An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Fairchild NCO manages civil engineer support at Afghanistan base

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Staff Sgt. Cody Engelke is an engineering journeyman deployed to the 577th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Base Engineer Emergency Force, known as "Prime BEEF," at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

Sergeant Engelke is deployed from the 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

On any day, Sergeant Engelke can be directing and performing civil engineering design, drafting, surveying and contract surveillance to support Air Force facility construction and maintenance programs for his deployed base.

Sergeant Engelke also prepares manual and computer-aided design drawings, specifications and cost estimates for projects, his official Air Force job description states. He also develops, operates and maintains Geographic Information System modules and utilizes surveying technology to include the Global Positioning System. Additionally, he evaluates potential construction sites and performs field tests on soils, asphalt and concrete.

In supporting contingency operations, Sergeant Engelke is trained to develop bed-down plans to house personnel, aircraft and associated support functions, the job description further states. He also is trained to evaluate existing airfield pavements, lighting, navigational aids, markings and arresting systems. He can also perform recovery operations to include explosive ordinance reconnaissance, airfield damage assessment, minimum operating strip selection, rapid runway repair calculations and airfield marking procedures.

Furthermore, when developing engineering designs, Sergeant Engelke is trained to perform simple load calculations for horizontal and vertical construction and to act as a liaison between design, review, construction and using agencies. In performing drafting duties, he interprets rough engineering sketches to produce working drawings using manual and CAD techniques. He produces architectural, structural, civil, mechanical and electrical drawings and updates base comprehensive plans and maintains record drawings.

Sergeant Engelke's surveying skills, the job description states, allow him to conduct reconnaissance, site location, construction and mapping surveys while operating manual and electronic surveying equipment. He can also collect, convert and present field survey data for civil engineering projects and maintain equipment to do that job.

Also, as operations continue at Bagram for Operation Enduring Freedom, Sergeant Engelke will possibly perform contract management duties. The job description shows that effort includes managing and inspecting construction and maintenance contracts and interpreting plans, specifications and other contract documents.