ne'er 

lULLETlN FOR ARMY ENGINEERS 

The Great Flood of '93 

PB 5-94-2 Appmved for publlc release dbtdb~tionis unlimited. April 1994 

I 
- LEAR THE WAY 


By Major General Joe N. Ballard 

Commandant, U.S.Army Engineer School 

A n June 1993, with the publishing of FM 100-5, the 

U.S. Army officially recognized versatility as the fifth 

basic tenet of Army operations. Versatility has long 

been one of the basic principles and proud traditions 

of our Engineer Regiment. But in today's uncertain 

strategic environment, where resources are dwindling 

and Army missions are increasing, our regiment must 

remain versatile to meet the challenges we will face. 

This month the U.S. Army Engineer Center is hosting the sixth annual Senior Engineer Leaders Training 

Conference (SELTC) at Fort Leonard Wood. I have 

selected "versatility" as the theme of this year's conference because of the many diverse missions engineers have been called to perform since the end of 

the cold war. Numerous engineer units have distinguished themselves and have demonstrated their versatility by successfully accomplishing a wide range of 

missions either sequentially or simultaneously. 

The recent operation in Somalia is just one example that shows our regiment's versatility. Often on the 

same day, engineers found themselves supporting humanitarian operations, then combat operations, and 

then back to humanitarian operations. Before they deployed to the horn of Africa, those same engineers 

were in Dade County, Florida, providing assistance to 

the victims of Hurricane Andrew. Those versatile engineers excelled in a wide variety of rapidly changing 

missions. 

Versatility is reflected in the way our regiment 

adapts to different missions and tasks, many of which 

are not on unit mission essential task lists. Our regiment has always prided itself in meeting the challenge of rapidly and efficiently shifting focus, tailoring 

forces, and moving from one mission to another. But 

today's force-projection Army demands an even more 

versatile Engineer Regiment. 

We are now faced with a dynamic global environment, where assumptions made during the cold war 

no longer apply. Forward defense has given way to 

force projection, and AirLand Battle doctrine has 

evolved to the doctrine of Full Dimensional Operations. Versatility is essential for a force projection 

Army, where engineer units must rapidly build and 

sustain substantial combat power in remote parts of 

the globe and achieve success in a wide range of 

missions. 

Engineer soldiers must seek ways to perform a 

wide range of roles, in a wide range of environments, 

and under the conditions of war and operations other 

than war. Full Dimensional Operations in the 21st century will require our regiment to expand its already 

wide variety of basic competencies and skills. Our offlcers and noncommissioned officers must be mentally 

agile and competent across the entire spectrum of engineer functions in both war and operations other 

than war. Our units must be multifunctional; operate 

at tactical, operational, and strategic levels; harness 

new and evolving technologies; and deploy as modular and tailorable elements. As in the past, our regiment needs soldiers who are well led, well trained, 

well equipped, and held to high standards. This is, 

and will continue to be, a truly challenging and rewarding time to be an engineer soldier. 

Articles in this issue of Engineer highlight our regiment's versatility. Lieutenant General Williams addresses the Corps of Engineers' 1993 flood assessment and future flood control proposals. Lieutenant 

Colonel Davis and Major Feierstein discuss the 43rd 

Engineer Combat Battalion's deployment to construct 

Victory Base in Somalia. And, Mr. Stewart addresses 

engineer support to the theater in force-projection operations. These and other articles portray a versatile 

Engineer Regiment, one that is capable of operating 

across the full spectrum of military operations. 

Versatility is of great interest to the leaders of our 

Army and our regiment, and is a timely theme for the 

SELTC. This year's conference features presentations that promote that theme. Speakers include the 

Chief of Engineers, the Commander of the XVlllth Airborne Corps, the Commanding General of the U.S. 

Army Combined Arms Command, the Director of the 

Army staff, the Deputy Commander and Chief of 

USAREUR, the Commander of the 10th Mountain Division, the Director of the Louisiana Maneuvers Task 

Force, and the Commander of Joint Task Force Six. 

As always, the conference provides an opportunity for 

the military engineering community to focus efforts 

and resolve key issues. The goal is to share experiences and gain the knowledge needed to develop a 

better trained and more versatile Engineer Regiment. 

While the SELTC presents information and challenges for our senior leaders, we must remember that 

the versatility of the regiment begins in the mind of 

the engineer soldier. The imagination and ingenuity of 

our engineer soldiers will help us maintain and carry 

forth our proud tradition. ESSAYONS! 
- - 

-
 i 

q~~+f-+,"* 

T J-&, rirq w 11r~rj .r 7

- April 1994 Headquarters, Department of the Army 	 Volume 24 PB 5-94-2 

UNITED STATES ARMY FEATURES 

ENGINEER CENTER AND 

FORT LEONARD WOOD 2 The Corps' Response to the Great Flood of 1993 

by Lieutenant General Arthur E. Williams 

COMMANDERICOMMANDANT 8 Return to Somalia: The Construction of Victory Base 

Major General Joe N. Ballard by Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Davis and Major Mark 

D. Feierstein 

MANAGING EDITOR 	 16 Engineer Theater Support Operations 

Catherine Eubanks 	 by Jeb Stewart 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 26 Integration of Engineer Groups in Support of a Light 

SPC Virginia Espree Division 

Lynne Sparks by Lieutenant Colonel Peter Madsen and Major Wayne 

James E. Woodbuiy Whiteman 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 	 30 The Javelin: Reach Out and Touch Someone 

Jennifer C. Bolyard 	 by Sergeant First Class Daniel Copson, Sergeant First Class 

Richard Kelley and Staff Sergeant Bret Harley 

By Order of the Secretary of the Army: 36 Leadership Without Speed Bumps 

GORDON R. SULLIVAN by Colonel Herb Harback 

General, United States Army 38 Unit History: A Two-Edged Sword 

Chief of Staff by Dr. Larry Roberts 

Official: 	 43 Engineer Force Structure: Past, Present, and Future 

a&ddJ= by Peter Malley 

MILTON H. HAMILTON 

Administrative Assistant to the DEPARTMENTS Secretaiy of the Army 

mn 
 Inside Front Cover: Clear the Way 

7 Letter to the Editor 42 Engineer Solution 

Cover photo: A rural home owner 15 Personal Viewpoint 48 Past In Review 

taunts Mother Nature as floodwaters 23 Lessons Learned 51 Engineer Update 

creep towards his front door. U.S. Army 34 Engineer Problem 53 Bridge the Gap 

photo. , 

ENGINEER (ISSN 0048-18880) Is prepared qusmdy by me U.S. Army Eogi- Vhwe expmsod are those of me &a and not mose of me Depament of De 

neer School. ATTN: ATSE-T-PD-€0, Fad Leonsrd Wd, MO 65473-6650. Sec- fan- or ib eiemenb. The contens do not oecswrily rsRsct omclal U.S. Army 

ond Clasp pmtape is paid at Forl Leonard Wood, MO, and addnional mailinp poslllOns, and do not chsnge or supersede Information In omer U.S. Amy publlornce8. eauons. Use of new Items consuwles neimer animation of meir accuracy 

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leun for Army Engineera. ATTN: ATSE-T-PD-€0, Fort Leonard Wood. MO 65473- CCNTENT 11 not copyrighted. Matarlsl may be reprlnfsd H credit la given to 

8650. ENGINEER and he aumor 

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DISCLAIMER: ENGINEER presents proleraional informadon designed lo Of Oocumenb, P.O. Box 371854, Pnrsbumh, PA 15250-7050. Address changes 

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April 1994 
The Corps' Response to the 


Great Flood of 1993 


This article is an edited version of LTG Williams' statement before the Subcommittee on Investigations 

and Oversight, Home Committee on Public Works and Transportation, October 28, 1999. 

Flooding in 1993 of the Upper Mississippi and 

Lower Missouri River Basins was the most 

devastating flood in our nation's history. Nine 

states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, 

Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, and 

Missouri, received the brunt of nature's onslaught. 

The great flood of 1993 was a rare event, which 

many hope will not be repeated in their lives. Expected to occur only once every 100 to 125years 

(which equates to a 0.8 percent to 1.0 percent 

chance of occurrence), the flow of water down the 

Mississippi River to St. Louis peaked at 1.1 million 

cubic feet per second. At locations in the upper Mississippi River, flooding approached a 500-year 

flood. Pawwillion. . Nebraska. received an inch of - rain in only six minutes; at Fargo, North Dakota, 

the Red River ruse four feet in just six hours. Uncommon events such as these quickly became commonplace throughout the midwest. 

This flood event left an unforgettable mark on the 

people and the land. Not only was the flood characterized by its reoord peak levels, but also by its sheer 

volume and duration. The volume of runoff produced 

by incessant and protracted rains dwarfed that produced by the previous -rd flood of 1844. At St. 

buis,the mskippi ~i~~~ remained above flood 

stage for more than thm months. 

This article describes the Corps of Engineer's 

role in this epic flood, summarizes the damages 

and relief efforts, and identifies lessons learned during the recovery process. 

The Corps Role in the Region -

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed 

and operates a vast flood-control infrastructure on tributary rivers in the Upper Mississippi 

2 Engineer By Lieutenant General Arthur E. Williams April 1994 
River Basin. This system wnsists of 72 dam and 

reservoir projects, more than 200 levees, floodwalls, 

pumping plants and diversion structures. Additionally, other federal agencies and numerous nonfedera1 public and private interests have built thousands of flood control structures throughout the basin. Some of these flood wntrol structures are eligible for Corps assistance during flood disasters. 

Each reservoir in the system has a water control 

plan that specifies how water will be stored and released under a variety of hydrologic conditions in its 

watershed. Under flood conditions, reservoirs impound and later release floodwaters in a controlled 

manner to lessen the impact downstream. By August 

1, 1993, reservoirs in the midwest were at their peak 

stora~lmost20 million acre-feet of floodwater. 

Once a flood crest has passed, operating plans call for 

the release of stored floodwaters as quickly as possible without further impacts to the flooding downstream. It is important to rapidly return each reservoir 

to its normal pool level so storage spce is available to 

capture the next flood. The Corps operations in the 

spring of 1993 were no different in this regard. 

Federal navigation projects in the Upper Mississippi River Basin are vitally important to our nation's economy. Upstream from St. Louis, there are 

34 locks at 29 sites along 854 navigable miles of 

the Mississippi River. Along the 753 miles of navigation on the Missouri River, there are no locks. 

The Illinois River has nine locks along its 327-mile 

system, and the Kaskaskia River has one lock on 

its 30-mile length. Navigation on these floodswollen rivers was essentially stopped from June 

through August 1993 because of dangerous channel 

conditions. Navigation industry lasses exceeded 

$300 million. As an example of the impact on navigation, approximately 8 million tons of carp normally pass through Lock 27 near St. Louis during 

the month of July The total tonnage for July 1993 

was zero. Other locks within the system above St. 

Louis reported similar impads. 

Damages - he great flood of 1993 earned the dubious distinction as the flood of record. Unlike a hurricane or earthquake, where the disaster strikes 

quickly, the 1993 flood sustained its relentless attack from the spring through the summer, leaving 

50 people dead in its wake. It inflicted more than 

$20 billion in damages. Communities witnessed the 

destruction and damage to 72,000 homes. Water inundated 20 million acres of agricultural land, destroying $1.5 billion of soybeans in Illinois and $1.0 

billion of corn in Iowa. 

The Corps' flood control infrastructure, including 

flood control reservoirs, levees, walls, and other 

structures, performed extremely well during the crisis; they prevented billions of dollars in damages. 

For example, of the 230 levees constructed by the 

federal government, only 38 were overtopped and 

two breached, compared with an 80 percent rate of 

overtopping and breaching of private levees. Since 

the flood, the Corps has begun spending an estimated $250 million to make repairs to both federal 

and nonfederal levees. 

Photo thls page: At Sny 

Island, llllnols, a dozer 

clears dredged - rnaterlal 

from the riverbank. 

Photo opposlte page: A 

rallroad bridge at Glasgow, Mbsourl, succumbs 

to rlslng water. Floodwaters ravaged the mldwest from sprlng through 

late summer 1993. 

April 1994 Engineer 3 
Flood waters moved large quantities of sediment 

into the navigation channels, causing additional damage. Estimates are that $11 million worth of dredging 

will be needed to restore these navigation channels. 

Recreation areas were also affected. The Corps 

temporarily closed more than 100 recreation areas, 

either fully or partially. Shower buildings and comfort stations were severely damaged, roads and 

areas around boat ramps and swimming beaches 

were eroded, and campsites were destroyed. These 

recreation areas suffered damages amounting to 

about $11 million. 

Relief Efforts 

The Corps operates under two basic emer. lr gency authbrities that allow it to prepare for 

and respond to disasters. These authorities are the 

Flood Control and Coastal Emergency Ad (Public 

Law 84-99, as amended) and the Robert T. Stafford 

Disaster and Emergency histance Act (Public 

Law 93-288, as amended). Public Law 84-99 permits the Chief of Engineers to undertake activities 

that include flood response and rehabilitation of 

flood control works. Under the Stafford Act, the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

developed a contingency plan for a holistic federal 

response called the Federal Response Plan. This 

plan calls on 26 federal departments and agencies 

and the American Red Cross to execute coordinated 

disaster relief and recovery operations. Specifically, 

it allows FEMA to assign public works and engineering missions to the Corps. The intent of both 

the Stafford Act and Public Law 84-99 is for the 

federal government to assist states, not to take 

over and direct disaster relief operations. 

Under the authority of Public Law 84-99, the 

Corps assists state and local agencies with planning, flood fighting, and the rehabilitation of eligible flood control structures. The Corps maintains 

supplies such as sand bags and pumps for use in 

flood fights. If these stocks are depleted, each district emergency operation center has on file lists of 

sources where supplies and equipment can be 

quickly procured. As early as June 1993 the Corps 

began to distribute what would eventually exceed 

31 million sand bags and loaned 430 pumps to aid local communities. In some instance3 the Corps contracted with private construction firms to reinforce 

levees. This emergency work amounted to about $25 

million. Our professional engineers also assisted local 

governments by providing technical advice. By working closely with the levee districts, local and state officials, and other federal agencies, the Corps maximized its effectiveness during the response phase. 

Once FEMA activated the Federal Response 

Plan on July 11, 1993, the Corps executed FEMA4 Engineer 

directed missions. The Environmental Protection 

Agency, U.S. Public Health Service, Departments of 

Transportation, Agriculture, and Interior, and the 

General Services Administration provided valuable 

support to the Corps mission assignments. The 

Corps provided damage surveys, generators, and 

portable toilets; installed culverts; and supplied potable water. A significant water supply mission involved the transportation and storage of potable 

water to Des Moines, Iowa, when that city's water 

treatment plant was flooded. The recovery phase 

of the mission included technical assistance to rehabilitate the plant and restore the water supply 

to approximately 250,000 people. The cost of 

these FEMA missions amounted to more than 

$20 million. 

Throughout this flood emergency, the Corps coordinated relief operations with several federal agencies--the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Reclamation 

(BOR), the National Weather Service (NWS), the 

Soil Conservation Service (SCS), and the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Of particular note, the Corps called on the USGS to make 

additional flow measurements at key river locations for use in making water control decisions. Because of the close working relationship between the 

Corps and USCG, navigation issues and safety concerns were quickly addressed and disseminated to 

the public. Engineers from the BOR supplemented 

Corps damage survey teams so that damages were 

rapidly quantified. A triumvirate of the Corps, SCS, 

and FEMA mordinated federal policies regarding 

levee rehabilitation and developed joint management teams at the disaster field offices established 

by FEMA. In late August, representatives from the 

U.S. Fish and wldlife Service (USFWLS) and the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were 

added to these interagency teams to evaluate nonstructural alternatives to levee repairs where appropriate. Contractors, soldiers and private citizens 

emerged to lend their valued support. All partners 

contributed their personnel, expertise, and professionalism. This team effort expedited relief operations and 

alleviated the suffering of those affected. 

Especially productive were the efforts to bring 

back navigation to the Upper Mississippi River Basin without creating additional damages to, or 

threatening the stability of, weakened levees. The 

possibility that the wakes caused by barge traffic 

would further damage levees alarmed local officials. On July 19, the Corps met with the River Industry Executive Task Force and the Coast Guard 

to develop a plan for restoring navigation. The plan 

included a test tow protocol for opening the waterways. The plan of operation included a navigation 

traffic control center for direction, monitoring, 

April 1994 
information exchange, and 

public announcements. The 

test tow protocol required 

that three tows descend the 

Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to determine if wave action would cause additional 

stress to the levees. Levee district representatives rode the 

three tows to see first-hand 

the effects of commercial traffie. We commend the navigation industry for this cooperative effort. The River 

Industry Executive Task 

Force exemplifies what government and industry can accomplish in cooperative approaches to problem solving. 

The flood fight demanded a Volunteers flll sandbags at Roshenport, Mlssourl. The Corps provlded more than 31 massive commitment of mllllon sandbags to the mldwest to hold back flood waters. 

Corns ~ersonnel. When the ' > 

call went out for assistance, 

more than 1,000 Corps team members came forward and volunkred for duty in the affected areas. They deployed to the three Corps divisions 

(North Central, Missouri River, and Lower Mississippi Valley) and their subordinate districts (St. 

Paul, Rock Lland, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, 

and Memphis). Our volunteers brought that indomitable credo 'The Corps Cares." Armed with their 

professional skills and concern for their fellow citizens, the volunteers worked tirelessly to help mitigate the damage. Throughout the remainder of 1994, 

between 200 and 500 deployed personnel will finalize 

levee rehabilitation. Once again, Corps personnel 

have proven to be our organization's greatest asset. 

As the magnitude of the flood grew, I directed the 

establishment of a mordinating office to oversee the 

flood fight. Known as the Deputy Director of Civil 

Works (Forward), the office activated August 4,1993 

in St. Louis. The Forward Office, headed by MG Albert Genetti, Commander of the Ohio River Division, 

developed a strategic management plan for implementing recovery operations. It provided a regional 

setting to ensure Headquarters USACE policies were 

reviewed, interpreted, and applied uniformly The office also became a one-stop shopping center from 

which to coordinate all public affairs and to provide 

liaison with congressional, state, and local interests. On September 17, having set recovery policies and procedures in place, the office closed. 

As the floodwaters finally receded during October 

and November, the Corps began in earnst to rehabilitate more than 200 damaged federal and eligible nonfederal levees. Districts identified 38 levees where immediate and provisional measures could be provided 

April 1994 

to reduce the risk of further damage. The Corps expedited initial repairs to those levees, with final repairs 

to follow in 1994 for the remaining eligible levees. All initial repairs will be completed prior to the spring of 

1994, when the annual thaw may again threaten to 

send floodwaters south to the Gulf of Mexico. The 

first 38 levees entered the Corps' Fast Track Levee 

Rehabilitation Program. This program typifies the 

creative solutions the Corps team developed to 

solve immediate threats to life and property. Design, contracting, and construction teams sped temporary repairs to these levees so that a minimum 

20-year level of protection would be in place before 

the possibility of spring flooding. 

Corps contractors will restore many of the more 

than 200 eligible levees scheduled for final repairs 

to their predisaster condition; however, more than 

half of the final repairs will not be completed until 

late 1994. Thus, the Corps will be fully engaged in 

rehabilitating levees for more than a year after the 

great flood of 1993 struck the region. 

The Corps' Levee Rehabilitation Program is 

analogous to an insurance policy that promotes 

levee integrity and financially protects public levee 

sponsors. Active program sponsors comply with engineering and maintenance standards that ensure 

reliable protection against floods. In return, when 

an eligible levee is damaged by a flood, the Corps 

funds 80 percent of the repair cost. This program 

benefits public sponsors and minimizes the destruo 

tion caused by floods. 

In the aftermath of the 1993 flood, the Corps 

received more than 500 requests for levee rehabilitation, About 300 of these requests were rejected because levee sponsors had previously elected not to 

Engineer 5 
enroll in the Corps program, or because the levees 

were in an unsatisfactory state of maintenance 

prior to the flood. These levee sponsors had no 

Corps "insurance policy." Levee sponsors enrolled 

in the Corps program spend thousands of dollars 

each year to maintain the integrity of their levees. 

Their steadfastness to sound engineering and maintenance resulted in Corps assistance after the 1993 

flood--often exceeding $1 million per levee. 

Lessons Learned 

Some significant lessons learned from the 

great flood of 1993 follow. The list is incomplete because the task to repair damaged eligible 

levees will not be finished until late 1994, and we 

expect more lessons will be learned. 

The Deputy Director of Civil Works (Forward) 

in St. Louis was a success. Not only was the 

office able to coordinate implementation of policy, but it was a "one stop" information office 

that elected officials and members of the public could contact for specific information. The 

Public Affairs Office released information that 

affected the entire area to both the news media and the public. Thus, the responsiveness 

and credibility of the Corps increased with 

those most affected by impacts of the flood. 

