THC CNGINCCR ' 


VOLUME 6 NUMBCR 3 JUL AUG SEP 1976 

7 Ypres -The Beginning of Gas Warfare / CPT Virginia M. Shaw 

10 Engineer Brevity List / Lt Terence W. Miller - Lt Thomas 0. Might 

16 Buffalo Country Reconnaissance / MAJ John M. Gosdin 

24 NBC Warfare / CPT Paul M. Pittman Jr. 

28 The Corps & The Space Shuttle Program / Frank D. Lewis - f7 

George G. Stewart 

32 Ribbon Bridge Sparks The Bicentennial / SP4 David C. Manchester 

34 An Island for Children / SP4 Gayle Manchester 

36 200 Years of Military Engineering: Part I / MAJ Matthew Jones 

41 Quiz Time / Engineer. Staff 

DCPARTMCNTS 

1 Chief's Briefs / History 

2 Pipeline / News Items 

4 Stop 16 / Letters To The Editor 

6 As We Go To Press / Late Flashes 

12 Engineer Potpourri / Engineer Branch 

45 Bridging The Gap / Career Notes
JOHN M. DERVAN 

Assistant Curator 

U.S. Army Engineer Museum 

Brigadier General James Chatham Duane was born in Schenectady, 

New York, June 30, 1824. His grandfather was a member of the 

Continental Congress. Duane was graduated from Union College in 

1844 and from West Point on July 1, 1848, when he was promoted to 

Second Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers. 

From 1852 to 1854 Duane taught practical military engineering at 

West Point during the superintendency of Robert E. Lee. In 1858 he 

led the celebrated 1100 mile march of "A" Company from West Point to 

Utah. At President Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 Duane commanded 

the guard of select engineer troops. In 1862 Captain Duane built the 

first military ponton bridge over the Potomac at Harpers Ferry. 

From 1862 to 1865 Duane distinguished himself as Chief Engineer, 

Army of the Potomac. His many achievements included construction of 

the longest (2200 feet) ponton bridge over the James River in eight 

hours in 1864. 

Duane commanded Willet's Point, New York from 1865 to 1868. In 

January, 1867 Duane and Major Henry L. Abbot organized the 

Essayons Club, the beginning of the present U.S. Army Engineer 

School. 

Duane served two decades as Superintending Engineer of 

numerous Atlantic Coast defenses. He became a senior member of the 

Board of Engineers for Fortifications and River and Harbor Improvewas appointed Chief of Engineers in 1886. After retirement 

38 he served as Commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct, New York. 

General Duane died December 8, 1897 in New York City. 

United States Army 

Engineer School 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia 

Commandant 

MG James A. Johnson 

Assistant Commandant 

BG H. McK. Roper, Jr. 

Editor 

LTC William C. Simpson 

Editorial Board 

MG James A. Johnson 

BG H, McK. Roper, Jr. 

COL Charles J. Osterndorf 

COL Charles A. Debelius 

COL Charles A. Kiefer 

COL Robert S. Kubby 

COL Thorwald R. Peterson 

COL Edward K. Wintz 

LTC William C. Simpson 

CSM Robert G. Cady 

Production Manager 

John W. Savage, Jr. 

Production Assistant 

Mr. William W. Behring 

The Engineer is an authorized quarterly publica 

tion of the U.S. Army Engineer School. It is 

published to provide factural and in-depth informa 

tion of interest to all Engineer units. Articles, 

photographs and artwork of general interest may bt 

submitted for consideration to: Editor, The Engi 

neer, USA Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 

22060. Views and opinions expressed herein are nol 

necessar~ly those of the Department of the Army 

Use of fundsfor printing of this publication has been 

approved by Headquarters, Department of the 

Army, January 1, 1974. 

Subscriptions to THE ENGINEER are available 

Make checks payable to the "United States Treas. 

ury." Send toThe Engineer Magazine, Fort Belvoir, 

Va., 22060. Annual Rates aret4.M)for Domestic ant 

APO address and $5 00 for overseas addresses. 

Engineer Magazine Telephone: (703) 664-2838 

Aulovon: 354-2838 

ABOUT OUR COVER 

Sherman once said that war is hell. He couldn't 

have imagined the hell Mat it was to become some forty.odd years after the Clvil War. Worla War I 

brought forth many vicious new forms of dealing 

death to humans on both sides. None, however, was 

more destructive than the use of poisonous gas. In 

this issue we tell of its use in our story, "Ypres-the 

Beginning of Gas Warfare!' We also bring you a 

modern day approach to making sure you don't get 

caught like the troops in World War I. Read our 

other article "NBC Warfare" for some good advice 

on NBC training. 
Improved Camouflage 

Being Developed 

for M60A1 Tank 

Improved camouflage for the 

bA60A1 tank is being developed 

and tested by the US Army 

Mobility Equi~menf Research 

and Development Comn-~and 

(MERADCClM), Ft. Belvoirl 

VA to compensate for the increased capabilities of detection equi pment and the 

improved accuracy of WeaPons. 

Under the pilot program 

MERADCOM and the Tank 

Automotive Corn mand 

(TACOm) are evaluating the 

camouflage of the AMOAl tank. 

Last summer, the M60A1 was 

selected for an expedited pilot 

effortincamouflage. Theprogram serves two Purposes: 

first, it will provide camouflage for the tank against 

I
I 

I 

, -

selected threats; and second, it 

will document a sample case 

so other developers may have 

an example to follow. 

To prevent heat seeking 

missiles from "locking on" fo 

the hot exhaust fumes from the 

tank's engine, an air foil was 

developed. The foil forces the 

exhaust up and out thus causing the heat to dissipate over a 

wider area, lowering the temperature and effectiveness of 

the heat seeking missiles employed against tanks. 

Permanently mounted 6 foot 

fiberglass rods which fold out 

above the tracks in a matter of 

seconds support a special 

camouflage net. A camouflage 

disruptor is used to disguise 

the gun barrel. This disruptor, 

previously developed a t MERADCOM, is a portion of a 

net mounted on a collapsible 

aluminum frame. 

-

- * 


Twenty foliage brackets 

have been added to secure 

branches and supplement other 

techniques. 

Prototype smoke launchers 

located on the turret are being 

evaluated at Edgewood Arsenal, Md. The smoke rockets 

are projected and exploded to 

form a rapid smoke screen, 

hiding the tank from the 

enemy. 

TACOM developed special 

vision port filters for use inside 

the tank at night. These filters 

will allow the crew to look out 

and use lights inside the tank 

without being spotted by the 

enemy. 

SLUFAE Mine 


under 
 t n 

Developmentby MERADCOrV, 

A SLUFAE (Surface 

Launched Fuel Air Explosive) 

mine neutralizer is under development by the US Army 

Mobility Equipment Research 

and Development Command 

(MERADCOM), Fort Belvoir, 

VA for use by combat engineers to breach defended 

enemy minefields in support of 

combined arms combat operations. 

Now in the engineering design test phase, +he system is 

showing great potential in 

initial tests against live 300-

meter deep minefields at Fort 

A.P. Hill. 

It consists of rocket propel led 

fuel air explosive (FAE) 

rounds fired into a minefield 

from a 30-tube armored 

launcher mounted orr a 

cargo carrier. The rounds _ pact in a linear pattern a1,d 

form highly volatile liquid 

chemical aerosol clouds. Auto- 

-


2 

I 
PIPELINEE. 

matic explosion of the clouds 

by delay detonators produce 

blast effects that detonate land 

mines to =leaf paths thru minefields. The rounds can be fired 

from the launcher singly or in 

ripples up to 30. 

The SLUFAE is expected to 

provide a quick response, all 

weather day or night mine 

neutralizer operational from 

defilade or concealed positions 

at distances up to 1000 meters 

from the minefields. Completion of the development is 

scheduled for 1980. 

Man's Best 

Friend Tested 

kt MERADCOM 

\\anis best friend may prove 

oe a valuable companion on 

the battlefield. The US Army 

Mobility Equipment Research 

and Development Command 

(MERADCOM), at Ff. Belvoir, 

VA is testing the use of dogs 

for mine and booby trap detection. 

At distances as great as 25 

feet, a dog can detect a trip 

wire even though invisible to 

humans. The dogs' ability to 

detect metallic mines equals 

that of conventiona t metal mine I 

detectors and exceeds it in the I 

detection on non-metallic 

mines, 

A research physicist in t charge of the project at 

MERADCOM said "Dogs are 

remarkably proficient in the 

detection of booby trap wires, 

far excelling any other practical or even experimental des now available.'' 

ce exact mechanism a dog 

,es to detect mines and booby 

traps is nof completely undersfood. It is known that a dog's 

extraordinary sense of smell is 

a major factor. Also the dog's 

keen hearing may also be important and it is betieved that 

they may actually hear the 

vibrations of the booby trap 

wire, wires. 

The philosophy used during 

training is the principle of pasifive reinfor~emenf, rewarding 

the canine with food tidbits and 

praise. The need for punish- is rare and used only for 

incidents such as fighting Or 

attacking handlers. 

Many of the same training 

techniques used for explosives 

7 

and narcotic detection dogs 

were applied. German Shepherds and Labrador Retrivers 

of either sex undergo 8 months 

of booby trap and land mine 

detection training. These dogs would be deployed with a handler for mine 

and booby trap clearing operations in support of ground 

troops. They could be used fo 

mark mine fields, clear trails, 

roadways and hetipads, and to 

search buildings, bridges, 

vehicles and even persons for 

explosive devices. 
1 

SIR 

Everyone has been hearing of the UET for a 

long time. In 1965, while at the Engineer 

Agency, CDC, the UET seemed to be coming on 

the scene before 1970. 

But if we go to war tomorrow, the D7 will be 

providing the support just as it did when the 1st 

Bde, 5th Division went out on the Khe San plain 

in 1969. 

We need to keep up to date on new developments but perhaps publicity should be more 

restrained (and factual). 

Most things "universali" do no one job very 

well. The UET can't be expected to be any 

different. 

PHILLIP D. WEINERT 

LTC, CE 

SIR 

In reference to MAJ Kish's article "Are 

Engineers Really Different;' Fall 1975 issue of 

The Engineer. I question his article particularly so in that he proposes to get rid of support 

relationships as they are known in current 

doctrine and actual practice today. The support 

relationship rules as they are known today are: 

I COMMAND RELATIONSHIPS 

Organic Un~ts 

Assignment 

Attachment 

Operational Control 

II SUPPORT RELATIONSHIPS 

Direct Support 

General Support 

Ill WORK ASSIGNMENTS 

Task A5slgnment 

Area Assignment 

Forward Working Limit 

Combination Assignment 

He proposes to combine support relationships and work assignments together to form 

mission assignments. This cannot be done! 

You can change them, add or subtract to the 

list, but they cannot be removed. 

He also states that Direct Support is currently a command relationship. This is in 

error. While' it is admitted that this is not 

engineer doctrine, it is stated that this is Army 

doctrine IAW FM 101-5. The statement does 

exist in this manual, however, AR 310-25 correctly identifies the term "DS" as a support 

relationship and this is how it is used by "our 

combat arms brethren." 

I admit that all the definitions as stated in 

the article are correct. It is unfortunate that 

what is a very simple system is misunderstood 

by many. For example, the two complicated 

charts presented can both be replaced by this 

chart: 

ID SUF 

OPCON s 

GENERAL 

SUPPORT P 

P = Pare,nt Unit 

S = Supp~orted Unit 

1 = Spare effort is rarely available under the DS arrang 

The above chart has been extracted from the 

draft engineer how to fight manual. In general, 

the terms are in a hierarchy that goes fr, 

to 

command 

types of 

relationship 

work assignments. 

to support 

The 

relationsh 

following 

9 

P 

example from the same draft clearly explains 

this: 
COMMAND RELATIONSHIP 

The corps commander must decide if the 

corps engineers battalion will remain under the control of the corps engineer 

brigade to which it is assigned, or whether 

it will be placed under the control of 

another corps element through the use of a 

different command relationship. If he 

decides to attach the battalion to one of his 

divisions, then -

SUPPORT RELATIONSHIP 

The division commander must decide 

whether the battalion will be used in 

general support of the division as a whole, 

RIOR'W 

SHE 

2 = Pare 

act1 I 

3 = Pare 

RELATIONS). 

REQUES 

112 ADDlTlONA 

FORWARDEC 

nt un~trern 

ons 

111-3 

TS FOR 

L EFFOR 

1 THROU( 

T SPA 

EH AVE 

ible for per 

...... L-csonnel prom -- -..--.--

otion and tr 

...-- ,-,nre ,r.t Unlt refers lo neaoquarrers orrora allaroii%tcnm8u~ V~L.VN 

to assign work to the battalion on an area 

basis, a task basis, or a combination of the 

two. 

The last area of work assignments are the 

task/mission assignments that engineers need. 

