Army guardsmen at Jackman work on community building projects

JACKMAN — When the members of Company C of the Maine Army National Guard 133rd Engineer Battalion leave this small western Maine town in a week, residents will be left with more than just memories of camouflage-covered tents and khaki clad men and women.

By next Thursday, the 122 members of the company from Lewiston will have completed 10 community construction projects ranging from repairing the roof of the town hall to upgrading some roads and building a new ice skating rink. All together, these projects will save Jackman more than $80,000 in labor costs.

Across Maine more than 1,200 guardsmen are participating in a two-week annual training program which includes war tactics practice and community service.

The guardsmen are from the Portland-based 133rd and the Bangor-based 262nd Engineer Battalion which make up the 240th Engineering Group. In addition, guardsmen from the 243rd Engineer Battalion in Rhode Island are working on two projects in Bangor. Battalion members from South Carolina are responsible for communications between units for the training period.

In Jackman, guard members finished their tactical training on Tuesday. This practice included training in foxholes, working with combat gear, learning to evade the enemy and using camouflage, and sentinel duty.

This training is aimed at preparing them for war. While an escalation of the Persian Gulf crisis may not mean immediate involvement for the 240th, it could mean they would be drawn closer to the situation. In such a case, the 130th Brigade in West Germany could be relocated to Saudi Arabia and could be replaced in Europe by the 240th.

“It makes me a little nervous,” said Specialist Carol Bourgoin, who lives in Sabattus. The 19-year-old mechanic has been in the Army National Guard for a little over a year and has never been out of the country.

While she knows she may have to go to war, for now Bourgoin said she will continue to work on the 5- to 20-ton vehicles and to learn all she can from the Army National Guard. “Everything they teach me I just have to soak right in,” she said.

While guardsmen are training and preparing for war, they don’t relish the thought (of going to war), according to Sgt. David Giroux, a public affairs specialist with the 240th. “We’re the last ones who want to go to war,” he said.

With the tactical training behind them, members of the 133rd began Wednesday to do what they do best, building.

On the first day of construction, television, radio and newspaper reporters from Bangor were flown, via two UH1 Iroquois (Huey) helicopters, to Jackman.

The trip took about an hour and the view from 3,500 feet was at times breathtaking. From above, the many shades of green from the trees and grass and rustic browns of the uncovered earth melded into patchwork, broken only by lakes, wandering rivers and meandering gray road.

In Jackman guard members were building the wooden side boards and gates for a public skating rink which will be 185 feet by 85 feet. A warm-up hut will also be constructed for the ice rink, which will be located behind the Jackman Municipal Building.

At the airport, guard members will construct two interior walls for the terminal building, put in electrical and plumbing outlets, and installing insulation.

Other projects include upgrading 1.2 miles of the Moose River Road, and constructing a 24-foot wide entrance road to the town’s garage. the road will be 140 feet long.

Sgt. Edward P. Nadeau, from Lewiston, said that these projects give the guard members training in equipment or machines they may not normally use in their day-to-day jobs.

“There’s always something different (to do),” he said. In addition to the work experience, Nadeau, who has more than 16 years in the guard, said the two weeks of training also provides a time to meet with long-time friends and make new ones.