SPRING 1972 VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1 

2 PipelinelNews Items 

4 Engineer Intervieu)/CSM Robert W .Elkey 

10 The Terrible Tenzper of Rach Ba Bep/CPT Gary D. McDonald 

12 CCE-An Impossible Dream?/MA J Gerald M. Tippins 

16 Steel Driving MenlEngineer Stnff 

17 Rated "P" For PTO f essionalslCPT Dennis F. Pierman 

25 Versatility Is Their TbinglEngineer Staff 

27 Pier Protector/CPT Robert J. Oldmixon d 

30 Civic Action-U.S. Style/Engineer Staff 

32 Accent On Quality/E?zgineer Staff 

34 The Corps Builds For SafeguardKPT lulian E. Plyant 

37 The Corps CareslLTG Frederick J. Clarke 

38 Dynanzic Training/L?'C Robert L. Crosby 

41 OCS-Another PerspectiuelCPT John J. Connor 

44 Bridging The GaplCareer Notes 

DEPARTMENTS: Chief's BriefslPipeline 

Dynamic Training/ Bridging The Gap 
Little is known of the private life of America's third Chief Engineer, 

Major General Louis Le Beque de Presle DuPortail, except that this 

distinguished French oficer was born in 1743 in Pithiviers en Gatinois, 

a small town in the neighborhood of Orleans and was educated at the 

military school of Mezieres, where he qualified as an officer of Engineers at the age of 18. 

During the summer of 1776, the Minister of War directed him to 

repare a new set of rules for the French Engineer Corps. As a reward r$r his work and his eager response to the Minister's suggestion that he 

/go to America to fulfill a special request made by the American Congress for four outstanding foreign engineers, DuPortail was admitted to 

the Royal Corps of French Engineers with the rank of lieutenant colonel and subsequently joined General George Washington's Amy. He 

was promoted to colonel and named Chief of Engineers in the Continental Army by resolution of the American Congress in July 1777. 

As Chief Engineer and later as the first Commandant of the "Corps 

of Engineers" (which the Congress formally established in 1779), he 

became one of General Washington's most trusted advisors and was 

responsible for planning and directing the defennes which kept the Army 

safe during the darkest period of its history-the terrible winter of 1778 

at Valley Forge. 

DuPortail attained the rank of major general in the Continental 

Army after his brilliant work in directing the Siege of Yorktown where 

success in October 178 1 meant final victory for the American cause. Before retiring and returning to France in October 1783, he was directed 

by General Washington to develop plans for a new American Engineer 

Department. These plans later laid the groundwork for establishment of 

the present Corps of Engineers and the United States Military Academy 

at West Point. As a result, the general has often been referred to as the 

"Father" of the Corps of Engineers. 

DuPortail bought a small farm near Valley Forge, the scene of his 

best-remembered activities in this country. He remained there until 

when he decided to return to France. But the general never reachhis destination alive. He embarked in Philadelphia, but died on the 

over to his native land. e 

U.S. Army Engineer Schc 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia 

Commandant 

MG Robert R. Ploger 

Assistant Commandant 

BG Richard L. Harris 

Deputy Assistant 

Commandant 

COL Charles A. McLeod 

Secretary 

LTC Robert L. Crosby 

Editor 

Robert G. McClintic 

Managing Editor 

Wi!liam T. Spriegel 

Executive Editor 


CPT Dennis F. Pierman 


Associate Editor 


1LT Allen Sevier 


Art Director 


John W. Savage, Jr. 


The Engineer is an authorized quarterly 


publication of the U.S. Army Engineer 


School. It is published to provide factual 
 and in-depth information of interest to 


all Engineer units. Articles, photographs 


and art work of general interest may be 


submitted for consideration to: Editor, 


The Engineer, USA Engineer School, Fort 


Belvoir, Virginia 22060. Views and opin- 


ions expressed herein are not necessarily 


those of the Deportment of the Army. Use 
 of funds for printing of this publication 


has been approved by Headquarters, De-


partment of the Army, July ll, 1969. 


Subscriptions to THE ENGINEER maga- 


zine are available through the Superin-
 tendent of Documents, U. S. Government 


Printing Ofice, Washington, D. C. 20402. 
 Annual rates are $1.50 for mailing to a 


domestic or APO address and $2.00 for 


mailing to a foreign address. Individual 


copies of the magazine are 506 each. 