On the engineering front, the Corps recognized 

the need for a better computer model to simulate the flows of the Mississippi and Missouri 

Rivers and their tributaries. The computer 

model will be used to determine impacts of 

flooding on facilities and water control plans. 

We are already involved in developing that 

model and will coordinate with the National 

Weather Service in its development. 

m The automation of data dissemination among 

the Corps headquarters, divisions, and districts requires improvement to take advantage 

of current technology. As a result of this flood, 

we have identified the need to develop a better 

means for the exchange of water data between 

federal agencies on a real-time basis. 

The 1993 flood showed that Corps flood control 

projects, including reservoirs and levees, 

worked as designed and withstood the test of 

this flood. The water control plans for the reservoirs helped guide Corps decisions during 

these unprecedented conditions. 

The emergency operations centers at Corps 

headquarters, divisions, and districts functioned very well during the crisis. They provided timely responses to needs throughout 

the affected area. 

The River Industry Executive Task Force 

worked extremely well and illustrated the benefits of government and industry aperation. 

The Corps' volunteer program was also a 

great success. It provided a pool of more than 

1,000 individuals who were willing to go to the 

stricken area and join in the fld fight. 

As a result of the 1993 flood,many sponsors of 

public levees now realize the value of the 

Corps' levee rehabilitation program. If more 

sponsors join our program, more levees will be 

better maintained and better able to protect 

life and property. 

m Our federal partners are a great force multiplier. Each organization has unique capabilities and dedicated professionals who contributed to the Corps successes. Teamwork provided the most effective relief passible. 

The Future 

n anticipation of spring flooding during March 

and April 1994, the Corps has developed an action plan. Routine planning activities include the 

identification of emergency contractors and borrow 

sites, and pre-positioning of sand bags and pumps. 

Additionally, the Corps will continue to educate the 

public, especially state and local governments, in 

flood fighting techniques and Corps assistance programs. In cooperation with the National Weather 

Service, we will assist in forecasting flood-vulnerable 

areas by estimating rainfall amounts, soil moisture 

content, and water content of the snow cover. The 

Corps stands ready against potential spring 

flooding. 

Chaired by the White House, an interagency committee is analyzing floodplain management policies. 

The goal is to formulate coordinated and coherent 

interagency policies toward floodplain management 

that optimizes and balances uses of the floodplains. 

State and local participation in this effort are crucial. The committee has the difficult, but important, task of balancing the legitimate uses of navigation, flood control, water supply, recreation, 

industry and economic development, agriculture, environmental preservation, and habitat restoration. 

It will examine the whole emsystem, while keeping 

in mind that 260 million humans are also part of 

that system. All committee members share a common hope--that the magnitude of the devastation 

caused by the great flood of 1993 never revisits the 

midwest. Whatever the decisions resulting from 

this effort, the Corps will be intimately involved in 

implementing them. 

ESSAYONS! 
Lieutenant Geneml Williams is the 48th Chief of Engt 

neers. He pnuiolurly serued as U.S.Army Corps of En& 

neers Director of Civil Works, Pacif?c Ocean Division Commander, Lower Mississippi Valley Division Commander, 

Sacmento District Commander, and 44th Engineer Battalion Commander. He is a graduate of the Naval Ww 

College and holds a masters degne in ciuil engineering 

from Stanford Universily. LTG Willicuns is a registered 

Professional Engineer in Minnesota. Y 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Adler, Jerry. 'Troubled Waters." Newsweek, July 

26, 1993, pp. 21-26. 

Bryon, Bill. 'Xiding Out the Worst of Times." National Geographic, January 1994, pp. 82-86. 

Budiansky, Stephen; Glastris, Paul; and Ferguson, 

Greg. 'Wowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide." U.S. 

News and World Report, July 26, 1993, pp. 24-28. 

'Can't Drown this Town." National Geographic 

Explorer, WTBS Super Station, Atlanta, GA, January 1994. 

Church, George J. 'Flood, Sweat and Tears." 

Time, July 26, 1993, pp. 22-33. 

Denning, James. ''When the Levee Breaks." Civil 

Engineering, January 1994, pp. 38-41. 

Elmore, John. Unpublished. ''Suggested Remarks 

for Mr. Elmore at the Midwest Reconstruction and 

Cleanup Conference." November 18, 1993. 

Elmore, John. Unpublished. "Remarks of Mr. 

John Elmore at the 'Floods, Drought, Ice and River 

Closure' Panel." 13th New Orleans Maritime Seminar, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, 

LA. January 27, 1994. 

Elmore, John. Unpublished. '%marks of Mr. 

John Elmore to the U.S. Feed Grains Council, 34th 

Annual Membership Meeting." Scottsdale, AZ. February 8, 1994. 

Elmore, John. Unpublished. "Suggested Remarks 

for Mr. Elmore, Congressional/Executive Science 

and Engineering Fellows." Washington, D.C., January 11, 1994. 

Mairson, Alan. 'The Great Flood of '93." National Geographic, January 1994, pp. 49-81. 

U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the 

Army, Complete Statement of Lieutenant General 

Arthur E. Williams, Commander, U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers, before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, House Committee on Public 

Works and Transportation, October 28, 1993. 

U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the 

Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Strategy and 

Management Plan for Repair of Flood Control 

Works Midwest Flooding 1993, August 1993. 

April 1994 

Letter to the Editor 

R 	:eferenceElosnla: En glneer Pla~ inlng for C

Otht	3r Than Wztr, By Majo r David R. Brown. E! 

"-:"- h,-.. ^...L^. 4 no," l~uv~o,tu~,t.7. 

The feature article refe ~rencedwas an intere tdng lntroduction to the engineer spec :ific conce rns in 00-TW. In an ,. 	. arena which includes numerous vlra roptcs, the author 

succeeds in providing thought-provoking opinions. The 

"MineICountermine Operations" portion of the article was undoubtedly intended to cause appropriate self-reflection in 

the combat englneer community and units concerning their 

proficiency in countermine operations. Instead, the misplaced emphasis of the article may only have destroyed soldier confidence In a good piece of equipment, the currently 

fielded ANIPSS-12 mine detector. 

The mlne danger to our soldiers Is very real. Antitank 

and antipersonnel mines are among the most lethal munltlons on the battlefield, even though much of the world mine 

stockpile may NOT be very "high-tech." There Is not presently any fielded means of stand-off detection to allow our 

soldiers to locate camouflaged or concealed mlnes without 

exposlng themselves to serious injury or death. There also 

is no non-metallic mine detector fielded or presently avallable to U.S. forces. 

The key to our detection "deficiency" was correctly identified by the author: TRAINING. In fact, proper training is so 

crucial that the lead sentence in the MInelCountermine part 

should more correctly read "Many soldiers have little confidence In their abllity to detect any mlnes with any equlpment currently fielded." Despite such valid concerns, however, documented recent field use on live-armed mines In 

Southwest Asia by civilian contractors and In Bosnia by allied peace-keeping forces indicates unresewedly that 

trained operators using the ANPSS-12 successfully detected the majority of all AP mlnes, even those touted as 

"non-metallic." This was possible because even non-metailic mlnes generally have at least a metal firing pln which 

can be detected by a well-trained operator using the 

ANIPSS-12. The confidence level has nothing to do with 

the extremely capable ANIPSS-12 detector, and everything 

to do with the frequency and realism of the detector training 

conducted. 

An article featuring the successful use of the ANIPSS-12 

is belna written and will be submitted for publication In a 

Mu1 B ENGINE 

A A 

rssistant F Tger for Mines 

'icatinny P 3w Jersey 

Letters to the edltor are welcome. They should be addressed to: Editor, ENGINEER Professional Bulletin, ATTN: 

ATSE-T-PD-EB, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473-6650. 

Engineer 7 
Return to Somalia: 


The Construction of Victory Base 


By Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Davis and Major Mark D. Feierstein 

n 12 March 1993, the rear detachment of 

the 43d Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) 

departed Mogadishu, Somalia, leaving a vertical 

construction platoon as part of the residual engineer force. When the platoon returned to Fort Benning on 26 May, our soldiers thought their mission 

in Somalia was over. However, events on 3 and 4 

October changed all that. After the President announced that an armored task force would be sent to 

Somalia to protect U.S. fo-, we were alerted to deploy a company (-) to 'bed down the task force." That 

requirement quickly grew into providing a taskorganized combat heavy battalion. The following is 

a summary of the 438s experiences on our second deployment to Somalia, in support of Operation Continue Hope. The article focuses on our main effort, 

the construction of Victory Base, a 1,700-soldier 

base camp. 

v 

The battalion was alerted on 8 October, with 

the initial requirement to deploy a company (-), 

departure date unknown. The battalion staff 

quickly prepared Alpha Company for deployment, 

but within hours the requirement increased to a 

battalion (-). More changes followed. By change 

number three, the battalion staff conservatively decided to prepare for the worst-case scenario: prepare 

the full battalion for immediate deployment. By the 

end of the weekend that assumption was close to 

fact; our equipment was enroute to the port of Savannah by rail and commercial line haul. 

Each line company deployed vertical heavy and 

horizontal light, taking all vertical construdion assets and enough horizontal equipment to clear, 

grub, and build roads for the base camp. Included 

were two D7 dozers, two graders, two 2 112-cubicyard loaders, and one small emplacement excavator 

(SEE) per company. Each company also deployed 

with eight 20-foot MILVANs with chassis to hold 

sets, kits and outfits, tents, and other supplies. 

Based on experience gained from our first deployment to Somalia, we painted 1-foot equilateral triangles on the sides of all containers, including the 

top, to uniquely mark them for rapid identification. 

8 Engineer April 1994 
Because Class N construction materials were 

not available in Somalia, the Army component of 

Central Command (ARGENT) contracted with 

Brown and Root to ship $1.7 million (about 60 MILVANS) of Class N items. This estimate was based 

on our bill of materials from Operation Restore 

Hope. We purchased an additional seven MILVANS 

of Class IV material to build latrines and showers 

to meet the task force's immediate needs. These 

containers deployed with Alpha Company 

On 17 October, Alpha Company's advance party 

flew to Somalia aboard a C5A. The battalion's advance party and the rest of Alpha Company departed three days later on a commercial charter 

plane. We flew into Mogadishu on KC-10s from 

Cairo because the increased threat prevented wmmercial aircraft from landing in Somalia. The battalion's main body departed 10 November, also on 

commercial charter, to arrive at the same time as 

its equipment. 

Missions in Somalia 

Situation. The probability of random attacks 

against coalition forces or of being drawn into fighting among clans was high. Force protection was 

our top priority, and we continually stressed mles 

of engagement to soldiers before they deployed and 

while they remained in Somalia. When we left secure areas, we wore helmets, body armor, and loadbearing equipment and carried loaded weapons. 

Convoys consisted of three or more vehicles with 

sandbagged floors. One vehicle was a "gun truck," 

which was armed with at least one M60 machine 

gun. Redundant communication with all convoys 

was essential, as was reflexive knowledge of fire 

support, MEDEVAC, and SALUTE procedures. 

Victory Base was secured with a perimeter berm 

and wire network. Our innermost protective barrier was an 8 to 10-foot high berm that had an 

outer perimeter mad directly outside for mounted 

patrols. The innermost ring of triple-standard concertina was just outside that road, followed by a 

double-apron fence and one last layer of triplestandard concertina. This dead zone was 40 meters 

wide, was illuminated with 3,000-watt perimeter 

lights placed 50 meters apart, and was overwatched by MILVAN guard towers embedded in the 

berm. 

Inside the base camp, the enemy threat was evening 60-mm mortar attacks, so we sandbagged 

tents and wore helmets and body armor after dark. 

Because vedor-borne diseases were rampant, we religiously took mefloquine once a week to sustain 

our health. We also used insect repellents and sunscreen, slept on cots with mosquito netting, and 

avoided local food and water. 

Mission. The 43d was attached to the Falcon 

Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which was part 

of Joint Task Force (JTF) Somalia. We were in direct support (DS) of Task Force 1-64 Armor to bed 

them down, while maximizing force protection and 

quality of life. Mission creep was minimal, and the 

' -'a-

. , - - .* ~ 

SPC Marlin, SPC Fullwood and SPC Massey (iefl to right) of 1st plaioon, B Company, level the ground 

prior to placing strongback footings. 

-- ~~~ - ~ 

April 1994 Engineer 9 

battalion directed almost all its efforts to Victory 

Base. 

Task organization under the JTF,as opposed to 

the United Nations Logistics Support Command 

(UNLSC), worked well because it linked us directly 

to the units we were sent to support and precluded 

potential conflicts of interest from competing 

UNLSC priorities. Charlie Company, 3d Engineer 

Battalion, the habitually associated divisional engineer company, built Victory Base's perimeter berm 

and wire system. The 535th Prime Power Detachment established the electrical grid and was the 

only UNLSC engineer unit on wetory Base. Brown 

and Root provided contracted support. 

Execution. A viable site for Victory Base had 

not been identified when the battalion advance 

party arrived on 21 October. The 43d Commander 

and S3 reconnoitered the proposed site and determined that it lacked sufficient drainage and trafflability. The search for a new site began immediately. Ajoint effort between the 43d and TF 1-64 

identified an abandoned Soviet missile site just 3 

kilometers north of Mogadishu. That site seemed 

perf&-it had good drainage and an existing road 

network, was easy to secure and defend, was just 

the right size, and was out of range of 60-mm mortar shells launched from the city's dingy back alleys. Falcon Brigade Civil Affairs had even concluded favorable negotiations for the land (you 

couldn't just take what you wanted in Somalia). 

The problem was that the site contained more 

than 90,000 of warheads and rocket propellant from abandoned missiles. The explosive 

ordnance detachment was immediately notified, 

. , 

PVZ Mebane of 1st 

: platoon, I3 Company, 

' marks floor jolsl posl- 

, tlons on a strongback 

-~ tent beam. 

and they determined that the ordnance was too unstable to move and had to be destroyed in place. 

Unfortunately, the propellant and warheads were 

located in the best five of ten salvageable structures. 

While EOD planned the big bang, our S3 section 

planned construction, and Alpha Company worked 

at Sword Base prefabricating latrines and staging 

equipment from the first ship. Satellite and aerial 

photographs of the site were not available, so our 

construction officer boarded a helicopter to "shoot" 

some. That night he drafted a scaled layout from 

those images to make a planning board. We conducted detailed mrdination with TF 1-64 at this 

point to ascertain specific needs and desires. We 

then made scaled vehicle cutouts and generic task 

force company ''footprints," each of which contained 

12 strongback tents and one Southeast Asia (SEA) 

hut, and arranged them on the board to determine 

optimal billeting and motorpool locations. All other 

base-camp facilities (showers, administrative buildin@, dining facilities, bunkers) logically followed. 

Once the task force was satisfied with the base 

layout, we completed construction estimates and assigned each of our companies specific areas of responsibility (AORs). The AORs were selected to 

maximize use of the battalion's resources by optimally allocating company workloads while simultaneously giving each company a wide spectrum of 

construction missions and training. The AOR concept was also used to promote unit pride by giving 

each company a sense of ownership for its assigned 

work areas. 

The S3 wrote an operation order (OPORD) to integrate resources and clearly define, by phase of 

April 1994 Engineer 11 
construction, exactly what needed to be done, in 

what priority, how, and by whom (the 43d, Cl3, 

535th, and Brown and Root). All changes, refinements, and additions to the base OPORD were 

specified in subsequent written fragmentary orders 

(FRAGOs). The S3 also provided designs for all 

work to be accomplished. 

Base Construction. Victory Base was constructed in four overlapping phases. Phase I, horizontal construction, began with site occupation on 

30 October, after the ordnance was detonated. It included clearing and grubbing operations (3.7 million square feet); emplacing crushed coral (880,000 

cubic feet); and constructing a perimeter berm, 

roads, motorpools, an ammunition supply point 

(ASP),a test fire pit and a petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) yard. Phase I ended on 8 December. 

Phase 11, vertical construction, began on 5 November with the start of the first company footprint. Before starting construction, we removed 

hundreds of tons of twisted metal and rubble left 

by EOD's blast. Force protection work included the 

perimeter wire obstacle system, perimeter lights, 

and 12 MILVAN guard towers. Quality of life construction included building 162 strongbacks (16 

feet by 32 feet), 15 SEA huts (16 feet by 32 feet), 

and 4 SEA huts (30 feet by 40 feet), all equipped 

with electricity and lights; a GP large strongback 

tent chapel; a laundry and bath facility; and a 

power grid. Phase I1 ended on 10 December. 

Phase 111, bunker construction, also involved 

both vertical and horizontal efforts. However, it 

was different from Phases I and I1because we executed it as assets were freed from those phases. 

The threat determined the priority we placed on 

Phase 111. Phase I11 ended on 10 December when 

the last MILVAN bunker was completed. 

Phase N's purpose was to continually improve 

on work performed in Phases I through I11 and to 

do new projects to enhance base-camp efficiency 

and quality of life. Phase N projects included a 25-

meter qualification range; a detention facility; an 

air conditioned PX; decks, benches, and privacy 

screens for shower trailers; over 200 pieces of modular furniture; a fitness trail with seven exercise stations; and baseball and soccer fields complete with 

a bachstop, goalpasts, bleachers and a line chalker. 

Phase IV ended when the battalion left Somalia on 

18 December. 

Victory Base construction was a highly dynamic 

process. Not everything went as plannec-we completed some projects earlier than anticipated and 

some later. There were also plenty of fresh ideas 

for improvements and new projects, the best of 

which were implemented in Phase TV.Examples include counterweighted I-beam gates and hedgehogs 

12 Engineer 

for base-camp entrances, SEA hut window shutters 

and five-roll paper holders for portalets. We expected such changes and effectively managed them 

while keeping workloads balanced with clear, concise mission orders CFRAGOs). Active quality control at the company level and quality assurance at 

the battalion level were also important to ensure 

that work was done right the first time. Additionally the companies, platoons, and squads learned 

lessons daily, which they shared each evening at 

the battalion command and staff meeting, to minimize learning curves. 

Military engineers did not build Victory Base by 

themselves. Brown and Root played an integral 

role by providing contracted equipment, services, 

material, and construction. When we first occupied Victory Base, not all of our earth-moving 

equipment had arrived, so we relied on Somali 

dozers and.compactors to assist with initial clearing and site preparation. Contracted Somali labor 

cleared brush, filled sandbag;, removed waste 

from portalets, and disposed of trash. Somali carriers hauled most of the 880,000 cubic feet of 

crushed coral that we emplaced in motorpools and 

around company areas to improve trafficability 

and control dust. 

Brown and Root also provided Victory Base with 

five 18-head shower trailers and two 3-head units 

with water tanks and pumps, five reefer vans, several chest freezers, ice machines, and air conditioners. Brown and Root also built two dining facilities, 

four dayrooms, and the base's 3-kilometer perimeter lighting system. Working with Brown and Root 

and their Somali subcontractors highlighted the importance of proactive civil-affairs operations when 

inter- and intra-clan fighting stopped crushed coral 

deliveries for more than a week. 

The battalion executed several smaller missions 

while constructing Victory Base. They include work 

performed at the boat factory, the JTF Headquarters, Checkpoint 31, Gotham City and the 

Mogadishu Airport. The boat factory was an abandoned works on the coastline southwest of Victory 

Base. We prepared it for occupation by friendly 

forces by clearing it; establishing drainage; wiring 

two existing warehouses and an administrative , 

building for electricity; and constructing a dining 

facility, six guard towers, two bunkers, a 25-meter 

range, a test-fire pit, and several berms. We built 

bunkers, mortar-blast shields, and tent floors for 

the JTF Headquarters; constructed a guard tower 

at Checkpoint 31; and cleared a holding area for Somali refugees near Gotham City. Finally, at the airport, we conducted site preparation for future construction, waterproofed the terminal roof to increase 

usable space in the passenger holding area (PHA), 

and built picnic tables for use in the PHA. 
Each company foot- 


print contained one 


SEA-hul for admlnl- 


rtratlon. B Company 


bullt this one for Co- 


bra Company, Task 


Force 1-64 Armor. 


Service Support. With the exception of Class 

TV,assistance from Brown and Root and laundry 

and bath service (furnished on-site by the 16th 

Field Service Company, UNLSC), the 224th Forward Support Battalion (FSB) provided all the battalion's logistical support. The 224th was attached 

to TF 1-64 and received its support from the 

UNLSC. The theater had matured considerably 

from the time of our first visit and, excluding 

Classes IV and IX (repair parts), obtaining routine 

support was no longer an ordeal. Construction material shortages were recognized, which is why ARCENT furnished our Class IV. Repair parts 

nonavailability, especially for low-density engineer 

equipment, was just as broken as duringRestore 

Hope. Units in country could more easily acquire 

Class IX by calling back to home station than by 

requisitioning it in theater. Even though we were 

in Somalia a total of only two months, the Class IX 

situation was so desperate that our group commander brought all the parts he could carry when 

he came to visit. 

