THE M AG AZI NE FOR ARMY ENGINEERS
 

FALL 1980 

/~ .. 

, ,1'iI c.<;'irUi,f,... 

., Digging More Effective 

-.f Tank & TOW 

(;!.t!Jj Defensive Positions 
UNITED STATES ARMY 

ENGINEER CENTER 

AND FORT BELVOIR 

COMMANDER/COMMANDANT 

MG Max W. Noah 

CHIEF OF STAFF/DEPUTY 

INSTALLATION COMMANDER 

COL Thomas M. McClelland 

ASSISTANT COMMANDANT 

COL Robert M. Bunker 

COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR 

CSM Frederick I. Eisenbart, Jr. 

DIRECTORATES 

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING 

LTC Stan ley R. Johnson 

DIRECTORATE OF COMBAT 

DEVELOPMENTS 

COL Philip R. Hoge 

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING 

DEVELOPMENTS 

COL John W. Devens 

DIRECTORATE OF EVALUATION 

MAJ(P) Terrance C. Ryan 

UNITS 

ENGINEER TRAINING BRIGADE 

COL James H. King, Jr. 

ENGINEER CENTER BRIGADE 

COL David O. Cooksey 

EDITOR 

Jerome J. Hill 

STAFF WRITER 

SPS Mary Vitek . 

ILLUSTRATORS 

Bill Ruth
 

Alma Thaxton
 

Ron Perkins
 

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER 

MAJ Sandor I. Ketzis 

THE COVER 

. Better concealment and greater Englneer

killing effectiveness of antitank 

weapons are possible by digging 

defensive pos itions deeper and 

facing them alternately left and 

right to take advantage of flan k 

shots , as illustrated on the cover 

by Ron Perkins . For details, see 

Captain Eric T. Mogren's article 

beginn ing on page 10. 
E - PC:? nglneer
 _____________ _ _ _ _ .:...: T.:...: Hc::E....:-M.:..:;AGAZINE FOR ARMY ENGINEERS

lJOLUME: 10 FALL 1980 NUMDE:R J 

FEATURES 

10 DIGGING MORE EFFECTIVE TANK & TOW DEFENSIVE POSITIONS 

by Captai n Eric T. Mogren 

13 PROJE CT KRYPTONITE 

by Captain Norman G. Comstock 

16 THE DIVISION ENGINEER IN THE GERMAN ARMY 

by Lieutenant Colonel Juergen M. Erbe page 13 

18 THE TERRAIN ANALYSIS CENTER 

by Captain David R. Gallay 

20 THE 20TH ENGINEER BRIGADE 

24 ROAD CRATERS- TECHNICAL & TACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

by Captain Robert D. Volz 

32 THE NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER 

by CSM (Ret) Johnny W. Greek 

DEPARTMENTS 

4 NEWS & NOTES 38 ENLISTED CAREER INFO 

8 FORUM 39 THE SCHOOL SOLUTION
 

35 ENGINEER PROBLEM 40 OFFICER CAREER INFO
 

36 RESERVE CO MPONENTS
 

ENGINEER IS an autho riz ed publi cation of t he US Arm y Engineer Cent er an d Fort Belvoir , VA , Unl ess sp ecifically stated , mat erial app earin g 

herein does not necess ari ly rel lec t offi ci al poli cy , trun kmq , or endo rsement by any age ncy of th e US Arm y All phot og raph s contained he rein 

are o lhc tal US Army phot ogr aph s un less otherw ise cred ited . Use of funds fo r printing this pu blica tio n was appro ve d by Hea dquarter s , De part · 

ment 0 1 th e Army , on Febr uary 23. 1979 Mat eri al herein may be repri nted if c redit IS gi ven to ENGINEER and th e au th or . • ENGINEER 

OBJECTIVES are to provid e a foru m for the exc hange of idea s, to inform and motivate , and to promot e th e prot essi onat dev elo pment o f all 

mem ber s 0 1 the Arm y enq mee r fami ly . 

• DIRECT CORRESPONDENCE wit h ENG INEE R IS au thon zed and en co uraged . Inqu iries, le tters to the aortor. manuscript s, phot ographs, 

an d general correspo ndence sh oul d be sent to : Edit or . ENGINEER Ma gaZine, US Arm y Engine er Cente r, For t 8 el voir, VA 22060 Teleph on e 

AUT OVON 354- 500 1 or Co mmercial 703 -66 4,3 082/5001 If a return of manu scripts or mat erial IS d es rrec, a s elt-addressed stam ped enve lo pe 

is requited . • SUBSCRIPTIONS to ENGINEE R are ava ila ble through th e Supe rintende nt of Docum ent s , US Governm ent Printing Offi c e, 

Washington , D.C 2040 2 . A check or money orde r, payable to Superintend ent of Docum ents. mu st accompany all subscripti on re qu ests . 

Subsc riptio n rates are $5 50 for domestic (includ ing AP O and FPO) addr esses , and $6 90 fo r for eign add resse s. Individual copies are avarlab le at $3 25 per copy for domestic addr esses and $ 4 10 for fo reign addr esses . • CONTROLLED CIRCULATION postag e paid at W ashington , 

D.C. 
NEWS,8z: NOTES
 

NEW CHIEF OF ENGINEERS 

Lieutenant General Joseph K. Bratton will 

become the Army 's 45th Chief of Engineers on 

October I . He will succeed Lieutenant Gen eral 

John W , Morris, who retires September 30 . 

Bratton has served as Deputy Chief of Engineers 

since August I , He was the division engineer of 

the Corps of Engineers' South Atlantic Division at 

Atlanta, GA , prior to August l. 

Bratton's command assignments have included 

the 24th Engineer Battalion with the 4th Armored 

Division in Europe, and the 159th Engineer Group 

in Vietnam. 

His staff assignments have included director of 

military application for the Department of Energy; 

chief of nuclear activities, Supreme Headquarters , 

USAREUR; executive to the Supreme Allied 

Command in Europe; secretary to the Joint Chiefs 

of Staff; and military assistant to the Secretary of 

the Army. 

He has also served in the War Plans Division. 

Plans Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of 

Staff for Military Operations; and with the 

Division of Reactor Development, Atomic Energy 

Commission . 

2
 

ENGINEER HOTLINE 

The US Army Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, 

VA , has a telephone HOTLINE to help provide 

answers for specific Army Engineer problems in 

the field . If you experience problems related to 

engineer doctrine, TOE organization, MOS, 

equipment , manuals, training and/or training development, call the HOTUNE number, AUTOVON 354-3646 or COMMERCIAL 703-664-3646 . 

A recorded message will ask you to identify yourself by name , unit, unit address, and unit telephone number. Then you will be required to identify the subject area of your problem and state the 

problem as clearly as possible . Subject matter experts within The Engineer School will then be 

contacted about your problem and return your call . 

HOTLINE has responded to an average of about 

20 calls a month during the last year. If you have a 

problem, call the Engineer HOTLINE . 

WEST POINT WOMEN CHOOSE ENGINEERS 

The first women to graduate from the United States 

Military Acad emy at We st Point include six engineers 

currently enrolled in the Engineer Officer Basi c Course 

at The Engineer School , Fort Belv oir , VA . They were 

among the 61 women commissioned as second lieutenants during graduation ceremo nie s at West Po int in 

June . The six pr ecedent-setting engineer lieutenants include Brigid Benya, Bobbi L. Fiedler, Kathleen M . 

Gerard , Clare Kirb y. Debra M . Merriken, and Caro l A . 

Young . Benya and Kirby have been assigned to the 

130th Engineer Brigade , US AREUR, foll owing EOBC, 

while Young has been assi gned to the 7th Engi necr 

Brigade , USAR EUR . The other three will report to 

stat eside commands foll owing completi on of EOBCFiedl er to the 937(h Engineer Group , Fort Riley, KS : 

Gerard to the 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg , NC ; 

and Merriken 10 the 36th Engineer Group , Fort Ben ­

ning , GA . 
NOAH SUCCEEDS KELLY 

Maj or Gen eral Ma x W . Noah has 

succeede d Major Gen er al James L. 

Kell y as Commanding Ge neral of the 

Army Eng ineer Ce nter a nd 

Commandant of the US Army En ­

ginee r Scho ol at Fort Belvoir, VA . 

MG Kelly retires from active service 

on September 30 aft er a distinguished 

30- year military career. 

Noah la st served as Div ision 

Engi neer for the Cor ps of Eng ineers' 

Huntsvill e Div ision in Huntsvill e , 

He was previ ou sly assigned to 

Arm y Trainin g and Doctrine 

Co mmand at Fort Monroe, VA. as 

Chi ef of Staff for Resource 

Ma nage me nt. 

MG Noah is a 195 3 gradua te of the
 

US Military Ac adem y at West Point.
 

1958 he recei ved a master ' s de­


in electrical engineering at Pur­


due Univer sity. He also is a graduate
 

Army Comm and and General
 

St aff Co llege, the Arm y War Col­


and the In st itut e of Defen se
 

Analys is . 

MG Noah 's 27-y ea r military c are er 

two tours in Korea 

( 1954-55 . 1973· 74), a tour as chi ef 

of operations for the 18th Enginee r 

Brigade in Vietn am ( 1966-67) , and a 

tour as co mma nde r of the 307th Airborne Engineer Batt alion , 82nd Airborne Division , at Fort Bragg, NC 

( 1968-70). 

US 

MG 

AL. 

the US 

Deputy 

In 

gree 

of the 

lege , 

inc l udes 

Th e Greens boro , NC, native is a 

regi ster ed pr of essi onal e ng inee r in 

the state of Ne w York . 

co ed

SOLDIERS EARN OLYMPIC MEDALLIONS 

Display ing official Olympic med alli ons they received for the ir part 

in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid , NY , are SP6 Clark 1. Heinkel , SFC Joseph T. Tcnschert , and SP6 Marshall R . Thacker. All 

three are members of Team C, 535 th Engineer Detachment, Fort 

Eustis, VA . They assisted in providing backup electrical power at 

La ke Placid in Febru ary. Th eir per form ance also earned them certifi cate s of apprec iatio n from the Secre tary of Defense. 

NEW BORE CLEANER 

A ne w product, now available to unit s throu gh the national military supply system, not only breaks loose grit , rust , salt, etc., from 

metal surfaces but also lubric ates and preser ves them by providing a 

long-l astin g thin film prote ctive coating . Th is new product , called 

Break-Free CLP (cle aner-lubricant-prese rva tive), is produced by the 

SAN/BAR Co rporatio n of Santa Ana, CA . 

Break-Free was first used to clean primer ve nt holes, which ordinarily clog up with hard re sidue after seven or eig ht rounds, requiring the U5e of a mechani cal reamer. Not only did the so lution do the 

cleaning , but it also ex tended the time for the nex t cleaning to 17 or 

18 roun ds. 

Th e moi sture-di spl acing fi lm dep o sit ed by the Teflon-based 

Break-Free comp ound is less lik ely to break down und er heat and 

pressure as hav e other oils and lu bric ant s. Nor doe s it attract dust, 

grit, and powd er re sidue, a principal limitation of oth er lubricants 

and penetratin g oils. 

ENGINEER
 3
 
News & Notes
 ", M 
ENGINEER COURSE 

T he Engi nee r A rmy Corresp onde nce 

Co urse Program has mov ed to Newpo rt 

New s, VA . Inqu iries an d applicatio ns 

conc e rn ing no n-re sr den t in stru ct io n 

sho uld be add re ssed to the Institute for 

Professi on al Dev e lopme nt , US Army 

T rai n i ng S upp ort Ce n t e r , New po rt 

News , VA 2362 8 . 

COLD WEATHER TRAINING 

Member s of Co mpany A . 7th Eng inee r Battali on, 5th Infa ntry D ivi sion (Mc c h), 

offload rail ca rs at Fort Drum , NY, d uri ng exerc ise "Winter Raider 80" last win ter . 

Company A person nel and eq uipment we re deplo yed to Fort Dru m with the 1st 

Brigade of the 5th Infantry for cold wea ther training . T he P&H crane above unloaded 

mor e tha n 200 co nexes and engi ne crates d uri ng the deplo ym ent and repe ated tha t 

performance d uri ng the redeplo yme nt. (US Army pho to by ILT Mat thew P . Sa itta) 

CODE·A-PHONE FOR ACCP 

T he Arm y Institute fo r Profe ssional 

Dev el opm en t ma intai ns a 24 hour 

Co de -A -Pho ne se r vice o n A UT O· 

VON 9 27 -30 85 . T h is lin e may be 

u s e d b y an y i n d iv i d ua l h a v in g 

q ues t io n s ab o ut the Arm y Corre ­

spo ndence Co urse Program or se rvices per for med by the In sti tut e for 

Professio nal Dev elopmen t , the Arm y 

m an a g er of th e A rm y C orre ­

spon de nce Co urse Pro gram . 

ESSAYONS RETIRED 

Th e Army Eng i nee rs 

hopper dredg e ESSAYONS, 

which helped clear the S uez 

Canal of da mage suffe red in 

the 1956 wa r , was re ti red 

last Spr ing . T he vessel , the 

fl agship o f the US A rmy 

Corps of Enginee rs dr edge 

fl ee t. took pa rt in man y 

epochal engin eering e ven ts 

in bo th co ntine ntal U nited 

St ate s a nd for ei gn wat er s . 

Its na me is the malta of the 

C o r p s . wh ich tr an sl at ed 

fr o m th e Fren ch , me an s 

" Let u s try . " Co m mi s ­

s ioned Ja n uary 16 , 195 0 . 

after be ing co mpleted at the 

S un Shi pyards in Chester , 

PA , it was the largest in the 

Co rps fleet. wi th a le ngth of 

52 5 fee l. lrs capac ity was 

8 , 270 c ub ic ya rds a nd it s 

speed while loaded was 12 

sta tute miles pe r hou r. The 

plac e a t th e he ad of th e 

Co rps dr edge fleet vacated 

by the ESSAYONS will be 

fi l led b y a mo dern large 

cl ass hopper d red ge under 

co ns truc t io n in N e w O r ­

l ea ns . C hief o f E ng inee rs 

Lieut e nant Ge neral Jo hn W . 

Morri s . sa id the ESS AYONS was re tired because 

th e dr edg in g ind ustry ha s 

demon strated an a bili ty to 

t a k e o ve r m o re of the 

work load wh ich previously 

has been acco mpl ish ed with 

Co rps o f Engi neers equi pment. T he Co rps is phas ing 

o ut the older dredg es in the 

Co rps fl e e t a s indu stry ' s 

d redg i ng ca pa bi l i ty in ­

creases. 
FIGHTING VEHICLES 

The M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) and the M3 

Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) will replace the M 113 

Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in mechanized infantry 

and armored cavalry/scout units beginning next year. Officials say the fighting vehicles are perfect companions for 

the new XM I "Abrams " Tank . The IFY will be the first 

US combat vehicle that provides infantrymen with the 

ability for a mounted attack. The IFV and CFV have 

numerous advantages over the APC. A combination of en ­

gine performance , power train efficiency , and improved 

suspension increases their battlefield mobility . They have a 

top road speed of 41 mph, a cruising range of 300 miles 

while loaded for combat at 48,000 pounds, and the Cummins four-cycle turbo-charge engine can power each vchic le from zero to 30 mph in about 19 seconds. The 

hydro-mechanical transmission allows the driver of ea ch 

vehicle to operate in a variety of terrain . With a stabilized 

25mm cannon. 7.62mm coaxial M240 machine gun. and 

TOW antitank guided missile system , the fighting vehicles 

have more firepower than the APC. Also, the fFY has six 

ball -mounted XM231 5. 56mm firing port weapons. Other 

improvements include the fighting vehicles's .. swimming" 

ability, increased armor protection for the crews, and the 

advanced automatic Halon fire extinguisher system located 

in the engine and crew compartments. About 7 ,000 fighting vehicles have been programmed for production over the 

next few years. 

UNIT CONSOLIDATION 

Two battalions of the Engineer Training Brigade (ETB) 

at Fort Belvoir, VA , were consolidated into one battalion in August for the purpose of more effectively 

utilizing assigned personnel and equipment. The 1st and 

4th Battalions were consolidated under the command of 

LTC John A. Knutzen on August 8. The reorganized 1st 

Battalion now consists of a headquarters company and 

three student companies. In addition to providing cornmand and control , admini strati on , and logistical support 

for assigned and attached personnel, the Ist Battalion 

also provides Advanced Individual Training and skill 

level instruction in MOS 35E, 52C , 520, and Maintenance Management. The Engineer Training Brigade at 

Fort Belvoir is now composed of the I st and 3rd Battalions , a Noncommissioned Officer Engineer School 

Detachment, and an Allied Student Support Detachmerit. 
t THUMBS UP , 

J.R.L.D. JAMES R.L.DUFF 

J
 

Jame s R. Du ff, a reti red Army engineer officer currently empl oyed at 

Fort Belv oir, VA , wrote " Thumbs Up! We 're the Fightin' Engineers" 

more than six years ago. Ever since then he has been campaigning to have 

it ado pted as the official mar ching song of the Corps of Engineers . without success. But Duffs campaign to gain official acceptance appears to 

be ga ining mom entum. Th e march was used for the first time during an 

official milit ary ce remony in August at Fort Belvoir. Duff will prov ide 

co pies of the tune to anyo ne who se nds him a stamped, self-addressed 

envelope . His mailing address is: Training Literature Divi sion, Directorate of Trai ning Devel op ments , Bu ilding 201 , Fort Belv oir, V A 22060. 
FORUM
 

Should Ethics Be Taught
 

in Army Service Schools?
 

