BIDDLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Pa. -- The project challenged Airmen to complete a full-depth repair of an existing parking lot, taking the site from demolition and subgrade preparation through base-course placement and final asphalt paving.
Over the course of the project, four two-week rotations allowed Airmen to cycle through the site and gain experience operating heavy equipment and performing different stages of pavement construction.
“The idea was to get as many people in here and trained as we can,” said 1st Lt.TylerWilliams, project engineer for the Tobyhanna paving project. “By establishing the four different rotations, that allows a couple days to onboard, a couple days to work, with training in between for each rotation.”
For some Airmen, the project provided experience they do not routinely get during drill weekends at their home station. Working on an active project also gave less-experienced members an opportunity to learn alongside seasoned Airmen while producing a finished product for the depot.
Senior Airman Zane Sampson, a pavement and construction equipment specialist with the 201st RHS, Det1, said the project provided significant equipment operating time and a chance to apply skills in a real-world environment. “Getting a ton of stick time, getting a real-world application,” Sampson said. “We’re actually trying to meet the requirements of the project, trying to hit those elevation points, meet our grade and everything.”
The project also gave Airmen an opportunity to build on experience gained during previous missions. Sampson said he had previously relied heavily on more experienced Airmen while performing similar paving work during a deployment, but the Tobyhanna project allowed him to put more of what he had learned into practice.
Beyond the immediate project, the training helps prepare 201st RHS Airmen for future requirements at home and abroad. Williams said the experience gained at Tobyhanna directly supports the type of work the unit expects to perform in support of Pacific Air Forces missions in the future.
“This project has been a huge success in training us for what has been going on in PACAF and what we plan to be doing in PACAF in the future,”Williams said.
That readiness also translates back to the 111th Attack Wing. Williams said the experience gained at Tobyhanna can help position the unit to take on similar paving requirements at Biddle Air National Guard Base. “It sets us up for both beyond home station and on home station,” Williams said, adding that unit leadership has already discussed potential paving projects at Biddle. “This project definitely provides the training to do that in the near future.”
The project also presented the kind of challenges Airmen could encounter during real-world operations, including changing ground conditions and equipment breakdowns. Those obstacles required Airmen from different specialties to work together, troubleshoot problems and keep the project moving.
“When something goes wrong or something breaks down, we adapt and we just make it work,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Bonamico, project manager. “That’s what we’ve got to do.”
By the project's conclusion, Airmen had transformed the site while strengthening their proficiency in pavement construction and heavy-equipment operations. The work demonstrated the mutual benefit of training partnerships that allow RED HORSE Airmen to sharpen mission-essential skills while completing infrastructure projects for other Department of War organizations.
For Williams, the project’s success was ultimately reflected in the Airmen who put in the work. “I’m extremely proud of the guys that came out here,” Williams said. “A lot of the rotations worked extremely long days, so I just don’t want their hard work to go unnoticed.”