DICA Outrigger Pads Used in Wake Island WWII Cleanup
DICA and our SafetyTech Outrigger Pads have been proud to play a part in the clean up of World War II waste on Wake Island. Wake Island is a historic WWII battlefield, part of the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monumentand and is one of the most remote islands in the world at approximately 2,138 nautical miles west of Honolulu.
Wake Island and the Koberg family (founders, owners and operators of DICA) have a previous history. During April 22-28 1944, U.S. Navy Radioman and Koberg relative Leo Levien was serving aboard the USS Iowa and part of Task Group 58.
The Iowa supported air raids on Hollandia, Aitape and Wake Islands to support Army forces on Aitape and at Tanahmerah and Humboldt Bays in New Guinea. These raids were part of what is known as “The Approach to the Philippines” which contributed to the eventual surrender of Imperial Japan.
Today, Wake is managed by the Pacific Air Force Support Center and falls under 11th Air Force. The island serves as a trans-Pacific refueiling stop for military aircraft and supprts Missile Defense Agency test activities.
Over the past three field seasons, Brice Environmental Services and the U.S. Air Force have completed the complex collection, sorting, hauling and removal of over 3,000 tons of materials. The result has been a significant reduction in the environmental impact to the island.
This critical Air Force environmental project was featured in the Jan-Feb 2019 issue of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) magazine, and can be read in it’s entirety below photos provided by Brice Environmental of DICA DR60-2 (60″x2″) pads in action.
By Karina Quintans, M.SAME, and Erik Myers
When the nearest disposal facility is located 2,200-nmi across the ocean, solid waste management on Wake Island is hardly a curbside pickup operation.
But considering its lengthy history of active military operations going back to the 1940s, and a population of 4,000 people in its heyday, Wake Island Atoll has since accumulated considerable solid waste in open dumps. Although a traditional means of solid waste management across the Pacific Islands, the method is not ideal for sea-level islands and coral atolls of this region, where limited land area eliminates landfilling as an additional option.
However, the abundant and diverse marine life surrounding Wake Island, a designated Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument and venerated World War II battlefield, has made solid waste removal imperative. Rising sea levels and the risk of leachate could devastate its ecosystems. What’s more, Wake Island’s solid waste areas have created harborage for rats, once tabulated at two million in population.
In 2014, the Department of Defense conducted an inventory of solid waste on Wake Island. Entangled in years of vegetative growth, several thousand tons of legacy waste dating back to World War II including metal, tires, building materials, and vintage vehicles were surveyed.
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) and the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, with contracting support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted with Brice Environmental to perform waste removal to avoid further impact to the island’s natural environment.
A complex and costly endeavor due to the remote location, the project demanded creativity and flexibility. Equipment required ranged from a 75-T crane and 70,000-lb capacity flatbed trailer to handheld scrapers and turkey frying oil. A dedicated multi-skilled field team worked over the course of three field seasons on one of the most isolated locations in the world to complete the job.