Chaplain (MAJ) Stanley J. O'Loughlin 

ED I TO R'S NOTE: FORU M is a new section or " department" d esign ed 

to provide additional spac e f or the exp ression of professional views by 

Army engi neers worldw ide . It is hoped that eng ine er office rs. enlis ted 

personne l, and DA civili ans employed in Army engi neer related j obs will 

tak e advantag e of the opportunity to exp ress their views on doctrine . 

organizatio n, tactics , equipm ent. managem ent, tra ining , leadership. or 

any other subj ect with potential interest for soldiers in general. or engineers in pa rticular. What you have to say is the most imp ortant co nsideration. not ho w you say it or how much you say. 

Sho uld ethics be tau ght as part of the Course of 

Instructi on in Army service schoo ls ? Th is is an 

issue of co nsiderable discussion within most Army 

service sc hoo ls tod ay . Pre ssur e come s fro m above 

to ' ' do some thing . " The str ug g le rages in terms of 

how many hours to tea ch and from what academic 

di vi sion o r branch they they sho uld be taugh t. Th e 

op inio ns of stud ents are so d iverse as to be 

incon clusive. 

The issue of ethics is ce rt ainly a Jive one within 

the mi litary profession. jus t as it is among most 

profes sion s in our society . The cause may be 

fa llo ut fr om th e Watergate , My Lai, and 

co rporatio n sca nda ls. o r it may be merel y an issue 

whose tim e has co me . Neve rt heless, ethic s is an 

e xtremely co ntrove rsial iss ue th rou gh out our 

soc iety today . 

In recent years, several sig ni ficant surveys and 

studi es hav e been do ne within the Army and eac h 

gives indicati on that disturbi ng factor s ex ist. The 

mo st rece nt study . cond ucted at Fo rt Ca rso n in 

1971L seems to sugge st co ns ide ra ble co nfusio n 

abo ut what co nstit utes a rea lis tic mili tary eth ic and 

a tremend ou s va ria nce bet ween the percepti ons of 

junio r officer s as o pposed to the per ceptions of 

se nior o fficers. 

So , the issue of ethi cs is with the Army and 

there is ce rta in ly enough ev idence of se rio us, if 

not critical, concern s that mu st be co ns idered more 

co mple te ly . The question is . who should tack le the 

probl em . and ho w') 

I suggest that the Army se rv ice sc hool is the 

ideal age ncy to carry a sig nificant amo un t of th e 

respon sibilit y. Th e reason s are obv ious: 

- Over a three to four year per iod , usin g the 

mod el of the US Arm y Enginee r Sc hool, two 

who le generations of junior office rs and on e 

ge ne ratio n of seni or non commission ed officers 

attend The Enginee r Schoo l for one class or 

another . 

- The student is aJready in an aca de mi c 

atm o sphere in wh ich he/she i" expo sed to new and 

sig nic icant develo pme nts. 

- Gene rally . time and expertise are more 

a vai la ble within a se rvice sc hoo l env iro nme nt then 

in fie ld un its. 
Yet , a numb er of problem s exist whe n ethics is 

taught as part of a service schoo l Co urse of 

Instructi on : 

-How much time is availab le for teachin g 

ethics? Service schoo ls seem to have the unique 

ability to say things lik e, "Teach all that is 

sig nificant abo ut __ and do i 1 in one hou r. ' · A 

subject lik e ethics in the military requ ires at least 

four hou rs to minima lly ex pos e a student to the 

salie nt iss ues . 

- A scho ol atmosphe re is extremely sens iti ve to 

pressure from " stove piping." Ethics may be a 

" hot " issu e now, but a "cold" issue tomor row. 

Ethic s needs to be taught on the mer its of its ow n 

valid ity , and not becau se it is the newest nov elt y . 

- The danger exists that wha t is taugh t as ethics 

will re late only to the trivi al. Every school 

remembe rs the ethics clas ses tha t never got bey ond 

the issue s of taking go vern men t pens hom e and 

drinking coffee in the unit dining faci lity without 

payin g for a mea l. 

- Perhaps the greates t issue is the subjec t 

matter. Th ere is so muc h confusi on on the issue of 

ethics . How can something of relevance be taught') 

Having looked at the se diffi cul ties, the probl em 

of wheth er, when , and how to teach ethics 

rem ain s. At the US Army Eng inee r Sch ool we 

req uire each Adv anced Class officer and 

noncommissi oned office r to write a short pape r on 

an e thical issue they ha ve ex perienced . Th eir 

papers viv idly dem on strate the number and 

serio us ness of ethical dilemm as co nfron ting Army 

leaders today. as well as the confusi on 

surrounding an approp riate response. But mo st of 

all, we see the frus tra tio n and anger of the 

respo ndents who feel they have littl e guidance or 

under st andin g in these matt ers. 

Clea rly , the probl ems are rea l and urge nt. The 

se rvice schoo l, des pit e these problems , still 

re pres e nts the best sourc e of military ed ucation in 

ethics. Yet, we need to define the limits of our 

abilities to teach in an aca demic environment, and 

our goals in te aching . 

My suggestion is that the service schools can 

e liminate , or at least , minimize the co nfusion. Too 

ofte n, what one reads in milita ry publ ication s 

seems to indicate that our gene ration discovered 

ethics . In addition , ther e is no cla rification of 

ter ms. Do suc h word s as values, morals, and 

ethics mea n the same thing ? If an ethica l act is a 

moral act, who de termines the mo rality of it? Mo st 

misconception s stem fro m the basic resistance 

toward the study of ethics. 

Sure ly, one requirem en t of an ethics class is to 

sho w how the study of ethics is rooted in the 

fram ework of ethical philosophy. Th e stude nt must 

be aware that he/she has no more or less ethical 

options open to him/her than the phil osoph er di d 

300 , 500 , or eve n 2 ,500 years ago . It is from the 

same optio ns that current milit ary lead ers mu st 

make their dec isions . 

A second requ irem ent for an ethics c lass is to 

sens itize stude nts to the major ethica l issues in the 

Arm y today . Our findi ngs at Th e Engi nee r Sc hoo l 

indicate th at most students are not eve n aware tha t 

lyin g publicly to suppo rt a comma nder is a n 

e thical co nside ration . We ca nnot tell students that 

the re is only one corre ct decision for each 

situatio n , but we can hel p them be' aware of the 

possibl e co nseq ue nces of thei r decision s. 

A third requ irem ent for teachi ng ethics is to 

educate stude nts on resources av ailable to hel p 

the m make ethi cal decision s. Bibli ogr aph ies, 

handouts, and ref erence s are j ust som e of the 

possibl e sources . 

Finally, students ca n be taugh t basic skills in 

arr iving at an approp riate ethical decision . Th ese 

include the means of isolating a problem, 

weigh ing the effec ts of a give n decision , and 

sepa rati ng rat ionalizatio n from fact. 

In summary, it ca n be sa id that the US Army , 

refl ec ting society as a who le , is experienc ing a 

grea t deal of ethical co nf usion and co nce rn . The 

young military lead er indi ca tes in man y ways a 

need for ass istance in faci ng ethi ca l dilemmas. 

Despite numerous probl ems, Army service schools 

seem to be the ideal prop onent for instruction in 

ethics. 

Ethics instru ctio n sho uld : 

-clarify exi sti ng co nfusio n 

- sen sitize students to the major ethical 

consideratio ns at eac h grade level 

-provide guidance fo r fin di ng refere nce 

material 

- prov ide the basic sk ills and tec hni ques for 

ma ki ng ethica l decisions. 

Should ethics be ta ught in US Army se rvic e 

schools? Give n ade quate time and instructor s wi th 

gen uine ex pe rtise, the answe r is YES ! ... 

Cha plain Stan ley J . 0 ' Loughlin is pr esent ly assigned to 

the l st Brigade. 2nd Inf antry Division, Camp Casey , 

Korea . When he wrote this article. he was assigned as 

Chief, Co mmand and Organizational Effect ivene ss 

Branch, US Army Engi neer School , Fort Be lvoir, VA . 
,.JA:' 

"'Di ggi ng ~~

, More 

Effective 

& TOW 

Defensive
 

Positions
 

by CPT Eric T. Mogren 

The concept ofpositioning antitank weapons to take 

advantage offlank shots and provide greater protection 

for antitank weapon crews is described and supported 

10 FALL 1980 
So me time ago , the brigade 

commander (whose unit my 

Engineer Company supported), his plans officer. and myself were making a reconnaissance 

of a stream valley in Germany . The 

objective was to select potential 

battle positions and obstacle locations to support a defense along that 

valley . In the course of our discussions , the commander came up with 

an idea that would greatly increase 

the killing effectiveness of his tanks 

and TOWs and would provide much 

greater protection from enemy observation and fire than the standard 

hull defilade position . 

His concept was similar to that of 

the two-man fighting position; instead of facing to the front, antitank 

weapons would alternate facing left 

and right. Instead of shooting across 

the valley, each weapon wou ld shoot 

up the length of the valley, (Figure 

I) . By integrating well-sited minefields and antitank ditches, the 

crews would be able to engage 

targets with deadly flanking shots, 

often at maximum range. 

The idea of positioning antitank 

weapons to take advantage of flank 

shots is certainly not new . In fact. 

FM 71-1 (The Tank and Mechanized Company Team) discusses 

the concept in detail. What is not 

discussed adequately is the method 

of digging vehicular defensive positions to accomplish this. The standard tank and APC fighting position 

is a hull defilade trench scooped out 

of the ground by a bulldozer, dozer 

tank, or similar piece of equipment. 

Oriented to fire to the front (i.e. directly at oncoming forces), these positions are susceptable to enemy observation and fire from both assaulting and supporting weapons 

systems (Figure 2) . The result is that 

a tank or TOW can fire only a limited number of rounds before having 

to move to an alternate position . 

By facing weapons to the left or 

right, it is possible to dig the fighting positions far deeper. Since the 

weapon is not firing to the front, the 

position is dug to put tanks in turret 

defilade, thereby providing 

ENGINEER 

~-- -------------

7 

FIGURE 1 

maximum protection from the direct 

fire of assaulting forces . Similarly , 

antitank guided missiles (ATGM) 

can be dug in, placing both weapon 

and operator below ground level 

(Figure 3). By camouflaging the position and its entry/exit routes , 

crews are both covered and concealed from frontal observation. 

This allows them to fire numerous 

rounds before having to move to an 

alternate position , if indeed they 

have to move at all. The only real 

threat is from a direct artillery hit. 

Criticism of this concept centers 

around three points: a weapons system so entrenched cannot engage 

frontal targets at maximum range ; 

crews cannot observe enemy activity 

to their immediate front, and therefore are vulnerable to direct frontal 

assault; and this position, being 

deeper, will take longer to construct , 

thereby aggravating what is already 

a critical shortage of engineer construction equipment. 

First, many positions (especially 

10 Germany) cannot engage targets 

continued 

FIGURE 2 

11 
FIGURE 3 

at maximum ra nge anyway. Weather 

conditions, hills, fore st s , bu il t up 

areas, an d (in the case of ATGM) 

pow er Jines inhibit takin g full advant age of a we apon ' s range c apabilit ie s . In such cases, preparing posit ions as described would be very 

eff ec tive. Obviously. if engageme nt 

at maximum range is possible, thi s 

will govern the siting of weapon s 

and the type of defensi ve position 

empl oyed. 

Immediate security to the crew is 

pro vided in several ways. Careful 

interlocking of fir e s from adj acent 

position s, the use of hasty protective 

FIGURE 4
 

mi ne f ie.ld s , and inte g rating di smounted infantry machine gun and 

DRAGON po siti ons would ov erco me the lack of frontal observation 

(Figure 4). 

It is an unfortunate fact of life that 

much of our defensive capability is 

based not on wh at would do the best 

j ob , but o n the limited resources 

av ailable with whi ch to do the job . 

This is parti cularl y true with engineer operation s . The shortage of 

engineer digging ca pa bility will be 

somewhat allevia ted by the fielding 

of the new M- 9 Tractor. It tak es a 

bulldozer 20- 30 minutes to dig out a 

sta nd ard hull down posrnon for a 

tank , a rate that will increase with 

adv er se soil or we ather cond itions . 

I e stimate it would take an add ition al 15-20 minutes to provide a 

turret defilade posit ion as described 

abov e. This additional time is more 

th an o ff se t, ho wever, by th e in ­

creased killing effect iveness of the 

weapon and greater protection provid ed for the crew . In some cases, 

o vera ll engineer work may be reduced by the need for fewer alterna te positions. 

Du e to in cre a sed co ns t ruc tio n 

time and weapon s orient ati on , thi s 

concept ha s limit ed ap pl icatio n 

within th e co ntex t of the active defense . But it is made to orde r for 

strong points, de fense of ke y terrain , 

and defen se s alon g riv er or strea m 

va lley s . Critica l to winning the first 

battl e will be our ability to inflict 

maximum destru ct ion on the ene my 

whil e pr oviding maximum prot ection to our own so ld ie rs . Carefu l 

siting of tank kill er s, the int egrati on 

of obs tacles, and the preparation of 

deep , well camo uflaged fighting positions is o ne way th e manu ev er 

commander ca n achieve this. ... 

Capta in Rick Mo gren is presently assigned as a lesson author in the Sergeant s 

Major Academy . Fort Bliss, TX . He previously served jo ur and a half years with 

the 12th Engineer Battalion, 8th lnfantr...... 

Division . 

~:

12 FALL 1980 
PROJECT 

KRYPTONITE 

by CPT Norman G. Comstock 

Project Kryptonite has been called the largest 

explosive demolition project conducted by 

US Army Combat Engineers in Western 

Europe since World War U. The expenditure of 

5,000 pounds of C4 , 2, 100 pounds of TNT, 3lh 

miles of detonating cord, 3,740 feet of time fuse, 

720 non-electric caps, fifteen IS-pound and fifty 

40-pound shape charges, two bangalore torpedoes 

for good mea sure, and over 45 project days lends 

credence to that assertion. For those involved, it 

was nothing less than the chance of a lifetime in 

peacetime for " a real blast. " 

The mission for Company D, 78th Engineer 

Battalion (C) , 7th Engineer Brigade , was to demolish and remove an iron ore storage and processing facility called Barbara Mines. The facility 

was located in southwestern Germany , about 75 

kilometers south of Karl sruhe. It was a GermanAmerican project for the city of Herbolzhcim. 

Six concrete and brick buildings required explosive demolition to one meter below ground level. 

Two oth er. uildings demol ished very easily with 

bulldoz The six buildings requiring demolitions ,v . size from a basement to two six 

story ne structure, an airshaft and tunnel , wa -l· · stories in size, but completely 

underRf nts of the area said the buildings were , ed in the 1930s. The design 

continued 
criteri a of the buildings far exceeded strength and 

durability requirements of the period . That became 

painfully cl ear early o n. Thereafter, our first 

question wa s " W hen was it built?" 

Project Kryptonite was accomplished in two 

phases . Phase I, work ab ov eground, took pl ace in 

lat e October through November 1979. Pha se II occurred from Feb . 10-25 , 1980 with the below 

ground demolition and destructi on of the tunnel 

and air shaft. 

Buildings were a ssigned to line platoon s and 

Direct Support (OS ) elements fo r de stru cti on . Dece ntralized execution was the order of the day . 

D/78 is a Corps Combat Engineer co mpany augmented with doz ers, c ranes (o ne with clams he ll). 

and 250 cfrn a ir co m presso rs fr om sister line 

co mpa nies. Since the project site wa s so c lose to 

the railroad linking northern and southe rn Europe , 

spec ial co ns traints were imp osed during the first 

10 days . Th e most sig nificant early co ns tra int was 

that blasting was permitted only on week ends after 

midnight wh en tr ain traffi c wa s lightest. Later, 

blasting was permitted eve ry da y of the week . 

The lessons learned from Proj ect Kryptonite fall 

into four categories: General , Safety , Maintenance 

and Technical 

GENERAL 

• Our soldiers can do anything and endure anything as long as what they do ha s purpos e. meaning, and challenge. Compan y personnel s pe nt 

many lonely hours guarding the explosives and 

performing KP, CQ, and runner duti e s. T hey 

never complained becau se the project was a great 

source of satisfaction and pride . 