Checks should be made payable to the 


Superintendent of Documents. 


ABOUT THE COVER 


Art Director John W. Sav-


age, Jr., envisions the role of 


the Engineer instructor at Fort 


Leonard Wood, Missouri, as 


he takes a raw trainee and 


molds him into a proud mem- 


ber of the Modern Volunteer 


Army. He sees a parallel be- 


tween the instructor and a 


sculptor who takes a raw 


piece of material and refines 


it into a piece of art. 

FIBROUS CONCRETE 

STRENGTHENS 

AIRFIELD RUNWAY 

PAVEMENTS 

Recent comparative testing of 

plain and fibrous reinforced concrete has yielded unprecedented results that may well provide an economical means of upgrading every 

military and civilian airport in the 

United States. 

Composed of cement, fine and 

medium-grade aggregate, and steel 

fibers one-inch-long and 16 mils in 

diameter, fibrous concrete reveals 

remarkable durability and strength. 

Tests show that the material has a 

capacity to reinforce in all directions and at all Ideations. Fibrous 

concrete retards deterioration, extends pavement life and should require less maintenance than conventional concrete pavements. 

Tests were performed by the U. 

S. Army Construction Engineering 

Laboratory (CERL) of Champaign, 

Tllinois, in conjunction with studies 

being conducted at the U. S. Army 

Engineer Waterways Experiment 

Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

During the testing, both fibrousreinforced and plain concrete pavements were subjected to simulated 

loadings of the CSA military cargo 

plane. The fibrous pavement was 

only half as thick as the regular 

pavement; but it withstood twice as 

many load applications and incurred 

far less damage. When the regular 

pavement was virtually destroyed, 

the fibrous pavement still had useful 

life. 

After 700 loadings the plain concrete pavement was reduced to a 

shattered condition, while very few 

hairline cracks appeared in the fibrous concrete after 1,400 loadings. 

SKYCRANE USED 

TO EXECUTE 

UNIQUE FEAT 

Can you thread two needles with 

two threads at the same time? 

Moreover, would you risk hoisting a 

19,750 pound load with a 20,000-

pound maximum lifting capacity? 

Well, Company "C," 97th Engineer Battalion (Construction), Fort 

Riley, Kansas, combined with the 

263nd Aviation Company, Kansas 

National Guard from Topeka, to 

perform this difficult feat. 

It was a "first" for both outfits~ 

and was accomplished during the 

tower construction of a water training facility at Fort Riley's Break 

Neck Lake. 

Members of the 97th constructed 

the tower which was simple enough 

-two gigantic 90-foot utility poles 

with bracings, a ladder, and a 

personnel launching platform. 

The real problem was how to get 

it placed and secured in a vertical 

position. This is where the 26 

came into the act. Slings were 

tached to the top of the tower 

to a CH-54 Skycrane (see pho 

Then, using 98 percent of its 

ing capacity, the big ''chop1 

raised the tower into the air t 

vertical position and moved it 1 

prepared site. 

Here, there was a bit of mar 

vering as the 22-inch-in-diad 

base ends of the tower poles \ 

jockeyed into two 24-inch-inmeter holes 15 feet deep and 

feet apart. 

The 97th, however, knew the 

could be done. After all, their m 

is "No Task Too Great." 
ARMY ADOPTS 

NEW CABLE SET 

FOR FIXED BRIDGES 

The Army has adopted a Cable 

Reinforcement Set for the Baileytype M2 panel bridge that will substantially reduce construction time 

as well as the number of personnel 

that are required to erect the military standard fixed bridge. 

Developed by the Marine and 

n g e Division of the U. S. Army 

,Jbility Equipment Research and 

6evelopment Center, Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia, the set has been typed 

Classified Standard A. This means 

the set is the most advanced and 

satisfactory item available to satisfy 

current requirements. 

The set employs cables supported 

below the bridge trusses to apply a 

"pre-stress" condition. These cables 

are connected to the end posts of 

the trusses by means of a special 

beam. They are tensioned by hydraulic cylinders that are capable of 

stressing three cables simultaneously. 

As a result, this reinforcement 

gives a triple-truss, single-story 

panel bridge the same 60-ton loadcarrying capacity for 170-foot spans 

as the triple-truss, triple-story. 

