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How Three Explorers Serve CUD And Its Ratepayers

A battlefield historian, an anthropologist, and an archaeologist: That’s the unique team that monitors underground utility assets for Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County (CUD).

“Imagine a ratepayer decides to install fencing or a sprinkler system, but no underground assets have been marked by CUD,” said Matthew Whitten, GIS/GPR Technician for Consolidated Utility District (CUD) of Rutherford County. “While digging holes, the ratepayer hits and breaks a six-inch PVC pipe, or an 18-inch ductile iron pipe. That person would be responsible for time and damages incurred, and the community would be impacted as services are turned off for repair.”

“It’s absolutely critical to know exactly where underground water lines are located.” Whitten has a background in archaeology with the Tennessee State Historic Commission, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Rutherford County Archaeology Society.

“We serve CUD and our ratepayers by keeping all our water line maps current,” said Pam Sykes, GIS Analyst for CUD. “From line locating to helping inspectors out in the field to locating a leak, that all helps us reduce costs and improve water loss prevention.” Sykes holds a degree in anthropology from MTSU and spent more than three years working in the state parks of California.

“As the GIS coordinator, I’m the gatekeeper of the data,” said Bethany Hall. “For our ratepayers, I’m like Google. I research and provide options for solving issues. GIS is becoming one of the core departments at CUD. That’s happening through the creation of dashboards and web applications.”

Before joining CUD, Hall worked for Rutherford County and the City of Murfreesboro in GIS (geospatial information systems) capacities and earned degrees from ITT Tech, American InterContinental University, and MTSU. Though Hall leads the GIS Team at CUD, her previous experiences carried her to distant battlefields overseas.

“I have a fascination with 20^th century warfare”

Hall’s journey into GIS began by accident. Her father worked as an electrician and a plumber, and she learned to read blueprints and help him install wiring or plumbing. Through the years, Hall looked for opportunities to use her interests and skills in drafting, geography, and history.

“In 2008, I enrolled at MTSU in the Public History program as a master’s degree student,” Hall said. “I started doing some training on battlefield GIS. I have a fascination with 20th century warfare, and later I did a study abroad in 2009 with MTSU to the islands of Peleliu and Palau.”

A member of Hall’s grandmother’s family fought in World War II with the First Marine Division at the Battle of Palau and was buried near Pearl Harbor. Hall traced his deployments through the war.

“Palau is tiny — only two and a half miles long and about a mile and a half across,” Hall noted. “It’s largely an undisturbed World War II battlefield and still has unexploded ordnance. When I was there, I jumped over a root of a banyan tree, and landed on something metal. I figured my legs were about to be blown off. But what I had landed on were smoke grenades underneath the leaf litter.”

Hall would later work on a project with MTSU that would be titled “The Blue Raiders of Vietnam.” Sixteen men who attended MTSU during Vietnam died while in service there. Researching the efforts of those soldiers led to Hall’s Master of Liberal Arts degree.

The GIS knowledge Hall honed during her education became vital at CUD. “They needed somebody with the GIS background. We’re developing a vision for our information, and we can deploy operational dashboards and data-collecting technology to find our underground lines so our field crews can easily locate them.”

“Plus, I helped bring in a drone program for mapping and preliminary site design. I’ve got 30 hours of manned aviation experience and FAA certification. Using drones allows us to check the physical state of our water storage tanks so we don’t have to send out a crew in safety gear.”

“Because of my background in physics, I like the idea of mapping the universe.”

Visit Pamela Sykes’ workspace, and you’ll see her love of science fiction. Talk to her, though, and you’ll hear about her appreciation of science fact.

“My background originally was in physics due to my love of Star Trek,” said Sykes. “I went through (MTSU) as a physics and biology double major, but I’ve always been interested in anthropology, too.”

“I really enjoy maps because of orienteering and doing outdoor work. Because of my background in physics, I like the idea of mapping the universe.”

After returning to Tennessee, Sykes was approached by a friend about an opportunity with CUD. The role would require GIS capabilities – a skillset she had not used in about five years. Fortunately, the knowledge returned to her quickly, and the technology had improved, too.

“The tech became friendlier, thanks to smartphones,” said Sykes. “Being able to help our guys in the field use the tools and software, it’s all been part of a fun learning curve. As soon as our guys collect data, I’m editing it. Thanks to cell reception, the work moves pretty fast.”

Shooting aerial photography and video using CUD’s drone gives Sykes yet another avenue to use the latest technology. Like Hall, Sykes is an FAA-licensed drone pilot, having earned her certification in 2019. Part of her work involves flying the drone over worksites for pipe installations or structures for STEP systems (Septic Tank Effluent Pump). The data provided by the drone indicates the exact points where infrastructure has been placed – which is vital for inventory control and management.

Sykes has a particular vision in mind for her drone work. “Hopefully, we can start to do some three-dimensional analysis with virtual reality. It would be awesome to see what’s underground without having to dig underground. Especially if something is in the road or close to the road that would cause some problems. The thing is, I love technology, and I’m a gadget person. That’s part of why I’m here.”

“Even from childhood, we’re all explorers.”

Matthew Whitten started as an intern with CUD and learned about GPR (ground penetrating radar) as a method for locating possible submerged walls. That data provides CUD with an idea of where to plot and excavate. The GPR also identifies submerged pipes that were installed throughout the county prior to satellite imagery being taken.

Unearthing the past comes naturally to Whitten since he’s fascinated by archaeology. His collegiate career included work for museums, cemeteries, and an American Indian cultural center. He later gained professional experience developing historical maps and analyzing geographic features.

“I believe that – even from childhood — we’re all explorers,” said Whitten. “That just kind of bled over from history into archaeology, showing places on a map, indicating movement of peoples, mapping out a dig site. That transitioned me into my GIS work.”

Even Whitten’s first connection with CUD related to archaeology. “I met Bethany Hall when I was working a dig in Eagleville in 2014. At the time, I was the vice president of the Rutherford County Archaeological Society. One of the projects was cleaning and restoring the Old City Cemetery, which is now about 200 years old. While working for Rutherford County GIS, Bethany and I went plotting all the cemeteries throughout the county, and we ended up finding new cemeteries.”

Today, Whitten uses his archaeological skills in ways that benefit CUD and its ratepayers. “For a recent example, a contractor wanted to cut a drive into a new subdivision. However, the contractor noticed that a main service line ran across where the new drive was to be located. Our team determined that the blueprints did not agree with a true location. We used our ground-penetrating radar to locate where the line ran, which was roughly six feet off from the blueprints. That way, we helped them avoid a mistake.”

Changing Gears and Returning to Vietnam

For years, weeks, months, and days, I have dreamt of returning to Vietnam to complete the mission from my previous visit over four years ago. With my father's cancer accelerating on my last visit, I could barely focus on what I was mapping and why I was there mapping locations.

This embedded map tells the story of what took me to Vietnam four years ago and why I must return.

Today, that purpose is clear and my return begins in a few hours. See the embedded map below as the points are the places I traveled in 2014 along with a new set of points that I received from my MTSU connection on where all the Medal of Honor recipients earned their award. These points are just as personal.

During my time at Waren County Senior High school in McMinnville, Tennessee, I walked past the painted portrait of HM2 Robert Ray every day. His portrait showed a young man in a sailor's uniform wearing the Medal of Honor around his neck with a ship in the background. I always assumed the actions that lead to the award had been in WWII. It never occurred to me Navy Corpsmen were awarded the highest medal in the United States for their bravery in Vietnam, too. That's Bobby Ray's story and after reading the medal citation documents and the accounts of the events of March 19, 1969, it all makes sense why his portrait hung in my high school and a local elementary school is named in his honor.

According to the account, HM2 Robert Ray's Medal of Honor citation:

Medal of Honor citation[edit]

Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman Second Class, U.S. Navy, 2d Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Reinforced), III Marine Amphibious Force. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, March 19, 1969. Entered service at: Nashville, Tenn. Born: February 14, 1945, McMinnville, Tenn.

