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CAMP TAJI, Iraq (May 1, 2008) - Craters from roadside bombs can
be found throughout the thousands of miles of roadway that cover
Baghdad and the surrounding areas.
When the attacks occur, it's time for the soldiers of 230th
Concrete Team to "pour" into action.
The team is based out of Purvis, Miss., and is attached to 769th
Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, Multinational Division
Baghdad. It consists of soldiers who specialize as concrete mobile
operators and concrete masonry troops in performing what is known
as rapid crater repair.
"Through precise planning from the 769th Engineer Battalion,
from Baton Rouge, La., these missions are flawlessly executed with
the assistance of the 851st Vertical Engineer Company, from Little
Falls, Minn.," said Army Lt. Col. Keith Waddell, a native of New
Roads, La., 769th Engineer Battalion commander.
"Since arriving to Baghdad in October, this small group has
repaired over 105 craters using 828.5 cubic yards of concrete to
better assist the local Iraqi people by making their roads safer to
drive on and to prevent anti-Iraqi forces from using the same
crater to cause further harm," said Army Capt. Jason Mahfouz, a
native of Lake Charles, La., the battalion's operations officer.
"These repairs also benefit the soldiers of the Multinational
Division Baghdad to carry out their mission here in Iraq."
A local Iraqi who serves as an Iraqi citizen security officer
said the repairs are beneficial. "The smoother road makes for
better driving," he said.
Whether the sun is beginning to rise or set, the soldiers from
230th Concrete Team, with assistance from the 851st Vertical
Engineer Company, prepare to head out to perform the rapid crater
repair missions. The soldiers and their equipment head out to
various sites, day after day and night after night, to repair the
roads that wait ahead of them.
"Once on site, and all security measures have been emplaced, the
crater is dug out and shaped so that the reinforcing rebar can be
properly placed," said Army Sgt. James Bridges, from Gulfport,
Miss., a concrete mobile operator with 230th Concrete Team.
Because of the hardness of the rock below the roadway, sometimes
a pneumatic jackhammer is used to shape the crater that is being
repaired. The fact that the soldiers wear 60 pounds or more of
protective gear makes the task physically demanding. Once the road
is shaped, the soldiers pour concrete and work to make it the
proper texture and consistency by shoveling sand into the mixer.
Once the proper mixture is established, the tiring task of
spreading the concrete evenly is performed with metal concrete
rakes and shovels, Bridges said.
Once the concrete is evenly spread out, it is smoothed over with
a large float to ensure that it is evenly packed on top. While the
process is performed, another soldier uses a hand trowel to assure
that the edges of the newly repaired crater are smoothed over the
adjoining edges of the roadway.
Once the crater is repaired, these soldiers, who have nicknamed
themselves the "Goons," sign the newly repaired roadway with their
nickname, date and time. Before leaving the newly repaired area,
the soldiers mark the site in the hopes that passing vehicles in
the night will not damage the setting concrete. Then the entourage
of vehicles moves to the next crater, Bridges said.
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