Command and Signal. Confusing theater command relationships made routine duties much 

more trying than necessary. Our task organization 

under the JTF and Falcon Brigade greatly clarified 

our mission requirements, but the lack of a theater 

engineer made engineer coordination outside of the 

JTF difficult and burdensome. Out of frustration 

and the desire to facilitate our work, we met 

weekly with all key engineers in country This was 

very succe3sful in that it expedited actions, corrected miscommunications, and prevented duplications of effort. 

The battalion experienced many communication 

challenges during Continue Hope. Single-channel, 

ground airborne radio systems (SINCGARS) were 

our organic and primary means of communication. 

We operated in single-channel mode because many 

U.S. and all allied units could not frequency hop. 

Although we had no organic mobile subscriber 

equipment (MSE), we employed devices borrowed 

from other units. Five mobile subscriber radio terminals were used throughout the battalion. Nine 

digital, nonsecure voice terminals were used at Victory Base for operational control and morale, welfare, and recreational purposes. We used a UXC-7 

secure tactical facsimile device to send and receive 

classified situation reports (SITREPs), OPORDs, 

and FRAGOs to and from Falcon Brigade Headquarters at the embassy. 

Two electronic-mail tactical terminal adaptors allowed us to send unclassified reports to other headquarters and to update our rear detachment and 

family support-group network at Fort Benning. 

These daily progress reports were recorded on a Somalia hotline that the battalion's friends and family members could access by dialing a toll-free (800) 

number. Commercial hand-held and ANPRC-127 

radios facilitated communication between the battalion tactical operations center and worksites. A 

TA-312 network provided reliable and redundant 

communication in the base camp. The major problem that persisted to the very end was the apparent lack of compatibility between the digitally 

grouped multiplexed (DGM) system and MSE. This 

problem plagued not only the 43d, but all of Victory 

Base. All other communication challenges were 

surmountable. 

April 1994 Engineer 13 
Redeployment - -

Vhe battalion comoleted the enormous task of

.!L mnstructing~idoryBase in a little over two 

months after our initial alert in garrison. Due to 

the drawdown of U.S. forces in theater, we turned 

much of our engineer equipment over to Brown and 

Root. We transferred our remaining Class IV to the 

224th FSB, and provided Brown and Root with a 

memorandum delineating base-camp maintenance 

requirements. As we prepared our remaining equipment for shipment, we experienced one final reminder of Somali hospitality: Aidid stmngholds in 

the city forced us to convoy on a circuitous route 

from the washracks to the port along a dusty main 

supply route. The battalion returned to Fort Benning on 19 December. 

Lessons Learned 

We learned many lessons during Operation 

Continue Hope. Some carried over from 

our first Somalia deployment and were reinforced, 

while others were specific to this deployment. 

Make force protection your number one priority. It should drive all planning and execution 

and is ultimately achieved through continuous 

command emphasis. It ranges from base-defense planning that is commensurate with the 

threat, to squad leaders ensuring that their 

soldiers keep their flack vests closed while on 

long, hot convoys. 

Distinctively mark containers before shipping 

to facilitate recognition at destination. Mark 

all sides and the top with a symbol that can be 

seen from a distance. 

Try to find out about Class IV availability. You 

may have to bring your own. If you don't, you 

may end up sitting in theater waiting for materials. Ship it in 20-foot MILVANs with chassis to 

ease transportation. Deploy with a supplementary, command-directed prescribed load list, 

especially for low-density equipment, based on 

anticipated missions and theater conditions, 

such as hot, dusty roads and jagged rocks. 

m If you can influence task organization, try to 

work directly for those you will support to preclude competing priorities. 

m Ensure you understand your customer's needs 

and desires and meet often to stay attuned to 

them. Once you know your customer's expectations, use scaled site layouts, OPORDs, and 

FRAGOs to manage the details and maximize 

efforts so you can exceed those expectations. 

Use these tools to avoid mistakes and wasted 

effort, even if there is pressure to produce 

quick results. 

m Bring any special tools you think may help. 

For example, pneumatic nail guns are great 

when you have a lot of carpentry work, and a 

K-SPAN machine is the most efficient way to 

roof most existing structures. 

Perform meticulous quality control and quality 

assuranca to catch mistakes early. Share lessons learned at all levels daily. 

Use contractors for whatever you can, whenever you can. Start planning the engineer end 

state early by focusing on transition to the mntractor when possible. When you do transition, 

do so clearly and in writing. Until you put it 

in writing, you probably haven't thought it 

through. Be aware, however, that civil disturbances and unrest can hinder or even stop contracted support so have a strong civil affairs 

program and back-up plans. 

Finally, meet at least weekly with fellow engineers in theater, military and civilian, to synchronize efforts. 

Conclusion 

The true kevs to the ohenomenal success of 

the 43d att tali on d;ring its second trip to 

Somalia were the speed and versatility of construction in support of combat operations. The experience gained from the first deployment allowed the 

battalion to exceed all task force expectations and 

safely redeploy soldiers once the mission was accomplished. The lessons learned will serve engineers well in the future and help ensure that we 

represent the Corps with distinction, by continuing 

to prove that engineers are vital to the Army in its 

changing roles. Y 

Lieutenant Colonel Larry Dauis is currently the battalion 

commander for the 43d Engineer Baftalwn. Previous assignments included tours with the lOlst Airborne Division (Air Assault), 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 

and exchange officer to the Australian School of Military 

Engineering. LTC Davis is a CGSC gradunte. He holds a 

masters degree from Georgia Tech and is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia. 

Major Mark Feierstein is currently the baitalwn S3 for 

the 43d Engineer Battalion. He previously served in the 

36th Engineer Group Headquarters, the 7th Engineer Brt 

gade, and as the engineer team chief at Readiness Group 

Snelling. A CGSCgmduate, he holds a bachelors degree 

from Kansas State University. 
"woe be us" lassitude 

eems to have struck the 

active duty Army engineer force 

as budget realities keep engineer 

units locked up at home station. 

Yet, along the United States' 

southwest border, requirements 

for engineer support provide tremendous opportunities for engineer leaders to conduct realistic, 

rugged training in a real threat 

environment, at no cost to their 

own training budget. Aggressive 

unit commanders can accomplish 

more METL (mission essential 

task list) training on a 60-day 

deployment to the southwest border than they may realize in a 

year at home station. 

Trofessional military jour- 

. . nals continue to chronicle 

t,he changing nature of military 

operations. The changing face of 

threats to national security has 

spawned the doctrine of operations other than war (OOTW. In 

some respects, OOTW is siniilar 

to low intensity conflict in that 

those engaged in it, and taking 

rounds, may find it anything but 

low intensity or unwarlike. 

Changing doctrinal emphasis 

has also intensified the necessity 

to project the force into regiom 

where it is needed. We no longer 

have the luxury of massive, inplace forces. We must rely on the 

speedy and efficient deployment of 

forces, whether overseas or to disaster spots in CONUS. 

Counterdrug operations along 

the southwest border of the 

United States are an important 

part of the OOTW mission that 

supports national security interests. The southwest border region 

is adesignated high intensity drug 

trafficking area and support to 

counterdrug operations in this 

area is one of the five key elements 

of the national drug control strategy For the past four years military engineer units have made 

great wntributions in this effort 

while supporting law enforcement 

agencies along the border. 

Fumbled Trainirig 


Oppoi-tl~nity 


gnfortunately, recent mili4tary engineer contributions have been without Army 

engineer unit participation. 

Force drawdowns, downsizing, 

split-stationing of units, and 

budget cuts have caused Army 

engineer units to become decisively engaged in post and installation construction and maintenance activities. A look at the 

fiscal year (FW 94 JTF-6 engineer mission program reveals 

that for the last two and one-half 

quarters of the FY only one active duty Army engineer unit has 

volunteered for a southwest border deployment. The counterdrug 

engineer construction mission is 

quickly becoming an air and sea 

service show. 

Army engineers are missing tremendous opportunities to engage 

in meaningful training in an area 

desperate for their support. J'TF-6 

missions offer excellent opportunities for units to gain critical training in deployment and redeployment activities, logistics planning 

and execution, and construction. 

These opportunities are available 

at virtually no expense to employed units or their parent headquarters. JTF-6assumes the costs 

for transportation, rations, fuel, 

and operating costs associated 

with a southwest border mission. 

Units can augment their training 

program, gain valuable METL 

training, and execute meaningful 

engineer missions at no expense to 

themselves. 

'Ikaining Focus 

ngineer support focuses on 

- Aimproving interdiction capabilities of law enforcement 

agencies through repair and construction of border fences and 

patrol roads. A secondary focus of 

construction missions is to optimize the number of law enforcement agents on patrol by building close-in firing ranges and 

enhancing existing facilities. Engineer missions in support of law 

enforcement agencies run the 

spectrum of complex to simple 

and offer a variety of mobility, 

countennobility, and survivability tasks. Typical missions executed on the southwest border 

range from barriersiobstacles 

(border fences of various styles 

and designs), construction and 

repair of combat trails and roads, 

(Continued on page 331 

April 1994 By Lieutenant Colonel Mark A. DeHarde E'ngineer 15 
ENGINEER THEATER SUPPORT 


OPERATIONS 


By Jeb Stewart 

The by's Role in Containment 

From 1946 until 1991, the strategic security 

policy of the United States was 'bntainment'%ontainment of the Soviet Union, its sumgates, and the spread of world communism. Since 

1950, about half the U.S. Army has been pitioned 

in Europe to thwart Soviet designs on western 

Europe. For decades, many USAREUR units were 

stationed almost where they were when the fighting stopped in 1945. And, until quite recently, operational-level thinking and many Army support 

structures reflected the World War I1 experience, 

In 1991, containment was finally victorious Fating intolerable pressures, the Soviet economic system collapsed and with it the Soviet military empire. The war of the giants had been averted, but 

frustratingly, the quarrele of the pygmies have intensified. Now our Army is ooming home, downsizing, and learning how to protect vital national interests abroad by developing more deployable forces 

that can meet the realistic goal of dealing with two 

almcet simultaneous, major regional crises. Our 

now-obsolete dodrine was developed with a global 

threat in mind; its basic premise was the defense 

of western Europe. Doctrine is now being rewritten 

as fast as passible to reflect and support our new 

security needs. Among the doctrinal challenges hcing the Engineer School is the preservation of a central core of doctrinal substance as we rewrite our 

doctrine or participate in other proponents' doctrinal development process. Many talented writing 

teams are hard at work on this immense task. Unfortunately, the possibilities of inadvertent conflicts 

in doctrine or substantive errors are quite high. 

Core Pa-'-- ue 

T	o articulate the cosw aumauice and to serve as the intellectual precursor for subsequent 

16 Engineer 

doctrinal publications, the Engineer School has 

developed a white paper that describes engineer 

theater support operations. This paper describes in 

specific terms how theater U.S. Army engineer 

field organizations will respond to various contingency requirements with a mix of military and contractor capabilities and how the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (USACE) will be integrated into this 

effort. This article is an abridgement of the white 

paper. It describes what must be done to fill the 

doctrine and force design "gap" and discusses engineer organizations that are designed or can be 

adapted for theater support operations and the inclusive missions they may have to perform. 

The White Paper

The current national military strategy envisions a response to regional crises with a mix 

of rapidly deliverable and initially self-sufficient 

forces. The unified commander (CinC) may assign a 

single service to respond or, more likely, may select 

from a broad spectrum of capabilities from all services and tailor ajoint task force. The U.S. Army 

contribution to either option may be a brigade, a 

division, a corps, two or more corps or a task force 

organization of any size. This force must have the 

capability to operate for a notional 90-day period 

without the theater support structure described in 

current dodrine. 

Some critical engineer missions are currently 

staffed for planning only at theater level. The absence of early-on theater engineer support could 

jeopardize missions to a degree that is not clearly 

understood outside the engineer community. If a 

corps is deployed, under current doetrine the troop 

list typically includes a corps engineer brigade 

headquarters and several engineer group headquarters along with engineer troop units. If a division 

or a brigade is deployed, only those organic engineer elements (engineer brigade for heavy 

April 	1994 
d~vlsions, engineer battalion for light divisions and 

a battalion slice for a heavy maneuver brigade) are 

normally included in the troop list. 

All these elements are focused on mmbat engineering in combined arms operations and have a 

limited capability for "theater supportn engineering. 

In most conceivable scenarios, the combat engineers will be unable to cope with requirements for 

construction engineering and related services. Theater support engineering will almost certainly be conducted jointly with other U.S.service components 

and probably combined with our allies. Engineer 

topographic support (other than divisional terrain 

teams) is provided by engineer topographic units 

found in theater and corps support structures. 

Reliance on Reserve Components 

An important assumption is access to critical engineer theater support skills that reside either predominately or exclusively within the Reserve Components. The resolution of certain mobilization 

issues, thediscussion of which is outside the scope 

of the white paper, is of vital importance to the engineer force. 

Fwlbs of Engineer Operatic., 

At theater level, the engineer and the logistician 

share numerous interests; they are equally concerned about such matters as logistics base construction and the maintenance of supply routes. 

Their concerns are often considered so closely related as to tempt planners to combine their command and control structures. However, such a 

policy works to the pronounced detriment of the 

theater commander's ability to execute his campaign plan, which requires a flexible engineer task 

organization to achieve operational objectives. 

In addition to supporting forward commanders, 

engineer forces are responsible for constructing, 

maintaining and rehabilitating the theater support 

base. The theater army (TA)commander tailors the 

engineer structure to theater requirements. Establlshing a theater base depends heavily on the extent and nature of the civil and military infrastructure existing in the theater before hostilities begin. 

All engineer units (combat, construction and topographic) are focused on actions at the operational 

'tip of the spear." 

While they fully support logistical requirements, 

engineers must not be rolled into the theater logistics support structure. Theater engineers are often 

employed in reinforcing combat engineers organic 

to the corps, divisions, separate maneuver brigades 

and cavalry regiments The senior engineer commander ensures that all engineer battlefield functions are fully planned, integrated, synchronized 

and executed to support the maneuver commander's tntent and scheme of maneuver. Engineers must be full participants in current and 

future operational planning and have their own 

command and control headquarters to ensure the 

timely and proper execution of the intent and 

scheme of maneuver. 

The senior engineer commander in a theater of 

operations may be responsible for any or all of the 

following missions: 
m Planning and coordinating combat operations. 

Engineering assessments of theater infrastructure requirements. 

m Planning, mrdinating, and supervising military and contract engineer support to the 

Army, other servicea and coalition forces in 

the theater. 

m Allocating engineer resources (units, contractors, materials, and equipment) to meet mission requirements. 

Prioritizing the use of available theater engineer assets to include tradeoffs between combat and construction requirements. 

Coordinating topographic and military gee 

graphic intelligence support to the force. 

Providing real estate support to the Army, other 

services, and allies throughout the theater. 

m Providing technical assistance to real property 

maintenance activities (RPMA) throughout the 

theater. 

Planning construction material requirements 

and prioritizing their use. 

Engineer command and control headquarters 

with theater support capabilities include: 

Engineer Command (ENCOM). 

Engineer Brigade (Theater Army). 

Engineer Brigade (Corps). 

Engineer Group. 

The central organizational framework for theater 

support operations is the theater army, of which an 

ENCOM is a major subordinate element. There are 

two ENCOMa in the current form structure; both 

are U.S. Army Reserve units. Each ENCOM is focused to support one of two major regional contingencies occurring simultaneously. An ENCOM normally consists of one or more engineer brigades 

(theater army), at least one topographic battalion, 

and several other specialized engineer units. The 

ENCOM structure was designed to support a multicorps theater and represents prudent force planning for a major regional contingency. During 

lesser regional contingencies, the ENCOMs are a 

source of highly trained professional engineers and 

support personnel who can deploy incrementally as 

necessary to augment other engineer staffk. 

The TA engineer brigade consists only of a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC), with 

all other subordinate elements assigned based on 

MEW-T considerations. The TA engineer brigade 

may have a number of engineer group headquarters, engineer battalions, companies, detachments, 

and teams. The TA engineer brigade area of 

operation (AO)normally coincides with the theater 

army area command (TAACOM) boundaries. During contingency operations, the TA engineer brigade, augmented from the ENCOM or USACE, can 

deploy and serve as the theater's senior engineer 

headquarters. 

The corp engineer brigade commands and controls the combat engineers in the corps tmop list 

and other engineer units task-organized under the 

control of the corps commander. Although not designed for theater-level engineering, as an early 

deployer the corps engineer brigade often gets the 

responsibility anyway. The corps engineer brigade 

requires augmentation from the TA engineer brigade, ENCOM or USACE to execute theater support missions. 

The engineer group has an organic HHC and can 

provide command and control for as many as seven 

engineer battalions, plus a number of separate companies, detachments and teams. The engineer 

group is the principal subordinate unit of an engineer brigade. The two types of engineer groups are 

the combat group and the construction group. The 

primary difference IS the size of the construction 

management section (five soldiers in the combat 

pup, 17 in the construction group). The engineer 

group functions as the principal manager of engineer combat forces or as the construction manager 

for a given area or specific tasks and has planning 

and design capabilities. For maneuver brigade or division-level form contingencies, the group may be 

utilized as the command and control headquarters 

for engineer theater support. 

JCn&neer TheaterMiaeisno 

Planning and cwniinating combat opemhoris. 

Theater engineer units conduct combat operations 

by providing mobility, countermobility, survivability 

and topographic services to maneuver units. Misions include replacing assault bridging with support or lines of communication bridging, clearing 

minefields and removing other obstacles, maintaining main supply routes and constructing heliports 

and airfields. Topographic support includes mobility "golno go" overlays and geodetic survey products. 

Enginem assessment of theater reqeirtmnts 

Combatant commands maintain libraries of information on countries within their A0 which the 

CinC has identified as potential contingency areas. 

Engineer assessments describe the countries' 

infrastructure, including ports, airfields, soils and 

topography, construction materials availability and 

c~vilianconstruction industry, This information is 

useful but does not have the level of detail or accuracy required for thorough COnst~dionmanagement planning. The first arriving engineer 

18 Engineer April 1994 
command and control element will determine 

macro requirements and report their initial obsel* 

vations. This first-arriving engineer command and 

control element will likely be a combat engineer element and will lack the staffing or expertise to do 

construction management planning. The first-arriv. 

ing engineer element may be able to conduct an initial assessment but will be unable to plan or execute missions to correct theater-wide engineering 

deficiencies. This element will likely require augmentation to plan theater-level engineering regardless of the size of the theater of operations. 

ca?psare& 'I'he eing'ihmstippbrts the th- of 

operations through construction of new facilities or 

repair or modification of existing facilities. Wartime 

facility requirements will be satisfied, in order of 

priority, bym Maximum use of existing hcilities (US-or 

host-nation controlled). 

IModification of existing facilities rather than 

new construction. 

m Expedient and initial standard construction 

and site preparation necessary for emplacement and operation of unit equipment and beddown of troops. 

'Temporary" standard construction. 

The CinC establishes broad construction policies 

and standards and designates a staff engineer, who 

may be from any service. To assist this engineer, 

the CinC may establish a regional contingency engineering management (RCEM) cell. This cell provides policy interpretation, oversight and project 

prioritization recommendations. The RCEM cell 

does not have command and control responsibility. 

Command of Army engineer theater-support forces 

rests with the senior engineer commander, normally the ENCOM commander, who may wear a 

second hat as the regional contingency engineering 

manager. The mission of the regional contingency 

engineering manager may include the following: 

Set construction priorities and policies based 

on CinC's guidance. 

IAllocate force construction capability. 

Balance engineer support to operational and lo. 

gistical requirements. 

IManage construction materials. 

IPlan for future construction. 

IProgram construction funding requirements. 

Mtmctors, 

The senior 

engineer headquarters will allocate scarce resources and adjudicate among claimants. The requirement may fluctuate significantly between mature and immature theaters. For example, during 

Desert Shield, 26 of the 29 engineer battalions in 

the theater were assigned to the two corps engineer brigades because much of the rear infrastructure was already in place. 

Misstons can be executed by troop units, host nation, or contracting. Engineer services include but 

are not limited to hazardous waste and waste 

water disposal, trash removal, maintenance services, construction equipmentloperator services, and 

firefighting. Contingency force operat~onamay have 

an austere combat service support base and will require contract-provided services and supplies. The 

use of large, multifunctional civilian contractors, 

LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) 

to perform various theater-support engineering jobs 

is usually desirable and may be feasible in many 

overseas areas.The Corps Support Command 

(COSCOM) or Division Support Command (DISCOW will operate a contiking element to provide 

contracting support. When a full corps or a complete division is not deployed, the COSCOM or DISCOM may provide a contracting task force tailored 

for the specific contingency operation. The RCEM 

cell will determine the need for and availability of 

engineer services contracting. 

