Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Jeff Hart - American Hero

Who is Jeff Hart?  He is a contractor from Colorado who was drilling for water in Afghanistan for US Military bases.  He was called upon for a very special mission.  Instead of drilling for water, he would be drilling to save lives.

By now everyone has heard of the trapped Chilean Miners who have survived nearly 70 days underground.  They are heros of a sort in their own right for supporting each other and keeping each other alive and well in dire circumstances.

Hart was called upon after Geotec Boyles Bros who was originally in charge of drilling.  They were successful in drilling a small five-inch diameter hole,  but they needed assistance to make a hole big enough to rescue the miners.  That company called upon Layne Christensen CEO Andrew Schmitt and asked for help.  He knew just the crew to suggest the job.  The crew was headed by Jeff Hart and driller Matt Staffel and helpers Doug Reeves and Jorge Herrera.   Hart had to go to Chile from Afghanistan.


They got special equipment including a special drill bit to make the 26" hole to rescue the miners.  The drill bit was shipped for free by UPS.  Kudos to UPS for that!    In the process they broke one bit on an underground steel  support beam and had to get another.  The team drilled for 33 days straight.

Once the hole was completed Hart left the mine and watched from Santiago - because he wanted the rescue to be about the miners, and Chile - not about him.

Jeff Hart - American Hero.

No comments:

Post a Comment