The reinforced single story bridge 

requires 192 fewer panels with fittings and consequently, bridge construction time is reduced from 20 

to 8 hours. The bridge crew is 

reduced from 155 to 63 men and 

the manhours, from 2,945 to 504. 

USAREUR ENGINEERS 

CITED FOR 'REHABS 

WORK IN GERMANY 

The Facilities Engineering Division of U.S. Army, Europe, has 

been awarded the Presidential Management Improvement Award for its 

efforts to improve accommodations 

throughout USAREUR (see the 

engineer, Winter Issue, "Westward 

Ho!"). 

The award-signed by President 

Richard M. Nixon-was based on 

the division's rehabilitation work on 

troop barracks in Germany. The 

program involved work on 120 

Army kaserns (posts)-26 of which 

have been completely renovated or 

are nearing completion). Other 

work for which the division has 

been cited includes heating plant 

improvement, fire prevention, providing prefabs for isolated sites, reduction of the backlog of essential 

maintenance and repair from $150- 

million to less than $100-million, 

and decentralization of power procurement. 

ENGINEERS NAME 

ITSCHNER WINNER 

Company A, 326th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 101 st Airborne 

Div. (Airmobile), will receive the 

Itschner Award, as the outstanding 

Army Engineer unit of 197 1. 

Co. A, which recently returned 

from the Republic of Vietnam to 

Ft. Campbell, Ky., was cited for 

support of Operation Dewey Canyon 11, LAMSON 719. 
engineer interview 


Reaction among professional soldiers to implementation of the 

Modern Volunteer Army program 

has been animated, to say the least. 

The resultant polarization of opposing factions has pitted the more 

progressive younger soldier who 

more accurately reflects attitudes 

within the civilian community, 

against that hard core of older careerists whose attitudes reflect a life 

style committed to a highly specialized extension of that same civilian 

community. 

It was with this controversy in 

mind that the stafl of the, en,'u~neer 

visited the U. S. Army Training 

Center and Fort Leonard Wood, 

Missoriri, to get a grass roots impression of "what's happening" to 

the engineer soldier in training. Based on what the engineer discovered at Leonard Wood, a series of 

relevant questions was proposed to, 

and subsequently entertained by 

Command Sergeant Major Robert 

W. Elkey, CSM of the U. S. Army 

Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir, 

whose most recent Permanent 

Change of Station was from assignment as Command Sergeant Major, 

1st Engineer Advanced Individual 

Training (A IT) Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. 

A veteran of 24 years' service, 

CSM Elkey originally enlisted in 

the U. S. Marine Corps during W W 

11 and served as a Marine until 

1946 when he became a member of 

the U. S. Army Reserve. With the 

mobilization of U. S. Army forces 

for the United Nations commitment 

to the Korean Conflict, he again 

volunteered for active duty. He was 

assigned briefly to Fort Devens, 

Massachusetts, and then to Germany, where he served as platoon 

sergeant and intelligence sergeant 

of various engineer units until his 

return to the United States and Fort 

Lewis, Washington, in 1955. In 

succeeding years, CSM Elkey returned to Germany as Cfzief Engineer NCO for VII Corps, and subseqently was reassigned to the Continental United States (CONUS) as 

Sergeant Major and Senior Instructor of the ROTC Detachment at the 

South Dakota School of Mines and 

Technology, Rapid City, S. D. 

More recent assignments have included tours in Vietnam in 1966 

and in 1969, during which he served 

as Command Sergeant Major of the 

937th Engineer Group (C). Bracketing his tours in Vietnam were assignments in CONUS both times as 

Command Sergeant Major of the 1st 

Engineer Advanced Individual 

Training Brigade at Fort Leonard 

Wood, Missouri. 

Selected as Command Sergeant 

Major for the U. S. Army Engineer 

Center and Fort Belvoir, he was reassigned from Fort Leonard Wood 

to "The Home of the Engineers" at 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in August of 

1971. Accompanying him on this 

tour of duty are his wife and 

of his four sons--another son is r, 

in the Army, stationed at Fort Dl>, 

New Jersey. 

ENGR: SGM Elkey, while you 

were Command Sergeant Major 

of the 1st Engineer Advanced =.- -

"I'm an old 'brownshoe' man my- "What we want and need most ". . . doing your own thing 

self." is the professional . . ." what is important." 
dividual Training Brigade, -	my Chief of Staff William C. 