• The Germans were unprepared for our work 

ethic . They were amazed at our tenacity and fortitude as we worked long hours and holid ays in all 

kind s of weather. 

• Be on the lookout for abandoned mine s. The 

one used for our ASP provided a gr eat storag e 

fa cility . It would have been a go od CP, too . 

SAFETY 

• During the haul operation , driver control was a 

real probl em . Our drivers wanted to speed goin g 

up the hill s of the haul route . To prevent speeding 

on a two-lane road with a blind curve, stern control wa s requ ired . 

• The local populace was extremely curiou s . 

Crowd s co uld be controlled , but individuals came 

out of nowhere at the most critical times. Th ey alwa ys co operated, however, when ask ed to leave. 

• Safe handling of unprimed explosives, as emphasized in training , is exaggerated , ex cept for 

nonelectric caps. After about two weeks , D Company personnel reali zed that unprimed C4 or TNT 

is safe to handle. But much time was lost due to 

initial reticence. Safe handling of nonelectric caps 

and prim ed cha rge s in not at all exaggerated and 

requires co nsta nt supervision. We had to prime 

shape ch arg es nonelectically , requiring extra care , 

especially when working on a 75 -80 percent slope 

20 feet above ground. 

• When drilling concrete with a 250 cfm air 

compressor, ear, eye , and lung protection are required. DUSl created by drilling cau sed breathing 

and vision problems. Breathing protection devices 

need to be added to the components of the 25 0 cfrn 

compressor. Drilling noise was deafening . Fatigue 

from constant drilling also was a probl em . 

• Know the number of explosions that are scheduled and keep count of them as the y oc cur. Vary ­

ing the length of time-fuse fa cilitated counting 

detonations. This is an old lesson worth em ­

phasizing . 

• On lengthy demolition jobs, a full-time safety 

officer or NCO is required. Laxity , overconfidence , and fatigue were constant problems. Co ntinual vigilance is required. 

• Have subordinate leaders wear distinctive ap ­

parel, such as helmets. When positive co ntro l is 

required, it was necessary to get to subordinate 

leaders quickly. 

MAINTENANCE 

• Preventive maintenance must increase as time 

on-site increases. During the last tw o weeks of 

November , one -third o f the comp an y ' s dump 

tru cks (4) went " down" for preventi ve maintenanc e (PM) e very third da y . 

• Since the concrete- was heavily reinforced with 

stee l, rebar c reated a big probl em with tru ck tir es. 

A spec ial tire-ch anging , tub e-repairing squad had 

to be employed . 

• A DS U contact team was very helpful in repairing brake s and hydraulic lines. Given the haul 

distance and uphill drive . a team with brakes. 

transmission s, and tran sfers is a good idea . 

TECHNICAL 

• A detailed SOP for Proj ect Kryptonite was 

necessary . It governed the job as both a project 

and a ran ge . Requirements for transport, storage, 

sec urity , and safety o f the explosives were identified and incorporated into the SOP . Every officer 

and NCO wa s issu ed a copy . 

• For the one-mile haul (two miles round trip) 

five 5-ton dump trucks were optimum. More than 

five trucks caused underutil ization as they waited 

for loads ; less than five meant underutilization of 

the lifting and loadin g equipme nt. Generally , the 

scoop loader loaded three trucks to the clamshell 's 

two . 

• At the height of the project, thre e large rubble 

pil es were worked at a tim e . Dozers built the piles, 

segregating very large pieces into piles for the 

clamshell to load and sm aller pie ce s and gravel for 

the scoop load ers. Thi s insured that all equipment 

wa s working and equ ipment idl e time wa s kept 

minimal. Almost 6 ,700 five-ton dump tru ck load s 

of rubbl e were hauled during the project. 

• Do not forget the shoc k wave created by explosiv e s, parti cul arl y whe n using ex tern al c harge s. 

14 FALL 1980 
More th an 400 pounds of externally pl aced C4 

were deton ated on a ve ry c lear night and bl ew out 

se veral wi ndo ws 750 met ers away . Wh en t he 

cha rges were pl aced and until 30 minutes be fore 

the bl asr, th e weath er wa s ove rc ast with a lo w 

level o f fog . At d et on ati on , the we a the r was 

"clear as a bell ." 

• For an y charge , tamped, or untamped , th e 

minimum sa fe dist an ce is 300 meters. Straw and 

hay bales worked very well to minimi ze the missile effec t of eac h blast. 

• Dual pr iming was wasteful on thi s proj ec t. 

Du al initiation , ho we ver, is an absolute requirement in orde r to minimize misfire s and eliminat e 

delays if the first fus e lighter does not light the 

tim e fuse . 

• If a building is to be dropped on one side, 

overload the firs t story suppo rt on th e side you 

wan t it to fa ll on . Prim e half of the nex t support 

and charge the rear suppo rt only to in su re it cracks 

or breaks. The idea is to use the building 's weight 

aga in st itse lf so it will break up on h ittin g th e 

ground . Wh en we cut one buildin g on the same 

pl an e , all we d id was reduce the hei ght of the 

building by one story, 

• Sh ape charges ge nerally bored textbook size 

hol es. However, whe n shoo ting straig ht down or 

at an ang le , the hol es were fill ed in by loose rock 

after the bl ast. When the sha pe cha rge was inve rte d and fired up ward at a slight ang le, the result 

was a textbook size hol e , bu t with some une xpect ed crac kin g of the concrete . Eve n th ou gh 

ta mpi ng wa s a little mo re difficult, th is tec hnique 

saved two to four hours in prim ing . 

• With exactly the same poundage and placement, we go t four different resul ts whe n we detona ted the cha rges in the bu ttr esse s of the Bunkerkell er. We drill ed several 1.5 inch dia me ter holes 

three fee t deep in each buttress. Holes we re spac ed 

five fee t apart, st arting 2 .5 feet from the wa ll and 

2.5 feet fro m the gro und . O ne block of C4 (1. 25 

pounds) was put in eac h hol e , pri med wi th det 

cord, and left untampcd . Th e res ults varied co nsiderably . One buttress was nearl y d em oli sh ed, 

The results were attributed to two f actors-hand 

tamping was probably differe nt fo r each buttress; 

and placement of Ul e knot varied from the end to 

the middle of the charge . Th e e xplosives seemed 

mo re effec tive whe n the knot was pl aced on the 

ex terna l end of the cha rge , 

• TNT was inadequate for cutting through steel 

unl ess the cha rge was tamped. An ex te rna l, untampe d cha rge on a co ncre te wa ll re inforced with 

steel mesh mer el y blew the co ncre te away from 

aro und the stee l mesh . Howev er , TNT was effec ­

tive when the cha rge was ex terna l and backfilled 

with abo ut thr ee feet of dirt , Half- inch reb ar in an 

e ight -inc h thi ck wall was cut a lo ng with the co ncrete when th is tec hni que was used. 

• Test shots are required . They reveal how mu ch 

and wha t typ e of reinfor c ing material is in the co nc re te . 

ENGINEER 

The Bunk erkeller: note the different result s from the same amou nt of 

explos ives placed in the same locat ion 

• Internal charges are nearly always successful. 

Ex te rn a l, relativel y unt amped ch ar ge s y ie ld a 

myri ad of result s, 

• Hav e an operatio nal cutting torch available to 

cut the reb ar . Once the buildings we re rubbl ed , it 

was not practi ca l or effic ie nt to keep bl astin g on 

the m to cut the m into sma ll pieces for loading .- So , 

a cutting torch instead of ex plosives was used . 

• There was compatibility of German time fuse, 

de t cord. and none lec tric ca ps with US fu se li ghters, de t co rd, tim e fu se and ca ps, Th e powde r tr ain 

in the German det cord wa s mor e easily bro ken 

co mpa red to the US det cord , St atic e lec tr ici ty resis ta nt ca ps were used very effect ivel y on thi s 

proj ect as well , For contingency pl annin g purposes, it wo uld be very helpful to know where 

German civilian stoc ks of ex plosives are located , 

alo ng with othe r e ng inee r re source s , 

Project Krypt on ite c lea rly pointed up the need 

for more reali sti c tra ining of Combat Engineers. 

Th e lesson s we learned are far mo re meaningful 

and exte nsive than those learn ed on a normal dem ­

olition ran ge . Keeping in mind the tim idity of so ld iers in handling explosives, the hol es that filled 

in when shooting shape charges stra ig ht down , 

du al priming that is time con suming and wasteful, 

and the un expected heavy reinfor cement , some 

rethi nking and red esigning of tar get fo lders needs 

to be accomp lis hed . Perhap s a review al' doct rinal 

pu bli cation s is also in order , 

Pr oject Krypt onite was a truly outstandi ng ex ­

pe ri en ce . Th o se who too k part i n it pr ob abl y 

wo uld endure the foul wea the r, guard d uty, KP , 

and all th e othe r burden som e distrac tions to be 

ab le to accomplish suc h a mission agai n, ... 

Captain Norma n G, Comstock was the Officer-i nCharge of Projec t Krypt oni te while serving as com ­

mander of Compa ny D, 78th Engine er Battalion , He 

has held several command. staff. and advisor positions, 

15 
THE: 

DIV)ION 

E:NGINE:E:R 

IN 

THE: 

E:

~RM

by LTC Juergen M. Erbe 

Hardly any task in the Army is more difficult or 

mo re co nt roversial than that of the di vision engi neer . The same diffi cult y app li es to th e 

brig ad e e ng inee r. It is po ssible to be tr ained and 

sel ected as a command er , but the addition al responsib ility of adv ising the di vision command er an d his staff 

prov es to be much more difficult . 

It cannot be the purpose of this art icle to solve future 

probl ems. If it were that easy, there would not be any 

more probl ems. 1 can not and do no t wa nt to gi ve the 

imp ression of being a sch oolmaster. It is my interest to 

stimul ate thought and discu ssion in orde r to come to a 

solutio n. or at lea st a red uction of the diff iculties. A 

fin al so lution is possible only when our armies are able 

to appoi nt an engi nee r co lo nel (0-6) with ex perience 

(i .e , co mmande r of a divi sion engin eer battalion , G3/S3 

of a brigade or di vi sion ) as division e ngi neer in ma in 

utili zation . That is how it is done in the British Army . 

At this time , ho wever, I do not see any pos sibility of 

rea lization for the US and German Armies . 

The com mande r of the enginee r batt alion is the divi ­

sion engi neer. He works dire ctly for, and is the adviser 

to, the div ision comma nde r, his staff, and other commanders (Artillery). In emerge ncies, he can be rep resented by the S3, but no t by the engi nee r staff office r of 

the div ision , who lacks insight into the engi neer battalion and , as a rul e, lacks the required experience. 

In the suppo rt sec tion is an engi nee r cell, where en ­

gi neer informa tion is gat hered and summarized , propo sals and orders are prepared , obstac le pi ans are handl ed , 

engineer reports are worked on, connections are kept , 

et c. The head of the e ngineer cell is the division e ngi neer. He works for the chief of staff and is, in case of 

abse nce, represented by the division engineer staff officer (0-4 or 0-5). 

Th e se dual respon sibilities as adv iser to the di vision 

com mande r and as head of the en gineer ce ll in the sup ­

port sectio n mu st be separated in order to fully und erstand the tasks of the divis ion engineer. The refo re, the 

position seems to be more complex at first. It is my impression , however , tha t it will become easier if the di vi ­

sio n engin eer co nce ntrates on his role as advise r, and 

provid es only guida nce for other activi ties in the en ­

gineer ce ll and wat ch es over the e xec ution . 

Th e divisio n engineer is not tied to o ne place. Wh ere 

he loca tes depends on the needs of the di vis ion commander and his own dec ision . Surely the personalities of 

the division commander and the chief of staff, and the 

worki ng mann er of the staff are significant. Contact and 

comm unication wit h the G3 , G2, and the division artiller ist can be helpfu l. Th er e is no proced ure fo r the position of the divi sion engineer, whi ch make s the task so 

difficult. It requires a cert ain sense of tou ch and sensibility , an d sometimes luck . But surely there are eve nts 

which requ ire him to be at a certain place. 

Norma ll y he will be need ed at the division main 

co mmand post: 

• for a situa tion esti mate; 

• wh ile awaiting a corps operation order; 

• during cha nge of the ty pe of opera tion (de lay , defense , offense); 

• durin g change of a main effort; 

- in ca se of a substantial change in the task or ga nization ; 

- during change of the operational control for the divistan. 

He would be at his battalion co mmand post: 

- for prep aration and distributio n of engi neer ope ration orders; 

• for a joint sco uting of the comma nde rs; 

• during a main engineer effort like a river crossing 

operation in a critical situation ; 

-during ea ch first employment of his battal ion . 

This wa y he can ofte n recognize diffi culties in the 

exec ution of the order in the beginning , handle crises, 

and provide leadership . Here ag ain, it depe nds on se nsitivity , know ledge of his un it , a nd luck in being at the 

right place at the right time . Th e division eng ineer mu st 

nev er be enroute betw een the divi sion comma nd post 

and his battali on when he is needed at one or the othe r 

pl ace . Even during his absen ce from the command post, 

he mu st alway s be avai la ble for th e division comma nder. Hc also must always be oriented to the situatio n 

in his e ngineer units in ord er to becom e e ngaged in 

time. Which mean s th at he mus t have good lines of 

comrnunicatio n at his dis posal. 

Aga in and aga in there are discuss ion s abo ut co ntro l of 

the obstacle plan . Who shall accomplish it? Where shall 

it be ac co mplished? Who has to app rov e it? Th e only 

ce rta inty , howe ver , is that it has not functioned satisfactorily in the past. It has not been up-to-date or acc ura te . Ofte n, approv al for ob stacles is received too late or 

execution is begun witho ut permissio n . It is adv isable to 

16 FALL 1980 
keep a ge neral obstac le map at the division command 

post , wh ich includes block ed areas, obs tac le-free areas, 

obstacle gaps, and gap routes. It is preferable to keep 

the obstacl e pl an , with all details, at the di vision enginee r battalion . 

At present , the Germa n Arm y is study ing the co ncept 

of retaining obs tac le co ntrol at brigade le vel becau se of 

the ind ep endent and fast operations of brigades. Experiments have been succe ssful and a cha nge is quite 

likely. One problem yet to be resolved is the personnel 

(staff) outfit of the bri gade enginee r. 

While pl ann ing the firs t acti on , and whe n development of the situa tio n outdates the elaborated operation 

plan, the division en gineer must be avail abl e . He must 

also for the purpose of co mma nd and co ntrol in battle 

and in peace time . 

The mission of eng ineers is to give suppo rt . They 

sha ll e ase the battl e , co mple te fire , and infl uenc e 

mob ilities. Mobility and co unterrnobi lity are the dec isive engineer co ntributions o n the battlefield because 

mob ilities determine success o r failure . Therefore , the 

division eng ineer must ask him self: Ho w ca n I be of 

help to my troops, and how can I hurt the enemy by 

impeding his movements? That's what counts in the 

framework of the division, not the number of tanks lo st 

from mines. The disturbance of enemy mobilities results 

in addit io nal time for reco nnaissance , prep aration of the 

battl efield for com bat, and destru ct ion of enemy for ces. 

MAIN COMMAND POST 

(DIVISION) 

A lterl1at e Hel icopter Pad Comm and 

Po st 

get invol ved as soo n as possible and should not wait to 

be called . it will be clever and valuable to be in co ntac t 

with the G3, G2 , G4 , and di vi sion artille ry commander 

in order to work as a team . Th e div ision mission sho uld 

be ana lyze d as soo n as possibl e fo r impac t on e ng inee r 

missions. To think and ac t jointly in accordance with the 

divi sion order is of great imp ortance. All possib ilities 

mu st be considered , and manp o wer and means mus t be 

coordi nated . If the divi sion engi neer simply recites the 

engi nee r act io n in suppo rt of division operatio ns, he will 

only get arguments when questioned. All too often, he 

mu st ex plai n, prov e and apo log ize for his prop osals. 

The eng ineer co ntri butio n to the division operatio n 

pl an must be formulated and rec ited and/o r presented in 

writing to the G3 . If tim e permits, the div ision e ngi nee r 

sho uld communica te co nside ra tio ns , thu s elimi nati ng 

co nfusion in his battal ion, in the brig ad es , with the G4 , 

and the Artillery. 

With thorough comrnunca tion , the cl assic demand s of 

staff duti es-eoop er ati on , ana lys is, coordi na tio n, and 

inform at ion-are fulf illed . These dem and s mu st be met 

not only du rin g the planning phase of an operation, but 

ENGINEER 

Th e division engineer has to think jo intly . He must not 

confine his thoughts to engineer matt ers, but should consider all factors influencing the battl e. 