Pn'ontizmg the we of engimer aa'8ebs. The senior engineer will be tasked to refine the notional 

time-phased force deployment list (TPFDL)to more 

closely match existing requirements with capabilities. Focusing on the campaign plan, the senior engineer commander must make tradeoffs between 

combat and construction engineering. Sometimes, 

despite the versatility of the engineer force, this 

process results in apparent "square pegs"as units 

temporarily perform missions for which they are 

not trained or equipped in anticipation of future requirements for work in which they are. This concept outlines the use of selected ENCOM elements 

and their entry into the deployment stream 

through the prooess of force modularity. 

The ENCOM will provide a construction management cell to the senior deploying engineer element. 

This Army reserve cell will train in peacetime for 

ENCOM or contingency force engineer missions 

The cell will be quickly called to active duty for deployment during contingency operations. 

Early deployment is critical because the cell will 

be involved in force reception and bed-down The 

cell will become the senior engineer commander's 

construction management staff. It will be equipped 

with and trained in the use of an automated 

April 1994 Engineer 19 
construction management system (for example, the 

developmental Theater Construction Management 

System or a similar system). If and when the theater matures and the ENCOM deploys, the ENCOM 

and brigade commanders will mordinate a hand-off 

of construction management responsibilities. 

Coordznatmg topogmphrc and military geogmphtc intell8gence support to the force Commanders planning or executing contingency operations 

will require accurate, timely, and tailored topographic engineering products in order to visualize, 

operate on and exploit their battle space 'Ibpographic 

engineers will provide critical mapping, charting and 

desy (MC&G) support and prcduds during contingency operations. Contingency operations may oaxlr 

anywhere on earth, and surprisingly little of the 

earth's surface has been accurately mapped. Contingency operations frequently occur, as if with malicious intent, in sparaely mapped areas.Topographic 

engineering support will provide operational and ta5 

tically oriented terrain analyses, nonstandard and 

substitute maps, and survey data to combat, combat support, and combat service support forces in 

all phases of operations throughout the contingency 

area. The Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) will be 

responsible for producing all standard MC&G products and data bases. 

Throughout the operation, topographic engineer 

planning and control elements will process and refine topographic information passed between deployed forces and DMA. Some terrain features may 

change rapidly once operations begin; others may 

be unaltered by operations. Knowledge of the terrain will rapidly increase as a result either of focused study or on-the-ground reconnaissance. Topographic engineers will maintain qualitative 

information concerning coverage, rssolution, standards, source, currency, accuracy, uncertainty, and 

limitations of all topographic data. They quickly replace older, superseded data to ensure that users 

are provided the most current data available This 

support includes passing provisional or locally acquired data back to DMA for possible exploitation 

as DMA updates and maintains its standard data 

bases and products. 

The commander of the topographic engineer battalion identified within the OPLAN/COhTLAN/- 

OPORD to provide topographic engineer support 

will command all topographic units involved in the 

operation. The topographic engineer battalion provides general support to unified and specified commands and to subordinate topographic units for requirements beyond their capabilities, and provides 

topographic support to all theater Army units. The 

senior enpineer commander will serve as the theater 

topographic engineer and, as such, will recommend 

the size, composition, support relationships, and 

location of the topographic engineer force. 

Topographic support may require augmentation 

by an ad hoe rapid-response terrain team to ensure 

the proper level of support. The ARFOR command 

MC&G officer will request and mrdinate the formation of a team based on the urgency and quantity of the support required. The team will be developed from reserve units, topographic units not 

deployed, and technical experts from Army laboratories and MC&G production agencies. Its mission 

will be to help deployed forms develop a detailed 

topographic data base quickly to allow development 

of required MC&G products. Deployed topographic 

units will continue to seek hast-nation and allsource intelligence data to provide required MC&G 

products and enhance the force capability. 

Prourding real estate support $0 the ~ L Juthr ,

senriess, and allies throughout the theatec The US 

Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the Army's 

real estate agent for acquisition and disposal of 

real property and is capable of providing real estate services for all services. During combat or contingency operations, the Chief of Engineers diicharges his real estate functions through the 

theater commander. The work is actually done by 

the ENCOM, but if an ENCOM is not deployed, it 

may be done by the senior engineer headquarters 

with augmentation support. The ENCOM's contingencylwartime CAPSTONE organization includes 

Army engineer real estate (AERE) teams. These 

teams may provide general support to TAACOM in 

order to conduct real estate operations within a designated area. 'Ib support Operation Desert Shield, 

we needed an immediate in-country real estate contracting capability before the ENCOM was activated and deployed. This concept codifies many of 

the successful dodrinal improvisations from Operation Desert Shield and Operation Restore Hope 

that can be applied in future force projection 

operations. 

USACE will provide a contingency real estate 

support team (CREST) for deployment as part of 

the contingency force The CREST personnel will 

be predesignated volunteers who passass the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully 

accomplish all tasks. They will maintain passports, 

immunization certificate, and other documents necessary for qu~ck deployment and will have the rsquired training to operate in a combat theater environment. The USACE CREST will participate in 

the annual training of the ENCOM personnel and 

their AERE teams so that improved training and 

close working relationships are ach~eved prior to operational deployment. The USACE CREST and ENCOM AERE personnel will review OPLANs for real 

estate impacts and provide recommendations to the 

planning headquarters. Among the areas renewed 

20 Engineer 
will be level of infrastructure development and facilities leasing ceilings for potential operational areas. 

When the contingency force deploys, the USACE 

CREST deploys and serves as the real estate cell. 

The CREST is attached to the senior Army engineer headquarters in theater. If the campaign develop a theater-level structure, this cell will become a 

staff element to the theater engineer. Among the 

duties of this staff element are: 

B Provide technical real estate guidance and advice to the contingency force and/or theater 

commander, staff and all echelons of the contingency force and theater command. 

B Recommend real estate policies and operational procedures to the contingency force and 

theater logistics officer. 

Acquire, manage, dispose, administer payment 

of rents and damages, handle claims and prepare records and reports for real estate used 

within the continency force area or theater of 

operations. 

8 Exercise staff supervision over real estate operations of subordinate Army commands and provide real estate support to other U.S. servicas. 

Ensure compliance with international agreements and the laws of land warfare. 

B Direct processes for seizure, requisition, or 

lease of real property in liberated or occupied 

countries. 

If and when the theater matures and a Reserve 

Component ENCOM deploys, the USACE CREST 

will become OPCON to the ENCOM. The AERE 

teams, when employed, will conduct real estate operation~in conjunction with the USACE CREST according to the theater real estate poliey. The AERE 

teams'duties are: 

B Acquire, manage and dispose of real estate. 

IInvestigate, process and settle real estate claims. 

Conduct utilization inspections. 

m Conduct real estate operations forward of the 

COMMZ. 

As combat subsides and for- begin returning to 

CONUS, real estate functions will be conducted by 

the USACE CREST as the ENCOM AERE team is 

redeployed. 

Principal RPMA functions in a theater of 

operations include the repair and maintenance of 

facilities and utilities, fire prevention and protection, and refuse collection and disposal. RPMA is 

the responsibility of the TAACOM or area support 

April 1994 

group, who look to a senior engineer (normally a 

TA brigade or a group) for technical assistance and 

support that are beyond the capability of their attached engineer element. RPMA work typically involves host-nation support and local contractors; 

however, active military operations may limit the 

feasibility of this option. 

Muwgzng selected cor.orr.~rlicnonn~~cer~al rtucka 

Engineers lcmk to a corp, or division materiel management center for most of their Class TV construction materials. Adequate Class IV supplies and 

timely delivery of the materials to the work sites 

are key to mission accomplishment Materials typically include nails, ready-mix concrete, concrete 

building blocks, lumber, plywood, wire, pipe, fittings and hundreds of other ''hardware" items. During initial contingency force operations, we may 

buy most of our Class IV requirements on the local 

market. We can expect little mission sealift or airlift space to be allocated for construction materials, 

especially in the early phases of an operation. Complete reliance on locally procured materials will be 

challenging. Some items may be scarce, and some 

manufactured items will differ significantly from U.S 

building codes specification items. Dimensional materials may be cut metrically or rough-hewn. 

Engineer participation in construction material 

purchasing is key to adapting and substituting local materials. Engineers must identify requirements with considerable specificity (including acceptable substitutes) and work with the logistica 

support unit to develop a delivery plan that gets 

the required materials to the right place and in 

time to keep engineers working. The COSCOM, 

DISCOM, or the area support group will direct a 

survey of the local construction material market, 

identify potential sources of Class IV materiel, and 

open blanket purchase agreements with local vendors. Engineer unit S4 officers will be appointed ordering officers to execute purchases against these 

agreements and will maintain a stockage of high 

demand items. Scarce items will be managed by 

the senior engineer commander. Subordinate engineer commanders will report on-hand quantities of 

all construction materials (Daily Logistics Report). 

Stockpiled materials are subject to cross-leveling. 

Consideration should be given to pre-poeitioning selected Class IV materials and/or identifying 'basic 

load" of these materials to accompany early deploying engineer units. 

The Future 

Doctrine determines how engineers think 

about waging war and drives weapons and 

systems deeign. Dodrine incorporates the equipment 

Engineer 21 
and weapons of war and the cultural strengths, 

weaknesses and values of an army and its society 

into coherent concepts of how to conduct a battle. 

Doctrine helps soldiers and their leaders act in the 

absence of detailed instructions that would require 

continual restatement for different situations. 

Sound doctrine, intelligently applied to the circumstances, can have a profound, even war-winning effect on an army's performance. Doctrine formulation is a continuous process, reflecting the changing 

calculus of geopolitical and "break-through" scientific 

events. Obsolete doctrine, especially when rigidly applied, can have a disastrous effect. 

By articulating our core values and vision in 

white paper form, the Engineer School is providing both an azimuth for coherent doctrine development and a starting point for debate within the 

engineer community We need the experiences 

and thoughts of our engineer senior leadership. 

Because the impact of engineer work upon theater support operations is not fully understood 

The ENGINEER Writer's Guide 

We think engineers take a special pride in their profession, and ENGINEER is always looking for articles 

from readers who want to share their expertise, experience and ideas. 

If you're a potential contributing writer, here are a 

few "writer's guide" tips that should help steer you in 

the right direction: 

Articles can cover engineer training, operations or 

doctrine, engineer equipment, history, or other areas 

of general interest to an engineer readership. 

We're especially interested in articles that have a 

"how-to-do-it-better" theme. For instance, we're not 

looking for articles telling readers how you conducted 

a routine field exercise. But if you think you have a 

"new-and-improved" way of conducting a tactical operation, training exercise, or other operational procedure that may prove helpful to other engineers-- 

that's what we need. 

Articles should generally come from contributors 

with firsthand experience with the subject being presented. Avoid theatrical writing styles like: "It was a 

dark and stormy night ...,"or "...the soldier blazed 

through the jungle on his lumbering D7, providing a 

trail of freedom for the other vehicles ...." 

Articles should be concise, straightfolward, and in 

the active voice. 

Length should range between 2,000 and 4,000 

outside the engineer community, many of our 

unique concerns may be overlooked unless we 

speak up as the Army wrestles with all the implications of force projection from CONUS. We 

urgently need your help if we are to make our 

positions heard. 

Comments are appreciated and the mode is unimportant. Write: Commandant, USAES, Attn: ATSECDB-S (Stewart), Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473- 

5000; call (314) 563-4083; or send via PROFS: 

WOO1 (STEWARTJ). Your input can help us formulate dynamic doctrine to carry the engineer force 

into the 21st century and beyond. Y 

Jeb Stewart is an analyst in the Battle Lab Division, Directorate of Combat Deuelopments, US army 

Engineer School. He holds a master of science degree in defense and strategic studies from Southwest Missouri State University. He is a graduate of 

the Command and General Staff College. 

words, and the text should be typewritten and doublespaced. Generally, each such page will contain from 

200 to 250 words. 

Articles containing attributable information or quotations not references within the story should cany appropriate footnotes. 

Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not 

under consideration by another publication. Normally, 

you can expect a reply to your submission within two 

weeks after we receive it. 

All submissions are subject to editing. 

Contributors are encouraged to include black-andwhite photos, artwork, and/or line diagrams to help illustrate your article. 

Include your full name, rank, current unit and job 

title. Also include a list of your past assignments, 

experience and education, your mailing address, 

and commercial daytime phone number. Send your 

articles to: Editor, ENGINEER Professional Bulletin, 

ATTN: ATSE-T-PD-EB, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 

65473-6650. 

If you have any questions about an article you're 

working on--or considering writing--give our editor, 

Catherine Eubanks, a call at Autovon 676-4104, or 

commercial (314) 563-4104. 

We look f0tWard to hearing from you. P.S. ENGINEER welcomes response from our readers. Letters 

regarding information in our magazine are published 

in our "Letters to the Editor" department. Let your 

thoughts be heard. 

22 Engineer April 1994 
Lessons Learned: 


Operations Other Than War 


By Major Bill Breyfogle 

As an engineer commander, you and your staff 

have been closely watching a developing situation. Knowing that you may be deployed for an operation other than war mission, you have done some 

homework and are prepared for almost any contingency. Your personnel are familiar with the mission's 

requirements and you have reviewed the appropriate 

regulations and manuals. Most importantly, your dynamic staff have gone the extra mile--they have dug 

through the "lessons learned" from previous operations. Now you stand ready to deploy. 

Operations other than war (OOTW) cover a wide 

spectrum of missions, from disaster relief and humanitarian assistance to peacekeeping, but some lessons 

learned ringtrue through them all. This article addresses lessons from a variety of OOTW missions; 

they are organized into phases experienced in most 

force projection operations. 

Predeployment 

Fngineer Assessment. Early in all OOTW mis- 

-sions, commanders must conduct an accurate 

engineer assessment to determine the engineer effort 

required. For some missions this is fairly easy. Identifying the priority of effort for a peacekeeping mission, 

for example, is similar in many ways to the engineers' 

normal war-fighting support mission. 

Disaster relief operations, however, present very 

different challenges. Lessons from recent disaster relief operations show that the priority of effort must include the needs of local governments. Commanders 

and staff must work with the local civilian leadership 

early in the process to establish work priorities. Local 

fire, police, water, sewage, electrical and telephone 

service agencies all play critical roles in re-establishing order and control. Be sure to also consult relief agencies such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army 

and United Way to help identify priorities. 

LESSON: Conduct an accurate "on-the ground" 

engineer assessment to identify personnel and 

equipment requirements and priorities of effort before 

the main body is deployed. 

Center of Gravity. Determining an operation's 

"center of gravity" is important to the success of 

every OOlW mission. For peacekeeping operations. 

the center of gravity may be opening main supply 

routes, controlling key terrain, or maintaining boundaries that separate belligerent forces. For a disaster relief operation such as Hurricane Andrew, it was opening the schools. The simple fact of children returning 

to school established an atmosphere of normalcy that 

showed the local population that things were getting 

better. 

LESSON: For every OOTW, determine centers of 

gravity that help focus mission accomplishment. 

Maps. Regardless of the type of operation, don't 

overlook the importance of timely topographic support. During disaster relief operations it is crucial to 

establish one soecific mao or mao series for ooerations. This may' be a standard U.S. ~eolo~ical'~urvey 

(USGS) map sheet, a city or county map sheet, or 

even a reattor map. Whenever possible, planners 

must be proactive in identifying required topographic 

products before they are needed during crisis actions. Units alerted for deployment to theaters without 

standard map coverage must quickly identify their 

topographic requirements and pass them through 

their respective operations channels for validation. 

LESSON: Identify and pass standard map and 

other topographic product requirements through operations channels as quickly as possible, either before a crisis occurs or early in the response effort. 

Deployment 

ake It All! It is critical that units deploy with all 

of their equipment! While this seems obvious, 

many units have deployed recently without their full 

table of organization and equipment (TOE). Examples 

include engineer units that deployed for Operation 

Just Cause without taking demolitions, and engineer 

units that deployed for Hurricane Andrew relief 

April 1994 Engineer 23 
operations without such basic debris-clearing tools as 

chain saws. Units that fail to deploy with all personnel 

and equipment may seriously hinder their ability to 

provide critical engineer support to the commander; 

this failure may ultimately jeopardize overall mission 

accomplishment. 

LESSON: Deploy with your entire range of engineer personnel, equipment and supplies and be prepared to provide flexible and versatile support. 

Class IVSupplies. Many past OOTW demonstrate that Class IV supplies were critical to successful mission accomplishment, but often those supplies 

were delayed due to low shipping priorities. These experiences show that units need to preposition and stockpile critical Class IV items in possible force projection 

theaters, especially when deploying to austere environments. Follow-on airlift and sealift shipments should include frequent loads of the Class IV items required to 

support follow-on operations. By stockpiling supplies 

and ensuring the steady flow of Class IV items into the 

theater, units can avoid problems associated with large 

bulk supplies taking up crlaical space on ships. 

In some recent operations, the problem was not so 

much in obtaining Class iV items as it was in controlling the storage and issuing the supplies. Asolution 

that worked well in some cases was to make an engineer the S4 or liaison officer to help identify, order, 

store and distribute Class IV materials. 

LESSON: The success of engineer support to 

OOTW is closely associated with the availability of 

Class IV materials. Leaders must be proactive to ensure that required Class IV materials are on hand 

when they are needed. 

Entrv -. .-. 

Rules of Engagement and Force Protection. Force protection in any OOTW mission requires units to follow appropriate rules of engagement (ROE). Units training for OOTW missions usually need extensive training on the application of the 

ROE. Engineer soldiers should reinforce the tactics, 

techniques and procedures for situations they expect 

to encounter when executing OOTW, such as how to 

execute a road block or checkpoint and react to sniper 

fire or an ambush. When engineer units deploy for disaster-relief missions, they are often called to assist local 

law-enforcement authorities. Effective ROE training and 

battle drills will enable soldiers to respond immediately 

in various law enforcement situations. 

LESSON: Develop ROE for individual soldiers 

that are clear, concise, simple, and unclassified, and 

that allow soldiers to implement them under stress 

without referring to a ROE pocket card. Develop and 

train OOTW battle drills to protect the force, especially in the areas of troop movement and security. 

24 Engineer 

Real Propetty Maintenance Activities. Engineers play a critical role in developing the infrastructure needed for any OOTW mission. Engineers provide 

real property maintenance activities (RPMA) capabilities 

such as base camps for disaster relief operations and 

lodgement and expansion operations in austere theaters. To facilitate RPMA, commanders should identify a 

terrain manager before they deploy for a joint operation 

and use a joint facilities utilization board to resolve 

RPMA problems that develop on-site. For disaster relief 

operations, a joint coordination board composed of impacted federal, state and local governments and agencies as well as the public may be extremely useful. During Hurricane lniki recovery operations, a board 

composed of interested parties determined priorities for 

allocating available electrical resources. 

LESSON: Commanders must plan to provide real 

property maintenance activities in any OOTW mission. Use terrain managers and joint facilities boards 

to coordinate RPMA support with all concerned civilian and milita~y agencies and groups. 

Sanitation and Hazardous Waste Control. Sanitation and hazardous waste control will be a critical engineer mission during any OOTW. Commanders must 

ensure waste management capabilities are emplaced 

early in the deployment cycle. In Somalia, engineer 

units immediately needed Class IV construction materials and heavy earthmoving equipment to collect and 

dispose of human and solid wastes. Following Hurricane Andrew, engineer units found it difficult to properly identify, locate, and control all commercial assets 

such as portable toilets. Another problem arose when 

some contractors refused to service any portable toilets except their own. Procedures are also needed to 

direct the disposal of hazardous wastes, such as 

waste oil. PCPs (found in electric transformers), asbestos and medical wastes. Publicize these procedures as early as possible once operations begin. 

LESSON: Be prepared to perform sanitation and 

hazardous waste disposal operations during OOTW 

to protect the environment while meeting mission 

requirements. 

Operations 

communications. Communications are especially vital during OOTW missions because of 

the many diverse services, agencies, and personnel 

involved in them. Commanders should consider purchasing cellular phones and police-compatible radios 

for disaster relief missions. Coordinate communications equipment frequency requirements with local 

supporting forces and local agencies prior to deployment. Purchase or lease fax machines, copiers, and 

E-MAIL capability and provide them down to the task 

force level. Also consider deploying tactical satellite 

April 1994 
(TACSAT) to enhance communications in austere environments. 

LESSON: Deployed units must maintain effective 

communications with all personnel and agencies involved in the operation. It may be necessary to supplement military communications equipment with offshelf, commercial communications equipment. 

Contracting. Do not overlook the different contracting mechanisms available for OOTW missions. During Hurricane Andrew relief operations, the use of 

contracted civilian engineer equipment increased productivity and dramatically improved debris removal. 

Command and control of the contractors' equipment, 

however, became significant. In this operations, engineer company grade officers and noncommissioned 

officers were required to supervise contracted work. 

Prior to deployment, units should identify the names, locations and telephone numbers of authorized dealerships capable of providing contracted engineer parts 

and equipment in theater. Dealership palts manuals 

should also be acquired. To ensure timely contracted 

services are provided for follow-on forces, contracting officers should deploy with the advance party. 