*QJestmoreland outlined guidance for the Modern Volunteer 

Army concept, citing enhancement of service attractiveness 

and removal of irritants to the 

troops. In general terms, what 

was the impact of implementing 

MVA at the training brigade 

level ? 

CSM: Well, as far as actually implementing it, there was no problem because the Chief of Staff said 

it was going to be done, so we did 

it. Our principal problem at the 

Fort Leonard Wood area I was 

in was the power load, quite frankly. We were in WW I1 mobilization-type barracks with the old wiring which had not been increased to 

handle for example, beer in the 

mess hall where you had to have 

additional coolers. The existing wiring would not take the power load 

3

we had to improvise to get beer 

j0the trainees in the mess hall. It 

'.'cant that somebody simply had to 

use his imagination. The no sign-in, 

sign-out provision was no problem, 

as to its implementation, but we did 

run into a problem because some of 

the younger troopers took advantage of the fact that they didn't have 

to sign in and out on weekends. 

They would take off and just disappear. We even had one man who 

flew all the way to Alaska one weekend and got snowed in and couldn't 

get back. 

ENGR: Was there a noticeable 

increase in the Absent Without 

Official Leave (AWOL) rate? 

CSM: Yes, the AWOL rate did go 

up at first, but then leveled out. 

ENGR :Did initial MVA changes, 

such as elimination of many 

seemingly unreasonable troop 

formations and implementation 

of a shorter work week enhance 

hinder accomplishment of the 

ining mission of your cadre? 

In the long run, I believe it 

enhanced the training because we 

were able to eliminate some of the 

unnecessary training which had 

been going on (outdated training 

such as corduroy roads, chespaling, 

etc.) and concentrate on types of 

training which have practical application in Southeast Asia or a more 

conventional theater of operations. 

ENGR: How did your cadre react to MVA changes that liberalized such traditional policies as 

daily reveille formations and the 

"white siclewall" haircut? 

CSM: Well, as to be expected, there 

was some resentment of it at first, 

but the truly professional NCO recognized these things for what they 

were-particularly the reveille formation which had outlived its usefulness many years ago. Quite 

frankly, in my own company when 

I was first sergeant, I never had 

reveille formation except once a 

month. There was a work call, of 

course, but that is quite necessaryespecially with the trainee-to keep 

abreast of the whereabouts of the 

troops. In fact, it is an effective 

training vehicle to teach trainees 

good habits like eating a solid 

breakfast to start the long 8-, 10- or 

12-hour training day the right way. 

So far as haircut policy is concerned, 

the change hasn't bothered me 

or the bulk of my cadre. Grooming, 

within the guidelines of the regulation, is what I'm concerned about. 

After all, longer hair isn't going to 

impair the man's ability to get the 

job done. 

ENGR: How do you characterize 

the trainee going through AIT at 

Fort Leonard Wood today? Does 

his circumstances as "better educated and better informed" than 

his (post-WW I1 and Korean 

War) predecessors make him 

more difficult to motivate ancl 

train? 

CSM: Motivation is the job of every 

NCO, regardless of his assignment 

-whether it be a TO&E or a training outfit. The properly motivated, 

professional NCO cadreman in a 

training brigade such as the 1st AIT 

Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood can 

effectively motivate his people because he can and does make them 

realize the reasons for the type of 

training they are getting. Today's 

highly-educated trainee, in fact, 

seems more easily motivated and 

"trainable" than his predecessors. 

Educational level then, it seems, is a 

significant factor in determining the 

relative trainability of the new soldier. Recently, through chance, two 

sister companies in the 1st AIT Brigade at Leonard Wood were filled 

"...our basic training 

tools- cadre and instructors-have had to burn the 

midnight oil to augment 

practical experience with 

the rudiments of theory." 
in a distinctly contrasting manner. 

One became a company of enlistees 

and draftees with an educational 

level of 9-plus years, while the other 

became a unit composed of enlisted 

Reserve and National Guard trainees whose educational level was 13-

plus years. With virtually identical 

cadre and the same combat engineer 

type of training, the latter company 

excelled and was cited by the commanding general, while the former 

did poorly overall. 

ENGR: Do you think then, that 

the more sophisticated, worldly 

trainee is easier to work with? 

CSM: In the respect that he is easier to reach-yes. But in that same 

sense, our basic training toolscadre and instructors-have had to 

burn the midnight oil to augment 

practical experience with the rudiments of theory. As a conseqence, 

the cadreman oftentimes has to 

"push himself" to keep up with the 

trainee! He has had to work at expanding his educational horizons to 

keep his job. 

ENGR: Do you think the new 

Non-Commissioned OAicer Eclncational System is a sound idea 

that will program the professional NCO with the education 

he needs to accommodate today's trainee? 

CSM: Definitely. This new approach to career development for 

NCOs has been needed for a long 

time. It offers a more effective inservice education for the career 

NCO and, in addition ,provides the 

impetus for pursuing the very essential civilian education upon which 

he must base much of his professional expertise. I firmly believe that 

civilian education is an essential 

facet of professional development 

and advancement. In fact, I would 

predict that someday soon two 

years of college credit will be a prerequisite for promotion to E-8 or 

E-9. 

ENGR: The MVA program, so 

its spokesmen say, is designed to 

"strengthen the Army as an institution." Of the three major 

categories into which MVA energies are being channeled to 

that end, the effort to strengthen 

professionalism seems to he the 

most critical as it involves building legitimate, positive incentives to attract ancl retain highquality people. What positive incentives have been clevelopecl to 

that end since the advent of 

MVA? 

CSM: Again, in the enlisted area 

NCOES is perhaps the most significant step, providing enlisted career 

development with a much-needed 

shot in the arm. The engineer version back here at Fort Belvoir is 

quite outstanding because of facilities-the Education Center and the 

U. S. Army Engineer School-and 

expertise that has been tailored to 

the needs of commissioned officer 

career development. The enlisted 

variation has been patterned along 

those lines and is easily adapted to 

this training environment. 

ENGR: Do you feel that recent 

increases in pay have done something to help attract the potential careerist into the ranks, per- 


haps in the sense that the civil- 


ian/service salary differential is 


shrinking? 


CSM: Quite frankly-yes. 


don't think increased pay is the ""8 (


answer to attracting profession:i.- 

Factors such as patriotism and sense 

of duty to country are significant. 

Personally, I've been around the 

Army for quite a few years, and pay 

has been secondary beyond what I 

felt was necessary to take proper 

care of my family. I just haven't 

worried about it. I feel that the important thing is job satisfaction and 

doing with my life what I care 

about. I'm career military and consider myself as much a professional 

as a doctor or lawyer or businessman on the outside. That factordoing your own thing-is what's important. If the Army is your thing, 

you'll buy it without thinking twice 

about the pay. 

ENGR: Do you think,that once 

the stigma associatecl with our 

involvement in Southeast Asia is 

a thing of the past, the Army will 

fincl itself in a better position 


negotiate for talent on the 6' 


market? 

think so. This Vietnam 

no other in our historyhas been unpopular. Recruitment, 

the accessions system, has been a 

serious problem area after every 

major war in which we've been involved-with reductions in strength 

requirements within the system and 

the foul taste of death in the mouth 

of the public. But, in the sense that 

history repeats itself, the plateau at 

which we arrive after the dust settles will afford us the opportunity to 

rebuild our professional force as we 

did after WW I1 and the Korean 

Conflict. 

ENGR: The Army Chief of Staff 

has directed "commanders at 

every level to take rapid and 

positive actions which enhance 

service attractiveness and remove irritants to the troops." 

Of those actions implementeclnot only at Fort Leonard Woocl, 

but also Army-wide--which clo 

Q?think are the most signific%: Those initial actions which 

had the most impact on the troops 

were elimination of pass distance 

restrictions and sign-in/sign-out requirements-and they make sense 

for the most part. If a man has the 

money and desire to take a trip and 

feels confident that he has enough 

time to get there and back without 

absenting himself from his job, 

there's just no sound reason to hold 

him back. If he blows it, it is his 

own personal problem for which he 

will have to take his lumps . . . So 

far as elimination of a sign-in/signout requirement is concerned, I feel 

that it is a fine idea intended to eliminate an institution used by some 

unscrupulous officers and NCOs as 

troop harassment. Unfortunately, it 

also impairs the company-level administrator's ability to keep track of 

people for the eventuality of cmeries such as death in the family 

q e like. 

