About two weeks ago, several elements of Fort Benning’s 11th Engineer Battalion were told to prepare to deploy to the earthquake-ravaged city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
The unit has since been instructed to stand down, meaning its services aren’t immediately needed there as humanitarian aid continues to pour in from around the world. In a moment’s notice, however, those orders could change. If they do, the approximately 780 members of the battalion would be responsible for rapidly executing a massive mobilization from Fort Benning in support of Operation Unified Response.
As it stands now, there’s about a 50 percent chance the battalion will be called upon to join the relief effort in Haiti, said 11th Engineer Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Dwayne Smith.
“Flip a coin,” Smith said. “We don’t know. But this battalion’s ready. We were ready before this hit in Haiti. This is what we do every day.”
The soldiers of the 11th Engineer Battalion are trained to execute a host of tasks including land clearing, road building, demolition and supply distribution. Should the battalion receive its marching orders to Port-au-Prince, its Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Forward Support Company would be able to assist with the distribution of supplies while its horizontal company, the 63rd Engineer Company, would be used to remove rubble and initiate road repair.
“And our bridge company (the 362nd), its secondary mission is also distribution of supplies,” Smith said. “So they would be able to help out with that or I’m sure there’s probably bridges out and they can help with maybe, possibly getting in some temporary bridges so the traffic can start flowing again.”
The battalion’s fifth company, the 60th Engineer Company (vertical construction), is currently deployed to Afghanistan, so it wouldn’t play a part in the unit’s possible mission to Haiti. The 60th is due to redeploy to Fort Benning in April.
Would be unique deployment if it happens
This would be the battalion’s first deployment in support of a humanitarian aid mission should it be called upon to serve in Haiti, Smith said. That doesn’t mean its soldiers are inexperienced when it comes to such endeavors.
“These engineers in these particular companies, like the 63rd Horizontal Company, have gone before to help out down in the Florida area,” Smith said. “We’ve also sent a team down to Costa Rica during the floods. We’re on alert every year for the hurricane season, which is coming up here starting in June for the Southeast and all the way from Florida to Texas.”
If deployed in support of Operation Unified Response, each company — which consists of about 150 soldiers — could remain overseas for approximately 6 months, said Lt. Eric Pope.
Sgt. Devin Potts, of the 63rd Engineer Company, said he was looking forward to helping out in Haiti and hopes to still get the chance to go.
“It would have been my first humanitarian mission,” Potts said. “But it would have been a fun mission, a good experience.”
Potts said engineers have a lot to bring to the mission, which at this point involves tearing down and rebuilding severely damaged infrastructure.
“We could offer a lot,” Potts said. “As far as engineering, we could clear all debris … to set up for new buildings. We do a lot of building, the foundations, roads.”
Because the 11th Engineer Battalion is not a rapid response unit, it would take a week or more for its soldiers and equipment to arrive in Port-au-Prince if called upon, Smith said. “With the equipment, we have to wait for the rail cars to get here, which takes a couple of days and then the loading will take a couple of days,” the commander said.
Because of the time it takes to mobilize the unit, there are no current travel or leave restrictions on his soldiers.
“The soldiers wanted to go,” Smith said. “Nobody wants to be away from their family, but the families here are strong and they understand it and we’re ready to go for this or, hopefully nothing will happen during hurricane season, but if so we’ll be ready to respond and help out in America.”
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