Th e jo b of division engineer rem ain s one of the most 

difficult in the Army. it is diffi cult because of his tripl e 

role as battalion commander of the div ision engi nee r 

battali on , as advise r to the division com ma nder and his 

staff, and as a member of the division staff. Besides 

experience and knowled ge of eng ineer techn iques , he 

need s a se nse of feeling fo r hum an being s and for situa ­

tions in order to be at the right pl ace at the right time 

and to provid e the right advi ce or to take the right action . This surely ca n be learn ed only to a certain degree . 

We enginee rs should sta rt to educate and train our 

lieutenant s to work two level s higher at ma neuv er battali on for th e co mbined arms team. To be an engi neer 

commander is a challe nge . Let us stand up to it. ... 

Lie utenant Colo nel Juergen M . Erbe is curre ntly assigned to 

the Office of Research, Development and Acqui sition of Enginee r Equipment, Minister of Def ense, FRG . 

17 
The 

Terrain 

Analysis 

Center 

by CPT David R. Gallay 

TAe's products can provide timely, 

accurate advice to maneuver 

commanders and enable them to use 

terrain as an effective combat 

multiplier 

,,H ow fast can my vehicles cross this 

terrain?" . .. "Will the lines of 

communications be adequate?" 

. . . " Where are likely drop zones?" ... "What 

areas will afford us adequate cover and concealment? " .. . These are some of the "terrain" 

questions that commanders and staff officers often 

ask when planning tactical operations. They will 

turn to their engineer for the answers . 

But, where does the combat or topographic engineer turn for quick, accurate information? 

One place is the Terrain Analysis Center (TAC) 

at the US Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories (ETL), Fort Belvoir, VA . TAC, established 

by the Chief of Engineers in 1975, is a small organization comprising 39 military and civilian 

terrain experts, cartographers, and information 

specialists. Its primary mission is to produce terrain analyses in support of tactical-level operations . 

TAC supports requirements generated from the 

field . Field commanders and their planning staffs 

identify potential areas of interest. The initial demand and size of the area typically exceed the 

capacity of supporting field terrain detachments. 

Thus, requests for analysis support are submitted 

through command channels to the Department of 

the Army level. If the Assistant Chief of Staff, 

Intelligence, validates the requirements, TAC may 

be tasked through the Office of the Chief of Engineers to do the work. 

Upon receipt of a tasking, source materials are 

identified and acquired for use in the analysis. The 

materials range from various kinds of maps and 

studies to aerial photographs , satellite imagery, 

and computer tapes of digital terrain models. 

After the material is assembled, analysis teams 

go to work. The team approach is " interdisciplinary ." The team leader integrates the interpreta- . 

tions and analyses of his team members-civilian 

engineers, geographers, geologists, foresters, soil 

scientists, military image interpreters, and terrain 

analysts. The team concentrates on the essential 

elements of terrain analysis (Figure I). They first 

interpret and classify "basic" data. Then, they 

synthesize a number of basic elements to arrive at 

the "evaluative" data . For example, a crosscountry movement prediction is a function of all 

the basic data. 

The final product format, as well as the number 

of essential elements in each study , depends on 

what the requestor wants. However, TAe's typical 

output is graphic, either an overprinted map (Fig ­

ure 2) or a facror overlay. Regardless of the type , 

each graphic item displays an essential 'element 

keyed to a base map. Some studies contain only 

18 FALL 1980 
FIGURE 1 

1.,( UtlAI N AHALYSIS CLNH R 

US UM\' 1""0'''''((1: JO' OGl AI'I1IC l .... OU.IO ll U 

fOil IHVOII . Vill OlH 1A 1106 0 

FIGURE 2 

ten or twelve elements, while others may have 

many more. 

T AC 's products are not ends in themselves. 

They arc designed as operational planning tools 

that often need to be supplemented by ground or 

aerial reconnaissance for site-specific operation. 

Yet , on the modern battlefield, where terrain is a 

decisive factor and planning time is limited, these 

products can be of great value . The engineer who 

uses these products will be able to provide timely , 

ENGINEER 

accurate advice to maneuver commanders and enable them to use terrain as an effective combat 

multiplier. This will help win the first, and subsequent battles. ... 

Captain David R. Gallay is pr esently assigned as a Re ­

sear ch and Development Coordinator in the Terrain 

Analysis Center. US Army Engin eer Topographic Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, VA. He has commanded engineer companies in Korea and USAREUR . 

19 
T he 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) 

(Airborne Corps) is located at Fort Bragg , 

NC. It exercises command and control over 

all non -divisional eng ineer units assigned to XVIII 

Airbone Corps. During peacetime, the brigade is 

assigned one airborne combat engineer battalion, 

one combat heavy engineer battalion , and one 

composite battalion. When deployed as part of the 

newly formed Rapid Depl oyment Force , the 

brigade's span of cont rol extends to several 

addition al battalions. 

In most contingency operations, a brigade 

command and control element would prec ede most 

non-divisional engineers into the area of 

operations to coordi nate the arrival and 

employment of those force s. In cases where the 

comm and and control element arrives in the area 

of operation s prior to completion of airfi eld 

construction by the airborne engineer battali on, 

the brigade element is capable of parachuting into 

the airhead. 

The lineage of the 20th Engineer Brigade dates 

back to the Civil War. It was designated as the 

Battalion of Engineers on August 3, 1861. Unit 

designations have changed many times since then 

as predecessors of the 20th served in the War With 

Spain , the Philippine Insurrection , the Mexican 

Expedition, and World Wars I and II. 

On August 16, 1950, the brigade was first 

de signated as the 20th Engineer Brigade and 

activated at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. It deployed 

to France in November 1952 , and established 

headquarters at Croix Chapeau. The brigade 

redepl oyed to Fort Bragg in March 1956 and wa s 

ina ctivated on November 12, 1958. 

Brigade headquarters was re activated in May 

1967 at Fort Bragg and departed for the Republi c 

of Vietnam in August 1967 . During the Vietnam 

conflict, the brigade numbered over 13,000 

office rs and enlisted men, or gan ized into three 

engineer groups, with 14 battalions and 31 

separate compani es and detachments. The brigade 

T~

201 

E GI 

Third in a series of articles describi 

and activities of majt 

20 FALL 1980 

 

BRIGADE
 

ling the history , mission, organization, 

ior Army engineer units 

provided all non -division al engineer support in 

Military Regions III and IV during II campai gns . 

Units c leared more than one-half million acres of 

j ungle , paved 500 kilometers of highway , and 

constructed brid ge s totalling more than six mil es 

in length. 

As US for ces wer e withdrawing from Vi etn am , 

the brigade wa s inactivated in September 1971 . 

Reactivated in June 1974 at Fort Bragg , it is the 

only engineer brigade in CONUS, and the only 

airbo rne en gin eer brigade in the entire US Army . 

Th e bri gad e' s airb orn e engine er battalion , the 

27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Airborne), is 

designed to provide direct e nginee r suppo rt to a 

committed airbo rne divi sion as required , to 

construct airfield s , to perform expedient repa irs to 

existing airfields , and to complete gen eral co mba t 

engineer mission s. Battalion equipment ca n be 

introduced into an area of operations by e ithe r 

heavy drop or by Low -Altitude Parachute 

Extrac tion (L APE S) . Th e battalion has the 

capability to provide the Corps with two 

medium-lift forward landing strips within 72 

hours. 

Th e 27th Engi nee r Battalion was activated in 

January 191 8 and saw action in World War I in 

both the Saint Mi ch iel and Meu se-Argonn e 

campaigns. After cessation of hostiliti es, the 

battali on was inactivated. 

In 1941 , pri or to US e ntry int o World War II , 

the batt alion was reactivated as the 37th Eng ineer 

Battali on at Camp Bowie , TX . In 1943, 

redesignated as the 209th Combat Engineer 

Batt alion , it depl oyed to Bombay , Indi a. It served 

throughout the war in the Indi a-Burma Theater , 

building port ion s of the stra teg ic Led o Road in 

Burma as we ll as joining " Merrill's Ma rauders" 

for the surp rise attack that captured the vit al 

Myitkyina Airfie ld in Burma. The battalion was 

inactivated in November 1945 at Camp Kilm er , 

NJ, and reactivated in September 1950 at Fort 

Lewi s, WA , as the 27th Enginee r Battalion . 

continued 

ENGINEER 21 
I:," 

; / 

I 

i 

1/

I!

" 

, /

if 

I ' 

!J 

II 

I' 

r 

Ab ove, equipment of the 27th Engin eer 

Battalion (Combat) (A BN) is 

air dropp ed onto a DZ at Fort Brag g 

during ARTEP. Right , members of the 

264 th Engin eer Company (MG B) , 

Composite Battalion , emplace pan els of 

the Medium Girder Bridge durin g 

recent training exercise 

I n 195 1 the 27th was rel ocated to Fort 

Campbe ll, KY , and remain ed there unt il 1966 . 

wh en it deployed to the Republ ic of Vietnam . 

During the next six years, it particip ated in 12 

campaig ns . In January 1972 , the batt ali on was 

depl oyed back to Fort Bragg and redesignated as 

an air bo rne combat eng ineer battal ion . 

Th e 584th Eng ineer Battali on (Comba t) (Heavy) 

prov ide s th e 20th Brigade wi th a heavy 

co ns truc tio n capa bility. Th e unit is equippe d with 

military and commercial co nstruc tion equipme nt, 

such as the D-R bulldozer , the fiv e-cubic yard 

front load er, and the 20- ton dump tru ck. 

De ployme nt by sealift is nor mal , but it can also 

depl oy by air, utilizing a co mbinatio n of C - 14 1 

and C-SA aircraft . 

Th e line age of the S48 th Enginee r Batt alion 

(Co mba t) (He avy) beg an with activation of the 

548 th Engi neer Li ght Pontoon Co mpany in March 

194 3 at Ca mp Bl anding , FL. After four campaig ns 

in the Eu ropean Th eater, the uni t was inacti vate d 

in No ve mbe r 194 5 , only to be reacti vated a year 

lata in Germany and redesi gnated as the 54 8th 

Se rvice Battalion. Th e 548 th sa w exte nsive se rv ice 

during the Korean War , ea rni ng nine campa ign 

stre ame rs before inacti va tion in Korea in Ma rch 

1953. It was reactiva ted for less th an a year in 

Italy in 1957 and again in 1961-62 at Fort 

Rich ardson , AK , for J8 mon ths. On March I, 

1968 , the 54 8th Engi nee r Batt ali on was again 

ac tivated at Fort Bragg . 

Th e Co mpos ite Batt al ion co nsists of the Brigade 

Headquart ers Compa ny, the 264th Med ium Girder 

Bridge Compan y , the 63 rd To pographic Co mpa ny, 

the 283rd Terrain Ana lysis Det achment , and the 

285th Utilitie s Det achm ent . 

The 264th Eng ineer Co mpa ny (Medium Girder 

Bridge) provides the Corps with tactical fixed 

bridging. The unit ca n supply and cons truc t four 

medium Girder Bridge s. each 104 feet alon g . Th e 

uni t also has a seco nda ry mission as a dump truck 

compa ny, with 30 five- ton dump tru ck s. The 

264th has als o ret ained the Bail ey Bridge for 

train ing. 

22 ENGINEER 
-


I x 

I

I 20 11..J.-.1 I
 

I
 

I
 

I
 

II II
 

PROVO~ 27 1 [IJ I 548 11T1 1
 

(CBO (CBT) ( HVY ) 

I I
 

I
 i
 I I
 I I
 I
 

I
 HHI In 12 

X

O 53 1 ,6 I 264 1 I
 

1.1 GB 

283 1 1 I I I
 

TA
 

I
 

90 

153
 

f flO 

Th e 63 rd Engineer Co mpany (To po graphic) 

(Co rps) rep resents a sig nificant resou rce for the 

disseminati on of to pog ra phic informa tion in 

graphi c form to the tactical com ma nde r. The 

company co ntains sur vey , cartogra phy, and 

reproducti on pla toons, and run s the Post Map 

Depot. Th e unit is best suited for con stru cti ng 

non -stand ard graphics, overprinting standard 

map s, and producin g photom ap s. 

The 283rd Engineer De tac hment (Terrain 

Anal ysis) also provi des val uable topographi c 

analys is to the tacti cal commander. The unit 

co llects and evaluates military terrain data and 

provid es terrain studies in both graphic and textual 

form to the Corps and othe r major headqu arters. 

The 285th Engi neer Detachm ent (Utilitie s) has 

pri mary re spo nsibility for establishing and 

maintaining fac ilities for the Corps headquarters in 

an area of operations. At Fo rt Br agg, the 285t h 

also pro vides a valuable rep air and co nstruc tio n 

resource for the post. Th e 89th, 90 th. and 153rd 

Det achments (Fire Fighting ) provid e 

fire-fig hting support to the milit ary installa tion . 

Their wartime missio n is to support forward 

landin g strips in an area of operations. 

I
 Ai l-Ii i
 

(O S) 

Overa ll, the 20th Engineer Brigade has the 

ca pa bili ty to provide XVIII Airb orn e Corps with a 

wide spectru m of engineer suppo rt. With both 

light and hea vy units, the brigade has the 

flexibility to meet the va riety of co ntinge nc ies 

faci ng the Rapid Depl oyment Fo rce. It ca n provide 

conventional combat en gin eer support, as well as 

top ograph ic, terrain anal ysi s, and utili ties support. 

Th e 20th Eng ineer Brigade is proud of its long
 

service to both the nat ion and the Army . Havin g
 

part icipated in 30 campaigns-more than any
 

othe r majo r unit in XVITl Airborn e Corp s-the
 

briga de is confident of a future of co ntinued
 

servi ce to XVIII Airborn e Co rps, the Army , and
 

our co unt ry . III
 

APOLOGY 

We apolog ize to current and forme r membe rs of the 

7th Engineer Brigade for publishinq the wrong unit 

crest with an article on the 7th Brigade in the 

Summer 1980 issue of ENGINEER. We 

inadvertantly selected the 7th Engineer Battalion to 

illustrate the article. 

I
 

I
 

I FALL 1980 23
 
ROAD CRATERS
 

Technical and Tactical
 

Considerations
 

The coordinated use of obstacl es to delay or cannalize opposing forces is an essential 

task for enginee rs of the combined 

arms te am . The e nginee r must be 

profic ient not only in coo rdinating 

the siting of obstacles with the rnanuever commander, but he must also 

construct the obstacles so that they 

optimize the use of manpower and 

material . 

Studie s of obstacle plans have 

shown that road craters are perhaps 

th e most frequentl y preplanned 

demoliti on target . However , few 

en gineers have an appreci ation for 

the envi ronmental factors which influenc e c rater effectivene ss and construction time. The obj ectives of this 

article are to familiarize the read er 

with so me of the se fact ors and to 

compare some altern atives for construc tion of road craters . 

Road cra ters are point obstacles 

crea ted by explos ive excavation of a 

roadway . Whil e it is possible to use I 

,I ea rthmoving equipment for this excavation . it is gener ally not co nsid ­

ered pra cti cal since some pavements 

are diffi cult to bre ak and also since I such op eration s divert equi pme nt I 

from the imp ort ant task of di gging 

by CPT Robert D. Volz 

00000 

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c RELI EV ED FACE CRA TER 

Fi?, u re 1. Road Cr a t er De si gns 

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d THREE HOL E DELI BERA TE CRAT ER 

II
 

II 24 FALL 1980 

" 
hull def il ad e po s i n on s a nd tank 

di tch es. Prechambered cra ters which 

req uire a precon struct ed empl aceme nt c av ity, and em p loyme nt o f 

A tom ic Demolition M u n itio ns 

(ADM) are spec ia l crate ri ng applicatio ns lim ited by pol it ical as well 

as strate gic co ns ide ra tio ns. 

Current doctrine recogn ize s three 

road c rate r designs: the hasty. delibe ra te, a nd relieved face cra te rs, 

listed in in creasing order of e ffec ­

tivn ess. The charge co nfigurations 

of these d esigns ar e ill us tra te d in 

Figure l A , IB , and IC , a nd are discussed in FM 5-25 and FM 5-35 . 

The ex pec ted size a nd rel ative effect ive ness of e a ch de si gn is inc luded in Chapter 3 of FM 5- 25 and 

the estimated emplace men t ti m es 

c an be ob ta ined from ART EP 5- 145 

a nd FM 90- 7. Th ese characte ristics 

are sum ma rized in Tabl e 1. 

Wh ile these desi gn s and informa ­

tion hav e been util ized extensively 

fo r pl anning purpo ses, j us t how re liable a re the y? What factors sho uld 

the e ngi neer leader co ns ider before 

se lecting a p art icular cr ate r desig n 

or system? A look at the re sults of 

crateri ng experiments and a co mp a riso n of e xisting a nd p roposed 

cratering sys tems may we ll answer 

some of the se qu esti on s. 

The crater d ata publish ed in FM 

5-25 was derived fro m a sing le te st 

program co nduc te d at Camp A .P. 

