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CE covers its assets

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Roy Lynch
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  Airmen from the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron were recently confronted with a problem. They needed to demonstrate their ability to shield a building, piece of equipment or military personnel against enemy attack during an operational readiness exercise.

Training like they fight and exceeding the expectation, 366th CES responded by building a revetment.

"Building a revetment gave my engineers an opportunity to demonstrate their teamwork, skills and ingenuity that Air Force civil engineers are famous for to solve a problem in addition to getting some valuable training," said Lt. Col. Eric Fajardo, 366th CES commander. "I couldn't be prouder of what they've accomplished."

The revetment has an outer shell like a motorcycle helmet to help distribute the impact over a greater surface. The soil is like the mess fabric that lines the helmet absorbing projectiles and protecting the equipment or Airmen. That is what a revetment is -- a way to avoid damage to military assets and personnel.

Unlike prefabricated Hesco barriers, revetments require a skilled engineer to design them. For the exercise, that engineer was 2nd Lt. Yunghee Hong.

Hong had three options; buy a Hesco, which is expensive; fill sand bags, which are cheap, but have no training value and are less sturdy; or design and build a structure out of plywood, boards and dirt. The lieutenant decided to build.

"We built this u-shaped revetment that has an interior and exterior wall, filled with soil in between which will provide better protection for the asset," said Fajardo.

Airmen from the engineers, structures and heavy equipment sections work and communicate together in order to assemble a barricade.

"I believe the squadron is a top-notch unit and I'm pleased with how we worked together to achieve our goals," said Hong.

Just like the motorcycle helmet protecting a riders head from disaster, a revetment protects military assets, allowing equipment and Airmen to get back into the fray.

"We train like we fight," said Fajardo. "It gives structures, heavy equipment and engineers training opportunities only seen down range."