We can alter them in any way we want. I doubt 

if they will ever be changed. We will always 

have specific task/missions either by priority or 

assigned completion times. We will always 

have area assignments and consequently a 

combination of both types. Area assignments 

are basic to engineers. The installation police 

map is a good example. Usually areas are 

allotted to various units and coded normally by 

colors. Each colored area is an area assignment. In combat, area assignments can and do 

coincide with tactical boundaries. When they 

do not, they are delineated by Engineer Work 

Limits (EWL), a term dropped out of our 

doctrinal literature but not from actual usage. 

It has been recommended for inclusion into our 

new Engineer how to fight manuals. The 

Forward Working Limit (FWL) is in our doctrinal literature and more in line with actual 

combat, while the EWL can be used in both 

peace and war. These terms are used mainly 

by engineers and can be understood by maneuver commanders. It is essential that all engineers know and use the same terms correctly. 

Now that the Engineers are again a Combat 

Arm, engineers must be tactically proficient as 

well as technically competent, as 80% of all 

Engineer TOE now have a mission of fighting 

as infantry. Thus at any one time 34% of all 

engineer officers, LTC and below, are in a TOE 

unit with infantry responsibilities. That is 

significant! 

With the introduction of the Combat Heavy 

Battalion, a combat zone could have two FWL, 

one into the division rear for Corps Engineers, 

and one into the Corps rear for COMZ Enclineers. I have discussed the FWL in length, for 

that is something for Engineers to debate. 

Or whether it will be placed in direct However, support relationships are valid to all support of one of the division's subordinate branches. Inelements. If he decides to use it in general 

support, then - DOUGLAS K. LEHMANN 

WORK ASSIGNMENT MAJ, EN 

Department of Combined Arms 

A further decision must be made whether US Army Engineer School 
I 

The Extension Training Management Division of the United States Army Engineer School, Fort 

Belvoir, Virginia, 22060 announces the following resident instruction to be offered to Active Duty, 

ARNG and USAR personnel during Fiscal Year 1977: 

INSTRUCTION CLASS # DATES 

Commander's Maintenance Management 77-RC-S P1 7-8 NOv 76 

Camouflage & Field Fort~fications 77-RC-S P2 13-14 Nov 76 

Small Unit Trainlng Management 77-RC-SP3 4-5 Dec 76 

Elements of Terraln Evaluatlon 77-RC-S P4 11-12 Dec 76 

Englneer Support of River Crossing Operations 77-RC-S P5 8-9 Jan 77 

MineICountermine Hardware L Operatlons 77-RC-S P6 15-16 Jan 77 

Engineer Reconnaissance 77-RC-S P7 22-23 Jan 77 

Fixed Brldglng 77-RC-S P8 29-30 Jan 77 

Dlvlslon Barrler Plans & Retrograde Operatlons 77-RC-S P9 5-6 Feb 77 

Base Development Planning 77-RC-SP10 5-6 Feb 77 

Small Unlt Trainlng Management 77-RC-SPll 19-20 Feb 77 

Mllltary Explosives & Thelr Use 77-RC-SP12 26-27 Feb 77 

Camouflage & Field Fortifications 77-RC-SP13 5-6 Mar 77 

Construction Management 77-RC-SP14 12-13 Mar 77 

Elements of Terraln Evaluatlon 77-RC-SP15 19-20 Mar 77 

M~ne/Countermine Hardware & Operatlons 77-RC-SP16 19-20 Mar 77 

Fixed Brldglng 77-RC-SP17 26-27 Mar 77 

Engineer Support of Rlver Crosslng Operatlons 77-RC-SP18 2-3 AV?,, 

Camouflage & Field Fortifications 77-RC-SP19 2-3 P 

Divlslon Barrier Plans & Retrograde Operations 77-RC-SP20 16-17 A&, 

Engineer Reconnaissance 77-RC-SP21 23-24 Apr 77 

Mllltary Explosives 8 Thelr Use 77-R C-S P22 30 Apr-1 May 77 

For further information regarding any of the above listed instruction, or other types of training ava~lable, first check wlth your unit 

commander or traintng technician. If additional information IS required 

Call: AUTOVON 354-300W4095 

Commercial (703) 664-300W4095 

or wrlte: Commandant 

United States Army Engineer School 

ATTN: ATSE-DT-TER 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060 

E7 PROMOTION BOARD ANNOUNCED 

All soldiers in grade E6 who have dates of rank before September 30, 1974 will be considered for 

promotion to E7 during a DA promotion selection board scheduled to convene January 11, 1977. 

The upcoming board, to be held at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN, will consider in the primary zone 

of consideration all E6s with dates of rank of September 30, 1971 or earlier. The secondary zone 

includes all E6s with dates of rank of between October 1, 1971 and September 30, 1974 inclusively. 

However, soldiers who are restricted from promotion under the provisions of Chapter 7, AR 600-200, 

will not be considered. 

In addition to the dates of rank criteria, soldiers in the zones of consideration must have either a 

high school diploma or GED equivalent. Eligible soldiers who do not meet this criterion will be 

screened for action under the Qualitative Management Program. 

! 


I 


I 

To insure that soldiers receive at least one consideration for promotion in the primary zone, an 

exception to policy will allow E6s who will complete 24 years' active Federal service by April 30, 

to be considered in the primary zone. These soldiers must meet the other criteria for consider' 7

, but must not have been previously considered under this exception to policy. w 

Additional information and MlLPO guidance may be found in the announcing DAPC-MSS-PE 

message 3015252 September 1976. 

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, 

transferred the Battle-weary British Expeditionary Force to the north. It soon became 

apparent that neither side could dislodge the 

other, and equally apparent that neither side 

would retreat. A stalemate resulted that would 

confine the carnage to a relatively narrow strip for 

approximately four years. One opportunity to end 

the stalemate came in early spring, 1915, at a 

small town in Belgium. That town was Ypres, a 

moated medieval town behind a deep bulge in the 

Allied lines. 

In mid-April, 1915, the 3d Canadian Brigade 

arrived in the Ypres salient to relieve the French 

defenders. The first order of business for the 

Canadians was the improvement of defensive 

positions vacated by the French. Parapets were 

raised, trenches were widened and interconnected 

to allow freedom of movement from one area to 

another without exposure to enemy fire. These 

defenses could be overcome only at great expense 

to the attackers. However, the German plans had 

been laid. A new weapon was to be introduced; 

that weapon was lethal chemical gas. 

On 19 April the Germans launched a murderous 

artillery barrage on the Ypres salient. Utilizing 

their monstrous 420 millimeter siege guns to fire 

powerful one ton high explosive shells the 

Germans devasted the surrounding area. Their 

targets were for the most part non-military. 

Abruptly, the shelling ceased on 22 April. The 

quiet of the warm, sunny spring day was unnerving. The lull ended late in the afternoon. 

Approximately 1600 hours on 22 April, the 

Germans began shelling the two French Colonial 

divisions located north of Ypres. The fire was 

slowly shifted to the Canadian sector and at 

approximately 1700 hours the shelling ceased 

again. As the Allies peered over their fortified 

parapets, a phenomenon was observed which 

would seem to be more at place in a science fiction 

novel than on the battlefield in 1915. Over a wide 

area, there appeared a whitish vapor which 

gathered and swirled until it settled into a low 

cloudbank which turned greenish-yellow in the 

sinking sun. Wind conditions were perfect for t 

Germans, and the clouds drifed with the li n' 1

breeze toward the Allied lines. 

There was more ample warning of the 

impending disaster. German prisoners captured in 
March by the French had mentioned the emplace59nt of gas cylinders in the German trenches. 

early April, a German deserter warned of 

linders containing asphyxiating gas, and described in detail their emplacement. The deserter 

also showed the French a simple respirator made 

from chemically treated cotton for the protection 

of the cylinder operators. His account was published in the French Fifth Corps' Summary of 

Information, a document which was distributed to 

the battalion level. A Belgium bulletin reported a 

high-priority German order, in Ghent, for 20,000 

respirators. The order pinpointed the location in 

the German lines where the attack was to be 

launched. On 17 April, the Germans themselves 

gave the final warning in a radio broadcast. 

The German Supreme Command often imputed 

their deeds to the Allies in order to justify 

retaliation; such was the case on this date. 

The broadcast accused the Allies of having used 

asphyxiating gas east of Ypres. Unbelievably, all 

these warnings were ignored by everyone with the 

exception of the commander of the 11th French 

Division. He warned the adjacent British and 

canadian Divisions, and recommended to his 

superiors that action be taken to reduce the 

possibility of a gas attack. He was officially 

rimanded, and his recommendations rejected. 

p'was later relieved from his command after it 

,-\as found that he had been correct. Such was the 

background for the first poisonous gas attack. 

Thus, at 1700 hours on 22 P.pril, 1915, the 

German cylinder operators turned on the gas for 

approximately five minutes. The gentle northeasterly breeze carried nearly 168 tons of Chlorine 

gas toward the Allied lines. Being several times 

heavier than air, the cloud followed the terrain, 

settling in craters and ground pockets. The cloud 

finally reached the French Colonial defenders and 

obscured their position in a dense fog. The scene 

was described by a Bristish observer as follows: 

"For a few seconds, nothing happened; the 

sweet smelling stuff merely tickled the nostrils; 

they failed to see the danger. Then, with inconceivable rapidity, the gas worked, a blind panic 

spread. Hundreds, after a dreadful fight for air, 

became unconscious and died where they lay - a 

death of hideous torture, with the frothing bubbles 

gurgling in their throats and the foul 1iquzd.wellin.g 

up in their lungs. With blackened faces and 

twisted limbs one by one they drowned - only 

that which drowned them came from inside and 

not from out. Others, staggering, falling, lurching 

on, and of their ignorance keeping pace with the 

gas, went back." 

In only a matter of minutes the Germans had 

opened a four and one half mile gap in the Allied 

lines. An advantage of this magnitude had not 

been achieved by conventional means. An unprecedented opportunity for break-through existed; yet the Germans were unprepared to exploit 

their success. Their infantry, without respirators, 

failed to consolidate their ground positions and th : 

chance of a great coup passed -forever. Canadian 

2nd British forces, performing courageously under 

fire, restored the lines and averted what had been 

to that point the most dangerous moment of the 

war. 

Casualties at Ypres were astronomical. Of the 

15,000 French Colonial defenders, over 5,000 

became casualties. In the total conflict, nearly 

100,000 casualties marked the battleground around 

the salient. Lethal chemical warfare, despite its 

novelty, did not in fact decide, or even materially 

affect, the outcome of the war; however, its 

potential for mass casualties was to terrorize the 

soldiers of both sides until the war ended. 

Currently assigned to the U.S. Army Technical 

Escort Center, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland; CPT 

Shaul was previously assigned as an instructor in 

the NucLear/ChemicaL Branch, Departmen,t of MiLitary Science, U.S. Army Engineer School from 

September 1973 to April 1975. During her tour of 

duty at the Engineer School she received the 

coveted Master Instructor award. CPT Shaw 

holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, 

MAJ Carl Hunt was previously assigned as as 

instructor in the USAES. He is presently assigned 

to Davison USA Airfield. 
1LT Terrence W. Miller 

ILT Thomas 0.Might 

An engineer company transmits messages from 

its CP to battalion headquarters as its platoons 

report progress on projects. Within an hour the 

enemy knows the general location of the company 

and battalion, and they have determined they are 

engineers. Within twenty-four hours the project 

sites have been located and their probable nature 

determined. With this information the enemy can 

project the intentions of the US Forces. 

Here is how it was done. 

"A3Z8 This is R4T35. Report 50% completion, 

project 19. Over." 

"R4T35 This is A3Z8. Roger. Over." 

"This is R4T35. Out." 

The message is clearly received. The intercept 

operator changes position in his seat and muses 

over the content of the message. It probably 

indicates a vertical report to the command or S-3 

element of a higher headquarters, informing them 

of the percentage of completion on an apparent 

engineer mission of some sort. 

IJncoded transmissions similar to the one illustrated above are not uncommon in an engineer 

unit, particularly at squad, platoon, and company 

levels. The "urgency of the moment" and the 

seemingly harmless nature of such a message 

makes it more desirable to the radio operator to 

"just go ahead and send it," rather than take the 

trouble to encode it. 

"And what are you saying we should do about 

it? Encrypt every message before transmitting it 

over the radio? Isn't that a bit extreme?" 

We have no choice. In the ever-present and 

threatening electronic warfare environment in 

which combat engineers must function, observance 

of communications security is vital to mission 

accomplishment. The radio operator must be 

equal to the challenge which he encounters. He 

must be able to send and receive encoded messages whose clear texts would identify the unit and 

compromist its engineer mission. To do this he is 

armed with the weapons of the RTO: the CEO1 

and 

Within 

certain 

the 

"low 

39th 

level" 

Engineer 

code systems. 

Battalion (Comb& n~

the low level code systems have consisted of an 

authentication table/numerical code, which provides the operator a means of authenticating and 

encrypting numerical information, and a special 

engineer operations code. PFC John Q. Average 

can be taught to use these systems. They are 

designed to provide short term (30 days) cryptographic security while at the same time being 

relatively easy to learn and use. Notice that we 

use the qualifier "relatively." 

The 39th Engineer Battalion (Combat) has 

found the operations code to be no cure-all. The 

operations code provided is a standard engineer 

operations code issued to engineer units by the 

National Security Agency. It provides security, 

but has also been found to be combersome and 

time-consuming. Words not included in the code 

have to be spelled out and then encoded; numbers 

have to be encoded digit by digit. It is not 

uncommon to find that a short message takes 25 or 

more groups to encode. This not only makes the 

encode/decode process more rigorous, but consumes long periods of valuable radio time for 

transmission. 

Enter the brevity list. 0' Tasked by the Battalion Commander to ply 

duce a workable brevity list prototype for use h). 

the battalion, the S-2 and Communications Sec-
tions combined forces to design such a system. It 

d to be generated internally because NSA 

,-e sently has no engineer-oriented brevity list 

.ivailable for review and use by line units. 

"What is a brevity list?" 

It is a listing of prearranged messages and 

words reduced to numerical trinomes which can 

then be encrypted using a numerical cipher 

system. The speed of encryption/decryption using 

the brevity list plus numerical cipher is much 

faster than the operations code, and transmission 

time required is greatly reduced. 

The Engineer Brevity List initially constructed 

within the 39th Engineer Battalion (Combat) was 

eight typewritten pages in length. It was drawn 

up on a format that has proven suprisingly 

successful. The first three pages consist of general 

prearranged messages. As an example of a 

general brevity list message, let us assume that a 

station desires to report 50°/o completion of 

Project 19 at 1230 hours. Within the brevity list is 

found the general prearraged message: 

107 -	 Proiect (# is (#I percent complete as 

of (time) hours. 

(?This message can be numerically reduced to 

,e following series: 107-19-50-1230. From here it 

IS a simple matter to encrypt the message using 

the authorized numerical cipher. The final transmitted message would sound like this: "I set PJ, I 

encode ATB QS KM LURD. End of message." 

Using the engineer operations code, the same 

message would require 12 three-letter groups to 

encode. 

The brevity list contains a half-page of infantry 

brevity messages, and the final 4'12 pages are 

engineer mission messages. These engineer 

messages are organized under six general mission 

headings: Bridging, Construction, Demolition, 

Mine Warfare, Obstacles/Barriers, and Reconnaissance. 

The brevity list prototype (authorized for 

production and operational use at unit level by AR 

380-52) was used for the first time on the 

battalion's FTX of March 1976, and used successfully. The list was used even more frequently than 

expected. An experienced radio intercept operator monitoring transmissions during the exercise 

remarked favorably on the successful secure use of 

the new system. A comprehensive training proam was undertaken prior to the exercise to !-itruct all users on the brevity list. The majority 

users expressed preference for the system over 

the operations code for routine traffic. The 

reasons why can be best illustrated by way of 

comparison, using a sample message: 

MESSAGE: Install nuisance minefield at 

818095 by 1800 hours. 

BREVITY LIST: 697 -Install (type) minefield at (location) by (time) hours. 

726 - Nuisance 

Numerical series: 697 726 818095 1800 

Encrypted: I set AD, I encode SBY WIH 

GLTOQR NMFE 

OPERATION CODE: AUM RRO MQI EHA 

LSY OOF KTY PEF JSS OTQ MDS XOT 

QQG DPL ASY LJF NHY CFR OKH SAZ 

VCC -Group count: 22 

In the operations code message, numerals had to 

be encoded individually and the word "nuisance" 

had to be spelled out and then encoded. The 

operations code is clearly more difficult to implement and requires more transmission time. 

After its first use in the field, all companies and 

staff sections were asked to provide the Communications Officer with critiques and recommended 

changes. Based upon that input, the brevity list 

was reviewed and revised in time for use in the 

battalion's ORTT in May 1976. 

Although still in the developmental stages, the 

Engineer Brevity List has already met with 

encouraging success, and after further perfection 

the 39th Engineer Battalion (Combat) will send the 

finished version to NSA for reproduction and 

distribution. Seen as a positive step in the direction of increased communication security, the 

Engineer Brevity List will enable the Combat 

Engineer Battalion to more effectively carry out 

its vital mission in today's electronic warfare 

environment. 

ILT TERENCE W. MILLER, Sign,al Corps 

University of Massachusetts -Forestry 

Signal Officer Bask Course, 1974 

Commun,ications-Electronics Staff Officer Course, 

1974 

No previous assignments. 

Cum-ently: C-E Officer, 39th Engineer Battalion 

(CBT), Fort Dellens, MA 

1LT THOMAS 0. MIGHT, Corps of En lineers 

Georgia Insitute of Technology - Industrial 

Engineering 

Engineer Officer Basic Course, 1972 

Engin,eer Equipment Officer Course, 1972 

Platoon Leader, 503d Engr Co (LE), USAREUR, 

1973-7.4 

Cz~rrently: Recon Officer, 39th Engineer Battalion 

(CBT), Fort Devens, MA 
COLONELS: 

ASSIGNMENTS. As of 1 September 1976, there will be approximately 280 Engineer colonels on 

active duty. Once again, about one-third can expect reassignment during CY 77. Those (of you) in 

this group, should insure that (your) latest preferences are on file in Colonels Division. There is a 

continuing requirement for colonels for Attache, MAAG, and MILGROUP positions. Since the lead 

time is relatively long, any colonel interested in these type assignments should insure that Colonels 

Division is advised as soon as possible. 

RA PROMOTIONS. The Secretary of the Army recently direcfed that promotion to RA 

Colonel would be at the completion of 24 years service rather than 25. The results of the Board 

considering CY 52 has recently been announced. Plans call for these selectees to be promoted to 

RA Colonel by 31 December 1976. The Board to consider CY 53 will meet in September 1976. These 

selectees will be promoted upon completion of their 24th year of service (1 January -31 December 

1977). 

LIEUTENANT COLONELS: 

NEW Ll EUTENANT COLONELS. Congratulations to the 118 Engineers who were announced 

on the lieutenant colonels list published in July. Each officer is encouraged to submit two DA 

Forms 483 immediately; one addressing assignment desires if the officer is command selected, and 

a second addressing the officer's desires for other than a command assignment. 

TOUR LENGTHS. Most tour lengths at the moment are running at no less than 36 months 

station. Officers who have had fewer than four (4) overseas tours and/or who have been in CONLT 

since 1972 should expect overseas assingments on their next change of station. 

MAJORS: 

NEW MAJORS. Welcome to all the new majors on the latest list! There are many worldwide 

requirements competing for your expertise. Within meeting those requirements, you should 

establish a personal goal of: 

a Becoming qualified in your alternate specialty. 

a Serving in a troop unit as a major. 

a Completing CGSC by either resident or non-resident attendance. 

ASSIGNMENTS. Due to a limitation of PCS funds, stability has become even more important 

in the past year. Unless you are in a must move category (ROTC, civil school, returning from 

overseas, etc.), not overseas vulnerable, or selected for CGSC, expect to remain where you are for 

at least three years. Overseas vulnerable? 

a You are vulnerable for a Non Dependent Tour if you only have one NDT. 

You are vulnerable for an accompanied overseas tour if you returned from overseas before 

1973. 

Since there will be approximately 50 majors returning from USAREUR next summer, you can 

expect an assignment to USAREUR if you fit the above categories. Other passibile overseas 

assignments include Korea, Iran, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, Panama and SHAPE. 

In CONUS, Army Readiness Regions, and Forts Belvoir, Bragg, and Hood continue to be our 

largest customers. Additionally, there are Engineer majors' positions in the Washington area. 

OPMS. We are fully committed to OPMS. If you are not qualified in your alternate speciality, 

our goal is to get you qualified either by schooling or duty assignment. This may not be 

immediately possible due to stability constraints and shortages of Engineer majors. For planni. 

purposes, expect to serve one tour in your alternate specialty during your years as a ma1 7 

CGSC. CGSC level schooling should be a goal for all Engineer majors. If you are YG 65%' 

earlier and have not completed the resident course, you should consider enrollment in the Nonresident Instruction CGSC. Enrollment in the Non-resident lnstruction will not be a reason for nonselection to the resident course. 
CAPTAINS: 

PROMOTION. For those officers selected for promotion to major, recommend you give your 

new assignment officer, Major Gary Woodham, a call. Officers not selected who have any doubts 

about their status, legaf position, or what Branch thinks about their manner of performance, please 

call your assignment officer, Major Jim Corbin. 

ASSIGNMENTS. In terms of assignments worldwide, it appears that the long drawdown in 

USAREUR is about to stabifize. We are beginning to see more requirements for USAREUR now. 

Those officers who have had only one or no overseas assignments or who have been back since 1971 

are overseas vulnerable. Korea remains the short tour standby with assignments to Alaska, the 

Canal Zone, and Hawaii available on an infrequent basis. 

Be sure you keep in touch with your assignment officer. He cannot give your desires fair 

consideration if he does not know what they are. In this day of increased stability, assignment 

preferences are of increased importance in career planning. 

LIEUTENANTS: 

MORE NOTES. Assignemnts are well stabilized today. An officer can generally expect to 

spend three years on station in CONUS, 39 months in long tour areas, and 13 months in short tour 

areas. Exceptions will be in geographical areas where location and marital status might be a 

factor (i.e., Alaska and Panama). 

WHERE IS EVERYBODY GOING THESE DAYS? The majority of officers are attending the 

ngineer Officer Advanced Course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia after long tours or initial CONUS 

Jrs. Attendance is still on a competitive basis and your performance record is fhe main criteria. 

"-:oreign service tours are principally in Germany, Hawaii, and Korea. Occasionally, there are 

tours in Alaska and Panama. 

YOU CAN HELP YOUR ASSIGNMENT OFFICER. Send an updated preference statement and 

an official full length photograph (if you need one) for your file. 

A NEW SELECTION BOARD. The Captain AUS Selectin Board will convene on or about 3 

November to consider all 1st lieutenants with dates of rank of 30 September 1975 and earlier. If 

you are in the zone, make sure your file is complete - - - GOOD LUCK! 

WARRANT OFFICERS: 

USAR APPOINTMENTS. Tentative FY 77 procurement of Engineer warrant officers is 

currently established as follow: MOS 351A-0; MOS 521A-4; MOS 621A-20; MOS 811A-0; MOS 821P1;and MOS 833A-2. 

AUS PROMOTIONS. The number of Engineer warrant officers selected for promotion to CW4 

by the FY 76 Board constituted a selection rate of 27.7 percent of those considered. The overall 

selection rate was 49 percent. Selections to CW3 constituted 66.6 percen? compared with an overall 

selection rate of 64 percent. It appears that while the older warrants are suffering from low OER's 

that failed to keep them competitive, the younger warrants being considered have generally been 

rated as high or higher as their contemporaties in other branches. 

FOR ALL: 

OFFICER RECORD BRIEF. Be sure to pay close attention to the accuracy and completeness 

of information on the Officer Record Brief (ORB) during the annual field audit. The ORB is 

gaining wide use as both a management tool for assignment officers and as a vehicle for quickly 

gaining a thumbnail sketch of an officer's experience by members of selection boards. Inaccurate /'-incomplete ORB information should be corrected immediately. 

+ 	CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS. An attempt is made to contact each officer prior to 

reassignment; however, MILPERCEN has an incomplete listing of current telephone numbers. 

It would be appreciated if each officer would send in a postcard giving his current AUTOVON duty 

phone number, and always include both your complete mailing address (with zip code)and phone 

number when submitting a DA Form 483. 

13 
Soldiers receiving selective and variable reup bonuses (SRB and VRB) who face legitimate 

financial hardship are entitled to apply for accelerated payment of one or more annual bonus 

installments. This also goes for troopers experiencing compelling compassionate reasons. That's 

the word from officials at the MI LPERCEN Monetary Incentives Management Branch (MIMB). 

However, officials caution that these requests are not approved automatically. As final approval 

authority, MlMB evaluates each request for accelerated payment on an individual basis. 

An accelerated bonus payment is not intended to alleviate indebtedness caused by gross 

financial mismanagement by the soldier or his dependents. Instead, the accelerated payment is 

designed to help the soldier return to a position where he can meet his monthly expenses without 

financial strain. 

Cases of severe financial hardship generally will warrant accelerated payment of not more than 

two bonus installments. For example, let's say a soldier reenlisted for six years on 1 October 1975. 

In March 1976, he applied for accelerated payment because he experienced a financial setback: his 

mobile home was destroyed by fire. What's more, his wife was injured seriously and won't be able to 

work for at least a year. MlMB reviewed his application and approved accelerated payment of the 

two installments he eventually would receive in October 1979 and October 1980. The three remaining 

installments will be paid on schedule -that is, on the anniversary dates of his reenlistment ' 

October of 1976, 1977 and 1978. '7

If MlMB approved only one installment payment in this case, the soldier would have receive? 

advanced payment of the October 1976 installment. His next installment would not be paid until 

October 1977. Thereafter, his payments would come in October 1978, October 1979, and October 1980. 

Occasionally a soldier is confronted with situations or emergencies involving a fclrnily member 

or even a close nondependent whom he is morally obligated to assist financially. 

Depending on jndividua I circumstances, accelerated bonus payments may be approved for 

compassionate reasons. Examples include an immediate need for financial assistance to cover 

funeral expenses or to pay medical costs not covered by military or commercial insurance plans. 

To qualify for accelerated payments for compel ling compassionate reasons, MlMB requires 

applications supported by verification statements from doctors, lawyers, Red Cross representatives, 

clergymen, or the soldier's Commanding Officer. If approved, either one advanced installment or 

two accelerated payments norrnally are authorized and paid in the manner already described. 

MI LPERCEN officials offer the following guidelines concerning types of requests for 

accelerated payment that are most often turned down: 

All requests which are intended solely for investment purposes -down payments on homes, 

autos, land purchases. 

All requests to alleviate large debts incurred in anticipation of MlMB approval of advanced 

payments immediately after reenlistment. 

Any requests which, upon MlMB review, indicate that after debts and normal monthly 

household expenses, the soldier has $75 or more remaining for miscellaneous expenses or 

emergencies. It should be noted, though, that the $75 amount is only a rough guide; MlMB 

also considers such factors as when the next bonus installment is due and how long it will take 

the soldier to pay off all current debts. Therefore, it is very important that the applicant 

include with his request a precise listing of all monthly living costs so that this case can be 

judged fairly. > 

There also are certain types of debts which normally indicate financial mismanagement on thP 

part of the service member and his dependents and therefore weaken a soldier's chances for 

accelerated SRB/VRB payments. These include: 
Recent purchase of two or more cars unless the service member and spouse work and two 

cars are absolutely essential. 

Recent purchase of expensive housing or other vehicles plainly beyond the soldier's needs 

and means. 

Purchase of expensive household goods, encyclopedias, utensils, stereo/TV sets and other 

items which his detailed listing of current debts plainly indicates he could not afford. 

Each request, MlMB officials say, must be accompanied by DA Form 4474-R (Request for 

Accelerated Payment of SRB -Hardship or Compassionate). Completion instructions are outlined 

in Change 57 AR 600-200. lmproperly documented applications are returned through channels 

without action. All others will be processed quickly for the sake of the soldier suffering the financial 

hardship. Since all requests must be initiated at the installation level, local authorities may 

disapprove requests that clearly do not meet the criteria. 

MILPERCEN officials remind soldiers that effective budgeting sometimes precludes the need to 

~plvfor accelerated payments. Those experiencing financial woes should be aware of the Army f nmunity Services' Budget Counseling Program. This program is designed to he1p soldiers 

,,,didate debts and assist soldiers in establishing and maintaining personnally tailored budgets. 

Staffed largely by volunteer budget counselors, this organization acts as an intermediary 

between the soldier and his creditors. Counselors work to have interest rates reduced or dropped, 

and, in some cases, they have been successful in having monthly payments reduced. 

While the ACS budget counseling service is free, success of counseling efforts depends on the 

soldier's willingness to solve financial problems through payment of just debts. 

ENGINEER PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CONTACTS IN OPD. 

Colonel Division (DAPC-OPC-AE) 

Engineer Assignments, LTC Tom Sandst x7871 

Lieutenant Colonels Division (DAPC-OPL-AS) 

Engineer Assignments, LTC Henry Covington, M423 

Majors Division (DAPC-OPM-A) 

Engineer Assignments, MAJ Gary E. Woodham, x8109 

Combat Support Arms Division (Company Grade) (DAPC-OPF-El 

Engineer Branch Chief, LTC Norman Kuklinski, x0650 

CPT Assignments, MAJ James E. Corbin, x0651 

LT Assignments, CPT Michael R. Foster, x7426 

Professional Development, MAJ Roger Yankoupe, x0617 

MAJ Ken Kessler, x0617 

Warrant Officers Division ( DAPC-OPW-AU) 

Engineer Assignments, CW3 Frank Russell, x7837 

ofessionat Development Division (DAPC-OPP-S) 

rvingineer Specialty Monitor, MAJ Tom Ostenberg, x0417 

+-Chief, Plans Branch, MAJ Galen Yanagihara, x8152 

NOTE: Commercial telephone line: Lisfed numbers preceded by Area Code 202-325 

AUTOVON line: Listed numbers preceded by 221 
MAJ John M. Gosdin 

From the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to Fort Gibson in the Indian Territory, 

Lieutenant James W. Abert led a reconnaissance expedition in 1845 typifying the militarypolitical partnership that made the policy of 

Manifest Destiny a reality. Scion of a military 

family and member of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, Lieutenant Abert was only 

twenty-two years old when he set out on his 

trek. Across uncharted buffalo country, Abert 

recorded events and observations having value 

far beyond short- and intermediate-range military objectives. Through the narrative report 

of his observations, a rare window is opened on 

a virgin land, its since vanished inhabitants, 

and the conduct of an engineer reconnaissance 

expedition. ,q 

Prelude to National Expansion 

Texas had been annexed in 1845, a mized 


bargain. Along with vast new territory, the 


United States also had assumed liabilities: a debt 


of suspicion, a legacy of brooding irritations 


toward Mexico. Bruised national pride on both 


sides of disputed borders was not to be assuaged 


through negotiation. 


While Texas was the cause and pretest for war, 


President Polk coveted New Mexico and California 


as the true spoils of the looming conflict with 


Mexico. With the expansionist Congress rallying 


around the banner of Manifest Destiny, the, 


military establishment was put on notice thal, 


battle was imminent. 


Warclouds on the immediate horizon masked 


other more distant warclouds. Like a summei-


thunderstorm, the conflict with Mexico would 


burst suddenly and violently, but quickly be 


finished; the second conflict which was already 


rumbling and muttering would continue sporadi- 


cally for a third of a century until, finally, the 


native redman would be swept off the land so new 


waves of inhabitants could farm and ranch 


molested. In both cases the need for informan, 


based on solid facts was paramount and one wh, 


the officers of the Corps of Topographical Engi- 


neers were trained to meet. 

To develop reliable data for strategists, three 

reconnaissance expeditions were conducted in 

1845. Originally only two expeditions had been 

ordered westward; but out of the second a third 

would be formed. With five companies of dragoons, Colonel Stephen W. Kearny made a 2,200-

mile journey across the northern plains along the 

Oregon Trail; he then looped southward to Bent's 

Fort, in what is now southeastern Colorado, 

enroute to St. Louis. Before Kearny's return, the 

second expedition under the command of Captain 

John C. Fremont was dispatched with the overt 

mission of surveying the Arkansas and Red 

Rivers. Lieutenant James W. Abert, son of 

Colonel John James Abert, Chief of Topographical 

gineers, was a junior officer with this second 

ppedit ion. 

Organization of Abert's Expedition 

At Bent's Fort Fremont and his party 

stopped for several days to rest and resupply. 

Then, before departing under secret orders on an 

extended political reconnaissance all the way to 

California, he divided his forces. To complete the 

mission he was originally given, Fremont formed a 

detachment, placing Lt. Abert "in chief command" 

and naming Lt. William G. Peck, also a Topographical Engineer, to assist him. 

In exercising his responsibilities as commander 

of the survey party, Abert quickly began to make 

preparations for launching the expedition. He 

tried in vain to secure the services of a Kiowa 

Indian named Tah-kai-buhl, who wielded considerable influence among all the roving Plains tribes 

and was knowledgeable about the surveying 

party's proposed route of march. Dismissing all 

entreaties, the Indian guide refused to go on the 

reconnaissance. Other guides were obtained, 

however. Besides Thomas Fitzpatrick, an experienced guide, Caleb Greenwood and John Hatcher, 

two mountain men in the service of the redoubttrader William Bent, agreed to serve as 

iters and accompany Abert as far as the trading 

nouses Bent had established on the Canadian 

River. Thus, the expedition was quickly assembled. 

Besides gathering together the men and supplies, Abert proceeded promptly to plan the 

technical aspects of his reconnaissance. Only a 

sextant and a chronometer would be available for 

making the survey. Thus, the expedition would be 

hampered due to lack of equipment even as it dealt 

with the risks associated with operating in hostile 

territory. With a trigonometric survey being 

impossible, a linear survey supplemented by astronomical observations was to be used for the 

survey. In performing the linear survey, principal 

points were selected and latitude and longitude 

calculated. For latitude, precise observations were 

made of stars near the zenith; for longitude, a 

determination of the position of the moon and 

moon-culminating stars was required. 

To record the details of his military reconnaissance, Abert began a journal on August 9, 

1845. If the diary was to officially document the 

events and observations on the expedition, Abert's 

sketchpad with its pencil and watercolor illustrations was to enliven and enrich his narrative 

record, adding a new dimension to its informational contents. 

In addition to the two officers, the guide a) 1 

two hunters, thirty men and two servants rounde -1 

out the roster for the journey. The carava~ 

consisted of seven horses, fifty-six mules, and 

eight rangy steers. And, with some apprehension, 

a few wagons were made ready to haul equipment 

and the limited store of supplier: eight fanegas of 

"ynbolted Mexican flour," three or four boxes of 

macaroni, a small quantity of rice, two months' 

supply of sugar, and ample supplies of coffee and 

tobacco. Other provisions would have to be 

acquired by hunting and foraging along the way. 

Fremont had hoped to send a small howitzer 

with Abert's party, since encounters with Indians 

were expected and maneuverability would be 

reduced due to the wagons. No artillery was 

available. Without a howitzer to awe the Indians, 

the explorers would have only their spunk and 

wits to rely on -but these were no small assets. 

On August 9, 1845, Lieutenant Abert and Peck 

moved out of Bent's Fort a short distance to pitch 

their first camp and prepare for departure. The 

following day, Fremont sent his instructions to Lt. 

Abert assigning to him the specific mission: "to 

survey the Canadian from its source to its junction 

with the Arkansas, taking along the way the 

Purgatory River, and the heads of the Washita, 

called Buffalo Creek and Cut-nose Creek by the 

Indians." 
Along the Purgatory 

The next morning, when the prairie sage was 

in its luxuriant abundance, the four mess tents 

were folded and utensils and supplies stowed away 

in the wagons; the men climbed into the saddle 

and the signal to move out was given. Abert's 

expedition was officially underway. Familiary 

landmarks, the Spanish Peaks and the faint snowy 

summit of Pike's Peak, kept them company for 

several days as their route followed the Arkansas 

River westward to its junction with the Purgatory. 

From there the survey party continued up the 

Purgatory in a southwesterly direction, eventually 

crossing through Raton Pass and then bending 

southward to the headwaters of the Candian 

River. 

Pitching their tents near the stream which 


"forms the principal source of the Canadian," 


Abert determined the latitude to be 36O 40' 07" 


and the longitude to be 104O 35' 58". (See map.) 


Thus, the starting point for his survey was 


established and the first portion of his mission was 


achieved. Major hardships and privations would 


lie ahead; to this point he had been traveling 


generally along the Santa Fe Trail, but unfamiliar, 


uncharted territory was soon to be encountered. 


Buffalo Country: Indians and Ciboleros 

Along the march, as the expedition proceeded 

down the Canadian, Abert was watchful for bits of 

information having significance for military intelligence purposes. Faint traces of wagon wheels 

were followed until a piece of tool-worked wo 

was discovered; another piece of wood bear'

augur marks was found among float-wood debrq fib

The crude workmanship caused Abert to suspecf 

recent passage by Mexican "ciboleros" who fre- 
quently ventured across the eastern plains to 

'qde with the Indians and procure supplies of 

ffalo meat. An additional inference, one of 

immediate practical use to the survey party, was 

that the trail the ciboleros had blazed was a 

feasible one for descending the Canadian. Numerous broken axletrees which were subsequently 

found provided mute testimony to the high level of 

usage being made by Mexican traders and meathunters, as well as demonstrating impracticality of 

using wooden-wheeled Spanish carts (carretas) for 

hauling heavy loads over the bumpy trail. 

Of serious portent, the fresh trail of a large 

mounted Indian band was encountered. Soon, 

signal fires were observed and Abert correctly 

surmised the smoke was conveying "the intelligence of strangers, and perhaps enemies, in the 

country, to the main band, which we supposed to 

be near." The visible presence of Indians 

prompted further precaution as the expedition 

proceeded through Comanche country. At night 

the wagons and tents were drawn up into a 

defensive corral (or "kraal" as Abert called it) in 

conjunction with a bluff, deep ravine, or other 

natural obstacle. 

/raThe signs of Indians increased and finally a 

mall group of Buffalo Eater Comanches showed 

.mselves on the crest of a distant hill. The 

~de Fitzpatrick, under a white flag, induced 

them to enter the camp where coffee and food 

were hungrily consumed by the Indians and 

tobacco was smoked. Through Hatcher and Fitzpatrick who acted as interpreters, Abert explained 

that his party represented the United States 

government on a peaceable mission. 