Citation[edit]

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a HM2 with Battery D, 2d Battalion, at Phu Loc 6, near An Hoa. During the early morning hours, an estimated battalion-sized enemy force launched a determined assault against the battery's position, and succeeded in effecting a penetration of the barbed-wire perimeter. The initial burst of enemy fire caused numerous casualties among the Marines who had immediately manned their howitzers during the rocket and mortar attack. Undaunted by the intense hostile fire, HM2 Ray moved from parapet to parapet, rendering emergency medical treatment to the wounded. Although seriously wounded himself while administering first aid to a Marine casualty, he refused medical aid and continued his lifesaving efforts. While he was bandaging and attempting to comfort another wounded Marine, HM2 Ray was forced to battle two enemy soldiers who attacked his position, personally killing one and wounding the other. Rapidly losing his strength as a result of his severe wounds, he nonetheless managed to move through the hail of enemy fire to other casualties. Once again, he was faced with the intense fire of oncoming enemy troops and, despite the grave personal danger and insurmountable odds, succeeded in treating the wounded and holding off the enemy until he ran out of ammunition, at which time he sustained fatal wounds. HM2 Ray's final act of heroism was to protect the patient he was treating. He threw himself upon the wounded Marine, thus saving the man's life when an enemy grenade exploded nearby. By his determined and persevering actions, courageous spirit, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his Marine comrades, HM2 Ray served to inspire the men of Battery D to heroic efforts in defeating the enemy. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.^[3]

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Where in the world have I been?

Since my father's passing in August 2014, I stepped away from flying, school, family, and social events. I have been retrospective and contemplative but now I am forging ahead. I have returned to graduate school to fulfill a promise I made to my dad during his last days on Earth. It has been a challenge!

I have taken classes in theology, geoscience, and business while trying to master web map application development at work while learning to fly drones. I have obtained my Remote Pilots License and I am mastering the mechanics of flying a Blade 350QX2 quad copter. It is totally kicking my tail most days but I refuse to quit.

Through all of this, Vietnam still pulls at my heart strings. We recently observed National Vietnam War Veterans Appreciation Day. Thank-you to all the men and women who put on a uniform and fought a war that no one understood. I was born in 1974 to a father and mother who had been shaped by their experiences during the war. My father served in the National Guard while my mother's brothers served in the Navy and Marine Corps. Many of the kids I grew up with had dads and uncles who were Vietnam veterans. Sometimes, I wonder if my generation will ever be able to step out of the shadow of Vietnam. For now, I cannot step out from the shadow and I have renewed my desire to map all the causality locations from MTSU. This is driving my desire to better myself as a remote pilot, GIS analyst, and web developer. I am working on a story map for the six men that we located in 2014 and so far, I have created a poster to reflect our research. More is in the works, so stay tuned as we return to Vietnam in 2018 and attempt to locate the remaining causality locations for the rest of the Blue Raiders of Vietnam.

Gayle Rains Tribute Video

Good Afternoon Vietnam!!!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

We arrived in Hanoi to overcast skies and cold damp . Everyone’s first question was where is the heat? The weather was a balmy 55 degrees and with the added moisture, it was chilly. I had only packed one pair of jeans and quickly decided they could be wore again for our day in Hanoi. After navigating the arrival terminal, we proceeded to immigration. We had filled out visa applications before our trip and presented them to the tour group director. He carried our documents over to immigration and then we were motioned to a tall set of counters. I presented my passport to the official and the check in desk was so tall the only part of me the official could see were my eyes and top of my head. He gave me a quick glance and stamped my passport. I think he thought he had allowed midgets into Vietnam but upon careful observation, I seem to be the average height. I came to this conclusion after observing the Vietnamese women surrounding me in the baggage claim area. I have never been in an area that I could look most of the population eye to eye besides that of a preschool in the States. Once we collected our baggage, we headed to the bus and our guide Bac, introduced us on how to cross the street once we arrived in Hanoi.

How do you describe Hanoi? One word: Crazy!!

