PATROL BASE AMIR, Afghanistan -- Combat engineers with Engineer Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 3, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) are continuing to expand and improve Patrol Base Amir located in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
The Marines are expanding the outer perimeter of the patrol base in order to create a larger staging area for arriving vehicles and personnel, said Sgt. Scott T. Rosenbach, 27, combat engineer, Engineer Company, CLB-3, 1st MLG (FWD). The patrol base is currently home for Marines and sailors with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, as well as soldiers with the Afghan National Army.
In addition to the expansion, CLB-3 engineers have also constructed various facilities and added more guard posts to the expanded portions of the patrol base.
“We’re here to do whatever we can to make living easier [for units operating here] – anything to improve their quality of life,” said Rosenbach, a native of Denver.
Though there are nearly 50 Marines with CLB-3’s Engineer Company currently operating near Patrol Base Amir, only a few are conducting these improvements. The combat engineers’ primary mission while at Patrol Base Amir was to make improvements to more than 10 miles of road near the base.
“As we pass patrol bases and forward operating bases along the route, we’ll be conducting repairs and improvements to them as well,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Anthony J. Reiter, engineer equipment officer, Engineer Company, CLB-3, 1st MLG (FWD). “If we have the ability and clearance to knock out these missions while we’re here without it affecting our primary mission, we’ll do it.”
For the duration of their deployment, the Marines with CLB-3’s Engineer Company will continue to utilize their resources and skills for the benefit of coalition forces operating within Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
“It feels great to be able to do something that we can take a picture of and say ‘yeah, we built that,’” said
Lance Cpl. Gabe T. Green, 19, combat engineer, Engineer Company, CLB-3, 1st MLG (FWD). “It’s something to be proud of, something for others to appreciate and enjoy. If I come back [to Patrol Base Amir] on my next combat tour, I can see the impact we made here.”