The Comanches found it difficult to comprehend why a group of armed men with wagons 

would be crossing the plains on a mission that was 

neither to trade nor to make war. Their curiosity 

piqued, the Indians trailed the explorers and 

observed their movements for several days. Occasionally, braves would approach the camp to 

parley; at these times, Abert elicited information 

on the terrain ahead as well as news on the 

relative states of war and peace among the roving 

tribes. 

A new band of Indians made their presence 

known on the night of September 12th. Discovering the trail of the explorers, Kiowa Indians 

assumed the interlopers to be Texans, whom the 

Kiowas held as hated enemies. Stealthily during 

the night, warriors crept to within ten feet of the 

nts where the Americans were sleeping. One 1 6rior fitted arrow to bowstring and drew it to 

\ ad before responding to inner promptings and 

creeping away in the darkness. The Indians 

claimed the next day the Great Spirit had warned 

them these might be Americans instead of Texans 

and they had restrained their arrows. Tobacco 

and other items were presented to the Kiowas. A 

warrior named Tiah-na-zi and his wife were 

persuaded to travel with the expedition as scouts 

and as intermediaries with other Indians who 

might have mischief in mind. 

The survey expedition continued on down the 

Candian trekking across level plains and paralleling the high banks of the river; occasionally Abert 

was forced to skirt tributary ravines or avail 

himself of a buffalo path leading toward the river 

for water or for smoother traveling along the 

lower banks. Often steep inclines or sandy 

bottoms made pulling hard for the wagons and 

teams. When this occurred additional mules were 

hitched onto the wagon or men dismounted and 

put their shoulders to the wheel. Sometimes 

pry-poles and ropes were required to move the 

wagons. 

Headwaters of the Washita 

Beginning a swing southward on September 

16th, Abert sought the headqwaters of the 

Washita River (or False Washita as it was 

sometimes called). A north bank tributary of the 

Red River, the Washita paralleled the Canadian 

some fifteen to twenty miles to the south. At this 

point, Hatcher and Greenwood bid the party 

farewell and turned back to Bent's Fort; the 

Kiowa guides also left the expedition at this 

juncture. 

After extricating themselves from the "labyrinth of ravines," the explorers entered onto the 

Llano Estacado, the famous tableland called 

"staked plains" by Spanish explorers who preceded them. Abert noted that the Llano Estacado 

is "the most extensive and continuous of the plains 

lying the desert country, and gives rise not only to 

the Washita but to all the main branches of the 

Red River, as well as the rivers of upper Texas. 

While encamped near the Washita, dusky 

figures in the night caused the alarm of "turn out!" 

to be sounded. A second band of roving Kiowas 

also had mistaken them for Texans and crept close 

to the camp to listen to them talk. The Indians 

were unaware that Americans and Texans spoke 

the same language. 

In a novel attempt to glean information from a 

council of venerable old men of the Kiowas, Abert 

placed a map of the territory before them. (The 

map had been made at Bent's Fort by Tah-kaibuhl, the Kiowa who refused to accompany the 

expedition.) The young officer noted whimsically 

in his journal: ". . . a great discrepancy of opinion 

existing among them, like most celebrated politicians, they at length agreed to compromise and 

represented all the rivers as running parallel, ad 

infinitum." 
Figure 1. 	Route of the Expedition Commanded by Lieutenant 

Jaincs A. Abert in 1845 

Figure 1. Route of the Expedition Commanded by Lieutenant James A. Abert in 1845. 
i Figure 2. Abert's Sketch of a Day's Travel* 
the headwaters 

good pathfinders and trailblazers: " imals 

being so large, and seemingly averse to great 

exertions, have been endowed by nature with an 

instinct which invariably leads them to select the 

most gentle ascents and descents, enabling them 

to seize every advantage which the ground offers. 

These paths are also remarkably straight, and as 

the animals generally move in file they are deep 

and remain distinctly visible for a long time. 

In marches of thirteen, seventeen, or once even 

as much as twenty-five miles per day, the expedition moved rapidly through the wooded region 

known as the Cross Timbers. Small prairies 

flanked by hillocks covered with mottes of blackjack and other species of oak teemed with wildlife. 

Turkeys, duck, and quail provided a change of fare 

for the weary travelers. Buffalo herds were 

plentiful and chunks of fat buffalo meat often 

hissed over the glowing coals of cooking fires. 

Abert learned the Commanches had been present 

in considerable numbers hunting buffalo on the 

Canadian, but upon learning of his approach, had 

broken camp and fled to hideaways in consternation. A few days later, signs of hostile Indians 

disappeared; the party had safety passed through 

hostile Indian country. 

The terrain became highly dissected; creeks 

forced numerous detours delaying their advance 

and adding to their hardship. But this was the last 

terrain obstacle, and once this was behind them, 

the land became gentle and bucolic. 

Daily progress was rapid after Abert entered 

the Indian Territory known as present-day Oklahoma. Soon various signs -pictures and letters 

marked on trees -gave notice of the presence of 

"half-civilized" Indians. Wild hogs were encountered, giving further indication of the expedition's 

imminent approach to settlements of the Kickapoos, Quapaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and other 

Indian tribes that had been pushed off their lan f-) further eastward. From these Indians Abert a 

,>. 

his troops acquired sweet potatoes, corn, ann 

sugar in exchange for powder, lead, and tobacco, 

which were then only burdensome. 
Completion of the Survey 

By now, Abert was nearing the end of his 

reconnaissance. On October 19th he placed Fitzpatrick in charge of the expedition while Lieutenant Peck and two soldiers accompanied him to 

the confluence of the Canadian and the Arkansas 

Rivers. The survey instruments were brought

! along so Abert and Peck could fix the point of 

juncture through astronomical observations, there- ! by completing the assigned mission. The remainder of the group would proceed directly on to 

Fort Gibson, the frontier outpost which was soon 

to be the staging point for dragoons moving 

southward to Texas and ultimately Mexico. 

On October 21st, several observations were 

made and a point some four miles above the mouth 

the Canadian was established at a latitude of P? 28' 18" and longitude 95O 58' 11". (Thick cane- 

[,rakes had precluded their progress to the exact 

point of confluence.) While the survey was technically completed, Abert decided to continue with 

the reconnaissance the short distance remaining to 

Fort Gibson. There his final observations would 

be made and the survey would be connected to 

familiar landmarks. 

On the evening of October 21st, Lieutenant 

Abert and Peck and the two soldiers who accompanied them were welcomed within the hospitable 

walls of Fort Gibson by Lieutenant Colonel R. B. 

Mason, Commander of the 1st Dragoons. The next 

morning, Fitzpatrick and the remainder of the 

reconnaissance party arriyed. 

New, improved wagon roads beckoned as the 

group, after two days' rest, left Fort Gibson to 

muster out at St. Louis. All along the way, Abert 

noted in his journal, roads were "literally lined 

with the wagons of emigrants to Texas, and from 

this time until we arrived at St. Louis we 

continued daily to see hundreds of them." 

With the situation with Mexico worsening and 

Indian clashes continuing to occur, the swelling 

flow of emigrants served only to heighten tensions; ultimately a sustained military presence 

would be required in Texas and the American 

West. 

Conclusions 

Besides his contributions to the first scientifically derived maps of the area, Abert's record of 

the land and life in the southern Great Plains in 

the days prior to settlement is replete with rare 

and practical observations. Through the text and 

illustrations of Abert's expedition, authoritative 

information about the Kiowas and Commanches 

was first gained for the federal government. 

Geographical descriptions of exploitable mineral 

and water resources, forests, and farmlands - as 

well as obstacles and disamenities - served a 

practical purpose for military planner and emigrant alike. 

While documenting an impressive reconnaissance, the travel journal also sets Lieutenant 

James W. Abert and his expedition squarely in the 

midst of events at a time which shaped the 

boundaries and challenged the spirit of a young, 

exuberant America. 

Major Gosdin is Training and Operations Officer 6-3) of the 871st Engineer Battalion (CBT) 

(HV) (USAR)in Austin, Texas. Prewious assignments include Company Commander and other 

staff positions in the 420th Engineer Brigade 

(USAR) Headquartered in Bryan, Texas. While on 

active duty, Major Gosdin served in Germany with 

the 23d Engineer Battalion (Combat). He holds 

B.S. and M.S. degrees from Texas Tech University, is a graduate 0.f the Command and General 

Staff College and is a registered landscape architect in Texas. 

23 
What about Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) 

training? The threat is real and very impressive 

and your unit has a long way to go. You have 

always been a pretty good small-unit trainer, but 

NBC is a little different. Do you really know 

where to begin? 

As the Army once again orients itself toward a 

general war in Europe, planners are becoming 

aware of a serious NBC readiness gap between our 

forces and those of our potential enemies. The gap 

is not a matter of doctrine or technology; the 

crucial difference lies in realistic on-th-ground 

training at company and platoon level. Realizing 

this, the Army's leaders have placed a new 

emphasis on training men and units to survive and 

operate in an NBC environment. fTi This renewed interest in NBC is being felt bya 

small-unit trainers. You now have the command 

emphasis you need to buy time on the training 
---

CPT Paul M. Pittman, Jr. 

schedule, and you need some concrete advice 

about starting a unit NBC training program. 

is article is designed to provide the initial 

\ p idance you are looking for. 

The best place to begin, is with the publications. 

The following basic items will enable you to put 

together a complete NBC training program: 

AR 220-58 together with its local supplements, defines NBC responsibilities and puts the 

training burden exactly where it belongs -on the 

commander. In addition, this manual provides the 

basic design for a company-level NBC defense 

organization, with its various specialists. 

FM 21-40 is the basic guide to survival and 

operations in an NBC environment. Appendix B 

provides a detailed description of NBC standards 

of proficiency for individuals, units, and specialists. 

FM 21-48 outlines specific procedures for NBC 

training and testing. 

TM 750-15-5 catalogs virtually all NBC equipment, giving descriptions, stock numbers and 

allocation data. 

NOTE: Check your TOE, MTOE or TDA for 

the equipment authorized at your level. 

ARTEPs are available for training management in engineer units, and you will be expected 

to tailor your NBC program to your unit ARTEP. 

his should be fairly simple since these documents (6designed with decentralized training in mind. 

cy assign task priorites (normally high ones for 

NBC tasks) and offer flexible guidelines for 

scheduling training and for ordering supplies and 

ammunition. 

SOPS or other guidelines for higher headquarters that are available. 

A logical sequence for NBC training progresses 

from the very basic to integrated training during 

unit field operations. Of course, the program must 

build on and progress from individual to unit skills, 

but often both levels can be taught together. You 

can prepare for training tests by including individual and unit proficiency tests (like the examples found in FM 21-48) in your training 

program. Remember that testing is also an 

effective means of teaching. 

The initial training should be based squarely on 

the individual and unit standards found in Appendix B of FM 21-40. These standards are simple, 

direct, and designed for performance oriented 

training. A quick review will convince you that 

these basic skills will be the essentials of survival 

and mission accomplishment in an NBC environment. Obviously, field training must be designed 

to reinforce and test knowledge gained in the 

initial training. 

NBC field training, to he effective, should be 

mission related, performance oriented, and realistic. In other words, you should make NBC a 

regular part of mission training. This is not as 

difficult as it sounds: let's say your unit's mission 

for today is a land clearing operation. To add an 

NBC twist you have liberally covered the area 

with a chemical contaminant, a mustard agent 

simulant comr,osed of used motor oil, with a touch 

of garlic to give it the right odor. Then you added 

some powdered CS (tear agent) to make the 
C ~ 

contaminated area even more convincing. Now 

your unit must perform its normal mission in an 

NBC environment, and you have everything you 

need to reinforce your previous instruction in 

detection, protection, decontamination, or first aid. 

A sound working knowledge of the NBC tactics 

of our potential enemies is vital if you hope to 

make such training believable. For too long we 

have trained our soldiers to react to the "pop" of a 

tear gas grenade, knowing full-well that no enemy 

is likely to stage a chemical agent attack using 

hand grenades. To gain authenticity, chemical 

attacks should occur without warning and, if 

possible, at nkht. Your unit must learn to take 

immediate defensive action at any time, while 

moving or standing still. 

One way to achieve credibility in training lies in 

the proper use of training munitions. These 

munitions, ranging from a convicing nuclear burst 

simulator to tear gases, are discussed in FM 21-48. 

CS should be used off target, upwind. Powdered 

CS, used with a hidden disperser or covered with 

leaves on a road or trail, creates an impression the 

gas chamber can never equal. To simulate an 

artillery attack you can coordinate the arrival of a 

CS cloud from an upwind disperser and the use of 

artillery simulators. Remember that combat training is meaningless unless it duplicates combat. 

Part of your attention must be devoted to your 

unit NBC specialists. In addition to the company 

NBC Defense Officer, NCO, and Enlisted Alternate, you will probably be required to maintain a 

company decontamination squad. In addition, each 

piece of radiac equipment and each chemical 

detection kit on your TOE must have two trained 

operators. One solid approach is to train these 

detection specialists and the decontamination team 

under the NBC Defense Officer and NCO respectively. If your unit is committed, they can operate 

with the same breakdown. These are the normal 

requirements, but your unit could be required to 

train and deploy additional teams: damage control 

parties (a likely engineer mission), rescue squads or 

additional survey or decontamination squads. At 

company and platoon level all of these jobs will be 

additional duties. 