Crossing the street in Hanoi is a challenge and a leap of faith all at once. You start walking and then keep walking while traffic adjusts to your speed and direction of travel. You just have to go for it and see what happens. I have heard it is worse in Siagon but we won’t get to experience this area of Vietnam. After cruising around the city in our motor coach, we stopped at the Hanoi Museum. It is a museum designed to enlighten visitors about the victory and the struggle the Vietnamese faced in throwing off French Colonialism and their final war with America. It has several American implements of war that were taken when South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. I enjoyed UH-1 Huey helicopter, tanks, M-113 APC, a Chinook helicopter, two prop driven airplanes that I need to identify and multiple artillery pieces. It was strange to see another country’s version of a war I have studied from the American perspective. I have recently begun reading Vietnamese accounts of the war but I admit, I am bias to the American cause and tactics. There were multiple misspellings of American military pieces and the Vietnamese perspective was interesting but completely bias to that of the communist ideology.

Hanoi is bathed in this ideology and the people are constantly exposed to propaganda posters and billboards. This propaganda was evident at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton Prison” museum. It has a fancy French name for prison but it escapes me as I type this late in the evening after spending all day hiking in and around the city. Our guide told us torture was used by the French on the Vietnamese freedom fighters, so when the Vietnamese used torture on the prisoners from the American War, it wasn’t bad torture but it was ok to do these horrible things to other human beings. No matter how you present the infamous Hanoi Hilton Prison, it was a dreadful place and it gave you the creeps walking through it. I felt as if the ghosts of all those people were watching and asking are you here to hurt me?

I went through the tour quickly and exited the gift shop without even looking at the available souvenirs. I wanted to get on the bus as fast as I could and leave this place of horror. How John McCain and the other survivors of is dreadful place survived, I can only say their resolute determination carried them through these horrible halls of terror.

Even though Hanoi had places of skewed history and torture it also had amazing shopping deals if you know how to bargain. If you have the guts to go head to head with the business women of Vietnam, who do not take no for an answer, more power to you! I picked up a new North Face backpack for $15 bucks off the street after a somewhat heated battle of wills between my wallet and one determined lady. When I got back to the hotel, I looked up this type of backpack and it was near $100 bucks online. It has been a life saver on our field excursions as support and portability are key to our trip along with good food.

For dinner we left the Gondola Hotel and began our journey to the restaurant and was not disappointed as dinner was truly good. Our adventure back to the hotel was journey of skirting sidewalks, vendors, people squatting to eat, play, cards, drinking, burning their trash on the street, cooking in a pot, etc. The Vietnamese cook and eat on the street, literally, using tables and chairs for toddlers. They squat everywhere and are constantly watching Americans stare at them as potential ATM machines. Everyone will approach you and ask for money. Don’t make eye contact or you are gonna be offered a services, products, items, etc and they want the almighty dollar or Vietnamese dong.

Trust me, we have had a lot of fun trying to figure out the exchange rate of the dong and saying you have a pocket full of dong cracks me up every time. We are on the move almost every day during this trip and will visit no less than 10-15 large cities, so stay tuned to our adventure in Vietnam as I post pictures and other items. Tomorrow we south fly to Quang Ngai and begin working our way back north.

Check out the places we travel at www.maps3.murfreesborotn.gov/Vietnam

Let the Fun Begin!

March 7-8, 2014

We flew from Nashville to LA with no problems and the view from air was gorgeous as we passed over snow covered fields that gave way the plains then deserts of the West. It was one of the most beautiful and scenic flights I have ever been on and was a much needed relief from the stress of the previous two days. Arriving in LA, I was starving and needed to get out. Thanks to a tip from a friend of mine, we sought out the Parking Spot shuttle service to the In-N-Out Burger on Sepluveda Blvd and dined on an awesome double double burger and fries. I couldn’t sit for ten hours in an airport and after convincing a few students to join me and Chris on this adventure, we took off for fun! This lead to an exploration of the local area’s shops for duct tape, rubber bands, a postcard, a stamp, work gloves and a camera charger. In addition to extra supplies we purchased at Staples, Ralphs, CVS and Staples we stumbled upon a local street festival and basked in the wonderful smells of festival food. We had a blast!

