WAHIAWA, Hawaii – Combat engineers of the 65th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division; Company C, 3rd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Regiment, 25th ID; and engineers assigned to the Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment participated in the Pfc. Gaviola Expert Sapper Competition Aug. 24-28 on Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Air Field and Bellows Air Force Station in Waimanalo.
The Pfc. Gaviola Expert Sapper Competition is joint engineer specific training designed to keep engineers combat ready through rigorous training to prepare them for U.S. Army Sapper School.
Soldiers participating in the Competition completed in events based on their combat engineer military occupations. Events include, a helocast and air to land operations with a Ch-47 Chinook Helicopter, a rappelling course, a demolitions course, and training scenarios that tested their skills in communications, medical evaluations, reconnaissance, detecting unexploded ordnances and chemical biological radiological and nuclear defense.
“Soldiers over a five-day period are participating in an event called the Expert Sapper Competition where they will be trained and tested in both engineer specific tasks and basic Soldiering tasks,” said Sgt. 1st Class Alex MacDougall, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the recon lane assigned to 65th BEB.
MacDougall, native of Goodrich, Michigan, helped to build and test the recon lane for the Sapper Competition and will be evaluating Soldiers coming through his lane.
Due to incoming bad weather, senior leaders of 65th BEB thought about putting the testing and training on hold, however, for the engineers that was not the case.
“There is always a contingency plan but as we say in the Engineers Corps if its not raining you’re not training,” said MacDougall.
Despite the weather, Soldiers continued to push forward by doing their best to get the most out of the training.
One junior combat engineer, Pfc. Zacchaus Robinson, native of Barber, Massachusetts, sees this as an opportunity to improve as an all-around Soldier.
“This training will help me see what I am not strong at and how I need to improve,” said Robinson, a combat engineer with Company B, 65th BEB.
The training is important for the Soldiers of 65th BEB because of the various tasks demanded, however, Soldiers were not the only ones who received this training. A small group of engineers from the United States Marine Corps also participated in the exercise.
“This training is a culmination of events for everyone in the Combat Engineer career field that not only applies to the Army but to the Marine Corps as well,” said Cpl. Roberto Lopez, a native of Mission Hills, Califirnia and combat engineer with the Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Lopez has worked with the Army before to do training such as this and realizes its importance.
“It’s been good working with the Army,” said Lopez. “ We are excited to be here and they are excited to have us out. This training will help me refresh on some of the things we do not do as often such as rappelling.”
Regardless of the service, the training that took place has helped combat engineers maintain combat readiness specific to their military occupation specialty and prepare them for future deployments.