August 27, 2025 • 5 mins
Colonel Justin M. Pritchard, 36th Engineer Brigade Commander at Fort Hood, joins us to discuss upcoming community engagment events including the Central Texas State Fair and PBR Challenger Series Military Appreciation Night August 28th-31st. We'll also discuss the Fort Hood Fight Night: Return 2 The Ring event on post on September 12th along with duties and support provided by the 36th Engineer Brigade, including southwest border operations and equipment testing.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
My Heart Radio is proud to support our military community
from the largest military installation in North America. Let's go
on Post at Ford Hood. Brought to you by Elder Mitchubishi.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Will you please this morning to be joined by Colonel
Justin M. Pritchard, the thirty sixth Engineer Brigade Commander at
Fort Hood. Sir, how are you this morning?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Doing? Great, pleasure to be with you, Thanks for having
us on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Absolutely good to have you with us. And we're going
to jump right in huge, big event that's coming up
this weekend. Colonel. We're going to talk about the Central
Texas State Fair and PBR Challenger Series Military Appreciation Night
that's going on this weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah. No, this is a great opportunity, you know, starting
on the twenty eight through the weekend. It's going to
be live music, great foods, exciting rides, a lot of
things for the friends of your family and the kids,
and a lot more. One of the highlights I know,
it's a PBR Challenger Series Military Appreciation Night that's Saturday
at seven pm at the Gartharina and the Cadencepace Center.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm going definitely Sunday night,
(00:58):
my favorite man, switch Foot, is going to be playing.
So that was a Father's Day gift for my family
to me. So we're about to be part of the.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Community, and that's what it's really all about. And we'd
like to touch on these kind of events, Colonel, because
it's it's a great community outreach with ford Hood and
the Bell County community.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, for sure. You know, it's music, the food, rodeo,
people watching. It's one of those things where you go,
you walk away smiling and you get to enjoy what
Central Texas is about.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
And there are so many things to take in here.
Now we are heading into the long Labor Day weekend,
this is a really good time to touch on some
Labor Day safety items as well.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Colonel. Yeah, I think towards the end of summer, people
are new routines with school. But the main thing we
tell all of our soldiers is make sure you have
a good plan. Someone knows your plan, and you follow
the plan. So whether you're going on a road trip,
you'll get your vehicle checked out. I'm actually doing that
first thing on Friday morning. Make sure you got flashlights, snacks, water,
jumper cables, first aid hits, all the things, and you
know how whether it can be, especially in Central Texas,
(01:55):
it comes on you quick and you've got to be
ready to go. And speaking of water, you know, just
drink lots of water. The sun's still out, sunscreen whether
you're outdoors and join the sunshine or the last little
bits of heat before the weather turns. Having that plan
ahead of time is the best thing. And speaking of
water too, you know, if you're going out in the
lake or in a boat, you remember to be extra careful.
You know, boaters and you particularly water and alcohol don't
(02:16):
usually mix well, so make sure we're being safe. You
got the right proper fitting life jacket and the boat
has an emergency first aid kid.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Absolutely good points to touch on. We're speaking with Colonel
Justin Pritchard, thirty six Engineer, Brigade Commander at Fort Hood.
Sure let's talk about Fort Hood Fight Night Return to
the Ring that's coming up in September.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Absolutely, so, this was the first event we did a
couple months ago. It was just phenomenal standing room only,
people watching online. But this is going to be at
six pm on a twelfth of September Abrams Physical Fitness Center,
and this really is the second return two of the ring,
and this all leads up to the top fighter on
Fort Hood and then across the court next summer. So
(02:55):
the first round no pun there of fight night, standing
room only. There's actually going to be a watch part already,
this time at Sam Adams Bruehouse too for those that
can't make it or just don't want to be around
big crowds, so you can enjoy that nice atmosphere with friends.
A have to do service owners are going to face off.
I just heard the commanding General say there's only a
dozen or so spots and there's over two hundred applicants
that you know, fighters that want to be a part
(03:16):
of this, so you can see the demand and the
quality we're going to have there. They're going to have
eight bouts, three rounds per about, and each round is
going to last about two minutes, so it's going to
be fast and furious and exciting. You know. This is
open to everyone with insplice and access, so civilians who
want to attend just get a visitor pass from the
Marvin Leaf Visitor Center. So it should be a great event.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Colonel Justin Pritchard, Sir, let's talk about the thirty six
Engineer Brigade just a moment.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Absolutely. We've got it roughly over twenty five hundred soldiers
in the brigade and we've got everything from builders to breachers,
to bridgers to maintainers. This brigade has a lot of capability.
