41.1 F
Clarksville
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNews'Just like a new home'

‘Just like a new home’

Written by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

101st Sustainment Brigade - LifelinersFort Campbell KY, 101st Airborne DivisionBagram Airfield, Afghanistan – Ask any soldier deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and more often times than not they’ll tell you the same thing: living conditions here can be pretty rough.

Along with the weather and sandstorms, living out of a tent or a deteriorating B-Hut can be a challenge. This is where Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Schafer and his crew come in.

Spc. Jason Morrison of the 101st Sustainment Brigade carefully helps guide Sgt. Justin Scott, a Military Heavy Equipment Opertator with the 919th Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, sheets of plywood inside a conex. The plywood, along with other building material, is used to help Soldiers contruct their own wooden B-Huts in remote Forward Operating Bases throughout Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes)
Spc. Jason Morrison of the 101st Sustainment Brigade carefully helps guide Sgt. Justin Scott, a Military Heavy Equipment Opertator with the 919th Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, sheets of plywood inside a conex. The plywood, along with other building material, is used to help Soldiers contruct their own wooden B-Huts in remote Forward Operating Bases throughout Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes)

Schafer, a brigade plans section non-commissioned officer in charge with the 101st Sustainment Brigade, and his team is responsible for “B-Huts in a Box”, a project aimed at delivering all the materials and supplies necessary to build a brand new living quarters for soldiers assigned to remote Forward Operating Bases throughout Afghanistan.

The intent is to replace those tents and deteriorating B-Huts and improve the living conditions and quality of life for Soldiers on the front lines, Schafer said. “It’s just like buying a new house. Every soldier’s glad to move into something newer or better,” he said.

The project – also nicknamed, “the Schafer Shacks” – consists of a conex filled with lumber, sheets of plywood, insulation, electrical hardware, and other material needed to construct a complete open bay B-Hut. It also comes with blueprints and instructions on how to actually construct it.

“The ones I sent out this past week, they’ve already started erecting,” Schafer said.

Schafer said the idea to create “B-Huts in a Box” originated in April after an excess amount of lumber ordered into country was found in a Carrier Container Holding yard in Kabul. Leaders decided to distribute the excess lumber out evenly to the various FOBs throughout Afghanistan, he said.

“Col. [Michael] Peterman threw out the phrase, “B-Hut in a Box” and then tasked me to put the idea into fruition,” he said. So far, Schafer said he and his crew have put together approximately 50 “B-Huts in a Box” containers and sent them out. The crew also employs local Afghan workers to help putting the items together.

Spc. Jason Morrison, a soldier with the 101st Sustainment Brigade, is assigned to the team and his role is to show the local nationals how to bundle the items together to put into the conexes. “We show them good ways to get things done without getting hurt and staying safe,” he said.

Morrison credits the Afghans for their role in the project. “They help out a lot. Even though many of them can’t speak English and we don’t know their language, hand signals work pretty good,” said “You can show them one time, and they’re pretty much good from there.”

Others said the job their doing is gratifying because they know they’re helping improve their fellow soldiers’ quality of life so far from home.

“We’re the ones putting this together to help the other soldier have better living conditions,” said Spc. Gamalier Mendez of the 131th Transportation Company, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade.

Sgt. Justin Scott, a Military Heavy Equipment operator with the 919th Inland Cargo Transportation Company , an Army Reserve unit based out of Bay City, Michigan, and also assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, echoed Mendez’ sentiments.

“It provides an opportunity to provide more stable housing out to those areas. It’s not as easy to get these materials to those areas on trucks in bulk, and this can provide a little more comfort and possibly more security for the soldiers’ personal items,” he said.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles