Engineers play major role in support of nation’s security

By Reginald Rogers
Paraglide

	Photo by Spc. Cooper T. Cash/USACAPOC Soldiers begin the road march portion of the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency competition in Twinsburg, Ohio July 11. Soldiers must complete track and field, swimming, marksmanship and road marching events under the supervision of a certified German army representative to earn the GAFB.

Members of the 3rd Platoon, 100th Engineer Company have a big responsibility. The company is solely responsible for handling the topographical data for government and military leaders around the world. Third Platoon, which is stationed at Fort Bragg, has North America covered — literally.
When an incident occurs, such as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, government leaders, emergency management agencies and military official must have current photos and data of the ever-changing situation. That’s where 3rd Platoon comes into the picture.

The platoon is
responsible for providing topographical information for the entire North America area. According to platoon leader 2nd Lt. Jeffrey Laughlin, it’s a big responsibility, but one that he and his Soldiers are proud to carry out.
“Our mission is really outstanding,” he said. “When you mention deployments, people usually think about CNN, Afghanistan and Iraq. They don’t really think about a deployment being to any non-war zone and they define war zones to be Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Laughlin said he thinks it’s significant that his unit is surging people from the U.S. to other contingency operations, but is also maintaining and supporting the government by being on stand-by for any national disaster.

“For any national disaster, such as Katrina,” said Laughlin, who took over his current position in April. “The 82nd Airborne Division was sent to New Orleans to provide aid to the people who were affected. My platoon is responsible for that area. So if you think about any natural disaster, my platoon’s duty is to make sure that the generals who are making the decisions on where to put their forces on a daily basis is informed. Even before they send any troops there, my platoon would be the one to send them the pictures of the area affected by the disaster.”

Laughlin said it’s important for them to have a good picture of the area so that they can maintain situational awareness of the operation and make decisions on what needs to be done to improve the situation.

“For an example like Katrina, they need to know where the flooding is and how to design a plan to overcome that obstacle. As for Haiti, our guys are the ones who try to help out with the big picture. It’s kind of a challenge to view the situation based on a map because most people usually think of maps that just show the terrain and landmarks. We consider the fact that that
information that they’re looking at is changing on a minute-by-minute basis.”

Laughlin said his platoon oversaw various maps of the area and determined which structures and terrain features, both natural and man-made were still standing or collapsing, following the massive earthquake that ravaged the country in January.

Laughlin, a native of Muskogee, Okla., said in the event of a disaster, such as hurricanes or in any area determined to be a disaster area, the platoon supports the U.S. Army North, which is the Army element of the U.S.Northern Command, but he added that they would provide support to joint task force-civil support for other national emergencies, such as chemical, biological and radiological attacks anywhere in North America.

They also support Joint Task Force-North in monitoring the nation’s borders, seaways and in providing support to other government agencies, such as the U.S. Border Patrol, he explained.
Laughlin explained that in the event of a terrorist attack on the East Coast, his unit would take on the responsibility of retrieving photographical data and supporting the responders and military planners by keeping them aware of the situation.

“We have to be able to give them an updated picture within a certain amount of time,” Laughlin said.

His platoon consists of 24 members, all of whom are geospatial analysts.

“They’ll look at a map and then a picture, such as a flooded area and they’ll be able to locate that flooded area and make an assessment,” he said. “They’re pretty slick in what they can do. They’re working at figuring out everything from electrical grids to how sewage is affected. They monitor all the things you think about that may affect the infrastructure, such as power grids, roadways and telephone grids.”

Laughlin pointed out that the population often changes in areas affected by natural disasters and other situations and his platoon must also provide photo support to the keep officials updated on the situation.

“These guys are experts on different levels,” he said. “In terms of being able to look at population, physical structures and even the weather that is also occasionally changing and painting that picture on a map to assist the leadership.”

Laughlin said his Soldiers face the challenges that any other unit faces, but added that he works to keep them motivated and inspired, despite being constantly called upon to support various mission.

“I tell them that I’ve got to be able to wake up and have pride in what I do, regardless of any level of stress that I may have to deal with,” he said. “It’s the same with them. They see their job on a daily basis and for them to understand the big picture is something that’s always a challenge. It’s important for them to understanding how they’re connected within the entire U.S. and the security of the nation.”

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