The Coastal Carolina Division of APAC-Atlantic Inc. recently taught asphalt paving to members of the 505 Engineering Battalion of the North Carolina National Guard about to be deployed to Iraq.
The training was used as an opportunity to lay a delivery and fire lane as well as a walkway around the Military Academy complex at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Military Academy trains National Guard units from all fifty states. The Guard used its own dump trucks to haul asphalt purchased from APAC to the site.
A detailed safety briefing began the training. “In addition to emphasizing the safety requirements of paving, we gave them a thorough explanation of the equipment, especially how a paving machine operated and how the screed performed its functions,” said Coastal Carolina vice president Graham T. Moore.
The 21 soldiers participated in all of the different skill sets required of a paving crew. Only one soldier had any previous paving experience. Two hundred forty-four tons of hot-mix asphalt were placed on the project.
The eight APAC employees from the Sandhills branch of APAC involved in the training were William Baker; Kathleen Becker, paver operator; Moore; David Fulmer; James Baker, paving foreman; Bobby Mathews, paving foreman; Bobby Mathews, paving superintendent; Joe Wilson, roller operator; and Jimmy Lassiter, quality control technician.
“It’s gratifying to support our troops this way,” said division president Eddie Briley.
