DVIDS – News – Group Polk targeted on supporting the Warfighter with its building efforts

Leesville, Louisiana is a small, rustic city engulfed by quite a lot of pine and oak bushes. This quiet little hamlet prides itself as being a spot that gives a smile, a handshake and powerful sense of group. It’s a place the place life has not modified a lot because the Seventies.

Simply outdoors of city lies a navy set up with a singular mission, rising from the forest of oaks and evergreens. Welcome to Fort Polk, the house of the Joint Readiness Coaching Heart!

“Fort Polk is the premiere gentle infantry coaching middle on the earth. The sunshine infantry items come right here earlier than deploying abroad,” stated Fort Polk resident engineer, Steve Sherrill.

The set up can also be dwelling to the third Brigade Fight Group, tenth Mountain Division, the 519th Navy Police Battalion, the fifth Aviation Battalion, forty sixth Engineer Battalion, and the Joint Readiness Coaching Heart Operations Group.

Because the resident engineer, it’s Sherrill’s duty to handle the varied initiatives that help the mission and supply high quality of life for Troopers and relations.

“The Fort Polk building program may be very sturdy and complicated, so we attempt to match our Corps personnel to their strengths when assigning duties for its execution,” stated Sherrill. “However an important factor is to construct and preserve relationships with our contractors, stakeholders, and different companions. It’s all about relationships.”

The resident workplace manages quite a few renovations, upkeep, and new building initiatives by sustaining optimistic working relationships with Fort Polk’s Directorate of Public Works, and in accordance with Sherrill, that is very important to making sure Fort Polk stays a premiere place to work, reside and play.

“The DPW is our stakeholder, they usually rent us to ship high quality initiatives to them. We do that as a result of on the finish of the day, it’s the Soldier, the tip consumer, that may profit from what we ship,” Sherrill stated.

Sherrill and the Polk workplace are a part of the Fort Value District’s Jap Space Workplace, which additionally oversees Corps initiatives at Barksdale Air Drive Base, simply outdoors of Shreveport, Louisiana and the Crimson River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas.

“Our Fort Polk resident workplace maintains a program consisting of barracks building and renovation, life help, help to the warfighter and catastrophe reduction initiatives,” stated Gary Westby, the engineer answerable for the Fort Value District’s Jap Space Workplace.

A serious deliverable merchandise is barracks for single and unaccompanied Troopers. As one drives across the set up, varied barrack complexes might be seen nestled up towards pure wooded inexperienced house to offer a cushty and relaxed environment.

“With our new barracks initiatives, we tried to make it extra like a non-public dwelling and incorporate many quality-of-life facets into the buildings, stated Sherrill.

The enlisted barracks designs have remodeled over time to align with the altering views on supporting the Soldier. Throughout the World Conflict II period they took on a squad bay model, then transitioned to the Volunteer Army or VOLAR barracks after Vietnam, the place round six Troopers shared a room and your entire unit shared bathe and dwelling areas.

Right now, the barracks focus modified to supply Troopers extra privateness, the place a single Soldier has his personal dwelling house or the place two Troopers share widespread areas comparable to dwelling, eating and kitchen areas, however have personal bedrooms.

“A few of the new buildings supply shared widespread areas however personal sleeping areas like a two-bedroom condo,” added Sherrill. “With this idea, you will have a buddy to take care of you, however nonetheless preserve some stage of privateness.”

Over the previous few years, a concentrate on power effectivity was integrated into the general VOLAR renovation program on Fort Polk. These new VOLAR designs are required to satisfy LEED Silver necessities.

Not too long ago, the staff accomplished a $17 million greenback barracks renovation challenge. Sauer Inc. was awarded the contract in 2018 as a design-build challenge. It consisted of drainage enhancements, elevated power effectivity, and engineering a vapor barrier. Moreover, the challenge transformed present two-bedroom areas to bigger one-bedroom suites.

“These are state-of-the-art design options that may clear up all present upkeep challenges brought on by condensation, thus bringing the barracks as much as present requirements, and bettering the standard of life for Troopers whereas extending the lifetime of the ability, stated the Fort Value District’s deputy chief of Engineering and Building, Clay Morgan.

To enhance initiatives established by privatized housing, the place neighborhoods present playgrounds and parks to maintain relations entertained, the Fort Polk staff has made main contributions to quality-of-life, or life help initiatives. Work included renovations to the set up’s Olympic-sized pool, upgrades to the locker room, and the addition of a waterslide.

Sherrill stated additionally they refurbished a kids’s splash pad at a separate location. One other quality-of-life improve that’s underway is the overhaul of a teen youth middle which is able to obtain a brand new sport room, laptop lab and basketball courtroom.

“I get an excessive sense of satisfaction and satisfaction each time we flip over a challenge to our stakeholder. We deal with every challenge the identical whether or not it’s a $30 million barracks or a $250 thousand maneuver path,” added Sherrill.

Key to the general Fort Polk navy building program is the help the staff gives to the warfighter’s mission. In previous years, the staff repaired the outdated rail system in order that navy items can ship tools from their dwelling station to the coaching website. In addition they constructed ranges and life help areas for items going by means of coaching.

Sherrill additionally highlighted just a few renovations to tactical tools upkeep amenities which might be within the works. Renovations embody gutting buildings to exchange electrical traces, HVAC programs, Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant, or POL programs, and automobile exhaust and air compression programs.

“That is simply the beginning,” he stated. “We plan to in the end renovate all the upkeep amenities on the set up.”

The state of Louisiana and Fort Polk have been hit lately by pure disasters. As a part of the restoration effort, the staff has been allotted funding for storm harm repairs. In line with Sherrill, his staff is engaged on a number of contracts to do main repairs brought on by Hurricanes Laura and Delta which occurred in August and October of 2020.

“The vast majority of the repairs are to repair broken roofs, and doorways on most of the upkeep and different buildings. We’re additionally repairing the steeple to the principle submit chapel,” stated Sherrill.

Sherrill notes that managing the Fort Polk program may be very thrilling, however it does have its challenges. Subsequently, teamwork and collaboration are crucial. However what makes all of it worthwhile for Group Polk is finishing initiatives that may drastically profit Troopers, households and the Fort Polk group.

“We might not achieve success with out the mixed efforts of the native groups and companions right here at Fort Polk and the parents in our space and district places of work. It takes a complete staff effort,” he stated.

“These kinds of initiatives matter and make a distinction in our Troopers lives and are among the many high priorities on this set up. That is the place the rubber meets the street after we say Fort Polk is a quality-of-life set up. What we’re doing right here and inside the Army to modernize our amenities and enhance the standard of life for our Troopers proves that,” stated Brig. Gen. David W. Gardner, JRTC and Fort Polk commanding normal.