LESSON: Plan on contracting for civilian services 

andlor equipment. Be prepared to provide contracting 

officers. 

Termination and Post-OOTW 


Operations


FndState. "Determining the end state and ensurwing that it accomplishes the national objectives 

are the critical first steps in the operational planning 

process. Failure to make this determination will waste 

scarce resources and put the entire effort at risk." 

(FM 100-5, Operations). While determining the end 

state is difficult during combat, it is more difficult during OOTW. 

Commanders must focus their vision beyond the 

immediate OOTW objective and clearly articulate the 

conditions of success or the end state. For example, 

during the 1993 midwest flood-relief operations, the 

National Guard developed consensus by mutual 

agreement with local authorities to help determine an 

end state. A common technique was to tie the disengagement of National Guard forces to a measurable 

event such as river depth or opening of a bridge. Once 

an end state is identified, it is crucial that disengage 

ment actions be fully announced and understood by all 

concerned parties. Where appropriate, establish disengagement criteria with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state and local authorities. 

LESSON: The importance of defining an end 

state and the requisite conditions for mission success 

cannot be overstated. Use quantifiable measures to define the end state. Whenever possible, gain consensus 

among ail interested parties and ensure all parties 

are informed when the end state has been reached. 

Redeployment, Reconstitution and 


Demobilization 


I?edeployment. Commanders must focus on many of the same requirements during the redeployment phase that they had to contend with during the deployment phase, including a plan for the orderly Row of personnel, equipment and supplies. This 

requirement became blatantly obvious after Hurricane 

Andrew, when an engineer brigade, an engineer 

group, two combat heavy engineer battalions and two 

engineer combat support equipment companies received redeployment orders within three days of each 

other. Their requirements overtaxed engineer linehaul capabilities and caused long delays in redeploying equipment. 

An important consideration on redeployments from 

OCONUS is the need to perform customs inspections 

prior to redeployment. Extensive cleaning will be required before engineer equipment can be loaded on 

ships or planes. Commercial steam cleaners provide 

valuable assistance in this endeavor. 

LESSON: Be prepared to support redeployment 

operations, while simultaneously redeploying yourseif 

and your unit. 

Your unit has just returned from a successful deployment. All personnel and equipment performed exactly as planned. The time spent reviewing the iessons learned from previous operations was well 

spent. As with any operation, however, the mission is 

not finished until the paperwork is done. You have incorporated lessons learned into your aner-action report planning. Througholrt the entire operation you ensured that observations and lessons learned were 

captured when they occurred, while they were fresh 

in everyone's mind. As a result, the after-action report 

was completed almost as soon as the last vehicle 

closed on the motor pool. After completing the report, 

you sent a copy to the Directorate of Evaluation and 

Standardization at Fort Leonard Wood, which serves 

as the Center for Engineer Lessons Learned for the 

U.S. Army Engineer School. 

For more information write to: Commandant, U.S. 

Army Engineer School, Am\]: ATSE-ESA-L, Fort 

Leonard Wood, MO 65473-6630 or call (314) 563- 

4005 or DSN 676-4005. 

Major Breyfogle is the senior analyst in the Directorate of 

Evaluation and Standardization at the Engineer School. 

Previous asslgnments include executive officer, deputy district commander, battalion 53,and company commander. 

He holds a masters' degree in civil engineering from the 

University of Florida. 
By Lieutenant Colonel Peter Madsen and Major Wayne Whiteman 

Future world trends indicate 

a more frequent and increased role for the military in 

humanitarian missions and disaster relief. Recent examples include protecting Kurds in Iraq, 

securing Haitians at Guantanamo Bay, cleaning up south 

Florida after Hurricane Andrew, 

and assisting in humanitarian 

: 	engineer group, three engineer bat- : 

taliom, two combat support equip : Operational Integration 

: ment companies, and one assault : 

: float bridge company (see chart). : Engineer sta& in light divi- 

: During Operation Restore Hope, : sions are austere. The as-

: the 10th Mountain's augmenta- : sistant division engineer (ADE) 

: tion consisted of one engineer : section is authorized only four 

: group, one combat heavy engineer : personnel by the modified table 

: battalion, and two combat support 

equipment companies. 

: of organization and equipment 

: (MTOE). The S3 section is 

: authorized only seven personnel. 

: The challenge is to form an engi- 

: neer staff strong enough to direct 

: significant engineer augmentation as an extension of the di- 

: vision G3. Within the 10th 

efforts in Somalia. The 10th : The augmentation process can 

Mountain Division, Fort Drum, 

New York, was involved in the 

last three of these missions. 

When faced with operations 

other than war, military leaders 

must go through a rapid missionanalysis process to determine the 

best force mixture to send. The 

decision in Florida and Somalia 

was to focus efforts around a light 

division's structure and tailor the 

forces that augmented the division 

to meet the specific needs at the 

moment. The strategic mobility, 

command and control structure, 

logistics support, and medical 

systems of the military lend 

themselves well to these types 

of missions. 

Because engineers will always 

play a large role in humanitarian 

missions and disaster relief, their 

augmentation to the force is often 

significant. During Hurricane Andrew relief, the 10th Mountain 

and the 41st Engineer Battalion 

(light) were augmented by one 

: be complicated. This article addresses the integration of forces in 

: support of a light division and the 

lessons learned from both of these 

: operations. 

Engineer Task Organization 

Hurricane Andrew RelieflnltiPl 


41 Engr Bn (Light) (hm) 

642 Engr Co (CSE) (Drum) 

937 Engr Gp (Rlley) 

43 Engr Bn (Cbt Hvy) (Bennlng) 

63 Engr Co (CSE) (Benning) 

841 Engr Bn (Corps Cbl) (USAR) (Florida) 

586 Engr Co (ARFB) (Bannlng) 

Eioal 

41 Engr Bn (Ught) (DN~) 

642 Engr Co (CSE) (Drum) 

92 Engr Bn (Cbt) (Hvy) 

Operation Restore Hope-- 

41 Engr Bn (Llgnt) (Drum) 

36 	Engr Gp (Benning) 

43 Engr Bn (Cbt Hvy) (Banning) 

63 Engr Co (CSE) (Benning) 

642 Engr CO (CSE) (Drum) 

26 Engineer 	 April 1994 
- -- 

.. Mountain, the 41st combines the assets of the 

ADE, S3, 52, and the 

communications sections 

to form engineer operations and planning cells 

collocated at the division 

main command post 

(DMAIN). (See a related 

article in the July 1992 issue of Engineer, "Light 

Engineer Command and 

Control.') 

The engineer operations cell is located in the 

division tactical operations center CDTOC). This 

cell works closely with the 

division G3 and tracks 

current engineer operations and missions 

throughout the division Tho englneer soldlers clear debrls durlng Hurricane Andrew relief operatlons In south 

sector. Operational re- Florlda. 


ports are sent through the 


engineer cell and for- i 


warded to the division and the en- : 


gineer sections of the next higher : 


headquarters. Brigade engineers r 


The Division Engineer i While many factors weigh in the 

: final decision, two important facage-01d debate is : tom are the length of unit inteas the division en@- : gration and the expected durarolled UP under the engineer : the organic engineer section inte- :. gency situations. Substituting engroup, forwarded to engineer op- . grated with the divisional staff : gineer staffs during a crisis 

lvhen faced with significant engi- ; mander is a lieutenant colonel, . neer augmentation, as was the case : The dilemma is whether to inter- in the Florida and Somalia misthe of other engineer :

: ject a 	 senior engineer com- . and his field grade staff :

a 

units in support of the division are : from outside the division or leave . 

neer when an engineer group is : tion of the operation. send reports directly to engineer : attached to light division. The . operations for all engineer assets : In a crisis response such as hur- 

: group is commanded by a ml* : ricane relief, a premium is placed working in their brigade sector. : nel; the divisional battalion com- : on how fast work 

on the battlefield. The division 

staffrelies heavily on its training, 

teamwork, and personal chemistry to respond effectively to emererations, and included in the : Under the direction of the divisituations reports to division and : sional battalion commander, FM 

higher. : 5-71-100, ~ i ~~~~i~~~~ i ~ 

The engineer planningcell is 10- : combat operations, states that 

cat4 adjacent to the DTOC within : the may become the engithe security perimeter of the : neer headquarters for a light diDMAIN. This cell works closely : .vision when the division receives 

with the division G3 plans section significant engineer augmentaand the operational planning : tion. special cases, the divigroup. Future engineer plans and : .ion mmmander may transfer did. 

operations are developed as part of : sion organizational 

the command estimate process. If to an engineer group that has 

response creates problems for the 

f deployinggroup headquarters and 

: ican~be ~disruptive to the time-

: sensitive division staffplanning. 

: In short-duration operations, 

engineers are working against a 

: timeline, and similar arguments 

: are true. For example, during Op 

: eration Restore Hope, Army engif neers were given a defined mis- 

: sion to accomplish in six weeks. 

: Redefining roles would have been 

required, liaisons from the engi- : kntask organized to the divi- : disruptive when time was a critineer group or other engineer units : ,ion on a long-term basis. Norcan operate from this location. The : mally thj is done only when the 

engineer plans cell also serves asa i augmentation surpasses the 

briefindmeetingarea for the divi- : mand and control capability of 

sion engineer. : the light hattalion headquarten. 

April I994 

: cal element. It made more sense to 

: allow the group headquarters to 

i focus its efforts on planning and 

: executing the engineer operation 

: and to permit the divisional 

Engineer 27 
engineer section to integrate this : equipment to plan, design, man- : formats must be exchanged. The 

plan with the overall scheme of : age, and support these extensive ! desired end result is division ownmaneuver and identify future en- : operations. : ership of the engineer group as a 

gineer requirements. : The relief operations for Hurri- : major subordinate command in 

Engineer groups are flexible or- ! cane Andrew and humanitarian 

ganizations designed to strengthen : assistance in Somalia were quite 

the command and control of subor- : different tasks. In both operations, 

dinate units. As quickly as they : the mix of augmentation engineer 

respond to engineer requirements ! forces and the task organization 

exceeding divisional capability, : structure were tailored to meet 

: support of the operation. 

: Reception of the engineer group 

: includes the arrival of their subor- 

: dinate units, personnel and equip- 

: ment in the area of operations.In ! most situations, the division is on 

they can be withdrawn to support : specific requirements. For exam- : the ground before the engineer 

other sectors or commands. For : ple, inFlorida, the586thEngineer 

example, during Hurricane An- Company (ribbon bridge) deployed 

drew relief, the 937th Engineer trucks from Fort Benning without 

Group was attached to the 10th : their bridge bays. These trucks 

Mountain in early September but : hauled critical food distribution 

redeployed with the XVIII Air- : requirements and augmented the 

borne Corps in late September, : limited transportation assets of 

leaving behind one combat heavy : the 10th Mountain. Also, the 642d 

battalion. : Engineer Company (combat sup 

The division commander de- : port equipment) served as a bri-

: group and other augmentation 


: units arrive. The division battal- 
 : ion must facilitate this reception 


: and serve as the coordinating 


: headquarters for the smooth intro- 


duction of engineers into theater. 
 : An assembly area or base of op 


: erations must be identified. An en- 


: gineer base may require motor 


: parks, tentage, field latrines, and 


cides who his principal engineer ! gade engineer headquarters in : a mess operation to support the 

staff advisor will be. Regardless of : Florida and deployed only bucket : arriving personnel while they 

his choice, the engineer group : loaders and dump trucks to clear : await equipment. If equipment arcommander serves as a major sub- : debris. In contrast, during Opera- : rives into theater before the perordinate commander for the divi- ! tion Restore Hope, the entire 642d : sonnel, divisional engineers may 

sion and has direct access to the : deployed and was attached to the 

CG. During Hurricane Andrew re- : 36th Engineer Group for road conlief and Operation Restore Hope, : strudion as part of the group's 

the divisional engineer battalion : mission to revitalize Somalia's incommander retained staff respon- : frastructure. Force structure desibility as the division engineer. : sign and task organization of augBoth operations were a response : mentation engineers are major 

to a crisis on an engineer intensive : tasks that must be addressed 

: need to receive it to avoid cone- 

: tion at the railhead or port. (Dur- 

: ing Restore Hope, divisional engi- 

: neers off-loaded the ship bearing ! group equipment and MILVANS 

: when the personnel arrived later.) 

: Depending on the size of the aug- 

: menting force, this can be a sigbattlefield, and it made sense to : early in the planning cycle by the : nificant mission and can detract 

leave the organic divisional engineer section in place. 

Shaping the Engineer 


Force 


Mission analysis identifies 

the engineer requirements that drive the force structure. Generally, the organic sap 

per battalion of a light division 

deploys with maneuver units and 

: divisional engineer battalion wm- 

: mand and staff. 

: Lessons Learned .7['he lessons learned by the 

10th Mountain Division in 

: Florida and Somalia will be ap 

: from other efforts. 

: Reception also includes adivi- 

: ties such as the alignment of 

: maintenance support and the 

: opening of supply accounts within : the division. The two most signifi- : challenges are comunica-

: tio, support and class IXrepair . 

. plicable to future operations ! parts for commercial engineer 

. other than war. Analysis of each : equipment. These problems must 

: operation offer insights for future : be addressed before deployment to . 

. engineer planning and execution. . : facilitate integration into the divi. 

: sion and early execution of the engineer plan. 

: selling the ~~~i~~~~plan. : ~is~i~~ analysis identifies the en-

: gineer ~h~ division i ,,gin,, the assign- : ment of missions to subordinate 

: ,,gin,, forces and the ~3 tasks 

: these missions to 

April 1994 

provides sustainment, force pro- : Reception Mission. Early retection, and direct support. Aug- : ception of the engineer group into 

mentation engineer foroes address 

other engineer requirements: road 

and airfield construction, basecamp support, utility repair, fire 

fighting, power generation, and 

more. The group staff has the 

capability in personnel and 

28 Engineer 

: the division is critical. Key leaden 

: and stam must be integrated into 

: the division's planningcycle. They 

: should be briefed on the current 

: situation and be familiar with the 

: division planning and methodol- 

: ogy Division SOPS and report 
~ 

commands. Then the engineer i battlefield. For example, after 

pup must develop its plan for em : Hurricane Andrew, volunteer ascution. ORen the division engineer : sets from municipal public works 

may he involved in war gaming the : departments throughout the 

courses of action, and may even be i southeast came into south Florida. 

asked for a recommendation Once : W~thvery little coordination but a 

the pup commander selects the : lot of cooperation, they teamed up 

plan for execution, the division engi- : to haul debris in one brigade sec- 

: the G3 on which missions to accept 

: or decline. The engineer group 

: should focus on executing the engi- 

: neer plan; the division engineer 

: staff should addm mission creep. 

: 

: Future Operations 

' 

neer must sell the engineer plan. i tor. This allowed the brigade engi- : he past several years have 

The first step in selling the plan : neer to free up critical haul assets 

is to get the support of the division : for use in another sector. 

commander. The division staff is : When deployed overseas, tap 

then brought on line and the G3 : ping into the capabilities of the 

integrates the engineer plan with i Corps of Engineers (primarily 

maneuver operations. The G4 ac- : through contracting) or the DOD 

quires necessary logisti= support, : logistics capabilities contract can 

: demonstrated that Army 

: units can be very successful in 

: operations other than war. In 

: these engineers are 

always a key player. During Hur- 

: ria"eAndrew 

: and Operation enand signal aligns necessary commu- : save troop effort and enhance suc- : gineer groups played a 

nications support while other staffs : cess. In Somalia, engineers gained : in Support of the 10th Mountain 

play their appropriate roles. The : a unique experience working with : efforts. The 

plan should then be layed out and : civil affairs and psychological op : engineer and engineer group re 

briefedindetailforsubordinatema- : erations (PSYOPS) teams. Leaflet : lationship is critical the quick 

neuver and support commanders. i drops, print media, coordination i integration of augmentation enExpanding support and aware- : meetingxwithlocalelders,andthe : gineer forces and 

ness of the engineer plan will fa- : hire of 1-1 laborers facilitated the : for the perspeccilitate its execution. Besides : engineer effort. In operations other tive the sigbriefs to key leaders, other meth- : than war, engineer multipliers are "if'czant lessons were learned reods worked well during Restore : rnany,andthedivisionenginee~has: garding the the 

Hope and Hurricane Andrew. Bri- : the best vantage point to identify : group and the and 

gade engineers from the divisional : them. 

engineer battalion kept maneuver End State and Mission 

commanders informed on execu- : Creep. An important part of the 

tion and progress. Daily staff : engineer plan is the end state. Enmeetings at division headquarters : gineer requirements in operations 

and periodic engineer meeting at i other than war often greatly exthe higher headquarters served : ceed the forces or time available. 

similar purposes. Public affairs : Identifying standards for conalso assisted in selling the engi- : struction, repair, and troop sup 

: promotion of the engineer plan. 

j the 

: and is critical. 

: Given the professionalism and 

: initiative of Our leaders, i with trained and ready 

: engineers succeed. 

: Y 

: Lhtenant Colonel Peter df*en is 

for the 

: Engineer BaLtalion, 10th Mountain . Division. Past assignments include 

tours with the 82nd Airborne Divi- . 7th Engineer Bngd, G ~ j and the dfissouri ~i~~~ ~i~i~i~

: USACE.A graduate of the Command 

: and General Staff College, he holds a 

: masters degree in civil engineering 

: fmm Georgia Il.ch. 

: dfajor waynewhiteman is cumntly 

: studying for a doctorate in mechmi- 

: cal engineering at Georgia Tech. Pre- i vious assignments include 53 of the 

: 41St Engineer Battalion, assistant 

neer plan, especially when the 

plan significantly impacted on 

the public or nongovernmental 

organizations. 

Making the Plan Work. Brigade engineer efforts will dramatically influence the success of an 

engineer group in support of a division. By coordinatingdirect support in the brigade sector, they 

promote themissionofthe brigade 

commander while allowing the 

group engineer the flexibility to 

shift engineer effort as priorities 

change. 

The division engineer influences theengineer effort by grasp 

ing the engineer multipliers as 

they become available on the 

April 1994 

port is key. The scope of work and 

: proposed completion date are es- 

: sentia! elements of the plan. The 

: engineer end state should be syn- 

: chronized with the maneuver plan. 

: A key factor in creatingengineer 

: success is avoiding mission creep. 

: Every planunder execution will be 

: challenged with new or expanded i missions that may or may not 

: have to be done. However, each 

: new mission expends time and re- 

: sources. The key is understanding 

the division commander's and the 

: next higher commander+s intents : ~mfessorat West PoinC and company 

: as they apply to the engineer ef- .. commander of the 2nd Engineer Battalwn. Major Whiteman is agraduate : fort. The division engineer can a

: ofWest Point and holds a de- i then make mission assessments, : gre bm ~~~~h~~~~~~~~~~i~~~ of

: understand impacts, and advise : nchnology. 

Engineer 29 
I he Javelin: 


I Reach Out And Touch Someone I I 
 I


By Sergeant First Class Daniel Copson, 


Sergeant First Class Richard Kelley and 


Staff Sergeant Bret Harley 


30 Engineer April 1994 
in 

C

fiscal 

ombat 

will 

year 

launch 

readiness 

1996 

into 

when 

a new 

groups 

a new 

era r

weapon system designed to kill 

tanks at ranges greater than 

2000 meters is fielded. The system, called the Javelin, is a 

man-portable "fire and forget" 

antitank missile with a tandemshaped charge warhead. Designed to defeat all types of armor, including reactive armor, it 

will be a welmme addition to the 

engineer squad's arsenal. The 

system consists of two components, the command launch unit 

and the round. 

Components 

The command launch unit 

(CLU) controls all aspects I -- -- --

of Javelin operation. It houses all SFC Copson tests a soldier on one d the 15 quallflcation exerclses that can be 

the controls. indicators. and used wlth the basic sklll trainer (BSn. 

sights the gunner will use during 

surveillance and target engage- designed to burn for only 1110th of between two attack modes: the top 

ment procedures. The Javelin a second. It propels the missile attack and direct attack. The top 

has three sights that the gunner away from the gunner before the attack, the primary attack mode, 

can select at the push of a but- flight motor firs, and reduces the is used to engage targets in the 

ton. They include one day sight, initial back blast, heat, flames, and open at up 2000 meters. Using an 

debris that the gunner is exposed to arched trajectory, the Javelin which has a 4X magnification, with other antitank weapon sys- climbs above its target for im- and two imaging infrared (IIR) 

night sights, which have a wide tems. The soft-launch design of the proved visibility and then strikes 

field of view at 4X and narrow 

Javelin allows the gunner to safely where the armor is weakest. The 

field of view at 9X magnification. fire from inside buildings or from direct attack mode is used for tarThe IIR night sights allow the covered fighting positions. The sec- gets within 1000 meters that have 

gunner to see enemy tanks at exond stage is the flight motor. After overheadcover, such asinside buildtended ranges in adverse weather the launch motor propels the mis- ings or under bridges. The direct 

conditions and times of limited sile about 15meters away from the attack mode is also used for special 

visibility. The CLU's IIR night gunner, the flight motor ignites to targets such as helicopters, bunsights aLso make it a useful re- carry the missile to the target. kers, and very short-range targets. -

connaissance and surveillance I I 

tool. It will give readiness groups I Operations I I TrainingDevices 

the ability to reconnoiter an area 1 

or objective from an over-watch ,

' After the gunner has identi- ;A,key feature of the Javelin 

position in hours of darkness or I fied a target using the I ystem is that two training 

poor visibility conditions. I CLU, he can quickly attach it to I devices, called the basic skill 

The second component, the the round and begin the engage- I trainer (BST) and the field tadiround, consists of the missile and I ment sequence. In the engage- I cal trainer (FTT),come with the 

the launch tube assembly (LTA). I ment sequence, the gunner views 1 system. 

