560th REDHORSE Squadron Builds Strong Partnerships at Texas A&M Published June 26, 2025 By Staff Sgt. Michella Stowers 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Airmen from the 560th REDHORSE Squadron are continuing construction on what will become the Construction Field Lab for Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture. U.S Air Force 560th REDHORSE Squadron structural engineers temporarily deployed to Texas A&M to complete a pre-engineered building (PEB) that will be used at the RELLIS Campus. The PEB will be 40 ft wide and 100 ft long and will be 25 ft tall and will be used as the Construction Field Lab, Bryan, Texas, June 18, 2025.. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michella Stowers) Photo Details / Download Hi-Res Modeled after the Field Engineering and Readiness Laboratory (FERL) at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the site will provide Texas A&M - RELLIS (respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, selfless service) students with hands-on experience in construction, bridging classroom learning with real-world applications. For the Airmen of the 560th, the project offers equally valuable training. “This project allows us to meet critical training requirements in a realistic setting,” said 2nd Lt. Schyler Carbone, the site project engineer. “It mirrors the type of work we would perform in a deployed environment and helps maintain mission readiness.” While it is easy to train most skills, this project allows Airmen the opportunity to strengthen other skills like communication, time management and problem solving, all of which they may need in a deployed environment. Staff Sgt. Christopher Thomas, structural journeyman, cuts through metal to ensure walls are even on a pre-engineered building (PEB). The structure will be used as a construction field science lab at Texas A&M – RELLIS campus in Bryan, Texas, June 18, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michella Stowers) Photo Details / Download Hi-Res The collaboration is one of several ongoing initiatives between Texas A&M and the Air Force aimed at enhancing civil engineering education while providing Airmen with mission-relevant construction experience. “We have students in the university as well as young military members that are growing up in construction, but don’t have the knowledge yet” said David Goltz, director of Innovation at Texas A&M. “They get the experience while the students will end up getting the end result, which is the product of the building that they can use.” Future joint projects are under consideration, with goals to further support engineering education and expand training opportunities for Airmen in civil engineering career fields.