FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - A rhythm of water filtration systems, generators and heavy equipment roared through the Air National Guard regional training site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, during the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s 157th Civil Engineer Squadron’s prime base engineer emergency force, or BEEF, training July 27- Aug. 1.
In the unforgiving heat, Airmen sharpened the prime BEEF skills that keep missions moving when everything else grinds to a halt.
“Our mission here at the regional training site is to provide Airmen with the tools and instruction needed to enhance and sustain their individual proficiency," said Chief Master Sgt. Crystal Summa, the Air National Guard civil engineer career field manager.
The mission also provides “training on contingency assets that may not be readily available at their home station,” she said.
Five separate civil engineer career fields executed full-scale prime BEEF tasks with direct feedback from a team of premier instructors.
"At home station you are only as good as your supervisors and your equipment," said Senior Master Sgt. Ron Huntzinger, the power production instructor with the 201st Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron. "So when Wings come here, we have specialized training that focuses on the individual and their specific needs."
Huntzinger said when Airmen leave, they have increased confidence in their skill sets and their abilities.
"We build our lesson plans off of the career field tasks so when they go back to their duty station or deploy in the future they have specific memories of these exact tasks," he added.
One major project included laying concrete for a 300-foot airfield alongside engineers from the Montana Air National Guard. Machines and mixer trucks were churning, and the Airmen were caffeinated hours before the sun rose.
Senior Airman Justin Zampa-Mills, a heavy equipment specialist with the 157th Civil Engineer Squadron, poured 250 cubic yards of concrete as his first official pour in his career.
"I don't have a lot of experience with concrete but we worked with a lot of professionals and a couple of people who do this outside of the Guard," Zampa-Mills said. "There was a lot of expertise out there and it was something I learned a lot from."
As temperatures soared past 100 degrees, other career fields, including electrical and water and fuels system maintenance, focused on machinery that is not available at the 157th Air Refueling Wing but would be used in a deployed environment.
Staff Sgt. Collin Shanahan, an electrician with the 157th Civil Engineer Squadron, spent time training at the secondary distribution center in a 40 cal arc flash suit, which is insulated gear that covers the body from head to toe including a helmet with a tinted face shield, to protect against extreme heat, flying shrapnel and blinding light caused by electrical explosions.
“This is exactly what a deployment in the desert feels like,” laughed Shanahan as he removed the face shield. "Or a deployment on the sun."
He explained that the secondary distribution center connects to high-voltage equipment, such as generators, and reduces the power to a lower voltage.
"The high voltage cables we were moving, send power to things like tents or water filtration systems or anything you would have on a bare base," he added.
The prime BEEF elements operate in a team ecosystem. Without electricity from the electrical engineers, the structural specialists have no power for the tools needed to build a runway, and without water and fuels maintainers, there is no fuel for machines or water for people.
“Everyone is needed. Everyone plays a role in the bigger picture,” said Master Sgt. Gregory Lewis, the prime BEEF manager for the 157th Civil Engineer Squadron.
The engineers remained undeterred by the week-long blistering heat and stifling humidity. They powered through intensive hauling, building and executing mission-essential tasks designed to test their endurance, precision and grit under pressure.
“We turned soggy pond water into potable drinking water and maintained those systems,” said Tech. Sgt. Igor Nunez Machado, a water and fuels system maintainer with the 157th Civil Engineer Squadron. “That’s what prime BEEF is all about. We're here to open the base, sustain and recover in contingency operations, emergency response and base recovery missions anywhere in the world. That's what we train for."