We've got service members that are for deployed and Jordan
as well as on the Southwest border supporting homeland defense missions.
The brigades supporting the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defense operations
(04:01):
as well. Our sixty second Engineer Battalions just wrapped up
operation in Mobile Hammer at Fort Chaffee. This is a
great wet gap crossing exercise where we deployed. The battalion
drove up from Central Texas to Fort Chaffee and really
helps us see how we can deploy from Fort Hood
and an expeditionary manager. It was a great trending event.
Our twentieth Engineer Battion is conducting or just received new
(04:23):
Bradley fighting vehicles, so we're going through that gunnery process
and learning about that capability just makes our engineers more lethal.
We've also got the fifth Engineer Batime that's also stationed
at Fort Lennerwood and Fort Riley they've got similar capabilities
and we're ready to transform them into the first Mstry
Division's Engineer Battalion. One of the exciting things is our
(04:44):
MARS program. That's the Machine assisted Rugged Soldier and that's
where we're trying to figure out how do we get
robots or autonomous vehicles into the breach the most dangerous
part of the battlefield. So we're trying to protect our
soldiers and get the machines in the fight so that
we're more lethal.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Sure, we'd like to touch on each week on the program.
We are still in the fight.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, absolutely, So you know, just a reminder that there's
seventy hundred four Hood soldiers currently deployed around the world.
We have soldiers on the US border in Europe, South Korea,
South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Please keep all
of our soldiers who are employed, as well as our
families and your thoughts and prayers and Third Armor Corps
Foreium warriors. We're always in it supporting the homeland.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
We've been visiting with Colonel Justin Pritchard, thirty six Engineer
Brigade Commander this morning.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Sir.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
We thank you for your time this morning and have
a great Labor Day weekend.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Thanks Wallane, thanks for having me on today. Thank you for.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Supporting our military. To get even more and here this
week's full report. Go to our website and click on
post at ford Hood from Elder Mitsubishi and IR Radio
number one for music radio and podcasts.
My Heart Radio is proud to support our military community
from the largest military installation in North America. Let's go
on Post at Ford Hood. Brought to you by Elder Mitchubishi.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Will you please this morning to be joined by Colonel
Justin M. Pritchard, the thirty sixth Engineer Brigade Commander at
Fort Hood. Sir, how are you this morning?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Doing? Great, pleasure to be with you, Thanks for having
us on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Absolutely good to have you with us. And we're going
to jump right in huge, big event that's coming up
this weekend. Colonel. We're going to talk about the Central
Texas State Fair and PBR Challenger Series Military Appreciation Night
that's going on this weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah. No, this is a great opportunity, you know, starting
on the twenty eight through the weekend. It's going to
be live music, great foods, exciting rides, a lot of
things for the friends of your family and the kids,
and a lot more. One of the highlights I know,
it's a PBR Challenger Series Military Appreciation Night that's Saturday
at seven pm at the Gartharina and the Cadencepace Center.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm going definitely Sunday night,
(00:58):
my favorite man, switch Foot, is going to be playing.
So that was a Father's Day gift for my family
to me. So we're about to be part of the.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Community, and that's what it's really all about. And we'd
like to touch on these kind of events, Colonel, because
it's it's a great community outreach with ford Hood and
the Bell County community.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, for sure. You know, it's music, the food, rodeo,
people watching. It's one of those things where you go,
you walk away smiling and you get to enjoy what
Central Texas is about.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
And there are so many things to take in here.
