Army awards deployed Dyess engineers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joel Mease
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Two Airmen deployed from the 7th Civil Engineer Squadron and now assigned to the 577th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Forces Squadron were awarded an Army Achievement Medal for their support of the 1-43 Air Defense Auxiliary Battalion, April 9.

Senior Airman Justin Costa and Airman 1st Class Scott Horst were part of an 18-Airmen team composed of engineers from the 557th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron and 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron.

The expeditionary Airmen who partnered with the Army from the 1-43 ADA Battalion were responsible for the start of construction of one of the U.S. Central Command's top priorities at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The project, which took seven months for the RED HORSE and Prime BEEF Airmen to complete, finished four earlier than projected by an outside contractor, said Air Force Capt. Ben Thomas, 557th ERHS construction site officer in charge.

"This was a great example of a very successful integration of RED HORSE and Prime BEEF capabilities along with the Army," Thomas said. "To establish a remote installation with everything from roadways to the infrastructure was just amazing."

The Airmen and Soldiers, who endured austere conditions during construction, moved more than 36,000 metric tons of dirt, constructed more than three miles of roadway and set up a 36-acre site, all while being geographically separated from their supplies.

To accomplish the task given to them, Thomas said they leveraged the experience of Prime Beef Airmen, who specialize in bare base operations.

"It was a lot of work, but I got to learn a lot more about new construction while assisting Red Horse with what I know," Costa said.

The 577th EPBS commander said he couldn't be more proud of the two deployed Dyess Airmen, not only as their expeditionary commander, but as their commander back stateside as well.

"Airmen Costa and Horst's ability not only to accomplish the mission given to them, but integrate with another unit to achieve their task is very impressive," Lt. Col. Michael Harner said. "Back at Dyess the squadron conducts monthly training for Prime BEEF Airmen to focus on these wartime requirements. Their accomplishments are not only great examples of Dyess Airmen but of what all engineers can accomplish in the expeditionary environment."