H ill during 1963. Many craters we re 

d et on at ed as part of the test , but 

most of th em did not utilize th e 

standard crater de signs or expl osive s 

currently in the inventory. Durin g 

the e nti re test progr am , o nly fi ve 

hasty , fo ur del iber ate , and two reli ev ed face crate rs were executed 

with stand ard Arm y c rater de signs. 

Th e results have molded Army er atering doctrine fo r the past 17 years . 

Subsequent cratering tests hav e 

shown th at crate ring doctrine published in our field manuals is both 

inaccu rate and inco m plete. 

Two import ant f ac to rs are ign ored 

in pr esent publicati on s: the effec ts 

of so il co nditions on crater size and 

effective ness, and the dependence of 

prep arati on time on shaped ch arge 

performan ce in different road mat erials. 

Te rmi no logy is impo rtant in co mparing the res ults of cratering te sts. 

Co nsi der the c ra te r pr ofile of Figure 

2. Wh en a bu ried ex p los ive cha rge 

is det onated , it creates a crater and 

fo rms a n up turned lip aro und the 

crater ri m . Th e appa re nt wid th an d 

depth are the d imen sion s me asu red 

in rel ati on to th e origina l undisturbe d gro und surfac e. Cra te r si te 

e levations mu st be me as ure d both 

before and after det on ati on with a 

le vel or tr ansit to de termi ne the apparent dimen sion s. The obs tacle dimen sions are measured in rel ation to 

the cra te r lips and ca n be obtai ned 

by simple tape measurements. Wh ile 

obs tacle dimensio ns are easily and 

quic kly measured , the a ppa re nt dimension s p ro vid e a more accurate 

p icture of cratering effe cti veness. 

Co mparisons of cratering d ata must 

utili ze con sistent dim en sion s. 

On e is led to bel iev e th at if he 

foll ows the instructi on s of FM 5-25 

TABLE 1 

he will detonate a c ra te r which IS 

similar in size and effectiveness to 

the " hy po the tical crate r" shown in 

Tab le I. Unfortuna tely thi s is not 

a lways true. Tabl e 2 pre sents a 

com parison of deliberate road crater 

dimensions from FM 5-25 with the 

test results of craters det onated near 

F ort P e ck , MT , a nd A be r dee n 

Provin g Ground , MD . Th e effec ts of 

soil and moisture co n ditions are 

immed ia te ly apparent . The Fort 

Peck cra ter is approximat el y onehalf as deep a nd th ree fou rths as 

wid e a s the Aberdeen crater. Comparison of both sets of dimensions 

with those predicted by FM 5-25 

dem on strates th e wid e var iati on in 

crate r si ze which ca n res ult in diffe re nt envi ro nme nts. 

The se v ari ati ons i n di mensi on s 

dr am at icall y affect a cra te r's va lue 

as an obstacle . A d elib erat e road 

cra te r detonated in a wet cl ay so il 

may com plete ly im m ob ili ze a tank 

whi le th e same quantity of explosives used in the dry sand or cl ay of 

an arid regio n will not sig nificantly 

del ay a track ed vehicl e . It appe ars 

tha t none of our sta ndar d cr ate ri ng 

proced ures will produce an effec ti ve 

crate r in all so ils . 

While it may be po ssible to 

re late crater dimension s to 

moi sture content and the 

unifi ed so ils c lass ificatio n syste m , 

such a sys tem wo uld be impractical 

for field use , Perh ap s a sui tab le 

co mpromise is to grou p c ra te ring 

continued 

Standard U. S. Road Crater Characteristics 

(FM 5-25, Feb 71) 

Type ft 

Average Crater Dimensions 

Depth Width 

m ft m 

Side Slope 

Degrees 

Passes 

Per 

Tank 

Traverse 

Installation 

Time 

(Squad 

Hours) • 

Hasty 

Deliberate 

Relieved Face 

6-7 

7 

7 

1.83-2.13 

2.13 

2.13 

20-25 

25 

25-30 

6.10-7.62 

7.62 

7.62-9,14 

25-35 

30-37 

30-40 

4 

8 

2 

2 

2 

• Installation time from draft FM 90-7, Dec 77; ARTEP 5-145, Jun 78 lists 1 hour, 15 minutes, plus time required to clear 

emplacement holes. Time does not include travel to or from site. 

ENGINEER 25 
Da = A PPAR ENT DE PT H 

Dab = OBST ACLE DEPTH; D + LIP H EI GHT a 

\Iv" = A PPAR ENT WI DTH 

W - OBSTACLE WI DT H ab 

FIGURE 2 Typical Crater Profile 

effec ts as a fun cti on of rel ati ve 

moistu re co ntent. In general, large 

effec tive c rate rs ca n be blasted in 

wet, fine grained soi ls suc h as those 

at Aberdee n Proving Ground (sandy 

si lt-ML), the Pana ma Can al Zone 

(clayey si lt - M H) and Camp A .P . 

Hill (clay ey sand - SP). Poor crate ring results are obtained in dry soi ls 

su ch as th o se a t Yuma Pr o vin g 

Gro und, AZ (g ra vel ly sand -S P) , 

Fort Peck , (hig hly weathered shale) 

and Tooel e Army Depot , UT (silt 

and clay CL-ML) . Table 3 pro vides 

a me an s of relating app rox imate 

crater dim en sion s to re la tive so il 

moi sture co ntent. Th e dividing line 

bet ween wet and dr y soi ls for this 

table is a 10 percent wate r co ntent 

and/or 50 per cent sa tura tio n . As 

noted in the tabl e, one can expect a 

co nsiderab le variation in dimens ions 

even for shots fired in the same lo ­

ca tio n. 

The data for hasty and reli evedface craters is incomplete because I 

TABLE 2 

co uld not locate any test result s for 

the performance of the se design s in 

dr y soils . 

Whi le crater effec tive ness is related to crater size , the true measure 

of a cra ter 's effectiveness is its abi lity to de lay a vehicle . The te st rep ort 

published in 1963 , mentioned ea rlier , pro vides wha t appears to be the 

only compre he nsive study of tank 

mobili ty in standard Arm y cra ters. 

So me of the conclusions of that test 

progr am were: 

Results of Deliberate Road Crater Tests 

Apparent ' Obs tacle" Apparentt Obsta clett Apparentt 

Depth Depth Width Width Leng th 

Locat ion Soil Type ft (m) ft (m) ft (m) ft (m) ft (m) 

Para 3-17 ? 7 (2.13) 25 (7.62) 36 (1 1.0) 

FM 5-25 

Ft. Peck, MT Highly weath ered 3.9 (1.2) 5.4 (1.7) 18.4 (5.6) 26 (7.9) 33 (10. 1) 

sha le 

Aberd een Proving Wet sandy silt 8.1 (2.47) 10.8 (3.2) 24.5 (7.5 ) 35 (10 .7) 40 (12.2) 

Ground, MD 

• Depth from original ground surface to bottom of apparent crater. 

•• Max imum depth from lip crest to bottom . 

t Width and Length of apparent crater measu red at original ground level. 

tt Width as measu red from lip crest to lip cres t. 

26 ENGINEER 
TABLE 3 

Expected Crater Dimensions For 

Ammonium Nitrate Explosives 

Crater 

Type 

Average Apparent 

Depth ft/(m) 

Range of Depths Average Apparent 

ft/(m) Width ft/(m) 

Range of Widths 

ft/(m) 

Wet Soils *
 

(clay , silt, clay ey sand)
 

Dry Soi ls '
 

(Sand, shal e, clay)
 

Hasty 

Deliberate 

Relieved Face 

Deliberate 

6.5 5.5-7.0 19.5 15-23 

(2.0) (1.7-2.1) ( 5.9) (4.6-7.0) 

7 6.1-8.1 23 18-25 

(2.1) (1.9- 2.5) ( 7.0) (5.5-7.6) 

6 23 

(1.8) ( 7.0) 

4.2 3.5-5.5 17 13.5-18.5 

(1.3) (1.1-1 .7) ( 5.2) (4.1-5.6) 

* Soil Moisture: We t soil Saturation ;;;,: 50% Dry soil Saturation < 50% 

Water content ;;;,: 10% Water content< 10 % 

• that hasty craters are only margin all y effect iv e ag ainst mod ern 

tanks; 

• deliber ate craters are effective 

obstacles ; 

• that reli eved-face craters ar e 

more e ff ective than either of the 

other des igns. 

During the 17 years whi ch have 

pa ssed since the first test report was 

published, the deliberate cra ter has 

been te sted in at lea st six te st programs . and the reli eved fa ce crater 

in two programs. I have been unabl e 

to find any evid ence of further scie ntific te stin g of the hasty crater. 

Th e deliberate crate r has proven its 

effectivene ss in wet soils, but is 

prob abl y margin al to ineffective in 

desert soils . The two subsequent 

te st s of reli eved-face c rate rs hav e 

rai sed serious doubts about the reliability of this design . A test program condu ct ed by the 54th Engineer Battalion in 1969 concl uded 

that the cr atering meth od described 

in F M 5-25 will not produc e a 

satis fac to ry relieved fa ce crat er . 

Another test program foun d that the 

detonation of the first row of 

charge s disrupted the ring main of 

the seco nd ro w , resulting in mi sfir e s. From a stati stic al point of 

view, additional testing of hast y and 

reli eved-face c ra ters would seem 

warra nted . 

The current doctrinal definition of 

an effective crater is at be st cumbe rso me . FM 5-25 sta te s that road 

c ra te rs are e ffec tive if a tank re ­

qu ir es thr e e or mor e passe s t o 

traver se it. I believe that crater effectivene ss s ho uld be defin ed in 

terms of how long a vehi cle will be 

delayed in the crater, not how many 

passes it will take to traverse it. A 

reasonable criteria would be the time 

required to acquire a target , to laun ch 

an antitank missile, and to track it to 

the maximum effec tive range of the 

we ap on. For pre sent sys tems, 30 

seconds is a reasonable minimum 

required time del ay for a road crater . 

Longer delay times are necessary 

for craters spanning multi-lane 

highways or for tank ditches where 

several vehicles can enter the crater 

(o r dit ch) at the same time. An 

upp er bound is mo st lik el y that of a 

crater blasted in a four-lane highway. Assuming that four vehicles 

co uld ente r the crater simultaneously 

and that only one AT weapon system 

would cover the ditch , a minimum 

delay time of two minutes would be 

required . On the ba sis of this simple 

analy sis , it appears that road crater 

designs should provide time delays 

on the order of 30 sec onds to two 

minutes. A table relating del ay time 

to soil co ndi tions and crater type 

would provide a valuable planning 

FIGURE 3 Optimum l S-lb shaped charge blast hole tool for defensive ope rations. 

continued 

FALL 1980 27 
The most sign ificant time and 

labor factor in road cratering is the 

preparation of emplacement hol es. 

While current doctrine (FM 5-35, 

ARTEP 5-145) recommends the use 

of 15-pound (M2 A3) or 40-pound 

(M3 AI) shaped charge s to blast 

emplacement hol es , many factors 

influ ence the overall time required 

to produce a usable hole . Since 

shaped charges require large standoff distances to produce empl acement holes, valuable time is lost 

trying to jury-rig tripods or other 

devi ces to hold them at the proper 

height. In some cases, s ha pe d 

charges blast deep , large-diameter 

holes which can be loaded with eratering charges with minimal cleaning (Figure 3) . In other tests, the 

shaped charge detonation cau sed 

surface craters which filled the holes 

with loose base course materi al. Excavation of such holes is slow and 

ted ious. The posthole digger is useful in removing rocky soil but it 

cannot dig or clean holes more than 

five feet deep. Th e hand auger can 

clean down to seven feet but is difficult to use where rocks in the hole 

ex ceed two t o three in ch e s in 

diameter. 

In a series of cratering tests conducted at Raystown, PA , more than 

85 40-pound shaped charge s were 

used to blast emplacement holes. 

While the shaped charge jet penetrat ed at lea st six feet , virtuall y all 

of the holes required cle aning and it 

was found that a well prepared base 

course makes excavation parti cularly 

difficult. All of the holes bla sted in 

a light duty road co uld be clea ned to 

five feet , but only 55 percent of the 

holes with a planned depth of seven 

fee t could be cleaned to that depth. 

Te sts were a ls o co nduc ted on a 

medium dut y ro ad whi ch had a 

four-in ch asphalt pavem ent over a 

four-inch c rushed lim estone ba se. 

Only 30 perc ent of the hole s in this 

road could be excavated to design 

depth. 

The problem of excavating shaped 

charge holes is compounded by a 

lack of hole diggers and augers. 

Road cratering is a squad task , but 

organic equipment includes only one 

post hole digger per squad and one 

auger per platoon . During a squad 

cratering mission , bor ehol es must be 

cleaned one at a time (unless reinforced with additi on al equipment) 

and the platoon 's auger mu st be 

shared by three squ ads . 

Given real world problems of 

fabricating shaped charge 

st a nd s and c l e a n i n g 

emplacement holes with limited resourc e s , road crater empaceme nt 

time may well excee d the two hour 

planning figure found in most references. Th e Raystown test results indicate that crater emplacement time 

FIGURE 4 Pouring slurry into shaped charge blast hole may vary significantly for different 

28 FALL 1980 
sites. While it is possible for a squad 

to blast a hasty crater in an unpaved 

demolition range within two hours, 

it is unlikely that the same squad 

could blast a deliberate road crater 

in a well constructed paved road in 

the same length of time. 

The performance of standard 

shaped charges presents a dilemma 

for the use of ammonium nitrate 

crate ring charges. Forty-pound 

shaped charges reliably blast clean 

holes in thick (lO -inch) reinforced 

concrete pavements which are deep 

and wide enough to load cratering 

charges. However, when these 

charges are used on thin (three-inch) 

concrete pavements, extensive concrete breakup and base course eratering fills much of the hole with 

debris. The l5-pound shaped charge 

blasts holes in most thin pavements 

and soi I, but the hole diameters are 

normally too small for a cratering 

charge. 

One product which offers a possible solution to the dilemma is the 

XM268 blasting agent. Testing of 

commercial slurry explosives has led 

to its limited procurement. The 

blasting agent is packaged as two 

inert components, a liquid oxidizer 

solution and a powdered fuel. They 

are mixed to form an explosive. It 

has been proven to be about 1.5 

times more effective than an equal 

weight of TNT in producing crater 

volume . 

In tests conducted at Yuma Proving Ground and in the Panama Canal 

Zone, del iberate road craters produced with XM268 had apparent 

dimensions approximately 20 percent deeper and 28 percent wider 

than those obtained with ammonium 

nitrate charges. 

XM268 is denser than ammonium 

nitrate and has the consistency of a 

syrup which allows it to be poured 

or pumped directly into emplacement holes. This combination of 

superior density and fluid consistency allows XM268 to fill all voids 

within the emplacement hole and to 

form a more compact charge than 

ammonium nitrate cannisters. When 

shaped charges blast open holes , 

they can be loaded with slurry even 

if they are too small to load with 

ammonium nitrate charges. Figure 4 

shows the XM268 blasting agent 

being poured through a 31/2-inch 

ENGINEER 

diameter hole which was blasted 

with a IS-pound shaped charge. 

Results of testing the shaped charge 

and the blasting agent suggest two 

design configurations-one for thick 

pavements and the other for thin 

pavements and unpaved roads. The 

thick pavement design uses 40­

pound shaped charges to blast J:,oles 

spaced 10 feet on centers as shown 

in Figure 1D. One hundred and 

twenty pounds of blasting agent is 

poured into each hole. Testing of 

this three hole deliberate crater design has shown that it performs at 

least as well as the standard deliberate road crater. 

The thin pavement design is a 

modification of the hasty road crater 

design of Figure IA. Fifteen-pound 

shaped charges are used to blast 

holes five feet on centers. Each hole 

contains between 50-80 pounds of 

XM268 blasting agent. The exact 

quantity would depend on actual 

hole size since blasting agent would 

be poured until either the hole is almost filled, or 80 pounds had been 

used. 

FIGURE 5 M180 cratering kit 

These proposed designs minimize 

the number of blast holes that require cleaning. Balancing shaped 

charge size to pavement thickness 

insures that the maj ority of shots 

produce open holes. The blasting 

agent's fluid state is used to allow 

its pi aceme nt in ope n hal es too 

small for standard cratering charges. 

Note that these designs offer advantages even if the holes require 

cleaning. Since the thick pavement 

design utilizes a lO-foot hole spacing, there are fewer holes to clean. 

The thin pavement design uses just 

as many holes as conventional designs, but they are never deeper than 

five, feet. Certain logistical and cost 

benefits are quantified later. 

The M 180 cratering kit (Figure S) 

offers a substantial improvement in 

preparation time over other systems . 

Unlike conventional cratering procedures, the M180 does not require 

site preparation. Tests indicate that 

this system will reduce the time required to execute a crater from over 

two hours to less than 30 minutes 

under good conditions. During tests 

continued 
FIGURE 6 Single M 180 crater in 7.S-inch concrete pavement 

at Aberdeen Prov ing Groun d , three 

kit co nfigurations pro duced craters 

whic h averaged 7 .9 fee t deep (appare nt) , 24.6 fee t wide, and 29 . I 

feet lon g . The ave rage crater for a 

five -kit co nfiguration was 8.5 fee t 

deep (ap parent) . 34 .0 fee t wide , and 

37.5 feet long. 

