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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – About 35 North Dakota National Guard Soldiers this week will put the finishing touches on a parking lot project at the American Veterans, or AMVETS, Club Post #20 in Steele, North Dakota.
The Guardsmen, who hail from the 835th Engineer Detachment (Asphalt Team) and the 897th Engineer Detachment (Concrete Section) – based about 80 miles northeast in Carrington, North Dakota – assisted the veterans organization through a state civil-military construction project. The program provides Soldiers with realistic training while providing community nonprofits and governmental agencies needed assistance.
“This was a mutually-beneficial project for our Guardsmen and the residents of Steele,” said Maj. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, who visited the units last week. “Our Airmen and Soldiers spend two weeks conducting annual training to build upon their military knowledge and collective skills. Being able to strengthen our communities by providing assistance and build our Guardsmen’s readiness at the same time is a win-win for our organization and those we serve.”
In May, the 815th and 897th Soldiers spent a unit drill weekend clearing the AMVETS parking lot site by using their inventory of earth-moving equipment, including graders, skid-steers, dump trucks, light medium tactical vehicles and rollers. Earlier this month, the Guardsmen began pouring concrete for the facility’s new 75-by-135-foot parking lot, as well as additional gutters and driveways.
Sgt. 1st Class Joel O’Neil, of West Fargo, North Dakota, serves as the units’ noncommissioned officer-in-charge and acting commander. He said his Soldiers typically spend their annual training periods doing concrete work at Camp Grafton Training Center, near Devils Lake, North Dakota. The AMVETS project gave the units the opportunity to train in their respective military occupational specialties, or MOSs, which include heavy equipment operators and concrete/asphalt equipment operators.
“The project has given us the chance to do some convoy training and mobilize the equipment we need, as well as conducting planning for the project. In general, (the project) is bigger than what we usually do; and it’s extremely interesting. It seems a lot more important to the Soldiers because it serves a community organization,” O’Neil said. “(The community) has been awesome and really great to us. We have people stopping by and saying ‘thanks’ all the time. We even had a little kid who wanted to bring us ice cream, so he brought it for all of us. They’ve been really good to work with.”
O’Neil said his Soldiers bring a depth of experience and knowledge to the project, many of them formally working in construction of some kind in their civilian professions. Spc. Ricky Galindo, of the 835th, is one of those skilled Guardsmen. A heavy equipment operator in his unit, Galindo works construction with his father in Bismarck. He joined the North Dakota Army National Guard in 2013 during his senior year of high school and said he appreciates the training opportunities that have been afforded through his military service, especially ones like the project in Steele.
“It’s a full experience. We have a bigger place to grade, bigger place to put down stakes, form up (concrete); it’s basically skills I can use in the civilian world,” Galindo said. “It’s also good because we get to interact with the community. One day, we had 25 people or so gathered around watching us work. It makes people happy to see that the National Guard is helping out the AMVETS. It gives me satisfaction; I go home and I feel like I’m doing something right.”
While in Steele, which touts a population of about 800 residents, the Guardsmen have been housed at the local high school, sleeping in classrooms and using the gym locker room’s shower facilities.
Galindo said the project has also helped the Soldiers build camaraderie during their annual training period. Additionally, he’s been able to spend more time with his brother Pfc. Adan Galindo, who also serves in the 835th. Adan also hopes to pursue a career in asphalt and concrete work, but for now the brothers both take pride in the work they’re doing together in the North Dakota National Guard.
“I joined the Guard because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,” Ricky said. “I like being around my friends, basically my brothers, and literally my brother. It’s fulfilling and gratifying.”
The Guard members’ presence also has been appreciated by the residents of Steele.
“Everybody has enjoyed having them here. They’ve been very pleasant, they’re easy to work with and they wanted to help out people in the community in addition to the concrete work,” said Lavonne Stockert, the Steele AMVETS manager.
Stockert remembered the little boy O’Neil had mentioned, who brought the Soldiers ice cream bars, and said the Guardsmen helped make his day by making him an honorary member of the unit. The young supporter of the military even wore an Army uniform as he passed out treats.
The new parking lot, Stockert said, came just in time to accommodate some additional traffic coming into town later this summer. The residents will celebrate a Kidder County All-Class Reunion later this month at the AMVETS, and also will host a car show later in the fall.
Photos courtesy of Bill Prokopyk, North Dakota National Guard Public Affairs Office.