Now we are heading into the long Labor Day weekend,
this is a really good time to touch on some
Labor Day safety items as well.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Colonel. Yeah, I think towards the end of summer, people
are new routines with school. But the main thing we
tell all of our soldiers is make sure you have
a good plan. Someone knows your plan, and you follow
the plan. So whether you're going on a road trip,
you'll get your vehicle checked out. I'm actually doing that
first thing on Friday morning. Make sure you got flashlights, snacks, water,
jumper cables, first aid hits, all the things, and you
know how whether it can be, especially in Central Texas,
(01:55):
it comes on you quick and you've got to be
ready to go. And speaking of water, you know, just
drink lots of water. The sun's still out, sunscreen whether
you're outdoors and join the sunshine or the last little
bits of heat before the weather turns. Having that plan
ahead of time is the best thing. And speaking of
water too, you know, if you're going out in the
lake or in a boat, you remember to be extra careful.
You know, boaters and you particularly water and alcohol don't
(02:16):
usually mix well, so make sure we're being safe. You
got the right proper fitting life jacket and the boat
has an emergency first aid kid.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Absolutely good points to touch on. We're speaking with Colonel
Justin Pritchard, thirty six Engineer, Brigade Commander at Fort Hood.
Sure let's talk about Fort Hood Fight Night Return to
the Ring that's coming up in September.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Absolutely, so, this was the first event we did a
couple months ago. It was just phenomenal standing room only,
people watching online. But this is going to be at
six pm on a twelfth of September Abrams Physical Fitness Center,
and this really is the second return two of the ring,
and this all leads up to the top fighter on
Fort Hood and then across the court next summer. So
(02:55):
the first round no pun there of fight night, standing
room only. There's actually going to be a watch part already,
this time at Sam Adams Bruehouse too for those that
can't make it or just don't want to be around
big crowds, so you can enjoy that nice atmosphere with friends.
A have to do service owners are going to face off.
I just heard the commanding General say there's only a
dozen or so spots and there's over two hundred applicants
that you know, fighters that want to be a part
(03:16):
of this, so you can see the demand and the
quality we're going to have there. They're going to have
eight bouts, three rounds per about, and each round is
going to last about two minutes, so it's going to
be fast and furious and exciting. You know. This is
open to everyone with insplice and access, so civilians who
want to attend just get a visitor pass from the
Marvin Leaf Visitor Center. So it should be a great event.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Colonel Justin Pritchard, Sir, let's talk about the thirty six
Engineer Brigade just a moment.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Absolutely. We've got it roughly over twenty five hundred soldiers
in the brigade and we've got everything from builders to breachers,
to bridgers to maintainers. This brigade has a lot of capability.
We've got service members that are for deployed and Jordan
as well as on the Southwest border supporting homeland defense missions.
The brigades supporting the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defense operations
(04:01):
as well. Our sixty second Engineer Battalions just wrapped up
operation in Mobile Hammer at Fort Chaffee. This is a
great wet gap crossing exercise where we deployed. The battalion
drove up from Central Texas to Fort Chaffee and really
helps us see how we can deploy from Fort Hood
and an expeditionary manager. It was a great trending event.
Our twentieth Engineer Battion is conducting or just received new
(04:23):
Bradley fighting vehicles, so we're going through that gunnery process
and learning about that capability just makes our engineers more lethal.
We've also got the fifth Engineer Batime that's also stationed
at Fort Lennerwood and Fort Riley they've got similar capabilities
and we're ready to transform them into the first Mstry
Division's Engineer Battalion. One of the exciting things is our
(04:44):
MARS program. That's the Machine assisted Rugged Soldier and that's
where we're trying to figure out how do we get
robots or autonomous vehicles into the breach the most dangerous
part of the battlefield. So we're trying to protect our
soldiers and get the machines in the fight so that
we're more lethal.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Sure, we'd like to touch on each week on the program.
We are still in the fight.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, absolutely, So you know, just a reminder that there's
seventy hundred four Hood soldiers currently deployed around the world.
We have soldiers on the US border in Europe, South Korea,
South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Please keep all
of our soldiers who are employed, as well as our
families and your thoughts and prayers and Third Armor Corps
Foreium warriors. We're always in it supporting the homeland.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
We've been visiting with Colonel Justin Pritchard, thirty six Engineer
Brigade Commander this morning.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Sir.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
We thank you for your time this morning and have
a great Labor Day weekend.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Thanks Wallane, thanks for having me on today. Thank you for.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Supporting our military. To get even more and here this
week's full report. Go to our website and click on
post at ford Hood from Elder Mitsubishi and IR Radio
number one for music radio and podcasts.
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