BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
Ten Airmen from the Air Force Reserve's 940th Civil Engineer Squadron put the pedal to the metal to help complete a road repair project here in record time Aug. 10-13, 2007.
The Reservists, assigned to Beale AFB, worked along side their active duty counterparts from the 9th CES in a total force effort. Although the planning phase of the project took some time, the repairs, including new asphalt being rolled, were completed in only four days, as opposed to a week for most similar projects.
Master Sgt. Alan Carlson, 940th CES heavy equipment supervisor, provided background on the need for the repairs. A stream bed runs under the short section of road and is dry all year except for a brief time during the spring run-off, when large amounts of water rush through the culverts.
The sergeant said the initial damage was done more than two years ago during a flood.
"You could see how bad the damage was if you stopped to look," he said. "The edges of the road were beginning to crumble."
The 940th and 9th CES crews worked 12 hour shifts around the clock with the Reservists taking the midnight shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Friday.
According to Senior Master Sgt. Scott Marler, 940th CES heavy equipment superintendent, the team replaced three culverts with four new ones, hoping to avoid future clogged drains and flooding.
The Team Beale civil engineers also used the project to gain critical training for field operations. Capt. Ramiro Ramos, 9th CES maintenance engineering chief, said team members would be expected to perform the same type of duties when deployed to remote locations.
The 940th CES road warriors are traditional Reservists with full-time civilian jobs that mirror their military duties.
In many cases, the Reservists are employed by a federal, state or city department of transportation, or similar agencies. For example, Sergeant Carlson has more than 20 years experience as a heavy equipment operator for the city of Roseville, Calif.