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Battalion Commander: Odds off 11th Engineer Battalion deploying are 50/50

Stefanie Tiso

Story Created: Feb 8, 2010 at 10:06 PM CDT

Story Updated: Feb 8, 2010 at 10:24 PM CDT

The 11th Engineer Battalion out of Fort Benning has been on and off alert to deploy to Haiti for the past few weeks.

The battalion is one of only five in the U.S. Army that builds bridges. If the battalion’s150 soldiers deploy to Haiti, their mission would involve building temporary bridges, distributing supplies, rubble removal and road repair work.

At this point, the battalion commander says there's a 50/50 chance of the unit going.

"They're still deciding who is going to go and what's going to be done through contractors and through the military. But it's not an emergency response. We're not a rapid response team. With the equipment we'd have to wait for the rail cars to get here and then the loading would take a couple of days. So right now we don't have any restrictions on our soldiers," said LTC. Dwayne Smith, battalion commander.

"I believe we could really help a lot. Engineers, we have a lot to bring. And so like I said, regardless of what it would be. Removal of debris and setting new foundations, or unloading medical supplies. Any little bit would help," explained SPC. Devin Potts.