La. Guard Engineers provide community support on projects

By Staff Sgt. Noshoba Davis, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

PINEVILLE, La. – As annual training continues across the state for Louisiana Guardsmen, the 225th Engineer Brigade is hard at work on multiple projects in local communities.

These projects are part of the innovative readiness training program which is a DoD collaborative effort leveraging military contributions and community resources to multiply value and cost savings for participants.

This year, the Louisiana National Guard executed five different projects: a shooting range for the Grant Parish Police Jury in Dry Prong, a shooting range for the West Monroe Police Department in Eros, a project at Grambling State University, a project at the Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, and a building at the Regional Staging Area in Roseland.

“These projects provide the 225th Engineer Brigade with the ability to exercise the unit commander’s C-A-S-T-L-E Command Philosophy: Care, Attitude, Safety, Training, Leadership and Empower,” said Maj. Harry Anderson, a range budget officer for the Louisiana Army National Guard. “Secondly, it sharpens our Guardsmen’s skills by affording our team the opportunity to train on our various engineering mission essential tasks at all leadership levels.”

This year, the LANG has contributed over 170 personnel and approximately $5.5 million in savings for local organizations. These IRT projects also provide opportunities for Soldiers to fine-tune their engineering and military occupational skills on a large scale.