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Civil engineers build it

Air Combat Command News

Release Date: 8/26/2003

By 1st Lt. Kevin Brown 40th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

8/26/2003 - OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (ACCNS) -- "If you build it, they will come" are the strange words heard by Kevin Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, in the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," but for members of the 40th Air Expeditionary Civil Engineer Flight here, those are the words they preach.

Production is part of their mission here as providers of expeditionary combat support. In this role, the flight deployed from the 145th North Carolina Air National Guard as members of a Prime BEEF, or Base Engineer Emergency Force, team.

"The principle objective of deploying Prime BEEF teams is to beddown and support an (Air and Space Expeditionary Force), to maintain and sustain base facilities and recover a base after attack" said Maj. Tim Dotson, the 40th Air Expeditionary Civil Engineer flight commander.

"We build and maintain everything needed to support the base," said Tech Sgt. Randall Jones, the acting first sergeant for the civil engineers. "Just imagine life here without the luxury of air conditioning in your tent."

And building is exactly what they've done, finishing projects started by their predecessors, and starting a few others.

"We're renovating a building for a new tent city chapel, constructing tent floors and walls to add durability and privacy, (making) numerous improvements to Camp Justice facilities, while advancing the construction of the CJ Pavilion at the pier -- all improvements in quality of life for base members forward deployed here," Major Dotson said.

Although their work is not always so visible, it's essential to the 40th's operations.

"Our civil engineers maintain base infrastructure so everyone else can do their job," Major Dotson said. "When the headquarters building lost power, it was our power production guys who responded and got the building power again."

But these engineers don't just build tents and restore base power. If the base were attacked, they're trained to do highly specialized work like rapid runway repair and decontaminating buildings, vehicles and equipment.

Strangely, they've been doing this for a lot longer than most units in the Air Force because of their North Carolina ANG background. The average age of Expeditionary Civil Engineering Flight personnel is 37, and the average time in service is 17 years, meaning they have experience.

"I've known some of these guys for the last 15 years," said Master Sgt. Christopher Foster, a production controller. "That means when I get a job request, I know who's the best guy for the job. It's not a rank thing with us; it's an expertise thing."

And it's that policy that explains why they're here now and why they've been sent all over the world, deploying to nine different countries over the past 15 years.

So what's next?

"We'll all go home next month to our families," said Sergeant Jones. "That's where the next project will begin, catching up with the family for times missed over the past 100 days."