After returning to the airport, we discovered all of our electronic devices decided they needed power so we could fight through our layover boredom. Chris had the forethought to bring along a power strip for our trip. While waiting in the terminal at LAX we found the only working outlet in our area and quickly deployed the power strip. We all took turns charging laptops, phones, GPS units, etc. as we knew our long flight to Taiwan would need entertainment or someone might get hurt. Not long after completing the last of the charging projects the members of the tour company arrived and we began our trip to Taiwan aboard EVA Airlines.

While we were waiting to begin boarding the plane for Taiwan, news was spreading an Air Malaysia flight had disappeared somewhere over the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea. Knowing we were headed in that direction a lot of folks were trying to call home to let their loved ones know we were safe. I have to admit, I had a horrible feeling all day in my gut about traveling on Friday. I said several prayers over the course of the day and left these worries at the Lord’s feet. We departed LAX around 10:30 pm Friday evening and our longest leg of the journey was underway!

Our fourteen hour flight was about as exciting as watching paint dry and everyone tried to sleep. I may caught a little sleep but the constant engine and cabin noise along with attempting to sleep sitting up didn’t bode well with me. I tried to work on my computer, watched several movies and stared out into the blackness of the Pacific night sky. The night time view flying up the western coast of the US was really cool and then seeing the main island of Japan appear out of the inky blackness was incredible. You could make out the entire coastline and there were tiny ships in the harbors as we flew over them with their lights twinkling.

We landed in Taiwan about an hour before sunrise in a bit of a soupy mess. The cloud cover was low and a light mist was in the air. We had about three hours before our flight to Vietnam and I tried to sleep one on of the benches in the terminal. Chris and I did manage to visit the duty free Hello Kitty store and picked up a few cute items before the pinkness drove me mad. Being sleep deprived and having your senses overloaded with pink stuff was more then I could handle.

Before we knew it, our next plane had arrived for our departure to Hanoi, Vietnam.

I gotta get out of this place, if it the last thing I ever do!

March 7, 2014

All week things have been crazy with last minute trip planning but several events threated to thoroughly derail my plans for leaving the country. Precious, Lilly’s cat was on death’s doorstep when we discovered him lethargic and listless late Wednesday evening. Taking him to the vet early Thursday morning, we were confronted with making the difficult decision of putting him to sleep or possibly a dangerous surgery to repair a tear in his bladder caused by an infection. We picked up Lilly and told her about Precious’ condition. We decided to go visit Precious at the vet’s office and weigh our options carefully. After a long visit with our cat and speaking with the vet, it seemed Precious was starting to show signs of improvement. He was still under sedation but was beginning to show signs of agitation only when I petted him. He doesn’t like me much and I took this a good sign. We called a friend to see if she could help care for our cat while we are out of the country only to learn her husband had a heart attack! On top of all of this, the money I had transferred to cover our trip expenses was still in limbo and may not be available before we leave for our trip! What else can go wrong!

When dawn broke Friday morning, it was fast paced with taking the girls to school and the last minute errands, which included a stop by MPD. We had to drop off a last minute order of Girl Scout cookies with the wonderful ladies in the records department and to make copies of our passports. I had made copies of our passports weeks before the trip but neither Chris nor myself could locate the copies. By this time my nerves were beginning to unravel and I was snapping at everyone and extremely sick to my stomach. I had already thrown up three times as the stress of the previous forty-eight hours was beginning to show.

While attempting to make copies of our passports at MPD Records, the copier stopped working after I made only a few copies. So, I ran over to MPD’s primary building, up two flights of stairs and finally was able to finish making the copies of our passports. I ran back downstairs and over to records to retrieve Chris when he informed me needed cash from the ATM. Well, the bank is on the way to interstate and off we went in a great hurry. Arriving at the bank, we notice the ATM isn’t working and we are unable to withdraw funds! Quickly we were running out of options and tried an ATM at a gas station only to learn the transfer was still in transition. Running out of time and patience, we headed to the airport to join the group and hoped maybe by the time we were supposed to arrive in Los Angeles, we would have some cash waiting there in our account.

Stay tuned as our trip to Vietnam unfolds.