Comparison of cratering data from 

different test ar eas i ndica te that 

thes e dim en sion s are probabl y optimum and will be smaller for man y 

so il conditions. M 180 kits ha ve been 

successfully fir ed throu gh concrete 

and as phalt pavem ents up to 71

/2­

inche s thick (Figure 6) . Th e M1 80 

c re ates effec tive obs tac les in wet 

soils but is apparently ineffective in 

dry desert soils. Train in g re quiremen ts for the M 180 ar e less than 

those for standard cratering pro cedures. 

Whil e the M 180 system will allow 

rapid crateri ng , ce rtain fact ors limit 

its tac tical use . Due to system requirements, no more than five kits 

ca n be fired simultaneously. Thus. 

the longest cra ter which ca n be execute d at one time is appro xima tely 

36 fee t ( I I me ters) . Th is co rresponds to a five- ho le deliberate crater. This limitation , coupled with the 

M 180 ' s poo r reli a bility in thi c k 

(12- inch) concrete pavements, indicates that the M 180 will not reliably 

crater an autobahn . 

In add ition , the system require s 

electric ini tia tio n by a bl a stin g 

TABLE 4 

mac hi ne with a 50 -cap or lar ger 

c apacity . Th e elec tric c aps in the 

system are subjec t to prem ature de tonation by a ny stro ng rad io fre ­

quency (RF) source . Thus, the use 

of tactical radios and rada r must be 

controlled where the set is used. 

Fu rt hermo re, th e ki t ' s ro cke t 

motor ca nnot be fired if it becomes 

hotter than 130°F. Due to this limitation and cratering perform ance in 

dr y soi ls th e ki t is probabl y not 

suitcd to d esert 0 perati ons . The 

M1 80 rocket motor and , to a lesser 

degre e, its warhead are li ke ly to 

bu rn o r de to na te whe n struck by 

small arms fire . These limitation s 

must be co nsid ered in plann ing its 

tactical lise . 

Road Crater Explos ives Requ irements 

(20 ft Roadway) 

Shaped Charges 40-lb Crater TNT BA Packaged Weight Packaged Volume 

Type 15-lb 40-lb Charge (lb) (Ib) Ib (kg) ft3 (m3) 

Standard Systems: 

Hasty 5 5 50 657 (298) 18.3 (0.52) 

Deliberate 5 8 8 756 (343) 21 .1 (0.60) 

Relieved Face 7 4 94 798 (362) 22.2 (0.63) 

M180 5 Kits 825 (374) 36.0 (1.02) 

Proposed Systems : 

3-Hole Deliberate 3 6 360 643 (292) 16.3 (0.46) 

(Thick Pavement) 

Modified Hasty 

(Thin Pavement) 5 10 400 609 (276) 15.3 (0.43) 

30 FALL 1980 
I t is ques tiona ble if the M 180 is 

suited fo r re se rved demolition s. 

Whil e the kit s ca n be qu ic kly 

assembled, they cannot be placed on 

the roadway un t il all traffic has 

passed. This may well requ ire final 

kit a ssembl y a nd a rmi ng w he n 

enemy forces a re close at ha nd . 

Sin c e th e Ml 80 is e lect rica lly 

primed. an eng inee r sq ua d e ither 

must give its bl asting machi ne and 

firin g wire to the dem ol ition guard 

co mmande r, or the squad must wai t 

at the site and fir e the device them ­

se lves. Th e assembled kits would be 

parti cularl y v ulne ra b le to sma l l 

a r ms fi re . mort ars a nd arti llery 

which co uld ei the r knock the ki ts 

ove r or prem aturel y deton ate them . 

In direct summer sunlig ht, assembled kits may require shade to keep 

their tem per atu re below 130°F when 

ex posed for lon g per iods of tim e . 

Co nve ntional cra ter systems are inco nvenie nt and slow since they requ ire closing the road to traffic durin g co ns t r uct io n . But once th e 

cha rges a re buried a nd prop erl y 

pr ime d with a non- el ectric firing 

system . the y may we ll prove to be 

much more re lia ble in closi ng a passa ge point at c rucial tim e duri ng 

battle. 

Logistic al e fficiency is of particular imp ort ance to engineer units 

which mu st tran sport their Class V 

ma terials over long distances. Table 

4 co mpares th e logi stics requ irements for cratering a 20-foo t (6. 1­

meter) roadw ay (and shoulders) with 

vario us syste ms . This tabl e wa s 

compi led usin g the weights and volum es of p ackaged cha rges, since 

explosi ves are normall y issued and 

tran sported in this manner. 

For planning use , the we ight and 

volume of mine s sho uld be added to 

the se figures. General trend s ca n be 

noted by co mparing the se valu es to 

those of the hasty crater. Deliberate 

and rel ie ved face designs require 

a bo u t 15 a nd 20 p e r cent more 

we igh t and vo lume, resp ectivel y. 

The M 180 system weighs 25 percent 

more th an the ha sty crater expl osives and requ ires almost doubl e the 

volu me . The proposed designs average about five percent less in weight 

an d 10 perce nt les s in volume. 

Wh en we ight is the limiting factor, 

the re is at best a 35 percent difference in the number of systems per 

veh icle load. When volume capaci ty 

ENGINEER 

TABLE 5 

Estimated 1980 Procurement Cost 

to Crater a 20 ft Roadway 

Type Cost Relative Cost 

Standard Systems: 

Hasty 

Deliberate 

Relieved-Face 

M180 

Proposed Systems : 

3 Hole Deliberate 

Modified Hasty 

is cri tica l (i .e ., five -ton dump 

truc k), a vehicle ca n ca rry almost 

twice as ma ny h ast y ro ad cra te r 

systems or blas ting age nt systems as 

it can M1 80 systems. 

At the user level, system cost is 

seldo m co nside red . But cost impacts 

up on proc ureme nt and is also refl ect ed in the amo unt of live fire 

train i ng th at c an be co nd uc te d. 

T abl e 5 co mpa res t he es tim ate d 

1980 cost of crateri ng a 20 -foo t 

roadway (a nd sho ulders) with various systems. The cost fig ures reflect 

either ac tua l or estima ted costs for 

purch asing a ll requ ir ed ite ms at 

current prices. Th e figures show a 

big cost differen ce between craters 

produ ced by blasting age nt, present 

arnon imum nitrate ex plos ives, and 

the M18 0 . 

Co nce ptually , cratering is a simple process. Once the obstacle location has been ch osen, an enginee r 

squad prepa res and fires explosive 

charges to cre ate an effec tive obstacle within a scheduled time peri od. 

Un fortunatel y , not a ll te st data 

agr ees with doctrinal estimates of 

effectiveness and prep aration time. 

Whil e the effect ive ness of the deliberate cr ater desi gn in wet soils is 

we ll d o cu ment ed , performanc e 

testin g of the hasty and reli eved face 

designs is virtuall y nonexi stant. 

The few tests of the reli eved face 

design indicate it is unreli able . In 

addition, all of our crateri ng systems 

are prob ably margin al to ineffective 

in desert environme nts. Our timepl annin g fig ures are pr ob abl y too 

optimistic for our curre nt lev el of 

experience in cratering actu al roadways with sq uad -sized e le men ts . 

$ 1,675 1.0 

1,860 1.1 

2,095 1.3 

16,000 9.5 

855 0.5 

1,255 0.8 

Barrier pl ans and war gaming based 

on opti mis tic estima tes will give a 

distorted view of engineer requirements and capabilitie s. Wh ile th e 

M 180 will provid e a rapid cratering 

system, it is by no mean s an all ­

purpose devi ce . 

Many aspects of military cratering 

need addition al resea rc h . Ta bles 

should be developed which co rre late 

crater size and trafficabil ity to soi l 

co nditions. It may prov e necessary 

to devel op two se ts of c rater desig ns, one for soi ls which are easy 

to crater and the other for less favorable soils. Emplacement timetabl es 

sho uld be devel op ed wh ich relate 

construction time to the difficulty of 

produ cin g emplacement h ol es . 

There is room for devel op ment of 

better hole blasting techniques, or 

even lightweight drilling equipme nt 

w h ic h could rapidly c r e a te 

emplacem ent hol es. Elimination of 

heavy shaped charges from cra tering 

systems would conside rably Iigh ten 

the logistical load. The XM-268 and 

the MI80 offer distinct impro ve ­

ments over current produc ts. But 

further research to full y mea sure the 

potential of the se co ncep ts a nd 

products seems justified . It is vit al 

that engineers appl y the best availabl e technology to suppo rt the combined arm s team. ... 

Cap tain Robert D . Vol: is presently as ­

signed as a Research and Development 

Coordinato r at the Wate rways Experiment Station in Vick sburg, MS . Prev io us as sig nments include co mpa ny 

com ma nde r. S- 2. and pla toon lead er 

with the 54th Engi neer Battal ion (C BT), 

USAREUR. 

31 
W e have seen, in recent ye ars, man y instances of 

newl y appointe d non commissioned officers 

(NCOs) not knowing what their job wa s or 

what was expec ted of them by thei r subordinates or 

superiors. We have also seen newly appointed NCOs 

who did not know what to expect of their superior NCO. 

Wh en the noncommissioned officer receives his first 

set of chevrons, he becomes a different individual . He is 

no lon ger " one of the guy s. " but the man his subor dinat es look cof or leadership . He is no lon ger responsibl e 

only for himself but for all those wh o work for him . The 

NCO must know and live up to his duti es and responsibi lities at all times. Th e term , " That is not my respon ­

sibility ," can not be accepted if it co nce rns one of his 

subordina tes, his unit, or the US Arm y. 

To earn and maintain the respect and tru st of his men , 

the NCO must prove he know s his job. This doe s not 

mean to merely know what the book says about a specific assignment, but to hav e the vision to see the com ­

pleted task , and the ability to lead his men to that obj ect ive . Th e noncommissioned office r mu st hav e an 

ope n mind and be able to realize and acce pt new ideas 

and concepts. He must keep himself we ll inform ed by 

self-study, att ending schoo l, learn ing from supe rio rs and 

peer s and, last but not least , fro m subordinates. Re ­

mem ber, goo d ideas do not always co me fr om th e 

supe rviso r. Tod ay' s young soldier will not accept the 

reasoning " That is the way we have always done it," so 

we had bett er present a valid reason . 

In addition to job knowledge, the NCO must know the 

overall unit mission . He must be able to expl ain the 

mission, how it is to be accomplis hed, who is going to 

do what , and the reason beh ind all actions. Th e goo d 

NCO will be able to answe r these questions and employ 

his me n properly to insure prompt mission accomplis hmen t. 

Too many times we hear com plai nts that indi viduals 

within a unit are not utilized prop erl y. Before an NCO 

can properl y utili ze his per sonnel he has to know more 

than rank and last nam es. By kno wing eac h ind ividual's 

ability, personality, and pattern s of behavior , the non ­

commissioned officer can readily assign du ties an d expect th em to be accompl ish ed . Oth e r fact ors wh ich 

should be con sidered are : conditio ns existi ng within his 

family; financial pr obl ems; com plaints co nce rni ng the 

unit or other per sonn el wi thin the unit. These fac tors 

ca n influence the actions or attitude of subor dina tes . 

The Noncommissioned
 

Officer 

by CSM (Ret) Johnny W. Greek 

32 FALL 1980 
j Profession al dev el opment of subordinates is ano the r 

resp on sib ility o f the noncommissi on ed officer. By 

kno win g the lim its of their ability and their intere st, he 

can provid e educational guidance . In selecting a n individual to attend school , the NC O mu st ca refully consider the need s of the Army as well as the individu al. 

Consid er the man ' s pa st record as well as his dem onstrated pot ential. Training received at unit level is even 

more import ant tha n sc ho ol training . Unit lev el training 

conduct ed by the NCO must be co nd uc ted properl y if it 

is to produce the desired res ults . 

This does not mean there ha s to be a fancy cl assroom, 

cha rts , slides, and ex pe ns ive training aid s available . It 

does mean , how ever , that there has to be a need ed subject , a compe ten t instructor, and mot ivated personnel. 

The in stru ctor must kn ow his subject matter, rehearse 

the class, and be confident in pre sen tin g material to the 

stude nts . Th e instructi on presented mu st be need ed by 

th e st ude nts or they will hav e little d esire to learn . 

Spe nd yo ur lim ited tr aining time w ith classes that help 

the student become more proficient in his job. 

When pr esen tin g in formation , talk 10 the class. Don't 

tal k above or be low their level of und er standing . If stu ­

dent s are confused , they ca nno t learn . Whe never possibl e , use appropria te tr ainin g aids. If the subject is ope ratio n of the M-1 6 rifl e , hav e sufficent weapon s availabl e fo r each studen t. Since all c lasses canno t be co ndu ct ed in th is mann er, the in structor sho uld provid e 

adequa te tra ini ng aids to maintain student inte rest. 

Anothe r typ e of trainin g is disciplinary in nature. 

Most so ldie rs rel ate discipline to pu nishment , but NCOs 

c anno t ad mi nis ter punish men t. By definition. discipline 

is "a bran ch of kn owl ed ge or lea rn ing; training that develops se lf contro l, character or orde rl iness or efficiency . " 

To be co nc ise, d iscipline means tr aining. teachin g , 

and learning. We sho uld not co nfus e discip line wi th 

punishment. Disciplin ar y action to co rrec t a discrepanc y 

is co rrec tive training and mu st be conducted wh ere a 

disc repancy exists. If an ind iv idu al is forced to perform 

a menial task in retaliation of a breach of discipline , he 

is being punished and is not receiving correcti ve training . No rmally , du e to lack of time during duty hours, 

co rrec tive training is co nduc ted during nonduty hours. 

This period o f instruction mu st be conduc ted in suc h a 

ma nner as to teach the indi vidual and not belittle h im . 

One meth od of admin isterin g discipline is on- the -s po t 

co rrection . In making on-the -spo t co rr ec tio ns, al ways 

us e court esy and tact. 

The good NCO will be ava ilable to his subordin ates at 

all tim es and will insure the y are aware of it. Wh e n a 

ma n comes to h is supe rior fo r help , day or nigh t, he 

ex pec ts to be helped . Th e NCO mu st be wi lling to gi ve 

up mu ch of his free time to assist the in div idual who is 

troubl ed becau se tha t so ldie r may not be aro u nd tom orrow to ask fo r help . Wh en probl em s arise that he ca nno t 

solve, he mus t have access to his supe rio rs or perso nne l 

train ed to assis t with thos e problems . The avail abili ty of 

all members in the cha in of command mu st be esta blished and public ized . 

One area th at co u ld c aus e probl em s fo r the NCO 

today is the supe rvisio n of wo me n. In the pa st , few 

ENGINEER 

NCO s had wom en under their direc t supe rvrsion , but 

Worl d W ar II brou ght the realization th at women can 

perform most of the same milit ary tasks as men. On the 

average , mil itary women ar e more educate d th an their 

mal e co unterparts. Ev en tho ugh mo st women do not 

have the varied experience of their male co unterparts, 

they ca n just a s easily be train ed to perform essential 

duties. Once the woman has become accus to med to her 

unit, she must receive no special treatment or privileges 

or she wi ll never feel that she ha s be come a part of her 

organiza tio n. 

As the NCO progres ses in grad e . so do his dutie s 

and re sp on sibilitie s. The firs t step up in re spon ­

sibility is the assign ed duty as a squad leader. 

At squad level the NCO is in more d ire ct contact wi th 

the work ing body of a unit tha n at any other level. The 

squa d leader is the first li nk in the cha in of command 

and in th e NCO channel of co mmunic ation . Through 

thi s ch anne l , the squad leader transm its the pulse of the 

un it to h is superiors . He must supe rvise his subo rdi nates 

in dail y ac tiv ities and in the pe rformance of spec ial mi ssions . He is resp on sible for the appe ar an ce , accountabili ty , and training of his squad, and for the maint enance and acco untab ility of all equip me nt issu ed to his 

sq uad . 

Th e sq u ad leader mu st se t the exam ple . H e mu st 

ma intain his appe arance well withi n the limits set by accepted and pr e scribed policy . Th e overweight NCO can 

ex pec t a negative respon se wh en he tells a subo rdinate 

he need s a haircut. 

Th e squad leader must at all tim es be able to account 

for the members of his squad . Accountability includes 

the knowledge of whe re his pe ople are , wha t the y are 

do ing, and when they are expec ted to return . 

Th e squad , as the base e leme nt of the pl atoon , mu st 

be prepared to per form its mission at all times. This requires unit training , and is a responsibility of the squ ad 

leader. Training sh ould include the cross tr ain in g of individuals within the squad to enable the squad to fun ction e ven during the absence of one or more member s 

and under the most adverse conditions. 