The missile has an automatically I the target scene in the eyepiece, I 

I The BST (shown above) is deself-guided, passive IIR seeker to I places the track gates over the I signed for classmom use. It conlock on a target before it is : selected target and locks the mis- ' sists of an instructorstation and a 

launched. It has a two-stage solid I sile onto the target. Once locked I

, simulated round attached to the 

propulsion system. The first stage I on, the missile is ready to fire. I CLU simulator. Computer-genis the launch motor, which is : When firing, thegunnercan pick I erated battlefield images are 

April 1994 Engineer 31 
engagement sequence on an 8mm 

video tape. Thistape is used for review and critique aRerthe exercise. 

Abadqmckisprovided to help transport the instructor's equipment during the trainingexercise. 

The simulated round is incorporated as a subsystem for the 

Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES); it is 

used for use during force-on-force 

engagements. The FTT MILES 

subsystem enhances the soldier's 

learning experience during the 

training exercise by allowingsimulated engagements of targets and 

immediate feedback concerning 

the success or failure of the engagement. Even without the FIT 

instructor station installed to re 

cord the engagement on video tape, 

the gunner's engagement actions 

are mded as MILES events. The 

FIT MILES Event Recorder stores 

up to 300 of the gunner's events for 

later review and critique. 

Fielding 

Select units are scheduled to 

begin receiving the Javelin 

during fiscal year 1996. Due to 

production delays, other units 

will not receive the Javelin until 

the year 2000 or later. Therefore, 

units must retain their 90mm 

A soldler tests the fully Integrated, three-dimensional training (mdevise durlng 

a fleld exercise. 

displayed in the CLU to teach basic target identification, acquisition, and lock-on skills to gunners. I 

The instructor can select one of 31 1 

scenarios and any of 15 qualification exercises. After each engage- I 

ment, the instructor immediately ; 

scores and critiques the gunner's 

performance. I 

The FTT (shownabove) is a fully ; 

integrated, three-dimensional 

training device that is designed to I 

simulate the form, fit, and func- I 

tion of the real tactical Javelin sys- I 

, tem. It is configured either with or I 

without the FTT instructor sta- I 

tion. In either configuration, the I, 

FTT integrates the tactical CLU I 

with a simulated round. The F?T I 

allows the gunner to simulate I 

war-fighting in a tactical environ- I 

ment (force-on-force). With the F?T I 

instructor station installed, the I 

instructor can tape the gunner's I 

This time-lapse nlght shot shows a Javelin missile being fired out of an enclosed building. The target is a T72tank at 

approximately500 meters. 

32 Engineer April 1994 
c 

B 


: 

F 	 e.',

E 


S 

~. -

I 

7 


2 

8 


2 	 -. 

Uur.,,

f 


A soldier launches a mlssile Worn the Javelin lnunch tube. 

completed the Javelin subjectmatter expert course. He previously served as a platoon 

sergeant with the 8th Infantry 

Division during Desert Storm. 

SFC Copson is a gmdulte of 

the Advance Non-Commisswned Omr Course (ANCOC) 

and holds an associate dew 

from Centml Ems Colkge. 

Sergeant First Class Richard 

Kelley, a writer1 instructor for 

the Department Tactics and 

Leadership at the U. S. Army 

Engineer School, has comrecoilless rifles until they receive 

the Javelin system for replacement. 

The new Javelin system is designed to enhance the missilelaunching skills of combat readiness groups. The high-tech 

characteristics and "fire and forget" capabilities of the Javelin will 

(Personal Viewpoint, continued) 

helipad construction, communication tower construction, building 

demolition, and firing range construction. A conscious effort is 

made to match unit capabilities 

with mission requirements. Unit 

commanders working for JTF-6 

have documented training on at 

least 85 percent of their METL 

tasks in their post deployment 

after-action reports. 

During FY 93, engineer units 

repaired or constructed 362 miles 

of road (with accompanying culvert, fords and drainage), seven 

firing ranges, two helipads, and 

more than 14 miles of border 

fence. Other missions included 

power line relocation, fitness 

course and rappel tower construction, a drug-dog kennel, and structural demolitions. 

Units also receive hands-on 

training in the requirements of environmental law. Units operate 

thrust these pups forward into 

the 21st century and improve mission readiness for troop deployments Army-wide. Y 

Sergeant Fint Class Daniel Copson, 

a senior writerlinsiructor for the Department %tics and Leadership at 

the U. S. Army Engineer School, has 

under strict environmental constraints. To ensure compliance 

with laws and regulations, JTF-6 

provides qualified environmental 

surveyors and monitors to construtting engineer units. Commanders plan and execute envirunmentally sound pruj-, and troops 

become familiar with environprocedures and protedion. 

Join Us! 

There is a vital mission for 

IIengineers on the southwest 

border, one that directly supports 

our national security. Training 

opportunities abound for engineer units that are aggressive 

and innovative. We must convince installation commanders 

and ourselves that counterdrug 

operations are a valid, vital militaT mission. They offer great OPportunities to support law enforcement, provide service to the 

pleted the Javelin subject matter expert course. He previously served as a ptatoon 

sergeant with the 1st Amr -	Division. SFC Kelley is a 

graduate of the ANCOC. 

Staff Sergeant Bret Harley, a 

writeriinstructor for the Department 

of Combat Engineering at U. S. Army 

Engineer School, has completed the 

Jauelin subject-matter ezpert course. 

He previously served with the 54th 

Engineer Battalion during Desert 

Stonn and is a gmduate of the Basic 

Nan-Commission Omer Course. 

American people, and conduct realistic training in a rugged environment, against a real threat. 

Each quarter, the JTF-6 engineer branch publishes an eleo 

tronic message addressed to corps, 

divisions, engineer brigades and 

groups, and individual units announcing missions available along 

the border. For information about 

engineer missions, call me or Major Brian Hearnsberger at (915) 

568-820918733 (DSN 978). Join us 

for some great engineer training! 

Lieutenant Colonel DeHarde is the 

staff engineer for Joint Zhk Force 

Siz, Fort Blk, h.Previous assignments include instructor at the U.S. 

Army Command and General Staff 

College, battalion executive officer, 

USAREUR Engineer Plans officer, 

deputy residentengineerlopemtiom 

officer in ~i~adh, sa&i~~bb, and

company commander. LTC DeHarde 

holds a masters degree in cwil engineering from Ews A&M University. 

Engineer 33 
---- - 

-Engineer Problem 

Estimating Gap Width 

Measuring the width of a wide river or other gap without access to the opposite shore requires ingenuky and the use of some fundamental trigonometry to accomplish the mission. Field Manual 5-34 (page 

5-16) provides an easy, straightforward method of estimating the width of a river that works in most 

cases. Sometimes, however, the shape of a river channel, O~S~NC~~O~S, orthe tactical sbuation may preclude using this method. 

An alternative method is described in the Soviet manual Combat EngineerSupport, by Y. Kolibernov. This method uses two measurements, one at the river bank and another several meters back from 

the bank. Advantages to this method are that it exposes the estimator less to enemy observers, and it 

may be accomplished wherever two landmarks on the opposite bank can be seen. Adisadvantage is 

that this method is subjectto greater errorthan the one described in FM 5-34. For combat engineers, 

Koiibernov's method may be a useful alternative when the FM-34 method is impractical. 

Method 

At the gap's edge, locate a landmark directly across the gap. Choose another landmark several meters away and measure the angle between them with a compass or binocular scale. (This is the angle 

'by In the figure on page 35). Step back from the bank a known distance (the distance "0"on the figure) 

and measure the angie between the same landmarks at the new observation point. (This is the angie 

"q2'7. The width of the gap, W, now may be approximated using the expression: 

The angles may be measured using any device because the formula is independent of units used. 


For those interested, the derivation of the expression follows: 


imagine that the lines of observation in this problem form two triangles on the ground, as shown in 

the figure. If you chose the landmar%s correctly on the opposite shore, the angle between Land W is a 

right angle. Therefore, the smaller triangle, from the Law of Sines is: 

L W W 


sin ql an a1 sin (90 - qi) 


Similarly, for the larger triangle: 

--.- L W+B W+B

sin 11 Slnaz sin (90 -qz) 

Now, the length "C'is identical in both triangles, and you can multiply each expression by the sine 


terms under the Land equate the results: 


sin q1 sin q2 


L - Wsin (90-ql) -(W+B)sin(90 -q2) 


Note that for any angie, sin (90-a) = cos a. You can substitute the cosine forthe denominators above: 

L-W-- sin ql =(W+Er-sin 712 


cos ql cos 12 


sin a Since --= tan a for any angie, cos a 

34 Engineer April 1994 
w 

I I Engineer Problem 

I 

L- Wtan qj - Wtan qp + B tan q2 

Gathering terms involving the W to the ieft side, 

W(tanq1 -tanqz) - Btan q2 

and, therefore: 

tan112 W- B This equation is the exact expression.) (tanrli -tan q2) 

However, if both angles qc and q2 are less than 30 degrees, a good approximation of the distance 

W may be made by the expression: 

Note that the expression is independent of the units involved. 

Problem 

Recent faction activiw in patt of Bosnia-Herzegovina has rendered a main supply route impassibie due to a destroyed bridge overthe mouth of a canyon. The route is cut along the side of a 

gorge, and the destroyed bridge spanned a tributary of a larger river. Traffic must be restored 

quickly so humanitarian aid convoys can resume. The 

UN Protective Force (UNPROFOR) has several sets 

of Bailey bridge available for route repair. 

Your mission is to determine the width of the gap 

the Bailey bridge must cross. A major Miculty is that Intan abutmen at moimi af hmod 

you have access only to the near shore because of the 


nature of the gap and because uncooperative factions 


control the surrounding territoy where ail bypasses 


are located. The road is cut along the side of the gorge 


and cliffs to the right and ieft of the route deny access 


along the tributary. Therefore, it is not possible to deter- 


mine the gap width using the method described in FM 


5-34. On the near side, the road is reinforced concrete 


and the abutment of the bridge is intact. On the far 


shore, the abutement is Intact and the road enters a 


tunnel of unknown width. 


Standing at the near edge of the gap and measuring Intan abutment 

the angle between the two sides of the tunnei opening, 

you find the angle is 14 degrees. Moving away from 

the gap on a straight line for a distance of 15 meters, 

you again measure the angle between the same iandmarks: this angle is 9 degrees. Using only this information and the standard design criteriafor a Bailey 

bridge, determine the design length for the bridge. 

Reference: FM 5-34. 

ENGINEER Soloton is on page 42. 

April 1994 Engineer 35 
Speed Bumps 


Changing Times 

was in the .Pod We had the 

forces and we were focused. We could see, 

touch and even smell the "enemy." Our Army was 

combat ready and leaning forward to the sights of 

a Berlin Wall, red star, and hammer and sickle, 

even to the whiff of smoke from a Havana ciear. - But, times have changed. 

The international road signs of evil are gone. It 

appears that the United States no longer needs a 

large standing Army As other priorities demand 

our nation's dollars and attention, the reductions 

in military resources quickly translate to a "do 

more with less" mentality where the ultimate 

"less" is leadership time. Our "flash to bang" on 

mission execution has just been tightened. But the 

enemy is not gone, it has its 

What is gone is TIME. 

Our nation expects Army engineers to accomplish the without any your mark, get 

preparatory Time get and 

focus perspectives is gone. The past leadership era 

where leaders could pace themselves has vanished. 

Simply stated, they have taken away the "speed 

bumps" but not the hills and curves. We are in a 

leadership warp drive. 

Our old Army had great speed bumps built in 

that provided blocks of time for us to get ready. 

The large size and redundancies provided time. Being able to track and predict international trouble 

spots allowed us to shape our responses in a timely 

manner. We had the luxury of being able to delay 

decision making until more information was available and more options were developed. Now we 

find ourselves moving at accelerated speed past discarded time regulators and protectors to undefined 

decision points. 

While time has been drastically cut, readiness 

missions remain. There will never be another six 

months of prep time while the enemy watches. 

"Come as you are" roll-outs are here with all of 

their inherent dangers. It's as though the fire station has been moved to another county but folks 

still expect the firemen to make it in time to put 

out the fire. The issue for engineer leaders is how 

to make up for that lost time. We need to somehow 

create more time so that we can continue to perform within that expected band of excellence. 

Finding Time 

ahere are six ways to do it. Each one involves 

the understanding that time is most critical 

during final decision making, If that period is used 

for preliminary, time-consuming activities, then 

everything will stack up in a gridlock within that 

"do or die" time element. We need to protect the 

llth hour, In other words, planning ahead is more 

critical than ever before. youmay think the problem is that you don't have time today to read on, 

but a more accurate statement is that you don't 

have time not to read on, To assure having future 

time, you must invest some now, The following 

training objectives will help you recapturecontrol 

and regain that needed time, 

Soldier Care. How often have we found ourselves in the last throes of a roll-out when a 'Why 

didn't I know this before?" crisis hits us? Crises 

range from 'T didn't think I needed the power of attorney" to the more complex 'Xis 17 year-old wife 

speaks no English." No matter what the issue is, it 

will consume time. As a leader, you will face crises 

involving your soldiers and their families. You have 

two choices: You can wait until the crisis to learn 

about your soldiers, and in so doing, consume critical decision and action time; or you can do that essential soldier caring now. The latter choice will 

protect time during the critical period where it is 

needed most. In essence, caring leadership done today will provide time to be banked, with time dividends available for future use. 

36 Engineer By Colonel Herb Harback April 1994 
- - - 

Fitness. The thought, "Given enough time I 

could be in better shape," goes through my mind 

near the end of every PT test. Those push-up, situps, and runs are only part of the total fitness required for mission success. Total soldier fitness encompasses mental, moral, and professional skills as 

well as physical readiness. There will never be 

enough time to get up to speed when we are playing the catch-up game. If your soldiers are not 

physically fit; are not clear in their sense of fairness, diredion and values; or are not competent in 

their skills, knowledge and abilities when a crises 

occurs, you will be tasked with trying to turn everything around at the last minute. The old Fram oil 

filter commercial is an accurate metaphor: "Pay for 

me now at the low price of an oil change, or pay for 

me later at the devastating price of a new engine." 

The right time to be in physical, mental, moral and 

professional shape is now, not later. 

Standards. If you don't know the rules of the 

game, it is hard to win. You would never send a 

team to participate in a game until they knew the 

plays, rules and "what if' drills. While we know it 

is hard to bone up while on the move, we often try 

to do it. Now is the time to engrain the standards 

of discipline, safety, and performance. These standards define the boundaries and set the azimuth. 

They must be communicated, understood and followed. Standards may be met in the last seconds, 

but they will consume all available time and result 

in ultimate mission failure. Standards provide the 

common language and direction for battle drills 

and SOPS; they allow us to call more "audibles" 

and be flexible to last-minute changes. 

Battle Focus. We are our own worst enemy 

when it comes to battle-focused training. Too often 

we view training as being "real" only when done in 

a major training environment, and garrison training is often seen as a training distractor. We tend 

to take a 'Wational Training Center or nothing" approach. We do our soldiers a disservice by assuming 

that mind-set. We also set ourselves up for unnecessary work when we assume a "go administrative" 

mind-set for garrison training and a "lets get serious" set of rules for the field. A recent example 

drives that point home. During this past winterb 

formidable storms, many engineer battalions were 

tasked by their garrison to help support snow removal. Units were tasked with heavy equipment demands and round-the-clock operations. The question is, did they approach the situation in a 

battle-focused manner with TOCs and appropriate 

FSOPs, or did the soft-cap shuffle take control? I'll 

bet that many heavy equipment operators were 

sent out to remove snow without basic combat 

equipment. Although they worked hard, they 

learned bad habits while plowing snow-packed 

streets. Just think how much time thase units could 

have banked for the future if they had used that 

training opportunity for productive training. 

Zkamwork. Another way to provide more time 

is to be organized now. It may sound simple, but 

we generally come up short on this. When we get 

the next quick-reaction mission, let's see how much 

time we devote to team building and getting the 

team together. If we would build and sustain our 

teams now, much prime time would be freed up for 

the "stand in the door," critical decision making 

which always comes. Prearranged teamwork is 

what our units need to be able to call those critical, 

on-the-line "audibles." The time to work on team togetherness and fine-tune the synergism is before 

the kickoff not after it. Even the best football 

teams do practice drills before the game. 

Attitude. Finally, there is the issue of attitude. It defines the team's vitality and high performance capabilities. A bad attitude sets our aiming sticks too narrow and places our marks too 

low. The ruts in the road begin to look like the horizon. To change that takes a lot of dedication and 

energy Developing a winning attitude involves 

commitment and trust. Neither can be accomplished with "shake and bake" traits nor with a 

"quick fix" mentality. A positive attitude takes 

time and attention. It will be nearly impossible to 

establish when we are in the starting gate. If we 

develop a positive attitude now, we will have more 

time during the decisionladion period. 

High Speed-LowDrag 

ur Army's vision states that there will be no 

time-outs for readiness. This article provides a simple solution to our accelerated pace and 

loss of leadership time. I'm talking about a strategic and think-ahead mind-set. Doing things concurrently, knowing our soldiers, developing a relationship with each one, and keeping them fit in body, 

mind, soul and abilities will establish standards 

based on our Army's vision. It will also provide our 

soldiers with clear mission essential task lists that 

are combat focused, founded on teamwork, and 

driven by a truly positive warrior spirit. L1 

Colonel Harback is the commander and district engineer 

of the Louisville District, Corps of Engineers. Heprevinusly served as commander of the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion (Corps), Fort Ord. Other command and 

staffpositions included executiue officer, Bayonet Combat 

Support Brigade, 7th Infantry Division (Light); and deputy commander, 7th Engineer Brigade, VII Corps. COL 

Harback is a gmdLrate of the Army War College. 
Unit History: 


A Two-Edged Sword 


By Dr. Larry Roberts 

Quite often, young officers of changes of command and organ- credits for the Pacific in World War 

have walked into the His- izational day activities. I1 mean that the officer can ignore 

tory 6ffice at the Engineer Cen- While these items have merit, the European theater when doing 

ter with the mission of writing a they do not completely document I work in published historical works. 

history of their unit. Usually, the the unit's accomplishments in war After reviewing the Lineage and 

task was given to them by a bat- or peace. Invariably, those officers Honors, the action officer can betalion commander, who wanted returned to my ofiice in search of gin contacting other organizasomething for new soldiers to more information. They ultimately tions for additional information. 

read. The obvious purpose of such learned that gathering material on There are a number of sources of 

a document is to instill a sense of their units is a slow prooess that unit history. The National Archives 

pride in the unit, fostering unit invol- working with a number of contains unit files for hundreds of 

morale and esprit. This is the federal organizations. However, organizations, especially for the 

traditional view of unit history. It with patience and determination, years of World War I, World War 11, 

is the reason units are allowed to they can get what they need. Korea, and wetnam. The major limaintain an organizational his- Before contacting federal or- ability of the Axhives is the cost 

tory file within the Modern Army ganizations for information, the chargedto reprodue those files. Ifa 

Recordkeeping System CMARKS). unit historian should examine the unit chooses to purchase complete 

However, that file, and unit hii- unit's Lineage and Honors (see files, it normally finds copies ofmatory in general, can actually page 391, often found in the cam- terial, such as unit orders and corserve the unit commander in two mander's office. This will save a respondence, which have little 

ways. It can enhance unit mo- lot of time. The Lineage and Hon- merit for a written history Howraleiesprit and provide informa- ors details the unit's federal serv- ever, scanning the files to sort out 

tion for command decision mak- ice and identifies the various cam- the unwanted material requires a 

ing. This is possible only if there paigns for which the organization trip to the Archives, something few 

is command emphasis. has service credit. By knowing the units can afford. One of the best 

Few of those young ofiicers who periods of federal service, the ac- approaches is to contact friends or 

entered my office knew of a unit tion officer can disregard those associates in the Washington area 

history file. Once informed of its conflicts during which the unit and ask them to spend a couple of 

possible existence, they went to it was inactive. The Lineage and hours in the Archives. 

and often found little of value to Honors will also identi@ parent Other information can be found 

their task. Unit history files run organizations. Their files and his- in written histories, such as the 

the gamut from little or nothing, tories are logically a part of the official history of World War 11, 

save last year's annual history re- heritage of the unit and should be published by the Center of Miliport, to a collection of random examined as well. The campaign tary History, or books written by 

newspaper clippings, change of credits will tell the researcher participants. Some material can 

command brochures, and pictures where the unit served. Campaign be found in publications such as 

38 Engineer April 1994 
111 DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY 111 


589th ENGINEER BATTALION 


Constituted 1 July 1940 in the Regular Army as the 31st Engineer Company and 


activated at Fort Belvolr, Virginia 


Reorganized and redesignated 15 December 1941 as the 31st Engineer Battalion 


Reorganized and redesignated 29 April 1942 as the 31st Engineers 


Redesignated 1 August 1942 as the 31st Engineer Combat Regiment 


Reglment broken up 22 March 1943 and its elements reorganized and 


redesignated as follows: 


2d Battalion as the 241st Engineer Combat Battalion 


(Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company a3 ii:idquarLe~,s =cd 

Headquarters Company, 1114th Engineer Combat Croup; 1st Battalion as the 31st 

Engineer Combat Battalion - hereafter separate lineages) 

241st Engineer Combat Battalion inactivated 31 January 1946 in Japan 


Redeslgnated 30 January 1947 as the 589th Engineer Combat Battalion 


Redeslgnated 10 January 1966 as the 589th Engineer Battalion 


Activated 21 January 1966 at Fort Hood, Texas 


Inactlvated 1 November 1971 at Fort Lewis, Washington 


Headquarters transferred 30 September 1986 to the United States Army Trainlng 


and Doctrine Command and organized at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 


CAHPAICN PARTICIPATION CREDIT 


World Uar I1 


Aslatlc-Paclflc Theater, Streamer without 


inscription 


Vietnam 


Counteroffenslve, Phase I1 


Counteroffenslve, Phase I11 


Tet Counteroffensive 


Counteroffenslve. Phase IV 


~ounteroffenslve; Phase V 


Counteroffenslve, Phase VI 


Tet 69/Counteroffenslve 


Summer-Fall 1969 


Winter-Spring 1970 


Sanctuary Counteroffenslve 


Counteroffensive, Phase VII 


Consolldatlon I 


DECORATIONS 


Heritorlous Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967 


BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: 


Brigadier ~enekcil, USA 


Chief of Military History 


April I994 Engineer 39 
1 

Unit crest of the 589th Engineer Battallon. 

