Professional Documents
Culture Documents
“You’re doing what I asked you to do and I appreciate Brig. Gen. Mark W. Yenter speaks with the 579th Engineer Detachment
that,” said Yenter, who is the commanding general for (FEST-M) during a Town Hall Meeting in Afghanistan. (Photo by Mark Abueg)
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic
Division Forward-Afghanistan and the director of joint engineers for United States Forces-Afghanistan. “You are a
unique organization in the Corps of Engineers.”
The FEST-M, which is comprised of Department of the Army civilians and U.S. Army Soldiers, has been completing
a variety of design-engineering projects supporting Regional Command (South), Kandahar Provincial
Reconstruction Team, and Kandahar Airfield.
“I’m very proud of the fact that you’re a part of USACE,” he said. “You have volunteered to come forward and you all
signed up to a unit that’s deployable and you knew it was going to deploy.”
During its yearlong deployment, the FEST-M has completed a variety of projects in Afghanistan. Some of the
projects include designing police sub-stations for the Afghan National Police, mitigating possible floods on Kandahar
Airfield, and proposing concepts for new government buildings within Kandahar City.
“This unit continues to do amazing things,” Yenter said. “If you guys aren’t doing what you’re doing, it simply would
not be done. So you’re in the right place and you’re doing the right job.”
Yenter pointed out this was the first time a FEST-M had been applied in combat, so challenges were expected. An
incredible amount of work was accomplished in a one-year period to form the team, prepare for deployment, and
then eventually deploy.
“I couldn’t be prouder of any other units in the Corps of Engineers than this one with what you guys have done to
pull the team together and get the mission accomplished,” Yenter said. “I mean that from the bottom of my heart, so
thank you for what you’re doing.”