By Sgt. 1st Class Helen Miller
LANSING, Mich. (Aug. 20, 2018) –
The Michigan Army National Guard 1437th Engineer Company is based in Sault Ste. Marie on the eastern side of the state’s Upper Peninsula. They are a Multi-Role Bridge Company and the only military unit in the state that has the 12C, Bridging Crewmember, U.S. Army Military Occupational Specialty. The strategic basing location of the 1437th provides access to Michigan’s Great Lakes, hill-laden northern terrain, and many sand dunes - all excellent features for MRBC equipment and Soldier training.
The 1437th mission is to provide personnel and equipment to transport, assemble, disassemble, retrieve and maintain all standard and nonstandard U.S. Army bridging systems for wet or dry gap-crossings. All systems. Wet or dry. The men and women of the 1437th can, and have, under extremely challenging deployment conditions, bridge that gap.
On August, 12, the unit put their skills to the test when CH-47, Chinooks from MIARNG, B. Company of the 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment based in Grand Ledge, airlifted components of an Improved Float Bridge (Ribbon Bridge) and dropped them on the St. Mary’s River which runs into the Soo Locks between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. Using 500-hp MK-II Bridge Erection Boats, the engineers then maneuvered the separate pieces of the IFB to rehearse assembling them to form a sturdy floating bridge.
“It was phenomenal to pull together two great Michigan Army National Guard units for this collective training event,” said First Sgt. Justin Proulx. “Each unit provided support training for the other unit’s Mission Essential Task List and assisted the commanders in moving forward training objectiv
es in areas with limited training opportunities.”
The 1437th Engineer Multi-Role Bridge Company has the largest rolling stock in the Michigan National Guard and includes Common Bridge Transporter trucks, HEMTTs and heavy equipment such as cranes and armored bulldozers which are used to prepare the sites. The unit also has a number of 500-hp MK-II Bridge Erection Boats, improved ribbon bridges and dry span bridges. They are one of the most frequently mobilized units – and for good reason – they know what they are doing and do it very well.
The 1437th MBRC is under the command of Cpt. Michael Roy Anderson. For more information about the unit or the Michigan Army National Guard go to www.minationalguard.dodlive.mil.
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