CE reservists help active duty carry on Ramstein mission

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amanda Dick
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  More than 40 reservists from the 934th Civil Engineer Squadron in Minneapolis, Minn., are helping out the 786th Civil Engineer Squadron here this summer with several engineering projects.

The reservists, who are swapping out posts in two groups, have been working on projects such as interior renovations, replacing cable poles, road work and more.

"We do any kind of projects that a normal civil engineer squadron would do," said Maj. Cynthia Doolittle, 934th CES operations flight commander. "We work on heating, ventilation and air conditioning. We do regular renovations. We work power, pavements and road work. We have the same capabilities as the active-duty CE squadron."

As well as engineering projects, members of the 934th have also been helping in the back shops due to the nearly 80 members the 786th CES has deployed.

"We're backfilling in the shops," Major Doolittle said. "Our power production and utilities folks are actually working out of the shops, doing work orders and preventative maintenance."

That work has been helping out the 786th immensely.

"The mission here is a very high operations tempo ... job orders just seem nonstop," said Master Sgt. William Grady, 786th CES facilities superintendent. "So with these guys here and their expertise, they're able to attack some of these projects, especially as our deployments have minimized us. It allows our people remaining to concentrate more on their customers and get their jobs done."

The two units have also integrated the Air Force's "Total Force" concept, working side by side to continue the mission as one cohesive unit.

"We all do the same job," Sergeant Grady said. "These guys are really just training now, because they're in the bucket to deploy next year. There's many times we deploy, and these guys are our bosses. They'll lead us; we'll lead them. We augment each other ... one team, one fight."

For members of the 934th CES, this has been an opportunity to become more proficient in their job and comply with the Status of Resources and Training System.

"One thing for the reservists that's very important is we need projects to meet our critical wartime skills training requirements," Major Doolittle said. "The 786th, by offering these projects to us and letting us come here, is helping us meet our SORTS ratings. And, that keeps our readiness where it needs to be for deployments. So, that has huge benefits for reservists."

After the two groups from Minneapolis have finished their time here, a third group of civil engineer reservists will be coming in from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., to help out at Ramstein. In total, the reservists will have completed about $300,000 worth of projects.