Another thing you will have to do is master your 

unit NBC equipment. This will mean getting it out 

of the supply room and using it. Most company 

commanders own NBC equipment they can't use. 

There may be a few things they don't even 

recognize. A perfect example is the gas particulate filter for the tracked vehicle. Chances are it 

isn't working even if it's mounted. It's time for 

you to get the TOE NBC equipment off the shelf 

and put it to use. To support you, the inspection 

en:phasis, where NBC equipment is concerned, is 

rapidly shifting from appearance to emplovment. 

your first point of contact for training is, of 

course, higher headquarters. Depending on its 

TOE, your battalion might have a Chemical N 

At any rate, the S3 has staff responsibility fc 

NBC training and operations. At brigade level 

there will be a two or three man chemical section 

and at division, normally a ten man section. 

Close coordination with these chemical specialists 

can save a lot of steps in putting together a 

training program. Another source of advice and 

assistance will be your post, camp, or station NBC 

school. The school exists primarily to provide 

training for unit NBC Officers, NCOs and specialists, but it can do a lot more for you. The cadre 

will know all the ins and outs of training areas, 

supplies, equipment, and local rules and regulations. Such close coordination has a hidden 

benefit: division and post level NBC inspectors are 

usually drawn from the division chemical section of 

the NBC school. 

The recent upsurge in emphasis on NBC training has left publications in a state of flux. Specific 

items are being revised at a rapid rate, but the list 

provided below should help you get started. 

These references are basic items that will fit into 

any company training library. 

A number of excellent, up-to-date training films 

are available. One of the best is "Individual Pr 

tection Against C and B Operations and Nucle 6 

Warfare" (TF 3-3966), which follows an infantr, 

squad through a series of NBC attacks and, in the 

process, teaches virtually all of the individual 

survival standards. The films listed in the 

reference section are all recent, color editions. 

If you want to add still more visual punch to 

your training, the possibilities ar endless. Some 

excellent TV tapes, TEC programs, and graphic 

training aids are available, and new ones are 

coming out at a rapid rate. Your local Training 

Aids Service Officer or Audio-Visual Centre can 

give you up-to-date information. The Extension 

Training Management Division at most major 

tra~ning installations is another source of visual 

material. If you plan to use films, tapes, or GTAs 

that have to be ordered, allow yourself at least two 

or three weeks of lead time. 

No matter how you approach your particular 

training situation, keep in mind that you are 

dealing with a survival subject. The key to proficiency and survival is a thorough, realistic training program. 

Captain Pittman graduated .from Wofford College in 1966 and has done graduate work at t?:.' Unilrersity o,f Virginia. an,d Pepperdine Universt 

Ht. is CL yrcltluate of the Infantry Officer Advanc?, 

Course and, by correspondence, the Engineer. 

Office?- Adtlan.ced Cozwse. 

Frank D. Lewis 

George G. Stewart 

The Corps of Engineers through its Huntsxlille 

Division continues to perform as a member of the 

team enbling America to continue its exploration 

of outer-space through the Space Shuttle Program. 

Working with the Marshall Space Flight Center 

of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Huntsville Division is puttin 

Agency's 

the finishing 

testing 

touches 

facilities 

on 

at 

modifications 

the National 

to 

Spa t

h

Technology Laboratorit (NSTL), near Bay St. 

Louis, MS. 

Four separate construction contracts totaling 

nearly $20 million administered by the Corps of 

Engineers have transformed the NASA test facilities originally constructed by the Corps in the 

mid-60's for the Apollo moon landing program into 

testing facilities adapted to the reusable space 

shuttle rocket engines. 

Three separate test stands have been involved. 

Two of the stands have been modified for single 

engine tests of the reusable hydrogen fueled space 

shuttle main engines. One of the two stands 

(Figure 1) is designed to simulate low altitude 

flight and the other (Figure 2) to simulate high 

altitude flight. The test stand designed for high 

altitude testing differs from the other in that the 

engine is mounted at an angle of 18O from the 

vertical and by the addition of a diffuser system 

through which the engine exhausts. The diffuser 

system serves to reduce the back pressure of the 

engine exhaust, thus simulating high altitude 

conditions. 

Other modifications to the single engine 


stands included installation of vacuum jacketc-.' 


liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel and 


oxydizer tanks and thrust measuring systems. 

Extensive piping and work platform revisions 

were also involved. 

P 

The third test stand modification (see Figures 3 

and 4) involved the test stand originally utilized in 

acceptance testing of the giant first stage of the 

Saturn rockets. In support of the space shuttle 

rogram this facility will be utilized in testing of 

main propulsion test article which consists of a 

ght-type fuel and oxydizer tank and a cluster of 

three hydrogen - fuel engines. Extensive structural 

revisions were required to accommodate the main 

propulsion test article. 

The entire upper 100-foot superstructure of the 

test stand above the existing booster support 

frame, along with a portion of the existing booster 

support frame was removed. These areas were 

completely rebuilt to the new configuration required for the main propulsion test article. 

I". 

In developing their approach of the required 

modifications, Industrial Contractors, Inc., Idaho 

Falls, Idaho, the successful bidders on the three 

contracts requiring modifications to the test 

stands, made extensive use of off-site fabrication. 

An existing canal system provided water transportation to each of the three test stands to be 

modified. This enabled large structural components to be completely assembled by off-site 

fabricators, shipped to the job site by barge and 

lifted into position on the test stands. The 

construction contract provided for the contractor 

to utilize the existing derricks mounted on the top 

of the test stands. This provided capacity for 

ructural sections weighing up to 200 tons to be 

. in one piece. Piping, platforms, ladders, etc., 

)t installed on the structural sections of the 

Figure 3 

fabricator's shop were installed on the ground 

level before lifting the sections into position on the 

test stands. Major lifts often required planning 

heginning several weeks in advance of the lift due 

to complicated rigging, narrow clearances, etc. 

Derricks, load slings, etc., were load tested before 

major lifts. 

The fourth contract consisted of providing 

docking facilities for liquid hydrogen barges and 

associated hydrogen transfer facilities (Figures 5 

and 6). The contractor on this project, elected to 

build the docking facility on dry land. Upon 

completion of the dock the canal basin was 

enlarged by dredging material away from the dock 

and the surrounding area. 

As might be expected on any remodeling 

project, numerous problems arose in mating the 

new construction with the existing structure. The 

situation was further compounded by NASA 

subcontractors performing maintenance and refurbishment in the same general area as the new 

construction. Often work was in progress simultaneously on the same system by two or more 

contractors. A team concept developed involving 

NASA, the Corps of Engineers, and contractor 

personnel. Channels of communication between 

inncies remained constantly open enabling work 

rogress with minimal interference. In many 

.cs NASA, the Corps of Engineers, and contractor personnel have pooled available resources to 

complete a critical item of work in a timely 

manner. 

t lyl

As engine development progressed, test criteria changed accordingly. For example, as engine 

specifications neared finalization it was determined 

that test stand fuel and oxydizer cleanliness was 

much more critical than was originally specified. 

As criteria changes were received from NASA, 

the Corps of Engineers and contractor management immediately arranged the necessary contract 

modification in order that work might proceed 

without delay. 

The success of the team effort is reflected in 

the two single engine test stands on which space 

shuttle engines are currently test fired almost 

daily and the third test stand, where modification 

work is on schedule, to be transferred to NASA in 

September 1976. 

Frank D. Leuuls, Huntsville Division, US Army 

Corps of Engineers, is Area Engineer, National 

Space Technology Laboratories. He is a 1959 

gmdvate of the University of Missouri at Rolh 

uith a BS in Mechanical Engineering. 

George G. Stewart, H7~ntsville Diwision, US 

Army Corps of Engineers, has been with the 

Diuision Public Affairs Olfice since shortly after 

its organization in October 1967. He has been 

Dz'?~ision Public Aff'airs Officer for the past four 

years. 

Sp4 David C. Manchester 

Fastening together sections of one of the 

Army's new Ribbon Bridge, the third platoon of 

Belvoir's 902d Engineer Company worked in 

sweltering heat July 1of this year to complete the 

bridge in Washington, D.C.'s famous Tidal Basin. 

Amidst the backdrop of historical landmarks, 

the 902d assembled the bridge to serve as a 

launching platform for the district's bicentennial 

fireworks display July 4. 

According to Major Peter J. Mackie, Belvoir's 

senior bridging instructor, the new bridge has only 

been in service since the first of the year, and 

consequently provided the 902d with some good 

training, and the chance to implement "untried" 

techniques. 

David C. Manchester is an Army journalist 

currently assigned to the Public Affairs Office at 

the US. Army Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir 

in northern Virginia. A graduate of the Defense 

Infomation School at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 

Indianapolis, he was first involved in broadcast 

journalism upon arrival at his Fort Belvoir assignment. He is presently writing for the post's 

newspaper, The Castle. 
Sp4 Gayle Manchester 

Putting their skills into operation, members of 

the 497th Engineer Company (Port Construction) 

from Ft. Eustis, Virginia, are building two bridges 

for the National Children's Island in the Anacostia 

River, Washington, D.C. 

When completed, National Children's Island 

will be a national center for children's activities 

where children of all ages can roam and play at 

will. 

The 40 enlisted men and one officer working on 

the bridge project include welders, surveyors, 

mechanics, pipe line specialists, carpenters, heavy 

vehicle operators, boat crewmen, crane operators 

and riggers. 

The 497th came prepared with machin 

Their hardware includes a pile driving barge wl,.. 

a skid-mounted pile driving rig, a 40 ton crane 

with pile driving leads, a trailer-mounted woodworking shop and a bridge erection boat. 
The project benefits everyone. It gives the 

Army training materials; gives Children's Island 

an opportunity to build the park; gives the 

children a park, and gives the men the training. 

Most of the 40 member party is comprised of 

the 2d Platoon of the 497th. Moral is high. This is 

a good environment to work in, and "it provides an 

opportunity for the men to see D.C. in their free 

time. 

Once assigned to Ft. Belvoir, the 497th was 

moved to Ft. Eustis in March, 1973. The englneers expect to finish the project in December. 

Gayle Munchester is an Army information 

,s ecialist currently assigned to the Public Affairs i;e at the LT.S. Army Engineer Center and Ft. 

joir in northem Virginia. She is a graduate of 

i rl c De fense In.formation School at Ft. Ben-jamin 

Ilum..son, Indiana, and is currently writing for the 

E't. B~Lvoir post newspaper, The Castle. 
MAJ Matthew J. Jones fli 

"Two Hundred Years of Military Engineering 

. . . a. Foundation for the Future." That is the 

Bicentennial Theme adopted by the Society of 

American Military Engineers. Indeed, it is a most 

appropriate theme, for the military engineer has 

done much for his n a t' lon. 

If one were to make even a rather hurried trip 

along the highways of history, he could not, help but 

see the splendid panorama fashioned by the 

contribution of military engineering to the foundation, growth and sustainment of these great and 

hlessed United States of America. 

Many say that George Washington was the 

father of our country. Certainly he contributed 

much to the Cormat.ion of the new nation whose 

200th Anniversary we now celebrate. Soldier, 

statesman, surveyor - and engineer - he recognized the importance of the engineer in safeguarding and building a nation. Thus, he can 

justifiably be pointed to as the father of military 

engineering for the 13 colonies. 

-shortly'after "the shot heard round the world" 

fas triggered at Concord Bridge, he took action to p* I 1 
insure a military engineering capability for the 

Continental Army. One of his first actions as 

Commander-in-Chief was to request the Second 

Continental Congress to authorize a Chief Engineer for the Continental Army. Congress acceded 

to this request and General Washington appointed 

Colonel Richard Gridley on 16 June 1775 -the 

day now recognized as the founding date of the 

Army's Corp of Engineers. On the very night 

Colonel Gridley was appointed he actively undertook the fortification of Breed's Hill while under 

fire from His Majesty's Ships Lively and Falcon. 

These fortifications played a large part in allowing 

a small force of untrained militia to inflict significant casualties upon the elite of the British Army 

at a much smaller cost in American casualties. 

Due to the character of the warfare of the 

times, military engineering efforts during the 

evolutionary War were devoted principally to kerection of defensive fortifications. Engineertalent, however, was scarce. General Washington constantly complained to Congress about 

the critical shortage of engineers. In answer to his 

pleas Congress passed a resolution in December 

1776 which authorized him to raise a Corps of 

Engineers. 

Legislation alone, however, failed to produce 

competent engineers from a population which had 

none. Therefore, in January 1777, Benjamin 

Franklin, long famed for his interest in matters of 

both civil and military engineering, appealed to 

the French Court for assistance in the form of 

King's Engineers. The king agreed and directed 

his Minister of War to select a cadre of engineers 

to aid his American allies. 

