GEARY COUNTY—Tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and troops from the 1st Infantry Division safely crossed a man-made bridge of about 600 meters across a stretch of Milford Lake in the Madison Creek area Friday morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Joey Sullinger said Fort Riley partnered on this exercise with the Fifth Engineers from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, including three active component bridging companies and one from the National Guard in the bridging operation over a 600-meter stretch of the reservoir.

“That allowed an entire battalion of tanks and Bradley’s to cross it this morning. So you had dozens of armored vehicles and hundreds of U.S. Soldiers from the Big Red One crossing that bridge this morning.”

Ethan Wharton worked with the Fifth Engineer Battalion from Fort Leonard, Missouri on this bridging operation. He explained at the start of the bridge building work they did survey. “Identified the slips of the boat ramps that we’d be using. We sent our survey and design and construction crews to reinforce those slips. ” When that work was complete boats were launched into the water. “Once the boats had hit the water we began launching bridge bays. Each bay hit the water, a boat tied off to it and started navigating the water. And then bridges started being put together by the boats with a bridging crew.” They latched each bridge section together with a ramp on each end for entry and exit across the gap.

Sullinger noted this was the first time the majority of the Big Red One Soldiers had crossed a river “so they know they can do it safely, efficiently and relatively quickly when needed.”