Stars and Stripes and Yank magazines. Command newsletters, 

such as the Castle Courier, the 

newsletter of the Engineer Command in Vietnam, are excellent 

sources for those units who served 

in Southeast Asia. Often, the Military History Institute at Carlisle 

Barracks is the best single source 

for much of this type of publication. The Military Engineer and 

Engineer magazines have traditionally published articles on unit 

activities. The Defense Technical 

Information Center (DTIC) has 

some of the quarterly reports 

(lessons learned) written by engineer units in Vietnam. Many 

Army libraries have access to 

DTIC and can order these reports. 

The History Office, Office of the 

Chief of Engineers, at Alexandria, 

Virginia has an extensive unit 

history collection. A master index 

for each unit identifies what type 

of material is present, including 

oral interviews with senior engineer officers. In addition, a call or 

note to the Organizational History Branch, Center of Military 

History, Washington, D.C., can 

produce information on the unit's 

history and the symbology of the 

organization's crest (Distinctive 

Unit Insignia- DUI). 

While the Engineer Center at 

Fort Leonard Wccd has been slowly 

collecting unit material, there is 

much we do not have. Acall or note 

would determine what is available. 

Again, with patience and determination, a young action officer can 

collect enough material to write a 

unit's history that is useful in telling 

the new soldier a story of challenges 

and accomplishments. That story normally deals with 

overations in war. This is because 

most of the information found in 

the Archives, Carlisle Barracks, 

and other place deals with units 

in war. While that is important, 

combat constitutes only a small 

part of any unit's overall history. A 

greater amount of time is spent in 

peacetime and involves the muntless challenges and requirements 

of an Army not at war. 

Ironically, the unit's efforts in 

peacetime, in such areas as training, can provide the second important benefit of unit history and the 

organizational history file, support for decision making. A unit 

Thls historical photo of the 8th New York State Mllltia is an example of recording unit history. 

40 Engineer April 1994 
- .,- .;-

r-

, unit is required to pro- 

./', -.hl duce some form of annual 

historical report. Often, 

P: , 

. . 

. . 

.. . - . 

, , .. --.-

these documents are of 

marginal value being only 

copies of last year's input 

with the names, statistics, and dates changed. 

However, this report 

could be valuable if seen 

in the context of what was 

done, why, how, and the 

lessons learned from the 

effort. An annual, or even 

more frequent, summary 

of what the unit did, what 

- ,.. . initiatives were taken, ., 

what workedlwhat did not 

would be extremely useful , , . {1+ to future unit leaders. 

This photograph, taken by 

a 


CPT Dunharn of the 43rd Engineer 

-

Battalion, Fort 

I


Benning, 

Georgia shows humor in recording his unit's history. 

commander faces numerous challenges over the course of his or her 

command. Requirements for 

maintenance, training, post support, and family support compete 

for attention and xwources. This is 

not new. Peacetime is traditionally 

the most demanding period for an 

army because resources are scarce 

and requirements are not. The 

knowledge of how one's predecsmrs 

handled these conflicting demands 

would benefit any commander. 

For example, if after-action reports from unit field trainingexercises, to include the National 

Training Center, were maintained 

over time, the current command 

could identify areas of consistent 

strength or weakness. When mupled with completion reports of 

construction projects, post support 

detail summaries, etc., a new commander would know quickly what 

challenges he or she might expect. 

Copies of annual organizational 

inspections, especially in the areas 

of maintenance, would reveal the 

impact of these demands on the 

readiness of equipment, unit morale, and soldier support. 

Many of these reports are found 

in other files in the headquarters, 

' 

! 

such as the S3 and S4 files. How- 1 

ever, these items normally have a 

comparatively short file life. Fkgulatory requirements to retire certain 

files aRer a cutoff date and the simple need for file space normally account for the demise of historicallysignificant documents. By contrast, ' the Organizational History File, 

870-5s, is a permanent file. Regardless of who maintains the file, 

it exists as long as the unit does. 

Therefore, material placed in that 

file will always be available to the 

commander or hisher staff. 

Some may consider it strange to 

put a command inspection report 

or a field exercise after-action report in a "histo$ file. That is because too many believe that hitory is what happened 20 or 30 

years ago. In fad, yesterday is hitory; it has happened and cannot , be changed. The material placed 

in the historical file today becomes 

the historical material for all who 

will serve in the unit. Invariably, 

the value of that file is driven by 

the quality of material placed in it. 

One of the most important items 

which could be placed in the file is 

a commander's review and assessment of activities. Virtually every 

In times past, end-oftour reports were common 

for many unit commanders and key personnel. ?bdax we 

tend to limit that type of report to 

general officers. However, there is 

no reason why key officers and 

NCOs in a command should not 

write such a report. It would not 

only be valuable in the unit history effort, but would aLso be useful in providing perspectives and 

insights gained during service 

with the unit. 

History is valuable to the profession of arms. Many famous 

leaders have attested to the value 

of applying the lessons of the past 

to the challenp of the present. 

The knowledge and appreciation 

of a unit's accomplishments are 

important in buildingandsustaining esprit. Soldiers are challenged 

to maintain the traditions and 

standards of those who came before them. However, the raw materials of a unit history, the reports 

and papers that document what 

happened and why, can also beused 

to help cumnt leaders guide their 

soldiers through thedemands oftoday. Maintaining a viable file will 

also serve thcse who will follow 

Id 


D, ~&rts is the historim for the Engineer Centel;Fort Leo& Wood,MO. 

April 1994 Engineer 41 
Engineer Solution 


Solution 

Complete the following steps to determine the required iength for the Bailey 

bridge. 

1. Using Koiibernov's approximation, determine the width of the gap: 

Gap W-B- 

(rll - 7l2) 

Gap W - 15m-(14- 9) - 27m= 88.6 feet 

2. Determine the safety setback for a Bailey bridge on prepared abutments (FM 

5-34, p. 7-52). 

SS = 3.5 feet (on each side). 

3. Design gap =true gap + safety setbacks = 88.6 + 3.5 + 3.5 = 95.6 feet. 

4. Rounding up to the next higher increment of 10 yields a required Bailey bridge 

iength of 100feet. 

Note: Using the exact form of 

Koiibernov's formula, you should 

have obtained a gap width of 25.2 

meters (82.68 feet), which yields the a2 


same bridge design. Note that theformuia is very sensitive to error in the 

angle measurement. Therefore, you 

must measure carefully and verify 

the gap measurement as soon as 

you can reach the far shore. 

This ENGINEER Probiem/Soiuiion 

was submitted by LTC Wiiiiam 

Bayies, executive officer, Old 

ironsides Engineer Brigade, Bad 

Kreuznach, Germany. LTC Bayis 

has previously served as engineer 

brigade 53, battalion executive 

officer, and assistant professor of 

mathematics, U.S. Miiitary Academy. 

A graduate of the School of 

Advanced Miiitary Studies, he is a 

registered Professional Engineer in 

New Hampshire. 
Engineer Force Structure: 


Past, Present, and Future 


By Peter Malley 

any articles have been published in recent 

months about chanein~r 

., -the Armv's strat- " 

egy to account for a post cold-war threat and downsizing of the Army's force structure to meet that 

new threat. Mmt information written on this subject was taken from a 'bttom-up review" study ordered by the Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin. The 

bottom-up study was a comprehensive examination 

of defense strategy, force structure, modernization 

programs, industrial base, and infrastructure in 

light of the new world situation. 

This article is not an overview of the bottom-up 

review or of other articles on force structure. Instead, it explains what the Army engineer force 

was during the cold war, in the transition period 

from the old to the new strategy, and what the 

structure may look like as we enter the 21st century It begins by defining the defense strategy and 

explaining how the force structure is developed 

through a process called "Total Army Analysis." 

Changing Defense Strategy 

Rrior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 

United States' defense strategy was defensive in nature; it was primarily designed to hold 

the Soviet Union and China in check. The new 

strategy, as outlined in the bottom-up review, identifies four "dangers" to our national interests: 

- Nuclear weapons and other weapons of destruction, including dangers associated with the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. 

- Aggression by hostile regional powers. 

- The potential hilure of demccratic reform in the 

former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. 

- Economic dangers to national security, which 

could result if we fail to build a competitive and 

growing economy. 1 

Building- Force Structure 

S	enior Army leadership uses a process known 

as 'Total Army Analysis" (TAA) to determine 

the force structure requirements to meet the 

threat. The process develops, for each program objective memorandum (POM) year, a projected program force that will meet mission requirements 

within anticipated resource levels. 

TAA-What ~-	 ~~~ 	 It Is and -~~ How 

- ~~ ~ It Works 

Total Army Analysis is a complex, multiA phased force structuring process. It consists 

of both qualitative and quantitative analyses that 

generate the tactical-support forces and gpneralpurpase forces needed to sustain and support division and nondivision combat forces designated in 

the "objective force." The objective force is the desired force in terms of force structure, readiness, 

modernization, and sustainability; it is constrained 

by expected fiscal and manpower levels. The Secretary of the Army (SA) and Chief of Staff of the 

Army (CSA) use the objective force when they provide guidance to the Army staff and major Army 

commands (MACOMs) for program development. 

The Army conducts an analysis of force alternatives to determine the best force mix. Decisions on 

the objectives reviewed by the SNCSA are then reflected in the The Army Plan (TAP). 

TAA is a biennial process that is conducted during even-numbered years. It is followed by a Force 

Integration Analysis VIA) that is conducted during 

odd-numbered years. Senior leadership is considering whether to change from the biennial to an annual process and possibly deleting the FIA portion; 

their decision will be made during TAA 2003. 

The continuum and combination of the TAA and 

FIA are the basis for the Army's POM development 

and establishment of the program force, known as 

the WM-xe.'' The M-Force is based on the objective force and is neither fully structured, fully modernized, nor fully supported. It is responsive to operating strength deviation (OSD) sizing and 

structuring scenarios and is resource-constrained 

based on the OSD projections. The M-Force is 
Engineer Force Structure 

Personnel Losses 

TAA 90 TAA 99 

Active 40,025 24,004 

National Guard 57,245 39,105 

' US Army Reserve 32,663 22,005 

component 4 (~nresourcbd) I 0,704 5,724 

TOTAL 140,637 90,838 

Table 1 

projected from two to six years and has a higher degree of risk than the objective force.3 

The TAA is a four-phased process that consists of 

force guidance, quantitative and qualitative analyses, and leadership review. The process evolves as 

follows: 

Phase 1 (Force Guidance). Force guidance 

consists of input and guidance from various 

sources. The Defense Planning Guidance and The 

Army Plan provide the national stratem, threat 

data, resource assumptions and priorities. Force 

structure guidance is obtained from the TAP objective force. DOD-directed scenarios are specified in 

the form of illustrative planning scenarios. Additionally, the Army Force Planning Data and Assumptions (AFPDA) manual provides planning factors for theater-level studies and modeling by the 

U.S. Army Concepts Analysis Agency (CAA). For example, the number of engineer battalions (combat 

heavy) required in the force structure is based on 

information provided in the AFPDA manual. 

A critical step in Phase 1is the review and update of allocation rules used by CAA in Phase 11. 

An allocation rule is the statement of a unit's capability, mission, and/or doctrinal employment. Put 

another way, doctrine justifies force structure and 

allocation rules translate that doctrine. Engineers 

have 281 allocation rules. which are u~dated during the Force Structure Conference I. This wnference culminates when the General Officer Steering 

Committee (GOSC I) approves the rules and forwards them to the Concepts ilnalysis Agency (CAA) 

for implementation in Phase 11. 

Phase II (Quantitative Analysis). The quantitative analysis process takes the major combat 

forces (divisions, separate brigades, armored cavalry regiments, and special operations units) identified in the Army's objective force and determines 

the necessary tactical support requirements. The 

CAA accomplishes this analysis through a series of 

computer models and simulations. Through a series 

of reports, CAA then compares the new doctrinal 

support requirements with a current list of onhand and programmed units to provide the "delta" 

for future programming. The 

TAA decision force is then disseminated to the MACOMs for 

TAA 01 

review. As the last step in 

Phase 11. the MACOMS and 

22,043 the ~ngneer School formulate 

37.138 issues to be analyzed during 

21,729 

1,339 

82,249 tive ~hase, the initial uromm -

Phase 111. 

Phase III (Qualitative 

Analysis). During the qualitaforce is developed within endstrength guidance and then is 

used to develop the POM. 

The second major conference, Force Structure 

Conference I1 (FSC II), is held during this phase. 

At this conference, senior leaders develop a force requirement structure through a series of analyses 

and panel reviews. They consider and validate the 

computer-generated requirements and review MACOM and HQDA inputs, proposed chanp, and issues that center on claimants versus billpayers and 

prioritization. While the doctrinal basis of allocation rules were reviewed in FSC I, FSC I1 centers 

on the review of each discrete level and type of 

TOE unit in the decision force and the integration 

of TDA issues. Issues raised during the FSC I1 are 

resolved during GOSC 11. The proposed force requirements are then forwarded to the Army's senior leadership for review and approval. 

Phase N (Leadership Review). The leadership review is initiated after the GOSC I1 meets to 

resolve any outstanding issues from FSC 11.The 

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army chairs a force program review to resolve any issues from GOSC 11; 

results are then briefed to the Army Chief of Staff 

for decision. The resulting force, the TAA base 

force, represents the force structure for POM development. It captures all components (active and reserve) and TDA requirements through the end of 

the POM years.4 

Determining the Engineer Structure 

Cince 1988, the Army has conducted three 

)cr TAAs; they developed the program forces for 

1996, 1999, and 2001. As mentioned earlier, the 

program force is projected two to six years; thus, 

the program force 2001 in reality will be the force 

structure for fiscal year (FYI 1995. The programmed engineer force structure has dropped 

from 140,637 spaces in TAA 96 to 90,838 spaces in 

TAA 99, and to 82,249 spa- in TAA 01. Table 1 

identifies, by component, the number of engineer 

spaces last in each TAA. As of 1995, 72 percent of 

the engineer force structure will be in the kerve 

Components. 
force. Korea is included in MRCWest. A "unique" requirement is 

Total Army Analysls Planning Scenarios a one-of-a-kind unit, such as a 

Total Army Analysts 1996 - 28 Dlvlslon Force prime power battalion. 

Europe t Southwest Asia t Northeast Asia =Total Force For example, the number of engineer combat battalions (corps 

Total Army Analysts 1999 - 20 Divlslon Force mechanized) required for MRC-E 

Major Regional Contingency-East t Major Regional Contingency-West was 5 + MRC-W was 5 + Foror Europe = Total Force warded Deployed Europe was 1t 

Unique was 0, making a total reTotal Army Analysls 2001 - 20 Dlvtslon Force quirement of 11battalions. 

Major Regional Contingency-East t Major Regional Contingency-West The number of units shown in 

t Forward Deployed Europe t Unique = Total Force 

Engineer Structure Losses 

he following discussion, with Figure 1and 

Table 2, page 46, outline the type of scenarios, number of divisions, and engineer structure 

(from command and control elements to echelons 

above corps units) in the three TAAs. The engineer 

combat battalion (mechanized) used in this discussion is an example and does not represent actual 

battalion lasses. 

Figure 1shows the type of scenarios and number 

of divisions used in each TAA. In TAA-96, each 

theater was allocated engineer forces. For example, 

the number of engineer combat battalions, (corps 

mechanized) required for Europe was 15; Southwest Asia required 5; and Northeast Asia required 

5; making a total of 25 battalions. 

During TAA-99, the types of scenarios changed 

from major theaters to regional contingencies. 

What was previously called Southwest Asia was 

changed to Major Regional Contingency-East (MRCE); Northeast Asia was changed to Major Regional 

Contingency-West (MRC-W); and Europe remained 

the same. The number of engineer units required 

in TAA-99 was based on whichever two scenarios 

(MRC-E + MRC-W or Europe) required the majority of forces. For example, engineer combat battalion (corps mechanized) requirements for MRC-E 

was 5; requirements for MRC-W also was 5, making a total of 10; Europe required 15 battalions. 

The total battalions required for TAA-99 was 15 because Europe was the largest theater. 

In TAA-200 1 the scenarios changed again, as 

shown in Figure 1,but the divisional force remained at 20 divisions. The European theater is no 

longer considered a major theater. The scenario 

used by CAA was: MRC-East t MRC-West t Forwarded Deployed Europe + Unique = the total 

column TAA-01 in Table 2 is the 

programmed engineer structure 

as of FY95. 

In the past, the majority of engineer units lost were component 

(compo) 4, which means they were required by doctrine but were unmanned and unresourced. However, during the TAA-99 and TAA-01 processes, actual active and reserve organizations were selected 

for inactivation. 

In the TAA process, only the type of organization 

(i.e, engineer combat battalion (corps mechanized) 

is selected. The actual unit to be eliminated is selected by the MACOM, i.e. 00th Engineer Combat 

Battalion, Corps Mechanized. 

Future Force Structure 

will the engineer force structure look 

like as we enter the 21st century? 

The bottom-up review identified two future planning scenarios: Iraq against Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and North Korea against the Republic of Korea.5 The force structure required to fight and win 

those two "nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts" will be 18 divisions (10 Active Component divisions, 15 enhanced National Guard brigades, and 

8 National Guard divisions). Previous publications 

have described the future force structure as having 

10 active divisions and 15 enhanced reserve brigades, with five divisional headquarters6. That 

structure, however, was changed in the past few 

months. The current and future divisional force 

structures, as of March 1994, are compared in 

Figure 2, page 47. 

In response to regional contingencies and to advance our national interests, forward-deployed 

forces will continue to play an important role. 

Army forces should remain at the current strength 

in Europe and Northeast Asia. Army forces in 

Europe will participate in two multinational corps 

with German units. They will train for rapid deployment outside Europe and for peacekeeping missions, as well as for the traditional mission of stabilization in central Europe. 7 
Engineer Force Structure 

Organlzatlon TAA 96 

AC/RC 

TAA 99 

AC/RC 

TAA 01 

ACrnC 

' EN EN. ABN 110 ID 1D 

EN BN, AA 110 ID 1D 

EN EN, LID 211 w 2n 

EN BN. HW OF OD OD 

Dlvlslon 

EN BN, HW ERI 2013 ' 20R7 19R7 

EN CO, ACR 

EN CO, LTACR 

EN CO, HSB 

312 

010 

115 

Ofl I yi 

EN CO, SIB 

I 

214 

040 

414 

i

1 211 

ino 

3/15 

ino 

311 4 

110 

Corps 

I 

i

1 

I 

EN co, csE 

EN co, LT EQUIP 

EN, CO, LT EQUIP 

6/15 

110 

1 

i 

7130 

ID 

1R 

EN CO,MGB 

EN BN. CBT HV? 