Captain Louis le Beque du Portail was placed in 

charge of this cadre and became, with the rank of 

Brigadier General, Chief Engineer of the Continental Army in July 1777. And so it was, that 

General du Portail with an organization of foreign 

engineer officers such as l'Enfant, Rochefontaine, 

and Kosciusko, gave the struggling colonies the 

~ngincering expertise needed to support an army. 

Without the engineer-built fortifications at 

ev Forge, the British would have ended the 

fiican Revolution there. And, it was the 

,ant contribution of the siege works before 

J orktown that contributed so much to the unconditional surrender of General Cornwallis and 

brought the American Revolution to a successful 

conclusion for the colonists in October 1781. 

Two years later the Corps of Engineers was 

disbanded. From then until after the inauguration 

of the government under the Constitution of 1789 

nothing occured which required the use of military 

engineers. The pressure of relations between the 

new nation and the principal powers of Europe, 

however, caused Congress in March 1794 to 

authorize the President to fortify certain harbors 

along the coast. As there were no engineers in the 

Army, the President directed the temporary 

appointment of a number of engineers to design 

and supervise the construction of the works. Most 

of these men were foreign-born and had been in 

the Corps of Engineers of the revolutionary Army. 

In that same year, 1794, Congress provided for 

a Corps of Artillerists and Engineers to be 

employed in the field, on the frontiers and in the 

fortification of the sea coasts. Concurrently, a 

military engineering school was organized at West 

Point, a recommendation which had been made by 

General du Portail over 10 years earlier before his 

return to France. 

In January 1800, Secretary of War James 

McHenry urged the revival of the Corps of Engineers as a separate branch and the establishment 

of a formal Military Academy. Congress heeded 

the Secretary's urgings and in March 1802 with 

President Jefferson's consent organized a Corps of 

Engineers, and a Military Academy in its charge, 

both to be stationed at West Point, New York. 

The Academy was dedicated to military training and academic excellence. For 22 years after its 

founding it was the only engineering school in the 

country. Its superintendents realized that the 

technical education there must include courses 

that would produce officers capable not only of 

building seacoast fortifications but capable of 

undertaking the exploration, surveys and civil 

works so necessary to develop a nation. 

One superintendent in particular, Sylvanus 

Thayer, recognized that one engineering school at 

West Point could not produce the vast army of 

engineers the country would need during the 

coming years. He preached that additional technical schools must be established. He believed 

that without a great army of civilian engineers our 

national resources would be slow of development. 

He also believed that, if war came, this great army 

of engineers would cooperate with the Army. The 

future would justify his beliefs. 
The L,ouisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the 

territorial holdings of the United States. President Jefferson recognized the need for increased 

knowledge of the trans-Mississippi region in order 

to evaluate the unknown territory for settlement 

and subsequent development. Lewis and Clark 

were to help close the gap of ignorance. Between 

1804 and 1806 these two officers conducted their 

expedition. For the first time the immense 

distance and geographical diversity of the area 

between the Mississippi and Pacific were known. 

Their journey, followed by Major Stephen Long's 

expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1819 and 

1820. began a program of exploration and mapping 

across the Great Plains, over the Rockies and 

down the Great Columbia River to the Pacific. By 

mid 19th century, these and other expeditions had 

charted the major features of central North 

America. Many of these expeditions were conducted by the Corps of Topographical Engineers 

which was a separate entity until merged with the 

Corps of Engineers in 1863. 

One of the most impressive and durable monuments to our nation's continual expansion, the 

Cumherland National Road, begun in 1811, might 

also tYe considered a monument to the military 

engineer, for it was he who translated the dream 

into reality. Today's travelers along US Highway 

40 probably do not realize that they are following 

the historic route of the once-famous national road. 

Between 1806 and 1811 military engineers 

tiesigned and supervised the construction of 24 

forts and 32 coastal batteries, such as those at 

Fort Jay, New York; Fort Harrison, Indiana; F-ort 

IJnion, Delaware; and Fort Severn, Maryland, 0 

the site of the US Naval Academy. Not a sir 

fortification constructed during this period fell to 

the British during the War of 1812 even though 

many were subjected to heavy attack. The War of 

1812 was, clue to these fortifications, largely a sea 

war. What land battles were fought, succeeded or 

failed in large measure on the adequacy of the 

defenses constructed. 

At the conclusion of the war, work on coastal 

fortifications was renewed. Their value had been 

demonstrated in the war and their absence 

severely felt at many points of the seaboard. In 

November 1816 a Board of Engineers for Fortifications, with both Army and Navy representation, 

was established to locate, plan and execute works 

of fortifications. From their efforts came forts like 

Hamilton, Monroe and Sumter. 

By congressional act of 30 April 1824 military 

engineers were authorized to conduct ". . . the 

necessary surveys, plans and estimates . . . of the 

routes of such roads and canals as he [the 

President1 may deem of national importance in a 

commercial or military point of view, or necessary 

for the transportation of the public mail, designating, in thc case of each canal, what parts 

be made capable of sloop navigation . . ." TF, 

did the Corps of Engineers embark on its c, 

works t'i~nction and begin in earnest the long Iinc 

of contribut~ons to national expansion and develop- 
ment. Military engineers made surveys for work 

the early canals and railroads, built roads, made 

m2 Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi safe for navigz- 

~lon, opened up harbors for steamships on the 

Great Lakes and built and maintained lighthouses 

necessary for safe navigation. All of these were 

done by military engineers, officers and civilians, 

for there had been no engineer troops units in the 

Army since January 1821. 

It was mid-1846 before an engineer troop unit 

would again be established. When the war with 

Mexico was joined, one company of sappers, 

miners and pontoniers was added to the Army. 

This unit later became and is carried on the roles 

today as the 1st Engineer Battalion. Much of the 

credit for our victories in Mexico went to the 

military engineers who comprised the 1st Engineers. They improved poor and impassable roads 

and constructed new roads which gave the Army 

the mobility it needed to reach its goal of victory. 

They also directed the siege operations at Vera 

Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Chapultepec and Mexico City 

which resulted in their capitulation. This war 

proved to be a training ground for many leaders of 

the Civil War. The roll reads like a prolog to later 

times and places: Lee, McClellan, Beauregard. 

JcPherson, Tower and Halleck -all were military P.ineers. With victory in the Mexican War, the continent 

mas at last contained. The delineation of the 

national domain was to be followed by its development. Transcontinental railroads were needed to 

tie the Atlantic to the Pacific. Military engineers, 

thus, became involved in yet another project to 

shape the nation -surveying and building railroads. For some of them -like Grenville Dodge 

- new careers emerged. Thirty-five engineers 

left the Army and became railroad presidents and 

an even greater number became Chief Engineers 

for railroad companies. 

If the American Revolution can be construed as 

the conception of a new nation, then certainly the 

American Civil War can be viewed (as did one 

early motion picture producer) -the birth of a 

nation. On 12 April 1861 the heavily stressed 

warp and woof of national unity was deeply rent 

by the Confederate States of America's firing on 

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. 

The tragedy of war had struck. 

P\. 

During this herculean struggle, great armies 

were massed and moved over vast stretches of 

terrain. From the building of the defensive works 

Washington on the heights of Alexandria to 

forming the tasks of sappers, miners, pioneers 

,d pontoniers with the armies in the field, 

military engineers proved indispensible to the 

great commanders on both sides. Their special 

assignment was to the charge of the bridge trains 

that accompanied the armies. 

The floating bridges constructed were without 

parallel in number and magnitude, attaining 

lengths of 2,000 feet or more, and included 

repeated crossings of the Potomac, Rappahannock, 

Chickahominy and James Rivers, against drift, ice 

and strong currents. In seven hours military 

engineers threw a 2,100 foot bridge across the 

James River comprised of a 150 foot trestle with a 

floating section of 101 pontoons. 

While supporting Sherman's advance from 

Chattanooga to Atlanta, military engineers were 

required, during a three month period, to rebuild 

12,300 feet of railroad bridge. One of these 

bridges was 2,100 feet long and required 170 

bents. A't the same time they repaired or 

reconstructed some 115 miles of track. 

Military engineers took part not only in the 

sieges conducted during the war, they also provided the means for the logistical support of those 

operations by constructing and repairing roads, 

trestles and crib bridges. The war introduced new 

combat applications. There were telegraphy for 

faster communications, the employment of aerial 

balloons for aerial observation and new weapons 

and tactics. Both sides used railroads for the 

movement of men and supplies with new speed 

and efficiency. The war changed not only the 

nation, but also the ways in which future wars 

would be fought. 

After the Civil War, military engineers returned to their projects of managing America's 

water resources, directing surveys to further 

national expansion and constructing public buildings. The city of Washingtnn was in need of much 

attention. Conditions were so bad that some 

wanted our capitol site moved elsewhere, but 

military engineers went to work finishing what 

had been started in the capitol city. They laid out 

the ,grounds for Arlington National Cemetery, 

paved streets, constructed aqueducts and directed 

the construction of the wings and dome of the 

Capitol Building, the original Library of Congress 

and completion of the Washington Monument. 

The push to the west strengthened during the 

post war period. Military engineers mapped the 

Yellowstone area and aware of man's propensity 

for destruction asked Congress to build roads and 

establish Army Patrols to preserve and protect 

the park, decades before the National Park 

Service was established. Co~gress agreed and 

sent militarv engineers to lay out a highway 

system in the park which still exists in the park's 

roadway network. Yosemite and Sequoia Parks in 

California were also kept safe from exploitation 

and abuse by military engineers until the National 

Park Service assumed that responsibility. 
America was growing quickly - and so were 

her needs for transportation. Military engineers 

changed the ways in which scientists and engineers throughout the world would study, manage 

and establish controls for stream, lake and river 

management. Concerted effort was directed to the 

Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Ohio Rivers to 

make them both navigable and safe for the people 

settled near their banks. In the Great Lakes chain 

a stubborn, natural barrier in the rapids at Ste 

Sault Marie had to be overcome to open the 1,000 

mile long shipping route to serve our expanding 

waterway commerce system. Harbor improvement in our port cities also fell to the skill of 

military engineers. 

When Ferdinand DeLesseps abandoned the 50 

mile Panama Canal in 1889, after seven year's 

work and the deaths of 22,000 workers, American 

military engineers stepped in and completed the 

project. In August 1914 Colonel George Goethals 

succeeded in completing what the builder of the 

Suez Canal found impossible. The locks, dams, 

breakwaters, dredged channels, power plants, 

docks, piers, fortifications were incredible engineering feats. But one of the major engineer 

accomplishments was the sanitary engineering 

undertakings which were essential to the construction effort. The canal stands to this day as a 

monument to the determination, courage and 

engineering ability of America's military engineers. 

The noise of the men and equipment that 

constructed the Panama Canal was soon replaced 

by the awful roar of the Guns of August. 

Although it wo~ld be almost three years, until 

July 1917, before America entered the war, the 

holocaust of World War I had engulfed Europe in 

August 1914. The military engineer was called to 

the test as never before. 

Gone were the days of snatching a musket F, the wall and going off to fight. The day of larb 

scale mobilization had dawned. Training and 

marshalling camps, defense plants, warehouses, 

depots and terminals were needed to amass, train 

and dispatch an army of over 1-million men. In 16 

weeks the military engineer was directed to 

complete cantonments at 32 locations for this 

army. The challenge was well met. By war's end 

in November 1918 military engineers had directed 

the construction of 32 camps for one and three 

quarter million men, four ports of embarkation, 22 

training centers, 77 aviation facilities, 89 hospitals, 

125 depots plus nutnerous other posts and stations. 

In the war zone 296,000 military engineers, a 

force twice the size of the regular army at the 

start of the war, were involved in supporting 

combat operations. The llth Engineer Regiment, 

which exists today at Fort Belvoir as the llth 

Engineer Battalion, suffered the first American 

casualties of the war while working to clear a 

passage through no-man's-land prior to an allied 

assault. Military engineers worked hard in the 

lines and behind the lines to build hundreds of 

bridges; to repair and construct roads, railroads, 

airfields and port and harbor facilities; to ern 

hospitals, depots, tank farms and cantonmer 

and to provide water and utilities. 

The war to end all wars concluded in 1918. 


Military engineers had responded magnificently to 


the demands of the war and in so doing had proven 


their essentiality to the successful conduct of 


modern warfare. 


CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE 

Ma,jor Matthew J. Jones, Jr. is assigned to the 

Olfice 0.f the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 

HQDA. A civil engineering graduate of the 

University of Detroit, he was commissioned in the 

Co.rps of Engineers in 1962. Since then he has 

sewed uith the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion; the 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry 

Bzision,; the 2d Engineer Battalion, 2d Innfantry 

Lhvison; the US Army Support Command-Vietn,am; MACV; Test Command, Defense Nuclear 

Agency; and the US Army Engineer School. Ma]-1, 

.Jones has a Masters Degree in civil enginee& 

from Stanford University and is a graduate of born 

the Engineer Olficer Advanced Course and the 

Com,m,an,d and General Staf:f College. 
QUIZTIM€ 


Engineer Staff 

Okay Sappers, it's quiz time! Sharpen up your pencils and put on your thinking headgear. 

