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Bridge Mission Pushes on Despite Challenges
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Liana Mayo
244th Combat Heavy Engineer Battalion
FORWARD OPERATING BASE IRONHORSE, Tikrit, Iraq — On a crisp November evening, as shadows stretched along the banks of the Tigris River, six soldiers from the 652nd Assault Float Bridge Engineer Company, climbed out of the multi-purpose boat and fanned out along the cliff.
While some pulled security, others pushed through the tall reeds along the river’s edge to retrieve a pontoon that had escaped its restraints when the river rose the night before.
Aptly named, Rugged Bypass is a major floating bridge construction project near the city of Tikrit that began more than two months ago. When completed later this year, it will be the longest pontoon bridge built by Coalition forces in northern Iraq.
The bridge will be 340 meters long, or more than 1,000 feet, and will stretch past both banks and onto the causeways. The pontoon span is meant to handle rerouted traffic when a permanent bridge in Tikrit is closed for repairs.
The 652nd, an Army Reserve unit from Ellsworth, Wis., is one of a handful of units collaborating on the Rugged Bypass project that, when done, will feature a floating bridge that spans the Tigris River five miles south of Tikrit. The latest challenge came with rising water levels of the Tigris as severe storms in northern Iraq and Turkey in November caused 24 pontoons to break away and float downriver. The search for pontoons went on for several days, and many were found as far as 25 miles downriver. Almost all stray pontoons were found and recovered, and construction teams have resumed building.
To withstand the fast current, the new Mabey & Johnson bridge is a floating construction using large pontoons that are anchored to the riverbed. Allen Pierson, a Mabey & Johnson Ltd. employee from the United Kingdom, is supervising the construction of the bridge.
“This will be the longest floating bridge by Mabey Johnson ever built and the first Mabey Johnson bridge to be constructed by the U.S. Army.” Pierson said. Because of the fluctuation of the river level, building the span has been particularly challenging.
“So really, the actual bridge building is a small part of the project,” Pierson said.
Iraqi contractors have been hired to assist with building the causeways, welding the pontoons on which the bridge will rest, and using 60-ton cranes to lower completed sections of the bridge into place.
Getting the project from the drafting table to the water has been a major endeavor as the project has required a variety of skills and equipment from various units. Equipment operators from the 229th Combat Support Equipment Company, a National Guard unit from Platteville, Wis., have been conducting engineering operations on the project since Oct. 12, while overseeing the construction of a road and causeway system that will lead to the bridge. Bridge builders from the 74th Multi-Role Bridge Company of Fort Hood, Texas are responsible for assembling the steel bridge and setting it afloat.
On site to help with bridge construction are crane and forklift operators and welders from the 223rd Combat Heavy Engineer Battalion, a National Guard unit out of West Point, Miss. and the 244th Combat Heavy Engineer Battalion, a Reserve unit from Denver, Colo. Boat operators from the 652nd have been shuttling soldiers daily to and from the site in their hydro-jet boats, powered by two 6-cylinder turbo engines. “We call them the Cadillacs of the sea,” said Spc. Carl Gumz, a member of the 652nd and a native of Eau Claire, Wis.
1st Lt. Chad Mauer, platoon leader for the 74th’s 2nd platoon, which is primarily responsible for the bridge construction, said although the search and recovery of the 40-foot-long pontoons slowed construction for several days, the mission is proceeding. The unit is using the bridge building as a learning experience preparing for another bridge project in Baqubah, Iraq.
Several soldiers from C Company, 14th Engineer Battalion of Fort Lewis, Wash. are responsible for overseeing the organization and coordination of the overall project, including causeway construction and improvements on both near and far shores.
“The entire project has been a managerial challenge,” said 1st Lt. Richard Cerretti, executive officer of C Company, 14th Engineer Battalion. Cerretti said he is impressed by the team’s ability to come together quickly while working on a short timeline, and sees it completing the mission on schedule. “The strength of the team working on the bridge has come from its diversity, the ability to draw on the skills and experiences of so many different specialties,” he said.
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It's been a while since I warned you to get your Kleenex before reading an article - here is your warning:
An Airport Experience of a Reader
Yesterday I was sitting on the second-tier floor at the Denver airport awaiting a return flight to Houston. Below me on the ticketing floor was a young woman standing near the exit from whence passengers from newly arrived aircraft could finally meet their loved ones. She wore a T-Shirt emblazoned with "I love my soldier boy."
