Engineering support draws maps for success

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jeff Parkinson
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  One unit, here, constantly works to improve the base through construction, maintenance and protection of all Hurlburt Field’s infrastructure.

The 1st Special Operations Engineer Squadron’s engineering support section, a section of eight active duty and two civilians, utilizes precise surveying equipment to gather topographical data to create base maps and comprehensive base drawings for all 822 facilities.

“We maintain and update all base maps and drawings past and present – we can go back and look at older versions of building’s drawings to see work done in the past,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Scott, the engineering support NCO in-charge with the 1st SOCES. “This allows us to see if water or gas lines were left in place when a building was demolished, or if a renovation is feasible in saving time and money.”

Once the topographical data is collected, it is entered into a geographical information system to create the maps.

“We create layers within the GIS software – a buildings layer and a roads layer, using the topographical data,” said Airman 1st Class Mohamed Al Dalawi, an engineering journeyman with the 1st SOCES. “When the layers are combined, it creates the map.”

Additionally, engineering support plays a critical role in airfield establishment and bare base planning.

“The weeks leading up to the Frigid Archer exercise, we were in our office designing the ‘base’ to be built using a Geospatial Expeditionary Planning Toolkit software,” said Scott. “We then went into an austere location, established an airfield, and built-up a base for all the personnel in the exercise, which creates a realistic training environment.”

Engineering support also plays a significant role in aircraft crash recovery by aiding the accident investigation board with their GPS surveying equipment to create a map of the crash site.

“We pinpoint the location of any debris, human remains or personal effects with our GPS rover,” said Al Dalawi. “Then we create a map with the points telling the AIB the exact distances, to the centimeter, from the crash site where all the debris were found.”

According to Scott, engineering support is instrumental in the 1st SOCES daily operations – all work performed by CE eventually come through their office.