Concentrate, now, and give it all you've got, because if you miss more than two, you have to go 

back and re-read the entire Engineer Field Data Manual, FM 5-34. 

Don't get nervous. Ready? Let's get started: 

1. What is the wheeled and track capacity for an80%double-single Bailey Bridge during a normal 

crossing? 

2. What is the symbol for an anti-personnel mine? 

3. In quarry operations, the borehole pattern is governed by (choose one or more of the following): 

a. 	The energy created by the explosives 

b. 	The amount of tamping in the borehole 

c. 	The diameter of the explosive charge 

d. 	All of the above 

How many hours are required to construct a two-man foxhole with half cover, completely 

reveted with corrugated metal, using D-handled shovels and ordinary carpenter tools? 

5. What formula is used to compute the amount of TNT for cutting I-beams, build-up girders, and 

steel plates? 

6. In special bridge crossings, which of the following statements are true? 

a. 	Only the division commander or higher can authorize a risk crossing. 

b. 	A class 36 vehicle crossing a class 30, one-lane timber trestle bridge would be a caution 

crossing. 

c. 	A risk crossing can be made only on a Bailey Bridge. 

d. 	In a risk crossing, a vehicle may not exceed 3 MPH. 

7. A 3-2-1 picket holdfast in wet clay and gravel has a capacity of how many pounds? 

8. What is the minimum safe distance for personnel in the open with bare charges using 40 pounds 

of explosives? 

9. What value as a subgrade beneath-landing mat or as an unsurfaced area would a poorly graded 

gravel or gravel and sand mixture, with little or no fines provide? Choose one: 

a. 	Poor 

b. 	Fair to Poor 

c. 	Good 

d. 	Very good to excellent depending whether it was wet or dry. 

10. Calculate the runway for a C-130 aircraft in a forward area using the following conditions: 

a. 	Altitude: 3000 feet 

b. 	Mean temperature: 40 degrees 

c. 	Effective gradient: 3% 

11. True or false: The first cluster in a strip is always an omitted cluster. 
1 

12. If 30 pounds of TNT were required for a demolition project, how many pounds of M-118 sheet 

explosive would be required for the same project (disregard explosive package size and 

rule)? 

How many pounds of C-4 would be required for the same project? 

13. 	 What would be the required length of a 1/4 Wave Antenna at 56 megacycles? 

14. How many sets of Aluminum Footbridge would be required to make nine, lh-ton capacity 

expedient rafts? 

15. 	 Which of the following statements are true about minefield reports? 

Choose one or more: 

a. 	DA Form 1355 is used for preparinq a record of a friendly minefield and DA Form 1355-1 is 

used for preparing a record of an enemy minefield. 

b. 	DA Form 1355 is classified confidential when filled in. 

c. 	DA Form 1355-1 is unclassified when filled in if the minefield is temporary in nature. 

16. Calculate the size and number of TNT charges required to breach a reinforced concrete wall 

that is 30 feet long and 6 feet thick. Use external charges placed at ground level and tamped. 

17. 	 In the same situation as for question 16, will the blast cut the reinforcing steel? 

18. 	 True or false: The maximum length of a shear leg is 60 times the diameter of the leg. 

19. In classifying a timber trestle bridge, compute the number of effective stringers (N2) for 

two-way traffic using a total of 13 stringers. 

20. 	 What is the spacing of the long pickets in a Six and Three Pace Double Apron Fence? 

21. 	 What surface run off factor would be used for an impervious soil with turf a slope of 4%? 

22. 	 What is the maximum number of antitank mines that can be in one cluster? Choose 

a. 	It depends on the minefield density. y-<

b. 	2 

c. 	1 

d. 	If no antitank mines were used in the IOE, then no antitank mines could be used in the strip 

cluster compositions. 

23. 	 What is the minimum width for a one-lane bridge designed to carry class-30 vehicles? 

24. In concrete construction, what is the potential mixer output (cu yd/hr) for a 16s mixer using a 

batch time of 3 minutes (mixer yield is 16 cu ft)? 

25. 	 What classification does a five-bay Mobile Assault Bridge have in a stream velocity of 6 FPS? 

26. Using a M3 shape charge, what is the average diameter size of the borehole in reinforced 

concrete that it will make when detonated? 

27. Which of the following knots is used to shorten rope or take the load off a weak spot in a rope? 

Choose one: 

a. 	Sheepbend 

b. 	Square knot 

c. 	 Bowline 

d. 	Sheepshank 

28. 	 What is the minimum cover for a culvert? Choose one: 

a. 	lii diameter of the culvert or 8-inch minimum 

b. 	1112 diameter or 12-inch minimum 

c. 	112 diameter or 12-inch minimum 

d. 	Twice the diameter 

29. Calculate the amount of explosives needed for a test shot on a tree, 24 inches in diameter, USA 

a tamped internal charge (military dynamite is available). 

30. 	 What is the maximum effective range for the following weapons? 
a. 	66mm Heat rocket, M-72 ( LAW) 

b. 	an 8-inch artillery gun 

c. M18A1 Claymore Mine 


What is the weight per cubic foot of set portland cement? 


32. True or false: The bridge classification of a timber trestle bridge is determined by the 

structure. 

33. Which of the following statements are true about the placement of trip wires in a minefield? 

Choose one or more: 

a. 	There can only be one trip-wired mine per cluster and no closer than every fourth cluster. 

b. 	Only antitank mines are trip-wired. 

c. 	Trip wires are used only in the row on the enemy side of the strip centerline. 

d. 	A trip wire from one cluster must be out a minimum of 2 meters from another cluster on the 

enemy side of the strip centerline. 

34. An M4T6 reinforced float bridge across a 350 foot span in a stream velocity of 7 FPS will require 

what size single cable for an overhead cable bridle line? 

35. 	 How many pounds of explosives are in an M-19 Plastic Heavy Antitank Mine? 

ANSWERS 

n 

1. 50/55 	 19. 4.875 stringers 

2. 	 u 20. 6 paces 

3. a, c 	 21. .50 to .75 

4. 8 man hours 	 22. c 

5. P=3/8A 	 23. 11 Feet, 0 Inches 

6. b, d 	 24. 11.9 cubic yards. 

7. 3600 pounds 	 25. Class 75 

8. 1020 feet 	 26. 3'12 inches; at least 20 inches 

9. d 	 27. d 

10. 	 3300 feet 28. c 

11. 	 False 29. 2'12 Pounds 

12. 	 26.3 Pounds MI18 Sheet Explosive; 30. a) 200 meters b) 16,800 meters 


22139 Pounds C-4 
 C) 	50 meters 

13. 	 4.2 Feet 

14. 	 3 Sets 31. 183 pounds per cubic fool 

32. 	 False 

16. 	 272.5 Pounds TNT; 3 charges 33. c, d 

34. 	 1 Inch 

35. 	 21 Pounds 
AVIATION CMF REDESIGNED UNDER EPMS 

There are some big changes in store for the 17,500 soldiers in the highly skilled Aviation 

Maintenance career management field (CMF 67). A redesign of the CMF recently was approved by 

DA for implementation under the Enlisted Personnel Management System (EPMS). Sixteen MOSs 

will replace the current 22: 

There will be one fixed wing repairer, MOS 67G (Airplane Repairman); MOSs 678, C and H 

will be deleted from the MOS inventory. 

Helicopter repair MOSs are changed -soldiers now will be trained to maintain categories of 

helicopters -67V (Observation/Scout), 67N (Utility), 67Y (Attack), 67U (Medium Lift), and 

67X (Heavy Lift). This should make the opportunity for varied assignments better. 

Soldiers in MOS 67W (Aircraft Quality Control Supervisor) will be trained to perform 

inspection and quality control on both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. MOS 67F was 

consolidated into 67W. 

MOS 68D (Aircraft Powertrain Repairer) will include most of the duties of the current MOSs 

68D and 68E. 

MOS 68K (Aircraft Components Repair Supervisor) has been created. Soldiers in this MOS 

will be capable of supervising the activities of all the aircraft component repairers. 

MOS 68J, entitled Helicopter Missile Systems Repairman, is a consolidation of the current 

MOSs 35J (Aircraft Fire Control Repairman) and 45J (Aircraft Armament Repairm+ 

MOS 45M (Aircraft Armament Subsystem Mechanic) has been transferred from CMI ' 

(Automotive Maintenance) and has been retitled 68M. 

These changes will be announced in DA Circulars in the 611 series later this year and 

subsequently in a change to AR 611-201. The MOS changes along with the required modifications in 

training are scheduled to take place in 1977. Skill Qualification Tests (SQTs) and Soldier's Manuals 

will follow at a later date. 

MOVEMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 

MILPERCEN is reminding commanders and MILPOs that particularly during the summer peak 

movement months, soldiers must move during the arrival months specified on their HQDA 

Assignment Instructions. 

As assignment instructions are sent to the MILPOs, MILPERCEN undates its appropriate 

Master files. If the soldier is unable to complete his PCS move during his scheduled arrival month - especially overseas -the MlLPO must request either a deletion or deferment from MILPERCEN. 

Upon approval, the MILPO must contact the servicing Central Port Call Office to cancel the soldier's 

port call. 

MILPERCEN is urging all installations to comply with the guidelines on deletions and 

deferments contained in Chapter 7 of AR 614-200. This will insure that movements flow smoothly 

throughout the year and that reserved seats on oversea-bound flights will be filled by other eligible 

soldiers. 

UPDATED, COMPLETE DOCUMENTS FOR EMERGENCY LEAVE TRAVEL 

Soldiers reporting at Aerial Ports of Embarkation without updated immunization records or ,~9 

necessary "fund cites" listed on their PCS or emergency leave orders may incur delays which re i in missed port calls. I 

Army regulations require that all personnel scheduled for transportation on military owned or 

controlled aircraft must possess these complete and updated documents; however, MIL PERCEN's 

44 
Personnel Assistance Points have reported that many soldiers are arriving without them. 

Paragraph 6-10 of AR 630-5 requires that travel in connection with emergency leave must be 

charged to the command authorizing the travel. Likewise, AR 40-562 requires immunizations to be 

obtained before the soldier departs CONUS for an oversea area. The soldier also must carry a 

properly stamped immunization record with him while in transit overseas. 

Additional details on these requirements may be found in MILPERCEN message DAPC-MSF-M 

0119032 July 1976. 

Average EERWAs 

The Army's Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center (EREC) has released the latest Army-wide 

Enlisted Evaluation Report Weighted Averages (EERWAs) by pay grade. As of 30 June 76, the 

average EERWAs are: E9, 123.28; E8, 122.09; E7, 119.89; E6, 115.74; E5, 109.91 ; E4, 102.67; E3, 

87.29; E2,76.04; and El, 59.54. Each soldier's EERWA is automatically computed and entered on the 

soldier's USAREC Form 10, Enlisted Evaluation Data Report, by EREC at Fort Benjamin Harrison, 

Indiana. 

Septern ber Promotions ,Up 

r 	September promotions were up generally across the board from August totals. September 

motion orders carried the names of 8,039 enlisted personnel, according to DA officials. -' Enlisted promotions include 3,500 to E-5; 2,420 to E-6; 1,492 to E-7; 531 to E-8 and 96 to E-9. 

Following the September hikes, 7,801 names remain on the current E-7 list; 2,158 names remain on 

the current E-8 list while 90 are still on the E-9 list. 

Promotions to E-5/6 are made from local lists per DA published monthly promotion cutoff scores 

for each MOS. 

Lateral NCO/Specialist Conversions Under E PMS 

A realignme;lt of grades and skill levels is taking place under the Enlisted Personnel 

Management System (EPMS) to give soldiers better career progression. This realignment will also 

conform with a revised Standards of Grade Authorization (SGA), according to MILPERCEN 

officials. 

Since the SGA, which is set by law, does not permit both NCO and specialist ranks in the same 

MOS and ski1I level, some specialists will be converted laterally to NCO grades under E PMS while 

some NCOs will be converted to specialists. 

The driving factor in determining whether NCOs or specialists should be authorized is the 

number of positions in the MOS and skill level which require leadership, supervisory or managerial 

responsibilities. . . 

These conversions are based on Armywide MOS structure evaluations. MILPE RCEN officials 

note that these evaluations are not a reflection on the soldier's manner of performance nor are they a 

factor in his or her professional development. 

r 

As an exception to the SGA's requirements, E-4s whose MOSS are under EPMS still may be 

appointed as corporals even though PMOS structures do not include NCOs in grade E-4 at the 

Idier's skill level. In this case, the soldier must have served successfully in the NCO position for at 

st 60 days, have the recommendation of his or her immediate commander, and meet the other 

,erequisites outlined in paragraph 7-53 of AR 600-200. This paragraph spells out the policies and 

procedures pertaining to lateral appointments and will be revised in the near future to reflect 

policies which pertain to the conversion of personnel under EPMS, MILPERCEN officials say.