happen after the drywall and roof repair was complete. When asked if it was sad to not be around to see the finished product, Sgt. Bunting replied, "The pride comes with the accuracy. Before we leave we can look at the project and see that we did a good job."
  The Heating and Air Conditioning Team (HVAC) worked base maintenance while waiting to do their shops parts in the construction project. "The air conditioning unit is usually one of the last things installed," said HVAC Team Lead Master Sgt. Andre Kreil. During the second week the team dabbled in structures projects such as breaking up concrete using a jackhammer and blocking. Many times we end up doing a little bit of everything," said Sgt. Kreil. "It's a great learning experience for the team," added Kreil.
  Since no topographical maps existed for the area surrounding the building being constructed, the surveyors proved invaluable. "It would take about a month if we were to map out the entire base," said Senior Airman Jim Fields. The maps the surveyors leave behind will include the plaza (the center of the base where the main buildings exist) and the area surrounding to include dimensions of buildings, roads etc. "We used benchmarks (known points) and our calculations off those," said Master Sgt. Bravo. The team also determined the existing grades to determine what slopes the pipes should be coming out of the structure. "Three percent is what we are hoping for," said Senior Airman Joshua Balaney. At the end of the DFT the team had about 20 percent of the base mapped out. "The information we leave behind will be used for upcoming construction projects," said Sgt. Bravo.
  Overall the DFT ended with the project 80 percent complete. The only thing remaining to accomplish is the floor, Tbar ceiling, lighting, dry wall and door installation. "We ran into some unforeseen circumstances but we were able to work around them. Our main goal taking on this project was training. This aspect was exceptional. Most of our civil engineers not only got training in their craft but most were able to work in different trades as well," said Project Manager Capt. Heidi Gibson. "It's hard to find construction jobs where most trades can be utilized," said Sgt. Myers. "The project was perfect for our needs."