Engineer general visits FEST-M in Afghanistan
by Mark Abueg

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Jan. 30, 2011) – Afghanistan’s joint forces engineer general visited Soldiers and Civilians of a U.S. Army field force engineering unit stationed overseas here yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Mark W. Yenter traveled from his headquarters office in the northern city of Kabul to the southern province of Kandahar to provide the 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Support Team - Main) with an update on the development of engineering in Afghanistan during a Town Hall Meeting. He also thanked the FEST-M for all of its hard work and dedication to the engineering mission.

“You’re doing what I asked you to do and I appreciate that,” said Yenter, who is the commanding general for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Division Forward-Afghanistan and the director of joint engineers for United States Forces-Afghanistan. “You are a unique organization in the Corps of Engineers.”

The FEST-M, which is comprised of Department of the Army civilians and U.S. Army Soldiers, has been completing a variety of design-engineering projects supporting Regional Command (South), Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, and Kandahar Airfield.

“I’m very proud of the fact that you’re a part of USACE,” he said. “You have volunteered to come forward and you all signed up to a unit that’s deployable and you knew it was going to deploy.”

During its yearlong deployment, the FEST-M has completed a variety of projects in Afghanistan. Some of the projects include designing police sub-stations for the Afghan National Police, mitigating possible floods on Kandahar Airfield, and proposing concepts for new government buildings within Kandahar City.

“This unit continues to do amazing things,” Yenter said. “If you guys aren’t doing what you’re doing, it simply would not be done. So you’re in the right place and you’re doing the right job.”

Yenter pointed out this was the first time a FEST-M had been applied in combat, so challenges were expected. An incredible amount of work was accomplished in a one-year period to form the team, prepare for deployment, and then eventually deploy.

“I couldn’t be prouder of any other units in the Corps of Engineers than this one with what you guys have done to pull the team together and get the mission accomplished,” Yenter said. “I mean that from the bottom of my heart, so thank you for what you’re doing.”

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The 579th Engineer Detachment (FEST-M) pose with Brig. Gen. Mark W. Yenter, left-center; commanding general for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Transatlantic Division Forward-Afghanistan and also the director of joint engineers for United States Forces-Afghanistan. Yenter visited the Soldiers and Civilians of the field force engineering unit on Kandahar Airfield; Afghanistan; to provide them with a situational update on the state of engineering in Afghanistan. (Photo by 1st Lt. Christopher J. Haviley)