DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, POLAND –
More than 120 Soldiers with the West Virginia Army National Guard (WVARNG) 821st Horizontal Construction Company are taking part in Resolute Castle in Poland, a multinational joint training exercise for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and U.S. Army engineers that supports Atlantic Resolve, a demonstration of the United States’ commitment to the collective security of Europe.
Horizontal construction engineers and support staff from the 821st HCC are working in Poland constructing barracks and other facilities while serving alongside international allies in the region. The group departed in late June.
Resolute Castle allows Polish and U.S. Soldiers to build partner capacity by serving and working side-by-side with one another, as well as other NATO engineers, to build training capabilities in various areas of NATO’s eastern-member states. The training missions afforded to WVARNG Soldiers during this exercise enhances interoperability and forges creative solutions to common engineering problems.
WVARNG 1092nd Engineer Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Robert Kincaid Jr. said this is an excellent opportunity for Soldiers to partner with NATO allies while engaging in quality training at multiple levels, enhancing the overall readiness of the unit and the West Virginia National Guard as a whole.
The Resolute Castle exercise is currently in its fourth iteration and 2018’s exercise kicked off in May. During the exercise, various U.S. Army units will rotate through the training area to complete construction projects for future training operations in Poland.
Horizontal construction engineers use bulldozers, cranes, graders and other heavy equipment to move tons of earth and material to complete construction projects. They are also responsible for operating tractors with dozer attachments, scoop loaders, backhoe loaders, hydraulic excavators, motorized graders and scrapers.
This year’s participants are from Poland, the U.K. and the U.S.