News

McChord Reservists help complete building project in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mindy Bloem
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  While many back home were enjoying a traditional Christmas Eve, several members of Kirkuk's 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron were busy pouring concrete for a new construction project just under way.

The team began the building project in early December.

According to the project superintendent, Senior Master Sgt. Franklin Barnes, a Reservist and structural superintendent with the 446th CES, McChord Air Force Base, Wash., the building project will make the base more secure.

The project seems a perfect fit for the deployed Reservist who is also a general contractor back home. He has been doing this type of work for a long time and understands some of the challenges that come with working in a deployed environment.

"We don't always get the parts we need," he said. "We had to build all the parts that we needed to do the form work. We don't have all the parts or hardware we'd have in the States available to us here, so we have to adapt to what we would normally use and just make do with what we do have."

Those challenges, however, do not mean an excuse to cut corners.

"I try to do everything the same here that I'd do back home," the superintendent said. "I expect the same quality."

For Senior Airman Carol Clements, 506th ECES structural apprentice, these challenges are her ticket to future success.

The Reservist, deployed from Carswell Field Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas, said she has aspirations to one day flip houses and be able to do the work herself.

"I would have never gotten all this hands on training just two days a month at my home station," she said. "It's helped tremendously. Time goes by fast, and that's another reason I picked this career field. I sit at a desk back home, and eight hours feels very long."

Barnes said the project has been a group effort involving many CE shops, including heavy equipment, electrical and utilities.

He said everyone has worked really diligently and well together.

Clements has taken pictures throughout the process and says she is just looking forward to the end result.

Barnes agrees and isn't complaining about being out of the office.

"I like being outside," he said. "I'm an outside person, so it's nice to get away from the desk and the paperwork and actually go do something. It's a big project and takes a lot of time, but when you build something like this, you get to see all the fruits of your labor. Two months ago, there was nothing here but grass. Now it's starting to take shape."

The project is scheduled for completion in early February.