Welders of 725th Brigade Support Battalion master their trade

  • Published
  • By Eric-James Estrada
  • Task Force Spartan Public Affairs
KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan --  Welding has long been a valued job skill, and for the paratroopers of B Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, it's an art form they've mastered.

Army welders work in machine and repair shops fabricating and repairing parts and in some cases using their creative side to make parts for tanks, jeeps and other vehicles and equipment to aid units in accomplishing their mission.

"I get to use my artsy side," said Pfc. Jacob Edgell, with the Weld Shop for B Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, and a native of Fallsburg, Ohio. "I get to create stuff out of pretty much nothing. I just really like making things. I've been doing it as a child. My father was a welder and as soon as I picked it up it was really fun. I signed up out of high school and when I found out I could be a welder, I was really tickled about that."

Army welders are also called upon to perform on-site construction and repair work in the field and for the paratroopers of B Company, 725th BSB, they are honored to say they've never met a task they couldn't accomplish.

Sgt. Matthew Hammons, non-commissioned officer in charge for the B Company Weld Shop hails from Pino Valley, Ariz. "We just did a bunch of (machine gun) mounts for towers around (Regional Command) East. Anything anybody else can't fix, they bring to us. And we've never had to (evacuate) anything. We can fix or fabricate nearly anything as long as we have the supplies."

In some cases, Army welders have to make equipment and vehicle repairs, work on bridges and conduct construction projects and structural repairs.

Sgt. Adam Mireles, also with the Weld Shop for B Company, 725th BSB, from Petersburg, Texas, said, "You want to take your time whenever you're doing a certain type of job like this because if you half-speed everything it's not going to come out right. You've got people's lives that are on your hands with your types of welds. If you weld pretty, it's going to stay, but if you don't weld it right, somebody could get hurt."