Squadron members honored for work in Afghanistan

Jace Radke

Friday, April 4, 2003 | 9:49 a.m.

Lt. Gen. William T. Hobbins left the members of the 820th Red Horse Civil Engineering Squadron with a reminder Thursday after honoring them for their efforts in Afghanistan last year during Operation Enduring Freedom.

"The Air Force may soon call on you again as we continue our efforts in Operation Iraqi Freedom," Hobbins said during an awards ceremony at the Nellis Air Force Base Officers Club. "The global war on terrorism has forced Red Horse to the front lines.

"Stay focused. I know you will."

More than 200 members of the squadron were given medals for a deployment from January 2002 through June 2002 that required building and maintaining runways and facilities in Afghanistan that allowed Air Force planes to fly sorties during Operation Anaconda.

Staff Sgt. Mike Shaffer, a heavy equipment operator with Red Horse, said he is ready for another assignment, even if it's to Iraq.

"There is probably a lot of humanitarian work that will need to be done in Iraq, and this unit is capable of that," Shaffer said. "I hope we are deployed there next. We want to do our part.

"It kind of sucks being stuck over here while other people are over there fighting."

Red Horse, which serves as engineering and infrastructure specialists for U.S. Forces and is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, has been deployed on humanitarian missions in the past.

Since 1999 the squadron has helped repair airport runways in Albania, built a school in Grenada and worked to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch in El Salvador. About 50 members of the squadron are deployed to the Caribbean constructing roads and buildings.

Red Horse could also be called upon to build infrastructure to support U.S. forces in Iraq. That's what the squadron did during its deployment to Afghanistan.

Squadron members worked around the clock to complete emergency construction of a temporary aircraft ramp, six hangars, a 1 million-square-foot aircraft parking apron, a fire station, a warehouse and an operations building. Sewer, water and electrical service were also constructed, in what became the largest Red Horse mobilization since the Vietnam War.

"It was a big job, but it's amazing how fast this unit can get a job done," said Staff Sgt. Lloyd Richards, who is with Red Horse's support services unit. "It was amazing how the outlook in that desert area changed when we arrived. The other personnel knew that we were there to construct something that would make their jobs easier."

It took the unit 179 days to finish the $26 million project, but Richards said he wasn't surprised at how quickly everything was finished.

"We're tasked with projects that must be completed before we can come home, so that's good motivation," Richards said. "We know the quicker we get done the quicker we get to come home."

Much of the work was done in what have been described as hellish conditions, with temperatures shooting past 120 degrees and 70 percent-plus humidity. Photos taken in Afghanistan show members of the squadron in their familiar red hats dealing with a fine layer of dust that covered everything.

"There were no sparkling beaches and palm trees out there," Hobbins said. "There was only sand and dust and the ever-present danger of a terrorist attack."

Among the medals presented to the squadron on Thursday were three bronze stars, a medal given for heroic or meritorious achievement of service in connection with operations against an enemy force.

Col. Paul Minto, Lt. Col. Patrick Morris and Chief Master Sgt. Tony Savo were given bronze stars for their work supervising construction in the region.

Two hundred twenty-eight other Red Horse members were also honored for their work in Afghanistan.