PRIME POWER BN 

Above Carps 1 

HHC, TOPO BN 

EN CO, TOPO 

EN CO CSC 

I 

(

1 

EN CO, PORT CONSTR 

EN CO. PIPELINE 

EN CO. DUMP TRUCK 

1 

1 

113 

014 

1 

1 

113 

OB 

1 014 

OD 

1

I ENCOM 

BDE, TA 

1 012 

1114 

1

1 OR 04 

1 012 

Command 

and Control GROUP, EAC 

BDE, CORPS 

; GROUP, CBT 

/ BDE. DIV / 8/0 I 8" 1 8/1 

Table 2 

46 Engineer April 
Engineer Divisional Force -

The Active Component engineer force will 

JL consist of 10 d&ions: six heavy, one airborne, one air assault, and two light. Each of 

these divisions will have three active brigades; 

they will not have the round-up or round-out 

reserve brigades they have today. The engineer 

support programmed for each division will be: 

- Six heavy divisions - one engineer headquarters and headquarters detachment 

(HHD) and three engineer battalions 

- One airborne division - one engineer battalion 

- One air assault division - one engineer 

battalion 

- Two light divisions - one engineer battalion 

per division 

In addition to the divisional units, there will 

be one armored cavalry regiment, one light armored cavalry regiment, and one heavy separate brigade, each with an engineer wmpany 

for support, as they are eonfigured today 

The National Guard force structure will consist 

of 15 enhanced brigades and eight divisions. The 

15 enhanced brigades will consist of: 

- Seven heavy brigades - one engineer battalion 

(heavy division) per brigade 

- Seven light brigades - one engineer wmpany 

(separate infantry brigade) per brigade 

- One armored cavalry regiment - one engineer 

company (armored cavalry regiment). 

The enhanced brigades will be authorized 5 percent above their personnel strength. Ten of the 15 

brigades will have training aff~liations with active 

brigades and should be equipped in the same priority as their active counterparts. The pal of the enhanced brigades is to be mobilized, trained and prepared for deployment within 90 days. If these 

brigades are realigned to a divisional structure, the 

command and control will come from the eight National Guard Division headquarters. 

In addition to the 15 enhanced brigades, the National Guard will retain the eight divisions they have 

today. However, the type of the divisions will change to: 

- Four heavy divisions - one HHD and three engineer battalions 

- Three medium divisions - one engineer battalion per division 

- One light division - one engineer battalion 

Engineer CS AND CSS Requirements 

Abat service support (CSS) structures ret this time, the wmbat support (CS) and wmquired for the 18 divisions are unknown. However, 

the eight National Guard divisions will not be programmed CS or CSS orgznizations because that 

Current and Future Engineer Force Structures 

current (rAA 01) - Active Natlonal Guard 

8 - Heayr Dlvlalona 7 - Heavy Dlvlslons 

1 - Alrborne Dlvlslon 1 - Ught Dlvlslan 

1 - Alr Assault Dlvlslon 

2 - Llght Dlvlslons 

Future (TAA 03) - Actlve Natlonal Guard 

6 - Heavy Dlvlslons 15 - Enhanced Brigades 

1 - Airborne Dlvlslon 7 Heavy 

7 Llght 1 -Air Assault Dlvlsion 1 ACR 

2 - Ught Dlvlslons 4 - Heavy Dlvlslons 

3 - Medlum Dlvlslons 

1 - Llght Dlvlslon 

structure will already be in place. These requirements will not be determined until Phase 111 of 

TAA 2003 is completed. 

Future Planning 

The Engineer - School is now preparing for TAAL 2003, which begins this fall. ~umerous conferences are scheduled with "key engineer players" 

who represent the Combined Arms Center, CINCs, 

Chief of Engineers, and ODSCOPS. The school's 

mission is to ensure that the allocation rules applied adequately reflect engineer doctrine and that 

the 'Yight mix" of engineer forces will be available 

to support future Army requirements. Decisions 

concerning that structure will be made throughout 

1995 as the programmed force evolves and is modelled. Since the TAA process never ends, our senior 

leaden will continue to modify the engineer force 

structure to support the Army's response to the 

changing threats to our nation's security. kI 

Mr MalIey is a military equipment and personnel analyst 

in the Directorate of Combat Developments, U.S.Army 

Engineer School. Before retiring fmm the Army, he held 

positions in engineer, armor, and infantry units. Mr MaL 

ley holds a master's degree from Webster University. 

End Notes 

' The Bottom-Up Renew, 1September 1993, page 1-2. 

Army Command, Leadership, and Managment, 1992- 

1993, pages 11-12. 

Ibid, pages 10-11 and 10-12. 

Ibid, pages 11-12, 11-13, and 11-14. 

The Bottom-Up Review, 1Sep 93, page 5. 

Ibid, 17. 

Ibid, page 14. 

April 1994 Engineer 47 
Past in Review -- - - - 

By Dr. Martin Reuss* 

-"he 1993 midwest flood 

. .ranks among the most 

catastrophic disasters in our nation's histoly, shattering previous 

stage and discharge records on 

major portions of the Mississippi 

and Missouri Rivers. More than 

500 Corps employees were involved in the flood response, and 

the agency supplied 31 million 

sandbags and Ioaned 430 pumps 

to local interests. Along with 

other federal and nonfederal 

agencies, the Corps helped drain 

flooded areas, conducted damage 

surveys, and inspected and repaired levees. 

As impressive as the Corps' 

capability to respond to disasters 

such as the midwest flood is now, 

this mission was not envisioned by 

early champions of the Corps. Instead, it evolved after Congress 

and the public recognized that the 

Corps' organization and capabilities made the agency a valuable 

resource that was tailor-made to 

meet the urgent demands brought 

on by calamitous disasters. 

ome federal legislation was 

passed to alleviate the distress caused by several disasters 

prior to the Civil War, including 

the loan of naval vessels to 

transport private, charitable contributions to the famine-stricken 

people of Ireland. But direct federal participation in disaster assistance really began in 1865, at 

the close of the Civil War, when 

the government helped freedmen 

(freed blacks) of the south survive flooding along the Mississippi River. Once disaster relief 

had been given to one group, it 

became legally and ethically difficult for members of Congress to 

oppase extending similar assistance to others. 

The Bureau of Freedmen administered the first federal 

1

The Cambrla Iron Works 

warehouse shows debrls 

resulting from the 1889 

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 

flood. 
Refugees and livestock retreat on a levee apposite the lower end of Island 8, near Hlckman, Kentucky, during 

the 1912 Mlsslsslppl Rlver flood. 

disaster-relief program from 1865 flood of 1889, which killed 2,209 Engineers replaced the Quarterto 1872, and then the Army Quar- people, the government used engi- , master Corps as the primary adtermaster Corps became respon- I neer troops for the first time for ministrative agency for federal 

sible for this slowly expanding emergency disaster relief. In this disaster relief During that period 

responsibility The Corps of Engi- 1 effort, troops cleaned up debris the engineers conducted a workneers, however, with men and and built temporary pontoon relief program that foreshadowed 

equipment stationed along the in- bridges. The special training and activities of the "alphabet" agenland rivers, was the best suited 1 experience of the engineers soon cies that developed during the Defederal agency to perform rescue I brought other disaster-relief mis- pression years. 

and relief work during flood disas- sions: preparing damage surveys, In 1917, the Army reorganized 

ters. Consequently, although the placing temporary bridges, and its disaster-relief responsibilities 

Quartermaster Corps retained fighting civil conflagrations. and assigned command and conoverall administrative control, the Those missions were assigned to trol during disaster situations to 

execution of relief operations the Corps by the President, the 1 department or corps area comduring floods became the Corps' Secretary of War, and Army De- , manders. The engineers retained 

responsibility The Corps of Engi- partment commanders. their responsibility for the preserneers performed its first disaster- vation of navigation channels and 

relief mission during the Missis- flood-control structures, but dursippi River flood of 1882, when I . .,::<I I-Iy l.$?{!?.s ing the rescue, relief, and recovery 

they supported Quartermaster v7 , phases of disasters both the engiCorps efforts to rescue people and I he engineerj believed that neers and the quartermasters 

property. Congress also directed . disaster relief, as adminis- acted in support of the American 

the Corps t,o distribute Quarter- tered by the Quartermaster Red Cross. 

master Corps' supplies during Corps, hampered flood fights and Some disasters exceeded even 

flood disasters. had other unfortunate conse- theRedCross'resourcesandcapaThus, by the late 19th century, quences. After 1913, the engi- bilities. To facilitate relief for 

the words "flood fight" automat- neers proposed substituting8 "no those disasters, the Executive 

ically produced in the minds of the work, no rations" policy, or work Branch began in 1927 to appoint 

public a vision of A~my engineers relief, for disaster victims in- federal disaster-assistance coordidirecting men heaving thousands stead of free rations distribution, nators, who supervised the activiof sandbagx into place or steaming and in 19 16 Congress gave the ties of the Red Cross, the Corps of 

up bayous to pick people out of engineers an opportunity to im- Engineers, the Quartermaster 

treetops.IntheaRennathoftheonta- plement that new policy. For a i Corps, and all other interested 

strophic Johnstown, Pennsylvania short time, in 1916, the Corps of federal agencies. During the 

April 1994 Engineer 49 
A7th Army soldier clears Highway 83, near Mlnot. North Dakota, during Operation Snowbound, in 1949. 


More than 6,000 snowfighters cleared 115,WOmiles of snow-blocked roads in that operation. 


Depression years, disaster-relief 2,000 Corps ofEngineers personnel, 1 officers in 1950 thought the entire 

efforts were also strengthened by including 807 Army officers and federaldisaster-assistancepmgram 

manpower supplied by such agen- more than 4,000 antractor employ- shouldbecomeanengineermission, 

ciesas the Works Progress Admini- ee;.Lieutenant General Lewis Pick, just as it had been in 1916. 

stration and the Civilian Conser- the Chief of Engineers, had used 394 The Army General Staff, howvation Corps. bulldozers during the peak con- ever, fearing that disaster-relief 

strudion period on the Ledo Road work might interfere with na1940s and Beyond between India and Bum during tional defense responsibilities, did 

World War 11. During Operation not approve of involving the Army 

mhe engineers improved their Snowbound, he put 1,320 bulldoz- in what they viewed as a civil func- 

- - disaster responses after the ers to work. In that operation, tion. Nevertheless, undertheFedextensive 1937 floods by initiating Corps efforts succeeded in opening era1 Disaster Relief Act of 1950, 

emergency operations planning. 1 115,000 miles of road, providing the Corps of Engineers preserved 

This initiative resulted in a per- supply access to more than 243,000 its role as the leading federal 

ceptible improvement in readin- people, and providing access to agency during flood disasters, and i and a new aggressiveness in feed for more than 4 million live- other governmental relief agenreaching disaster sites and fur- stock. Operation Snowbound was cies learned that they could rely on 

nishing needed relief. That plan- the first disaster-assistance mis- the Corps of Engineers to respond 

ning reaped important benefits sion for which Army Commenda- in its customam '73ssayons"spirit. 

during World War 11, when it be- tion Ribbons were awarded. Of the 

came necessary to use engineer six enlisted men thus distin- *Note This article is largely 

troops and prisoners of war for guished, two (Corporals John Don- based on, and omsionally paraflood fights and other disaster op- phrasas, an unpublished manuscript 

erations. Their readiness was also 

nelly and Melvin Shoemaker) by Leland R. Johnson, Tmerpncy were from the Corps of Engineers. Response: thehy Engineer Di- apparent during such post-war By 1950, the Corps of Engineers 	 ter Relief Mission, Origitls to 1950." disasters as the 1947 Texas City had an established reputation for The manuscript is in the ram& ml- explosion, which killed 512 people swift and effective response. The 

and injured 1,784, and during Op- Corps' geographic organization 	 lections of the Office of History, 

Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of eration Snowbound in 1949. and special training had brought 	 Engineers, Arlington, Vinia. - " Operation Snowbound, the first the amnw a wide varietv of disassnow-removal emerpncy for the ter-relief missions, and Army engi- DI:Martin Reuss is a senior historian Corps, covered most of the states neers had built on that experience in the Office of History, Headquarters, in the Missouri River watershed. to improve their emergency readi- U.S. Amy Colps of Engineers, AhEventually it involved nearly ness and response. Some engineer andria, Erginin. 

50 Engineer 	 April 1994 
\ -

'

I ENGINEER UPDATE 

Commercial numbers are (314 553 ~xx and Defense System Neboh (OSN) numbers are 6\8-~~ unless othewise noted. 

Directorate of Training (DOT) New Director Welcomed. We welcomed LTC Thomas J. 

Hodgini, our new director, in March. LTC Hodgini previously 

served as Chief, Force Integration Division, Directorate of 

Combat Developments, at the Engineer School. LTC Hodgini 

may be reached at -4093. 

Engineer Officer Advanced Course (EOAC). Students 

attending EOAC classes now receive 80 hours of training on 

Janus computer simulations, double that received previously, 

so they can conduct both an offensive and defensive exercise. 

This "hands-on" tactics exercise requires students to perform 

the roles of the combined arms task force staff. The objective 

is to reinforce tactics instruction and prepare students for future simulation warfighters like the Battle Command Training 

Program. POCs are MAJ Susan Myers or SFC Samuel 

Campo, -4124. 

Directorate of Cornbat Developments Concept Evaluation Program (CEP). The Engineer 

School is the proponent of three CEPs in FY 94: the Assault (DCD) 	 Breach Marking System, the Command PostIBunker; and 

Multi-Spectral Camouflage Systems for Mobile Equipment. 

The CEP is a Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) 

program that provides quick, innovative testing to resolve 

training and combat development issues. Proponents such as 

the Engineer School use the program to refine materiel requirements or determine the operational and training potential 

of new materiel. Nonmaterial applications, such as testing of 

doctrine or organizations, is limited to instances where confirmed troop support is available from another Major Command. The CEP is not intended to circumvent normal testing 

requirements of the materiel acquisition process and is not 

planned as the primary test to support a production decision. 

The process is initiated each July, when proponents submit 

CEP candidates to the appropriate Battle Lab for review, validation, and forwarding to HQ TRADOC. A review committee 

meets in August to prioritize the candidates and determine 

which will be funded. POC is CPT Chris Newton, -4082. 

Directorate of Evaluation and Operations Other Than War (OOTW) After Actlon 

Standardization (DOES) 	 Report Engineer obsewations from OOTW will be described 

in an AAR to be distributed in May. The AAR provides recommendations to help engineer units improve on-going training 

readiness and leadership development. It includes hurricane. 

earthquake, and flood recovery operations as well as humanitarian assistance in Somalia and nation assistance in Central 

America. Comments are welcome. To provide information or 

receive additional copies, write: USAES, Attn: ATSE-ESA, Fort 

Leonard Wood, MO 65473-6630. POC is Vern Lowrey, -4007. 
Post-Fielding Training Effective Analysis (PFTEA) for 

the Armored Combat Earthmover (M9 ACE). Emerging 

results from the PFTEA indicate that units with high operational 

readiness rates on the M9-ACE exhibit common 

characteristics: 

8 	 High level of supervision over ACE operations. 

8 	The level of supervision increases as the amount of ACE 

operation time increases. 

8 	ACE operators with less than 12 months of experience are 

supervised more than other operators. 

8 	ACES are used in teams not as single units. 

8 	 New equipment training is given and reinforced for both 

operators and mechanics. 

The bottom line is that supervision is the key to maintaining 

a high operational readiness rate for the M9-ACE. A final report is scheduled for publication this summer. POC is Peggy 

McAvenia, -4009. 

New Director Welcomed. We welcomed James G. Engineer Branch Safety Office 

Runge, our new director, in February. Mr. Runge came to us 

from the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Management District North Central, in Chicago. He is a sergeant major 

in the Army Reserve, serving in the office of the DCSOP, 86th 

USARCOM. Mr. Runge may be reached at -4024. 

Explosives and Demolitions. The best way to avoid accidents on demolition ranges is to have properly trained and certified range personnel, be in compliance with minimum safe 

distance requirements, and perform to standards. Standards 

for using explosives and demoliiions are in AR 385-63 and FM 

5-250. POC is Paul Rusinko, -4024. 

Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 12C, Bridge Engineer Personnel PrOpOnenCy 

Crewmen. Women bridge builders will soon be assigned to Office (EPPO) 12C positions in divisional engineer brigade headquarters, medium girder bridge companies, and assault float bridge companies. MG Ballard, Commandant of the Engineer School, has 

approved opening MOS 12C to female soldiers. MOS 122 

(Combat Engineering Senior Sergeant) was also opened to females in the headquarters company of engineer battalions and 

above (brigade, corps, etc.) to allow for career progression. 

POC is MSG Tom Crow, -4087. 
-	 BRIDGE THE GA 


By Command Sergeant Major Roy L Burns, Jr, 

U.S.Army Engineer School 

Khe theme for this year's Senior Engineer Leaders Training Conference (SELTC) is 'Versatility 

and the New Strategic Era." The Corps of Engineers 

is growing, not in greater numbers but through "progressive development." This is the projected vision of 

the Engineer School's Commandant. 

For those senior leaders who attend, conference 

speakers will reveal the future of the Engineer Corps, 

concentrating in three key areas: training, processeslsystems, and personnel. Our goal is to involve Active 

and Reserve Components equally in all activities. It will 

be the responsibility of those who attend to take the information back to their units and disseminate it to the 

lowest levels. Major topics to be discussed follow. 

Training. This is the cornerstone of readiness and 

the basis for our Army's credible deterrence and capable defense. Training is the means by which engineer 

soldiers and leaders develop their warfighting proficiency and exercise the collective capabilities they 

will require in combat. My goal at the conference is to 

involve each senior NCO leader in a review ofI	The individual critical task list for the combat and 

sustainment engineer military occupational specialties (MOS), for Career Management Fields 

(CMFs) 12, 51, and 81. 

I 	The programs of instruction (POI) for the Basic 

Non-Commissioned Officer Course. The Pols reflect the learning activities to be implemented to 

train, in resident, those tasks within subject areas 

outlined in MOS training plans for the three CMFs. 

Army leaders must ensure that the individual tasks 

taught at both resident and unit levels support our collective mission essential task lists (METLs). We cannot afford to waste valuable training dollars on training that does not support engineer missions. Training 

dollars are shrinking, and we must judiciously follow 

the principles outlined in FM 25-100 and FM 25-1 01 

in all resident and unit training. 

Processes/Systems. Some of the processes and 

systems to be discussed at the SELTC include the 

Battle Lab process, the new heavy assault bridge 

(HAB) and the new breacher. 

Battle Labs provide a framework for merging new 

technologies with requirements. Networking is a key 

component of the Battle Lab concept. The labs are 

April 1994 

linked electronically and ailow us to control change, 

direct it, and guide it for our benefit. The Battle Labs 

allow us to refocus the Army's modernization efforts 

from a stove-piped, proponent-oriented process to a 

horizontal process that simultaneously addresses several systems. The Battle Lab process encourages innovation and benefits the entire Army. 

The mobility capabilities of combat engineers will increase with the procurement of two new systems. 

The Heavy Assault Bridge (HAB) is scheduled for 

fielding in the 1st quarter of FY 99. The Breacher, 

also called the "Grizzly." is scheduled for fielding in 

the 4th quarter of FY 99. These systems will add new 

meaning to the term "battlefield mobility." 

Personnel. Personnel issues to be discussed include operational assignments, institutional training, 

and self-development. 

Operational assignments are the catalyst for leader 

development. Senior leaders play a critical role in the 

development of our junior leaders. Therefore, we 

must ensure that unit leader development programs 

meet the needs of both our organizations and our junior leaders. This is accomplished through varied assignments and METL-based training. 

Institutional training, the formal resident training 

conducted in the Army Schools System, also is critical to leader development. Senior leaders must seek 

opportunities to send their soldiers to competitive institutional training, such as the Primary Leader Development Course, the Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Courses, and the Battle Staff Course. 

These courses benefit both the unit and the individual 

soldier. 

Self-development programs enhance the soldier's 

overall professional competency. For it to be effective, senior leaders and their soldiers must share responsibility for maintaining and increasing proficiency. 

Senior leaders must determine where soldiers are 

along their career path and help them design a meaningful plan for future development. Their plan should 

include professional reading, correspondence courses 

and civilian education. 

The senior leaders who attend the 1994 SELTC 

should come prepared to share their professional 

views on the future of the Corps of Engineers and 

our Commandant's vision. His vision will take us into 

the year 2000 and beyond, and we must support it. 

Engineer 53 
.-? -sa-l i. .-"i ,*I1 

: -*.. . s f*...

.... - 9 . ., 

If *.