Normally , tim e is not ava ilable for form al classroom 

training , so the sq uad leader mu st be prep ared to present 

impro mptu or " too l-box" cl asse s at an y opportunity . 

Cl asse s could be pr es ented durin g br eaks or while the 

squad is waiting to move fro m one lo cation to ano the r. 

Any time the squa d lead er ha s five mi nutes, he sh ould 

be pr ep ar ed to in stru ct squa d members on subjec ts suc h 

a s safety , person al hygiene , or mainten ance of eq uipment. Afte r all, it is the squad leader' s respon sibil ity to 

see the individual s' eq uipment is properl y maintained. 

Th ese basi c duties and re spo nsibi lities of the squad 

leader will co ns ume most of his dut y hours. Durin g 

off- duty hours, he mu st prep are him sel f to ass ume the 

duties and respo nsi bilities of platoon se rgeant. 

Th e pl atoon se rgeant is the firs t step in the NCO 

channel of co mm un ication tha t has an officer as the immediate supervisor. Th erefore , man y of the du ties will 

b e pre sc r ib ed by th e pl at o on lead er. The pl at oon 

continued 

33 
sergeant advises and assists the platoon leader in supervising the performance of platoon members through the 

squad leaders. Most pl ato on lead ers ar e young and inexperienced, and look to the platoon sergeant for guidance , instruction , and encouragement. It is up to the 

platoon sergeant to provide this leadership . He should 

not try to confuse or "sno w" his platoon leader. It is 

only natural for a platoon sergeant to feel possesive toward his platoon, especially if he has been in the unit 

for a period of time , but possessiveness should not affect his relationship with the platoon leader. 

The platoon sergeant further assi sts the platoon lead er 

by relayin g information to squad leaders, coordinating 

the e fforts of squad leaders as sisting in acquiring 

supplies and equipment needed , counse ling personnel 

concerning promotion s, job performance, reenlistment 

and per sonal problems, accounting for personnel by 

utilizing the squad leader's reports, and passing information up and down the NCO channel of communication . He must also assist squad leaders in the pursuit of 

MOS proficiency while, at the same time , preparing 

himsel f fo r advancement to the po sition of first 

sergeant. 

The first sergeant is the senior nonc ommissioned advisor to the company commander. He must ass ist the 

command er in the operati on of the unit, and advi se him 

on all matt ers pertain ing to the unit mission or person ­

nel. Army Regulation 611-20 contains a long list of 

first sergeant responsibilities. In addition. he is respon ­

sibl e for and to every man in his unit and if he should 

ever become so mission-oriented that he forgets this, the 

unit will surely suffe r. 

The first sergeant is usuall y the most expe rienced man 

in his unit and should be able to assist in solving man y 

probl ems that confront his men . The first sergeant 

should take every opportunity to be with un it personnel 

at work , in the field , or at pla y . 

The command sergeant major, as ad visor to the bat ­

tali on commander, canno t affo rd to be tied to his desk . 

He, like th e unit first se rgeant, must know and be 

known, by everyone in the command if he is to advis e 

the commander on their welfare and moral e . One of his 

duti es , listed in AR 611-20, is to " make note of observed discrepancies and institute appropriate corrective 

actions in the name of (he commander. " On -the-spot 

correcti on s should be made for the sake of discipline . 

The last duties and responsibilities to be examined 

herein are those of NCOs assigned to position s o utside 

the normal chain of command, including operations, 

intelli gen ce , logistics, maintenance , and personnel activities at battalion level and high er , as well 'as messin g , 

mot or , and supply activ ities at company and troop level. 

Commissioned or warrant officers supervise the se activitie s. Therefore, NCOs assigned to these activities 

must assume responsibility for the duti es of their sup ervisor in their specialty area . Personnel assigned to TD A 

positions and positions c reated for sho rt periods of time 

are in the same category as personnel assi gned to special 

skill positions. 

This was not intended to be a "laundry list " of duties 

and responsibilities, but rath er a description of the most 

import ant NCO requ irem ents. If the NC O performs 

these duti es to the best of his abil ity and training , he 

will belon g to a unit he can be proud to call his own . If 

he cannot live up to the se requirement s, then he is in 

the wron g profession. III 

Com mand Sergean t Major J ohnn y W. Greek reiired f rom at ­

live du ty in November / 978. He died in November / 979 . 

34 FALL 1980 

RESERVE C MPONEN1r
 

SPECIAL WEEKEND COURSES 

In continuing to prov ide tra ini ng assi st an c e to Ae ti vc Compone nt. Army 

Na tional G uard , and Army Rese rve eng ine er un it s. the US A rmy Engi neer 

Sc hoo l (U SAES) has sc hed uled we ekend 

co urse s d uring FY 8 1. Ea ch course will 

be approx imat ely 12 hours . The se are 

the o nly spec ia l weekend co urses o ffe red duri ng FY 8 1 

Th e p urpose o f the pr ogram IS to trai n 

officers a nd NCOs w ho w ill he c o nducting train in g cou rse s in the ir re specti ve un its. Th e refore . stude nts attend ing 

the se courses should be perso nnel who . 

by MOS o r Job assign ment, a re most 

likely to be responsibl e for co nducti ng 

unit training in these part icul ar subject 

areas. Se lec ted stu de nts sho uld also be 

fam iliar wi th the s ubject matt er, since 

instruct ion is a fa st-pa ced re vie w an d 

no t d esigned for inuial lcarnin g . 

Enroll ment in anyone co urse will be 

limit e d . A pp l ica t io n fur attend a nce 

sho uld be mad e in the same ma nner as 

fo r o t her Ac t ive Du t y for Train ing 

(A DT ) o r F ul l Ti me Train i ng Duty 

(F TTDl. U ni ts m ay wi sh to co ns id e r 

using l OT , with TOY, as a n alterna te 

method fo r se nd ing pe rso nnel at reduced 

co sts . 

U nit s must ve rba lly confirm ava ilab ili ty of stude nt a llo ca tions to the Un it 

Trai n ing Sec tion . TM D , U SAES , by 

ca lling AUTOVON 35 4 -3008 , comme rcial (703) 664 -3008 . o r INW ATS 800­

33 6-30115, ext. 3008 , before is su ing orMISSOURI GUARD UNIT CONSTRUCTS BRIDGE 

Sharpening their military skills while performing a public servi ce . members of 

Compan y A . I IOlh Engineer Battalion, Missou ri Army Na tional Gua rd (Ka nsas 

City) , construct a pedestrian bridge at Porn de Terre recr eation area near Wheat ­

lan d , 11,4 0 . The bridg e was one of sev eral projects comple ted by the 110t h f or the 

Corps of Engineers and the Misso uri Conservation Commi ssio/1 while conducting 

annual/raining at Camp Cla rk, MO . 

d er s to pe r so n ne l se lected to at tend 

cou rses . 

Qua lified Army Na tion a l G ua rd pe rso n ne l interested in att ending o ne or 

mo re course s must appl y th rou gh their 

c hain of command to the National Guard 

Bu rea u , Sc hoo ls Bra nch , uti lizi ng NGB 

Form 64 . 

Un rts w h ic h h a ve be e n p ro vi ded 

course allo catio ns are re sponsible to insure att enda nce o f those perso nnel. lf 

c ircu mstanc es preclude a tte nd ance, orde rs issui ng he adqu art e rs must non f'y 

the Un it Training Sec tion of ca nce ll atio n 

as soo n as po ss ible , bu t not later than 10 

work ing days prior to the start of class. 

Orde rs should read : . 'For ind ividu al 

tr aini ng with USAES Speci a l Weekend 

Co urs e 80 - SP__" . In d ividu als mu st 

repo rt fo r mp ro cc ssi ng prior to 8 : 15 

a .m. the firs t d ay of c lass. T hey will be 

re lea sed on or before I:30 p. m . the se co nd day of cl ass. 

St ud en ts mu st s ubmit pay and tra vel 

vo uc hers a t the ir ho m e sta tion per 

TRADOC Su p plem ent to AR 5-9. dated 

Novemb er 2 1. 1978 

Inqu iries con ce rning thi s program and 

th e c o nfi rmat io n of cl ass a llncations 

shou ld be d irected to the Unit Tra ining 

Section , TM D , USA ES . by call ing the 

ph o ne num be rs listed abo ve . or wr iting 

to C om ma nda n t. US Army Eng ineer 

S cho o l, ATTN : ATZA - DTR (U TS), 

Fo rt Belvoir, V A 22060 . 

CAPSTONE PROGRAM 

T he Army Ca psto ne Prog ram reach ed 

new hei ghts (hi s s u mme r whe n to p officials of the Army 's Active and Reserve 

Compone nts signed a Me morandum of 

Understanding a t He adq uart e rs . US 

Army Force s Co mmand (FORSCOM), 

Fon McP hers on, GA . 

Capsto ne tic s the peacetime trai ning 

and plann ing of the Army 's ac tiv e a nd 

Re se rve Co mpone nts (RC) to states ide 

and Euro pean wart im e need s. Its objec ­

tive s ar e 10 imp ro ve training , mo bi lizatio n , dep lo ym e nt , and management of 

the force . It fo rms Act ive and RC un its 

int o pack age s for wart ime deploymen t. 

Th e Memora ndum of Und e rstandi ng 

clarifi es the ro le each co mpo ne nt play s 

in ca rry ing out the Capstone program . It 

a lso ex pla in s ho w com mand c ha nne ls 

fun c tion un d er the progr am . 

Depa rt men t of the Ar my ha s d irected 

36 FALL 1980 
fOR SCOM 10 impl em ent Capstone . All 

co mmands invol ved in the progra m must 

e stab lish plann ing and train ing ass ocia ­

n ons with th eir Capstone units. 

Gen . Robe rt M . S hoemake r. COIll ­

manding ge neral. FORSCOM ; Lt. Gen. 

L a Ver n E. W eber . c hief. Na t ro n al 

Gua rd Bureau; a nd Maj . Gen. William 

R . Ber km an , c h ie f. Arm y Re se rv e , 

sig ned the ag ree me nt . 

MILITARY DUT Y DEFINED 

Medi cal ma nageme nt of in ca pac ita ­

tion pay has presented a pro ble m in th e 

pa st to RC co m manders. To clar ify . the 

follo wing c urr ent definition is offered 

co nc e r n ing the r eturn 10 " no rm al " 

mil itar y d ut ie s: . 'Norm al mil itary du ty 

refers to th at milit ary d uty fo r which th e 

se rv ice me mbe r is qualifi ed or for wh ich 

he /she ca n be trained within th e sco pe of 

his/her func tio na l ab ili tie s a nd limitations as set forth in hi s/her physi cal 

profil e. In this instance , the phra se 

" no rmal military dutie s " doe s not infer 

that th e serv ic e mem be r should be ca pabl e of performing the sa me duties perfor med prior to incurring th e pre sent 

injury an d/o r ill ne ss . In cases whcre 

medic al eva lua tion alo ne is insufficient 

to e stablish the effect of an impai rme nt 

upon performance of no rm al duties , the 

MTF co m ma nde r sho uld see k evi dence 

fro m th e me mber 's unit co mmander to 

s ubsta ntiate abil ity o r inability to perfo rm nor mal duties. " 

MOBEX 80 

" Proud Sp irit" /MOB EX 80 is schedu led for Iar e fall. It is de signed to 

eva luate the ca pab ilit y o f CONUS co mman d a nd contro l headq uarte rs, and 

pl aying ins ta lla tio ns to co mma nd and 

suppo rt the mo b ilizatio n of US Ar my 

Reserve a nd National Guard units. Un it 

level pla y will be limit ed to the prep ar alion o f urut data packet s for sub mission 

to pla yin g mobili zat ion statio ns. 

MORE MOS BONUSES 

Du ring fiscal Ye ar 1981 the Sel ected 

Re se rv e In centi ve Pr ogr am (S R IP) is 

sc hed uled to inc orporat e se ve ral cri tica l 

M OS in all Troop Pro gr am Units . Current plan s call for bonu ses for MOS I I , 

ENGINEER 

12 , 13, 19.9 1. and 95B. Thi s method o f 

pr o gram expa ns io n is c o nsid e red th e 

mo st con st ruc tive to achi ev e stre ng th 

goa ls in the weake r part of the US AR 

struc tu re . Instruct ions sho uld alre ad y be 

i n t he hands o f fie ld un its fo r Implem e ntat ion on Oc tober J. 

PREGNAN CY 

A c hange to A R 135- 91 establishe s 

the poli cy and procedures fo r proce ssin g 

members of the Arn]y Nati onal Guard 

and Ar my Re serve who beco me pr eg ­

nant. 

NEW TERMS 

The Re ady Re serve is div ided in to 

three major ca te go ric s: Se lected Re serve 

Units, Pretrained Indi vidu al Re servist s, 

and the Training Pipel ine . 

Se lec ted Reserve Units (SRUs) are 

those org anized to serve as units up on 

mobili zati on . 

Pr e tr ai ned Individu al Re s er vi sts 

(PIRs) incl ude tra ined indi vid uals who 

have complet ed initial trainin g and are 

not membe rs of Sel ect ed Re ser ve Units. 

These augment Ac tive o r Re serve units 

as fill er s or re plac ements upon mobilizatio n . 

Ready Re ser ve Training Pipel ine (TP ) 

c on sists of a ll Re ad y Re servist s wh o 

have not ye t co mp le ted initi al act ive 

d uty for tr ai nin g . 

Th ere have been nu merous c ha nges 

during the past ye ar in the me aning of 

various terms appli ed to the Reserve 

Co m po ne nts . The se c ha nge s a re intended to clarify and si m plify unde rsta nd ing and to im prove the man age ­

ment of th e Read y Re se rve. 

PX PRIVILEGES DOUBLE 

In April, Post Exchang e privilege s 

doubl ed fo r members of Army Reserve 

and Nat io nal Gu ar d units. 

Re se rv e Compo ne nt members now 

earn o ne d ay of Po st Ex c ha nge pri vileges fo r each four-hour drill weeke nd . 

For examp le , a two-d ay drill we ekend 

ea r n s th e m emb er f our d a ys o f 

pri vileges. Re d Re serve Co mpo ne nt 10 

cards a nd leave and ea rn ing stateme nts 

mu st be pr esented whe n usin g the Post 

Ex change . 

ENGINEER RESERVES 

UNDE RGO DIVER TRAINING 

Specialist Four Luis Cabrera and Staff 

Sergeant Paul D . Loeffl er inspect a 

diver bef ore he enters the 33 -fo ot 

training tank ope rated by the Fort 

Eustis Di vin g Detachm ent . Ca brera 

and the diver are members of the Arm y 

Reserv e' s 6991h Port Constru ction 

Enginee r Compan y f rom Pu erto Ri co 

that spe nt two weeks of active duty 

train ing at the Virgin ia installation . 

Loeffl er is a memb er of the Fort Eustis 

Diving Deta chm ent . 

37 
_ _ 

1 

ENLISTED CAREER INFO - M---­

FULL TIME MANNING 

PROJECT 

M o re than 1,00 0 soldiers o n active 

duty will be assi gn ed to Re serve Compon ent (RC) units b y the e nd of thi s 

month as part of the Army' s f ull- time 

manni ng (FTM) pr oj ect Add itional assi gnments ar e expect ed in FY 81 and 

l arer . 

FTM is aime d at improvin g rhe read iness of se lec te d hi gh priorit y Army Na ­

t io nal Gu ard and US Arm y Re serve 

units. The added full time so ldie rs will 

work in the personnel manage ment , ad ­

ministrati on , training , maintenance, and 

supply areas. Gua rd and Reserve units 

have the same training standards as ac ­

ti ve un its, w hi ch include pe rformin g 

level o ne missi on s, bu t th ey hav e only 

two d ays ea ch month a nd two we eks o f 

annu al trainin g to do it. 

Th e only full time pe ople in most Nati on al Guard an d Army Re se rve uni t s 

a re o ne o r tw o c i vi lia n e m p loyees , 

Adm in a nd Supply Technici an s (A STs) 

in e ach com pa ny-siz e unit , a nd add ition al supervisory te chnicians at battal ­

ion and higher headqu art er s. Ei ght perce nt are performin g full time duty i n 

support of the Guard , while onl y three 

perc ent of the autho rized strength of the 

Army Reserv e is in full time support. 

Th e e nti re FTM pr oject will pro vid e 

more than 3,000 full ti me so ld ie rs fo r 

the RC. In ad d itio n to the 1,07 0 active 

Army so ld iers, I , I 08 Gu ard members 

a nd 1,0 60 Res ervists wi ll be pu t o n spe ­

c ia l three yea r ac tive dut y tou rs th is 

year. 

MORE E-3s TO BE PROMOTED 

More E-3s may be promoted to E-4 

under a promot ion po licy c hange , DA 

offici als announc ed thi s s ummer. 

