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Tech. Sgt. Eric Barlow, 86th Civil Engineer Squadron fire station captain, and Airman 1st Class Kevin Williams, 86th CES firefighter, train to fight fires on a simulated burning aircraft. The 86th CES fire department Airmen train to hone their skills for real-world situations. Every October, the department hosts Fire Prevention Month where they perform presentations at KMC schools to teach children the importance of fire safety.
The 86th Civil Engineer Group supports the infrastructure and buildings for the largest American population outside of the United States every day.
With trained combat engineers and equipment, the 86th CEG assists worldwide contingency missions by providing, maintaining and protecting properties assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing, the KMC and geographically separated units.
“We see Ramstein as a strategic power projection platform, and here in the 86th CEG, we help to keep that platform running,” said Col. Laura Johnson, 86th CEG commander. “We operate, maintain and protect over $9 billion of real property and infrastructure.”
The 86th CEG has its hands in every mission on Ramstein, playing a part in the building and maintenance of both built structures and natural infrastructure around base.
“We run construction projects; keep the water, power and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) running; provide housing; and ensure all our facilities and infrastructure are fire safe,” Johnson said.
The group provides services to more than 15 million square feet of buildings within 2,200 facilities at Ramstein, Einsiedlerhof, Kapaun, Landstuhl, Vogelweh and eight additional geographically separated units in Germany. Additionally, housing and Furnishing Management Office support is provided for those living in the KMC area, with more than 2,000 military housing units on base and 11,500 off-base housing units in their inventory.
“Not only do we help maintain the airfield to ensure the aircraft can fly, we also provide support to our tenant and headquarter units, many of whom have large strategic missions, to ensure their missions can continue uninterrupted,” Johnson said.
Amongst the more than 50,000 American people it supports, the 86th CEG also provides aid to NATO partners, three wings, three combatant commands and two headquarters.
“We also support worldwide contingencies with highly trained, fully equipped personnel,” Johnson said. “In addition to ensuring our engineers are prepared to deploy, we also train installation personnel on how to operate in a CBRNE (Chemical Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive) environment.”
The awards the 86th CEG has received clearly demonstrates their dedication to getting the job done, Johnson said. In 2013 they won two Air Force-level awards and seven U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa-level awards.
“I love seeing our Airmen (and) U.S. and German civilians accomplish their mission by making life better for those around us,” Johnson said.