She was a girl with the wholesomeness of a mid-America that some of us remember. She stood there patiently for some time until finally arriving passengers streamed through. And then a smile brightened her face, and she ran with absolute abandon into the arms of a skinny kid wearing desert BDU's. They hugged and they kissed, oblivious to everything - and I am sure that I was not the only person there with a constricted throat and moist eyes.
Eventually, they pulled away from each other, and walked hand-in-hand toward the exits. And then a middle-aged woman approached them. She put her arms around the young soldier and hugged him for extended moments, and then stood back to look at him. Then she turned to the young woman and shook her hand, and then walked away. I had thought she was the mother of one of these fine young people - she was in fact a member of a grateful country welcoming a soldier home with gratitude.
I kicked myself for not having extended my own thanks. Then again, I was on an upper-floor with no ability to get to them before they would disappear nto the netherlands of the Denver airport. However, shortly thereafter, I saw more soldiers in BDU's including what appeared to be a proud father holding the hand of an equally proud toddler striding together through an admiring throng.
Finally, my own plane arrived, and I made my journey to Houston. Once there, I rushed to my final flight from George Bush Intercontinental to Ellington Field (where the astronauts fly from). I had only five minutes to spare. And then I saw another young soldier. He was alone, and dressed in battle-gear. And I remembered the woman in Denver and her wonderful gesture. And so I walked up to the young soldier. He was a buck-sergeant, and friendly, and I thanked him for his service and dedication to our country. He was married, and had two kids waiting for him in Baton Rouge when his own flight arrived there. He had been in Iraq through the entire battle, and then in Baghdad. He had received OSOT packages including the neck-cooler, and said they were MUCH appreciated. He said to tell anyone who would listen that he was proud to have been there, that the mission was being accomplished, that the news on the ground was not what was being reported in the press, and that as badly as he missed his family, he was ready to go back and do his duty - just before Christmas. To paraphrase someone famous, "where do we get these guys?"
I felt humbled, proud - and scarcely contained my own emotion as he spoke about his family. He could have been the quiet teenager next door that the "popular" crowd thought to be a geek. He might have been Mr. Wizard on the basketball court. It did not matter. To me he was a genuine American hero, one deserving of our concern and our gratitude. And then a remarkable thing happened. As we spoke, I mentioned my son at West Point and my other one at the prep-school. Just then, my flight was announced and I had to leave. The young soldier said something to me which I could not hear. "I'm sorry, what was that again?" I asked.
He reached for my hand. "God bless you," he said, "and your sons."
With examples of duty like that, priorities fall into place. Where do we get these soldiers?
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What Our Families Are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) We received a very excited e-mail from our daughter yesterday (46th Chem Co., 2nd Chem BN). She is on the first leg of her trip home. She writes "Today I came back from the fuel farm to stay with the company until I get on a plane to Kuwait. I can’t wait to be home! I said all of my tearful farewells at the fuel farm last night and this morning. It was just the best feeling, practically too good to be true, how kind everyone was to me while I was getting ready to leave." The plane should be there in 5 days to take her to Kuwait. After a 2-3 day layover, she should be on her way back to Ft. Hood and, hopefully, from there to Wisconsin (Go, Pack, Go) for Christmas with the family, and ETSing after that. We are praying for a smooth and speedy trip all the way home...... Even though my daughter is on her way home, I've sent Christmas stuff, including a small tree, to the platoon to help make their Holiday a merry one. God Bless all of our soldiers and their families. Thanks for all of the sacrifices you have made.
2) I just wanted to thank you on behalf of the 502nd PSB FRG (Ft. Hood). You printed the ad about our New 4ID Online Gift Shop, and we have been selling items every day for the past 8 days at www.cafeshops.com/502psbfrg4id to 4ID soldiers, family members and veterans all over the U.S. Orders have come in from various states.
We have also added a few new items to the store. The Christmas Ornaments are selling very well along with hats and t-shirts. We appreciate your support. Our FRG really needed it. Also, we'd like to thank everyone who has added our shop link to their 4ID sites or passed our news on to your 4ID lists. Thank you. God bless our servicemen and women and all military families!
