COLUMBUS — About 157 Soldiers from the Ohio Army National Guard’s 1191st Engineer Company, located in Portsmouth, are deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The unit’s mission in Afghanistan will be to conduct retrograde engineer operations, which will include the tear down of many of the coalition forces’ smaller operating posts. The 1191st is a horizontal engineering company, operating heavy construction equipment to move tons of earth and material in order to complete construction projects, including the construction of roads and airfields, emplacing culverts, hauling construction materials and providing force protection.
The soldiers will train at Fort Bliss, Texas, before deploying to their designated assignment location in Afghanistan.
The unit has previously deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While deployed to Iraq, the 1191st executed both horizontal and vertical projects for U.S. and allied units and oversaw construction projects to accommodate a troop surge that more than doubled post capacity. In August 2011, the 1191st was activated in support of Task Force Engineer, which rebuilt roads in Vermont destroyed during Tropical Storm Irene.