WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- This summer, 51 members of the 445th Civil Engineering Squadron had the opportunity to make a big civic impact and support community projects while fulfilling their annual tour requirements.
One group of 24 reservists traveled on military airlift from Ohio to Raymond, Maine, where they helped construct a 20,000 square feet multi-use facility on Boy Scouts of America’s Camp William Hinds. The other 27 members ventured, also on military airlift, to Chenango County, New York, and completed renovations on the community’s 150-year-old fairgrounds.
“There was a lot of training opportunities, and it was a good experience working with the other services,” said Master Sgt. David Merlo, 445th CES team leader of the Maine work crew.
While on site in Maine, 445th Airmen worked with Navy and Marines personnel. In New York, the crew was joined by fellow reservists from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana and Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
Both projects were part of the Innovative Readiness Training program, a Department of Defense initiative that aims to build mutually-beneficial partnerships between service members and communities, according to the program website. The program covers four industries across the nation: construction, engineering, medical, and veterinarian.
“We constructed the wood framing for the metal roof and installed five layers of roof decking, as well as about 35 windows,” Merlo said of the $2.5 million BSA project.
The team also dug trenches for septic tank drainage to the septic field approximately one-fourth of a mile away from the four seasons dining facility and infirmary, he said.
Once completed this winter, the facility will be used not only for residential summer camp programs, but also by individual Boy Scout troops, school field trips, and groups from other nonprofit organizations, explained Merlo, who serves as the NCO in charge of water and fuel systems maintenance at 445 CES.
“This was a positive example of what the IRT projects are supposed to be,” he said.
IRT projects operate on a rotation system, with new Reserve and National Guard crews coming in from across the country every two weeks, until the scheduled end date of the project. A skeleton crew remains in place for the duration of the project, serving as the leadership team, said Master Sgt. Clay Bucy, 445th CES team leader on the New York work crew.
“When we arrived in Chenango County, the project was behind schedule because they had a rough rotation earlier in the summer. Within five days, we had it caught back up to where the project manager needed it to be,” Bucy said.
This crew’s work involved burying electrical wires, removing the pre-existing electrical poles, installing attic insulation, and performing daily maintenance and refueling on generators and air conditioning units.
The fairgrounds project began in May and concluded at the end of July, with the 445th participating in the final rotation. The group put the finishing touches on the facility—installing flooring, trim, and molding, along with cleaning and painting.
“The county employees were so grateful for everything we did to help,” he said.
The civil engineering squadron is home to a number of individual Air Force Specialty Codes, with members training to become proficient in a specific skills set like emergency management, utilities, or heavy equipment, to name a few. During IRT, members have the chance to grow their skills beyond just their AFSC, said the NCO in charge of heavy equipment.
“They want to learn more, and they want to try things out,” he said. “My younger troops were able to operate excavators, skid-steer machinery, trenching machinery, 10K front-end loaders, sweepers, and many of the other types of equipment we need to be proficient in, but aren’t always able to practice on.”
While in New York, Bucy said the community response to their presence was astounding.
“The local Y let us use their facilities for free. We could work out, use their swimming pool and showers,” he said.
On other occasions, community members surprised 445th Airmen by discreetly paying for their pizza at lunch, or offering the buy their coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts.
“It was really nice to help out and give back to a community that has supported us for so many years,” said Bucy, noting that for many local residents, this is their only interaction with military personnel, since the nearest military station to the county is in Syracuse, New York, roughly 70 miles away.
“For me, who has deployed to three combat locations in my Reserve career, as well as the young, brand-new Airmen, to see that what they do on the weekends and these ATs matters,” Bucy said, “and for everything they give up, they finally got to see some appreciation from someone other than a family member.”