3) My husband, with HHF 2/20 FA out of Fort Hood, left to go back to Iraq today. The past two weeks were wonderful. We spent most of our time just spending time as a family doing simple things such as watching movies and playing games. Just watching him get so tickled over the every day common things we take for granted made me realize how much they do without over there. I am so thankful that they implemented the R & R program. He shared a lot of stories of what he has encountered and even though it was hard for me to hear some of it I know it made him feel better to get it off of his chest. While he was home I showed him your daily updates and he was so impressed and grateful that you are doing this.
4) My boyfriend, is with HHC/1-67 AR BN at Camp Scunion in Ba'Qubah. We have been able to communicate by e-mail on a regular basis for the past two weeks and it has been WONDERFUL. However, nothing beats the excitement of opening your mailbox and receiving a handritten letter. I received just such a letter yesterday and would like to include a portion of that letter today. I am so proud of the work that he and his fellow soldiers are doing during their deployment. However, I am even more proud to read his OWN words stating that from the field. Below is an excerpt.
" We continue to do good work over here, and it is great to go out and see the soldiers at work. These guys are definitely heros. I used to wonder about how our generation would fare in combat, wonder if we could live up to the expectations and the standards set by those who came before us, and now can say whole-heartedly that the soldiers of today are as great as those of any generation which came before them." ......As I am writing this, I can hear the distant fire of Artillery and such during exercises as soldiers here, (FT. Stewart, GA; I live five miles away) , prepare to be called again to foreign soil to protect our country. God Bless our Troops, their families and our great country that we have the privelege to call home.
5) It had been much too long (well over 2 months) since we had heard from our son in “A” Co. of the 1-12 Inf(M) 3rd BCT out of Ft. Carson. We were rewarded with an early Christmas as we received a call Sunday evening from him as he waited in Germany for his connection home for his mid tour R&R. We had figured since he was single, no dependents, hadn’t been wounded, or anything else that would move him up on a list that we probably wouldn’t see him until April. Instead he asked us what we were doing for the next couple of weeks and he would be home the next day (Monday). What a wonderful surprise! He is going to see his new niece and we will try to make the best of the visit as we have to send him back a couple of days before Christmas. He said he had been pretty much working mostly perimeter guarding, traffic check point monitoring, and missions in the field. He looks good and is in good spirits. He talks real positive about the experience over there and what he is doing. Now, in the words of my sister who is a mother to an 82nd airborne staff seargent, “all we can do is wait until we can get them all home for good”. As the t-shirt from Ft. Hood says, "The war isn’t over until all of the soldiers come home."
6) I spoke to my son (223rd Eng Bn/MS, Baqubah) on Saturday and he was preparing for his leave. He said he would go to Balad on Mon. Have not heard anything from him yet and worried a little. Don't understand why he hasn't called. As of Saturday, he still had not gotten his Christmas box I sent on 11/7!!! I've read in the updates that the mail was delayed. Hopefully it'll show up, but he'll be on his way home! He said things were muddy and flooded around their trailers. He mentioned they had a new PX. Merry Christmas to all and may God bless each soldier and their families.
7) Hey Bob. I just thought I would share the last few days with you and the other readers. It started on Sunday, Dec 7th. Of course we all know that is Pearl Harbor day but in our hometown of Lubbock, Texas is was also dedication day for the new Veteran's War Memorial. It was awesome. Over 12,000 people were there! My family went to the dedication because my father and also my husband have bricks on this wall. The dedication ceremony was awesome. A Black hawk helicopter did a double fly over. The first time he went over, it was great - he was pretty low but it was really neat. The second time it was more interesting because he flew low and over a "lake" we have here and about a thousand or more Canadian geese flew into the sky as he was flying over which was pretty awesome to see but scary as well because we didn't want the guy to crash because of the geese. But it went fine. It was incredible to see though. They also had one of the oldest veterans there from the Korean War. He was 97 years old! The memorial is really beautiful. There are a million names on the wall. So far I haven't located my husband's on it yet, but when it is 100% done they will have a legend to show everyone where their bricks are located. I found my father's pretty quick but I have been looking and looking for my husband's. My dad was in the Navy and served during Desert Storm. He thought it was awesome to have a brick. So that was a good experience.......I also heard from my husband this last weekend. He is with B CO 1-22 IN 3RD platoon in Bayji. (Editor's Note: That was my platoon and company in Vietnam. Hooah!) He is doing well. I got some pictures from him when he was on R&R , he has lost a LOT of weight and looks great. He sounds in very good spirits. ....Well Bob guess I better sign off for now. I just wanted to share that incredible experience with you. Also if you are ever in this area I would suggest a visit to the memorial. It will be an experience you won't forget. Thank you for all your hard work, and God Bless all the families this holiday season. I haven't seen my husband since he left back in April so this holiday will be hard for all of us. Let's not forgot the families who have lost their loved ones. Let's gather them up in our arms and show them how much we love and appreciate them.
GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS AND FAMILIES!!!
8) Well, last night I took my husband back to LAX airport and sent him back on his way to Iraq. We had 15 wonderful days together and I can't begin to tell you how great it was to just be able to hold him in my arms again. He and our 4 year old daughter bonded again right away and they were inseparable during his whole visit. We did a lot over the time we had, went to Vegas to visit his parents, took our daughter to Disneyland and spent several nights out just the two of us. We even had time to take in a movie, we say The Last Samurai, in case anyone wants to know it was excellent. Anyway, I thought that saying good-bye to my best friend again would be almost unbearable, but with having such a tremendous opportunity to have these 2 weeks together I wasn't about to turn it around and dampen our spirits. So as all us Military wives do, I sucked it up until after he was into the doors and I was back on the road home. Home and in my bed I allowed myself to finally let it all go and cry myself to sleep. He looked great and we luckily had no issues of sleep or nerves to contend with. He slept all night from the first night and we discussed several times about his experiences and opinions about what they are going through. Overall an incredible 15 days that I wouldn't give up or change for anything. Oh by the way he belongs to C/3-16FA located in Khan Bani Saad. God please our troops and God Speed.....
9) My soldier is 1-44 ADA 4th ID out of Ft. Hood, stationed in Tikrit. He is home for two weeks R & R. He was supposed to come home, originally Dec. 15, but got "bumped" up and came home on Dec. 2. We were expecting our first child on Dec 24. The baby decided to come early...He was born today. "Dad" is on cloud nine. He will have to return to Iraq on Dec. 18 but Thank God and the US Government he got to come home in time to see his son born. Our newborn will probably be crawling by the time "Dad" sees him again. My heart goes out to the families and soldiers that won't get to come home but I grateful that mine did. We married on Jan 18, this year and he deployed March 30th, We have been married almost a year now and have only been together for about a month of that time. Sorry about rambling but this is the third happiest day of my life. (Editor's Note: congratulations to the new parents, you have the right to ramble today, thanks for passing on the good news to us).
10) WE just spent two wonderful weeks with our son, a medic with 3-16 FA. What can I say about this magical time? He met his four month old daughter for the first time and she took to him instantly, even though he was worried she wouldn't! My whole family met him at Bush Airport in Houston - the reunion was captured on film by Channel 11 news - when he held his daughter for the first time , people clapped AND cried, even the men. What a keepsake for his little girl. A couple of days later, THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE came to our house to interview Matt and his family and put them on the front page Thanksgiving DAY! Strangers sent money and gifts for his daughter - he didn't quite know why he was getting so much attention - people came up to shake his hand saying "Thanks for what you're doing", etc. These people don't even know my son and they think he's special - imagine how we feel about him! He was basically the same guy who went to Iraq - a little on the lean side maybe, the same sense of humor - definitely a lot more of a man mentally. I'm very proud of my son, but what made me especially proud was when he went to the middle school to speak to the students who had been writing to him. I saw a side of my son I had NEVER seen - poised, confident, eloquent, with just the right touch of humor - these students were old enough to ask some TOUGH questions and they had lots of them! The way he handled himself was amazing - he didn't just impress his wife and mom - some of his old high school teachers were very impressed with his maturity. THIS MOM has never been prouder! Needless to say, the time went too quickly - the last 2-3 days were the most emotional for him. If I could give one piece of advice to others - let your soldier have that time to spend as they see fit - we had to take the phone off the hook so he could gather his thoughts and spend this time with his wife & daughter. People mean well, and I told my son "it must be HELL being so popular!" When it was time to go to the airport he was ready and spent his last time with us teasing his wife and being himself. He really is a man now. Early this morning I sat outside to contemplate the funeral of a friend today - someone much too young to die, and as I looked to the FULL moon to say a prayer for her AND my son, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shooting star. I'm not sure, but I believe they were both telling me they're okay.
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