SOUTWEST ASIA -- A group of horses has been galloping through the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, building permanent structures to help servicemembers complete their missions.
The 1st Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, or RED HORSE, Group here has been responsible for a number of improvements, especially at forward operating bases.
"RED HORSE is the heavy construction capability for the Air Force," said Maj. Scott Grainger, 1st ERHG deputy commander. "We have the capability to do heavy earth moving, large vertical construction projects, create runways, drill wells, etc."
The group is made up of approximately 570 Airmen assigned to two squadrons, the 557th ERHS in Iraq and the 819th ERHS in Afghanistan. Two hundred and fifty of the Airmen are deployed from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. The other 320 come from a wide range of career fields and more than 75 different active duty, guard and reserve units around the world.
"When we deploy, we come with our own mini wing," said Major Grainger, of Vancouver, Wash. "We have our own services, medical, supply, aerial porters, logistics, safety, security forces, personnel as well as engineers. We can come in and set up our own living areas to minimize reliance on other folks."
Out of those Airmen, approximately 400 are filling joint expeditionary taskings accomplishing construction projects. Airmen assigned to the group headquarters are responsible for ensuring those down-range missions are accomplished and equipped properly, he said.
Among other things, the group's logistics section here is responsible for managing the 781 vehicles currently used by the group, including things most vehicle maintainers won't see at normal bases, like rock crushers, scrapers and paving machines.
"We do all the logistics for nine different sites, which can be challenging," said Chief Master Sgt. Scott Urfer, 1st ERHG chief of logistics. "At each construction site, we also have a mini logistics section. Together, there are about 95 support personnel spread throughout the AOR."
He said for many of the Airmen, it's the first time they have deployed with RED HORSE.
"One of the unique things that I've seen is everybody in all the different career fields doing whatever is needed to get the construction completed," the Mountain Home, Idaho, native said. "You could have supply guys hanging drywall if they aren't busy doing their primary job. They join in where ever it is needed at the construction site."
Another section based here is the design cell, which is responsible for taking specifications from the customer to create blueprints for the construction workers.
"The primary purpose of the design cell is to provide the customer and our construction teams with a concept of what's going to be built, whether that's a building, runway, taxiway or parking lot," said Capt. Michael Stayrook, 1st ERHG chief of design, who is deployed from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. "We also provide support to our teams through consultations to help them solve any issues they run into while they are building."
The Lobelville, Tenn., native said when RED HORSE receives an initial request from a customer, mechanical, civil and electrical engineers work together to create a basic blueprint for the project. Depending on the customer's needs, the engineers may be able to modify an existing design, letting construction workers to begin almost immediately. Or in the case of more complex projects, it could take as long as three months to make sure the customer is satisfied with design specifications before work begins.
Once a rough draft is made, it is sent to the engineering assistants for fine-tuning. The assistants work closely with engineers to identify and correct any discrepancies with the design.
"We have two missions," said Staff Sgt. Travis Tewes, 1st ERHG engineering support NCO in charge, who is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. "First we assisted the design cell. Normally they do the drawings and then they will shoot it over to us for any small changes that need to be made throughout the project. Our other mission is to ship any equipment the guys in Iraq or Afghanistan will need to complete the mission and ship it to them."
Captain Stayrook said engineering assistants are also responsible for onsite surveying, quality control and soil testing.
Currently, the group is managing 54 on-going and upcoming projects, 24 in Iraq and 30 in Afghanistan.
"The guys in Iraq right now are doing primarily building construction," the major said. "In Afghanistan, we are doing a lot more ground construction. One of the significant things we are doing is building an assault strip, which is a 4,300 foot gravel landing strip for C-130s, at one of the forward operating bases. This is the first time RED HORSE has built one from the ground up, so it's kind of a new project for us."
In addition, the group occasionally does projects here on base.
"During Malmstrom's last deployment, we did a major project with the munitions storage area to move it and make way for the local nationals to occupy the facilities," Major Grainger said.
Currently, the group has five projects scheduled here.
"The Airmen are just phenomenal," the major said. "The things they can do and the conditions they are operating in, both here and down range, are nothing short of amazing. We push them out to some of these small FOBs and it takes them a while to get materials, but they are able to operate with what little they have."