Unit comm and ers will be abl e to promot e E-3 s to E-4 as lon g as the number 

of E-4 s in a unit with 15 or more months 

se rv ice s tays bel o w 95 percen t. In the 

past , pr omotions to E-4 stopped whe n 

the E-4 stre ngth re ached 85 per cent of 

the E- 3/E-4 total. 

Th e re ason for the cha ng e is the decline in th e E-4 stre ng th, offic ia ls said . 

Th e c urrent method o f compu tin g the 

nu mber o f E-4s a llo w ed re m ain s th e 

same . Co mmanders may prom ot e so ld ier s in th e wa ive r zo ne ( 15 -23 months 

se rvi ce ), providing the nu mb er in th at 

zone does no t exceed 20 per cent of th e 

E-4 streng th . The limit is based on the 

ac tua l or proj ect ed numbe r of E-4s a ssig ne d to the unit and not on the tota l 

nu mber all o we d. 

SHORTER OVERSEAS TOURS 

So m e j u n io r s o l di e rs will begi n 

s ho rte r tou rs in Euro pe or Japan Octobe r 

1. Fir st termer s o n a three-yea r e nlistment w ho are not command spo nsored 

will have to stay o nly 18 months. Sold iers no w se rve 24 to 32 mo nths in these 

areas . 

This change allows j u nio r soldie rs to 

serve part of their first e nlistmen t overse as and part at a sta teside po st. It also 

s ho rt e ns tours for th o se first termers 

who a re alre ady o verseas. Under an adjustrnent pl an , these so ldie rs wo n' t have 

to s e rve t he re invo lu n ta r ily be yond 

March 30, 1982 . 

S oldi er s in a fou r-ye ar e nli stme nt and 

tho se w ho take the ir depe nde nts ove rseas at th e Ar my 's ex pe nse will se rv e 

the pre sent tour length . 

An Ar my review board recommended 

the I8-month un accompani ed tour earl y 

in 1979 . Army officials feel the red uced 

tou r wi ll impro ve morale amo ng sing le 

a nd u naccom panied so ld i ers se rv i ng 

lon g tours aw ay from th e states. 

CORRESPONDENCE COURSES 

So ld ie rs, E I-E5 , c an no w e arn pr o ­

mo ti on poi n t s for co m p let ing Army 

correspo nde nce co urses, e ve n in th e ir 

primar y MOS . One pro moti on point is 

earned fo r every five cre di t hours co m ­

pl eted. 

In addi tio n to the trad iti o nal " ho rne 

study " courses, so ld ie rs may also earn 

pro motion point s by co m pleting co urses 

i n thr ee ne w programs-Super vi se d 

O n-T h e -J o b T raining (SOH) , T EC 

Co nve rs io n Su b course s , a nd Group 

Stud y Co rrespo nde nce Courses. 

SOJT S ubcourse s p ro v id e hands-on 

Ira i ning in s pec ific sk ill ar eas. Yo u 

donr ju st read about the skill or task . 

but ac tua lly perfo rm ta sks und e r th e 

guid ance of a supe rv isor or inst ruc to r. 

T ra ining Exte nsio n Cou rse Co nv ersion S ub coursc s in vol ve the use of a 

TEC cassette a nd the Beseler Cue/Sec 

proj ector fo r st ud y , foll ow ed by a n 

exam for poi nt c red it. M an y TEe Co nvers io n Subcourscs are still und er de ­

ve lop me nt, but some are alread y available , like Eng ineer Su bcourse 5524, the 

Uni ver sal Trestl e . 

Group Study Correspo nde nc e Co urses 

inv ol ve group study und er the direc tio n 

o r guidance of an NCO or supe rv isor. 

Examp le s o f availa ble courses are En ­

g i nee r Subc ourse 05 0 1, Combat En ­

g ineer, and E ng inee r Subcourse 006 3 , 

Soils a nd Pavem en ts. 

Soldi er s are , in incr ea sing number s. 

usin g Co rrespo ndence Co urses to gai n 

expertise in th eir M OS and to help pr epar e fo r thei r Skill Q ualifica tio n Tests. 

La te st figu res com pile d by the Ar my In ­

stitute fo r Pr o fess io nal De vel opment reveal tha t e nro ll me n t in the E ng ineer 

Correspo nde nce Co urse Pr ogr am is near 

20 ,00 0 students. 

Th e inc reasing popul arity of Corre ­

s po nde nce Co urses m ay be due to the 

fact that all c ourses are se lf-paced, en ­

ablin g the individual to wo rk at his own 

rate . Self-pace d in structi on is used increasing ly A rmy -w ide, so that m an y 

so ld ie rs ar e famili ar with it. 

A nyo ne intere sted sho u ld c heck o ut 

the courses listed in the Army Co rrespo nde nce Course Cata logue s (DA Pam 

35 1-20) at their ed ucati on cente r . A DA 

Form 145 e nroll ment application mu st 

be completed and mailed to : The Army 

Institute fo r Professio na l Develo pment , 

U S Ar my T ra in ing S u ppo rt Ce n ter, 

Newpo rt News, V A 23628 . 

OFFICER CANDIDATE COURSE 

Bran ch Immat eri al Officer ' s Cand idate Co u rse (BIOCC). fo rmerly c alled 

Officer Ca nd id ate Sch ool (OCS) , provid es e nlisted sol d iers an oppo rt unity 10 

be come Army officers . 

Ap pli ca nts to BI OC C mu st meet the 

foll o wi ng require men ts: 

- Be no more th an 29 years of ag e at 

the time of enrollment. 

- Be an e nlisted me m be r or wa rr ant 

office r o n ac tive d uty. 

- Sc or e at lea st 300 poin ts o n th e 

Ph ysical Fitness Te st. 

- Be a U .S . ci tiz e n or ha ve lawfull y 

e nte red the US for pe rmane n t residen ce. 

Militar y Intelli gen ce branch a pp licants 

mu st be a US citize n . 

-Have a GT sc o re of at least 110 for 

mal es and 115 for fema les, score at least 

li S o n the O ffic e r Ca ndi da t e Test 

38 FALL 1980 
(OCT) and a minimum co mposite sc ore 

of 200 on the OCT and Officer Qualifica tio n Inventory (OQ1 ). (Femal es do n' t 

need the OCT and OQ1 .) 

- Ac ce pt a three-ye ar se rvice ob ligation. 

-Meet fitness stand ard s . 

- Mee t weight standards. 

- U S citizens mu st hav e a fav orable 

National Ag e ncy Ch eck and non-citizen s 

must hav e a favorable background investigatio n. 

Graduate s o f the 14-week BIOCC at 

Fort Benning , GA , ar e com missio ned as 

sec o nd lieutenants. 

Applicati ons for BIOCC class 2-&1, 

scheduled to begin Janu ar y 4 , 1981 and 

gr aduate April 14 , must be submitte d by 

Oc to ber 17 , 1980. Th e cuto ff d ate for 

su b missio ns for c las s 3-81 , sc he du led 

for April 19 , 1981 to Jul y 22 , is J anuary 

16. 19i11 . 

Int crc ste d soldi ers should c o nt.ac t 

their local per sonnel office for furth er 

details o n eli gibilit y and appli cation . 

WEIGHT ALLOWANCES 

Offi cers and seni or NCO s going o n 

ac co m panied tours to certain area s in 

German y ar e now ab le to ship more 

hou sehold goods . 

Some soldiers ar e provided housin g 

and furn ishings by the Air Force. Due to 

a shortage of furnishings , E-7 s and 

abo ve assigned to Kai serslautcrn , Ramste in , Land stuh l, and Se rnbach are no w 

authorized the full Joint Travel Regulation s wei ght al lowances for thei r grad es. 

Juni or so ld ie rs assig ned co th ese loc ation s and all grad es assi gned to most 

other ar e as in German y ar e still limited 

in wei ght all owance .s authori zed. 

Sol d iers s ho uld con tact th e ir local 

transportation offi ce for details. 

E-8 BOARD SLATED 

An E-8 promotion board is slated to 

meet at Fort Benj amin Hamson , IN, in 

late Oct ober to se lec t more than 3 ,000 

mast er se rg eants . Eli gible E- 7s on acti ve 

duty with a dale of rank (DOR) between 

Novem be r I, 197 5 a nd Jul y 3 I , J977 

will be co nsid ered in the primary zo ne. 

THE SCHOOL SOLUTION 

EQUIPMENT 

The MIAI breaching kit contains one 15.24-meter section , Since 

the battlefield is 200 meters deep, you determine that 14 kits are 

required for the footpath. You have 20 kits , so there is no problem 

with the footpath. 

The M157 breaching kit contains one 90-meter section . Since a 

one -lane vehicle path requires twice the number of kits as a footpath, and since four kits would clear only 180 meters, you determine that six kits are required to breach at least 200 meters. Again, 

sufficient equipment is available to accomplish the mission , 

PERSONNEL 

Since 3,5 to 4.5 man-hours are required to clear 100 meters with 

each M IA I kit , it follows that 7 to 9 hours are required to clear a 

200-meter footpath . Likewise , since 6 to 8 man-hours are required 

for each M 157 kit , 36 to 48 man-hours are required for six kits. 

The total time required to clear a footpath and a one -lane vehicle 

path through the minefield is 43 to 57 man-hours. Since you have 

only four men and 10 hours in which to accomplish the mission , 

you should request additional personnel asset s. At least two add itional squad members are required to insure maximum efficiency 

and mission accomplishment. 

ENGINEER 39 
OFFICER CAREER INFO
 

SCHOOLING CHANGES 

T he Dep artme nt of the Ar my is 

changi ng the way officers are sele cted 

for Command and Staff College (CSC) 

level trai ning, accord ing to US Army 

Mili ta ry Personne l Ce nte r (M IL PE RCEN) officials. 

Th e Office r Per son nel Man agement 

System (OPMS) changes, app rov ed by 

Army Chief of S taff Ge ne ral Edward 

C. Me ye r last April, also established a 

new Com bined Arms and Se rvices Staff 

Schoo l (CAS 3) for trainin g staff offi ­

cers. 

A new ye ar gro up selection me thod 

will be used to selec t office rs to atte nd 

CSC level training , according to DA 

personnel offic ials. The selec tion process will begin in academic year 1982-83 

wi th offi ce rs co mpe ti ng with in the ir 

own yea r groups for selec tion. Offici als 

add ed tha t a two to three yea r transiti on 

peri od will be needed to implement the 

new selection plan . 

Offic ia ls say c a pt a ins in a no n ­

promot able status, officers be tween their 

8th and l l th years of com miss ioned 

service (YOS) will be eligi ble for selection to attend CSC during the ir 9th and 

14th YOS. 

Each of the four year gro ups will be 

all owed a ce rt ain amount of se ats fur 

eac h CSC c lass. M[LPERCE N officials 

sa y alloca tio ns will be: 15 percent to the 

yea r gro up in the 8th YOS . 15 per cent 

for the 9th YOS, and 35 percent each for 

the 10th and I I th YOS . 

D A will co ntinue usin g the present 

8- 15 YOS se lectio n system until 1983 

whi le th e new CSC sel ecti on plan i s 

bei ug phased in . 

esc se lections bet ween 1982 and 

\983 for off icers with 12-1 5 YOS will 

be based on how many of those officers 

ha ve a lready a tte nd ed CSC, offici al s 

say . 

The mission of the new CAS3 is to 

provide ac tive duty and reserve comp onent off icers rraming to serve as staff 

office rs wi th Ar my fiel d u n its. [h e 

CAS3 will teach officers what staffs do. 

what staffs are, and how staffs opera te. 

Student offic er s will use thei r kn owledge and skills in vanous simulated staff 

situations. 

Offi cia ls added that the CAS3 progr am will be br ok e n d own into two 

phase s. Presently , off icials plan to ine lud e 120 hour s of CAS3 res ide nt instruction and a six -hour exam. Officers 

wil l the n atte nd th e reside nt C AS 3 

course TDY in their 7th, 8th , or 9t h 

YOS . All office rs must par ticipat e in the 

program and off ic e rs co mpleting the 

nonres iden t phase will atten d the resid ent CA S3 co urse . Th e non re si dent 

co urse phase will be tested by the first 

t hree resid ent CAS3 c lasse s before 

being put into the field . 

The first CAS3 co urse is schedule d 

d ur ing FY 8 1 a t Fo rt Leaven wo rt h , 

KA .. and about 120 officers will attend. 

Of fic ia ls say tha t when th e re sid ent 

co urse is fully in gea r in FY 85 , about 

1,200 office rs will receive that traini ng 

each year. 

The exact length of the CAS3 resident co urse is under study by the US 

Army Training and Doctr ine Command 

(T R A DO C ) , Fo r I Mo n ro e , VA. 

TRADOC is also studying the possibil ­

ity of holding resid ent CAS3 courses at 

other locations. 

Graduates of CAS3 may be picked to 

a trend either CSC level trainin g , Seni or 

Service Co llege, or bo th , officia ls say . 

Other pa rts of the officer education 

system are also being studied, according 

to off ic ia ls . Th ese inc lude expa ndi ng 

offic e r basic co urs es an d dev e lo ping 

milita ry q u a l if ica t io n st a nda r ds . 

TR A DO C is al so prep arin g pre ­

comma nd cou rses and spec ialty course s 

for officers in place of officer adva nced 

co urses. 

SENIOR RATERS A.1",n THE 

NEW OER 

In creasing the role of senior officers 

in the eva lua tion process is one of the 

maj or o bj ec tiv es o f the new Off ice r 

Evalu ation Rep ortin g System (OERS). 

The new syst em focu ses atten tion 011 

senior raters and charge s them w ith the 

diffic ult duty of balancin g their obligation s to the rated officer with the ir oo ligati ons to the Army. Senior raters must 

prep are fair and ho nc st eva lua tio ns 

which give ea ch rated offi cer credit for 

his achievements and potenti al. At the 

same time . th ey mus t p ro vide suff'ici e ntl y re alis t ic and d i s c ri mina t m g 

eva luations to allow Depa rtmen t of the 

Arm y c areer man ager s and sele ction 

boar ds to make in tel lige nt pers on nel 

managemen t decisions. 

Ove rall, senior ra ters app ear to be accepting this added responsibili ty. There 

are , ho we ver. a few raters who are 

c laiming that all of thei r officers are in 

the top 1, 2 Of 3 percent of the Arm y. A 

senior rater run s the risk of losing credo 

ibility with se lection board s wit h this 

type of intl ated profil e . In this regard, 

all office rs, es pe c ially se nior ra ters , 

sho uld rev iew th e briefi ng g ive n to 

se le c tion boards o n the ne w OE R . 

Co p ies o f thi s briefin g we re se nt to 

MACOM commanders last April. 

Ano the r meth od the Army use s to 

emphasize the import ance of the senior 

ra ter's responsibili ties is the publica tio n 

of the Seni or Rater Profil e Report (DA 

Form 67-R -2) . Beginning this month. 

th is repo rt will be pu blished an nua lly 

and will show the rating history of each 

Army officer who ha s se nior ra ted at 

least five different office rs. A copy of 

this report will be sent to the senior rater 

and another copy will be placed in the 

per fo rmance sec tio n o f the Official 

Mi litar y Personn e l F i l e (OM PF) 

alongs ide all of the senior rater's other 

perform ance doc uments. This is bei ng 

done to highl ight the fact that the evaluation of subordi nates is one of (he most 

important res po nsib iliti es of sen ior officers because of its impact on the selection of the futur e Army lead ers. Therefore , the ex tent to which a sen ior rater 

fulfills this respon sibility is in itse lf an 

indication of his or her perform ance . 

SERVICE OBLIGATION 

Office rs who have been o ff ic ially 

a le rted for an assignment invol ving an 

ac tive ser vice obligatio n. and don 't wish 

to acce pt the obligation . must req uest 

separation withi n 30 days of the alert. 

Failure to follow the 30 day submission criteria will result in the office r 

bei ng required to comply with assignment orders and the service obhgari on. 

Th is pol icy also appli es to Office r 

Advan ced Co urse assignments and the 

Office r Adva nced Course Adva nced Assignment progra m. It docs not perta in to 

office rs selected for Command and General Staff College-Level and Staff Serv ­

ices College -Level schooling, including 

Warra nt Office r Senior Courses. 

For more informati on o n elg ib ility 

and submission req uireme nts, check AR 

635 · 100 and 635 - 120 or c all AUTO · 

VO N 22 1-7680/78 89/8 118. 

" v So GOVER N Mf:., Ni ~ltnlN O FFICE 19 80-0- UO-- 2.H 

40 R2 FALL 1980 
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"tne Army's mission remains constant: to deter aggression 

through readiness and, should deterrence fail, to fight 

alongside our sister services and our allies and win. 

Deterrence, to be credible, requires a balanced military force 

capable of protecting our national Interests wherever they are 

threatened .and the unmistakable national resolve to employ 

that force if necessary." 

General Edward C. Meyer 

Chief of Staff of the Army