'Y%:R: The 4th Engineer Atlvanced Individual Training Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood wa* 

recently moved into new brick 

barracks which represent a fantastic improvement over the old 

frame "mobilization" type of 

two-story barracks which still 

house your olcl unit, the 1st AIT 

Rrigacle. It wot~lcl Ije logical to 

assume that this represents a 

positive step toward making 

Army life more tolerable ancl 

training easier to accomplish hecause of the effect such a move 

woulcl have on morale. Is this 

really the case? 

CSM: Oh, yes. Definitely. The old 

type of barracks is outmoded and 

sometimes just plain worn out. In 

the winter, the wind seems to blow 

right through them and the old oil 

heating plants just don't do the job. 

Wiring is inadequate to accomniodate today's trainee who has, in 

many cases, his own radio or phonograph or even television in a partitioned billet. The move to new 

brick barracks was a real godsend 

for the 4th Brigade in the sense that 

it helps provide the basic human 

needs of the trainee-with a little 

bit of icing on the cake to boot. We 

wish we in the 1st Brigade had been 

the ones to move. But there was a 

morale equalizer in the 1st Brigade 

-company mess halls that could 

cater more easily to the individual 

soldier than the battalion mess into 

which the 4th moved. 

ENGR: A recent revamping of 

pay for lower grade enlisted men 

has made the dollar differential 

between pay grade E-2 ancl E-5 

far less dramatic than ever hefore. That fact, along with recently extended time-in-grade requirements for promotion to E5, has made advancement at that 

level far less important to the 

non-careerist. How has this circumstance affected the attitudes 

of the Vietnam returnee or lowergrade enlisted man close to Estimated Termination of Services 

ancl return to civilian life? 

CSM: Although in the material 

sense, the rewards of advancement 

at that level are less significant than 

before, I think the average soldier 

in that situation will do a decent job 

anyhow. For the man who is really 

short, however, I don't think there 

is or ever was an effective way to 

motivate him to do a good job. In 

fact, if a man is due to return to the 

states for less than a year from a 

...in the sense that 

history repeats itself, the 

plateau at which we arrive after the dust settles 

will afford us the opportunity to rebuild our professional force as we did 

after WW IIand the Korean 

Conflict." 
short tour and has decided to get 

out, he should be separated at that 

point rather than reassigned as a 

short-timer. He wants out now and 

is a potential headache over an "obligation" status in or out of his Military Occupational Specialty. 

ENGR: In that vein, redeployment and deactivation of engineer units formerly committed 

to Southeast Asia have sent back 

here to stateside posts a large 

number of the "instant"variety 

of sergeants E-5 and E-6 who 

don't have a great deal of experience under their belts. On the 

whole, how have these individuals adapted to troop duty and 

administrative drill to which 

they were not normally exposed 

in a combat zone? 

CSM: The majority of them are doing an outstanding job. In fact, I'm 

quite proud of the personal association I have had with many of them. 

However, there is that element of 

incompetence that crops up occasionally in any grouping of personnel with which one has to cope. I do 

think that leadership schools back 

here in the states are essential for 

people in this category and can pro- 

"With the advent of the 

Noncommissioned Officer 

Education System patterned after the commissioned officer training 

scheme and somewhat 

standardized within a 

branch or Military Occupational Specialty, quality 

is guaranteed." 

vide a base of training to compensate for that lack of experience characteristic of the "instant" NCO. 

ENGR: Fort Leonard Wood is 

the home of the Engineer Noncommissioned Officer candidate 

Course which, because of implementation of the Engineer Noncommissioned Officer E-lucation 

System here at Fort Belvoir, is 

being phased out. How much of 

an improvement does ENCOES 

represent over "local" and specialized "spit-and-polish" varieties? Do you think this approach to enlisted career clevelopment will adecjnately meet the 

needs of a "new action Army" 

in which complexity of eqnipment and sophistication of leadership problems is increasing? 

CSM: Well, the Engineer Noncommissioned Officer Candidate Course 

at Leonard Wood was activated, 

along with the Skill Development 

Base, to meet the needs of the Vietnam buildup. We just had to emphasize quantity rather than quality. 

So far as the "spit and polish" local 

NCO academies are concerned, they 

did serve a useful purpose in building esprit and steeping the candidate in tradition and ceremony as a 

matter of course. But the trai 

varied so greatly from school11 

school and with significant turnover 

in cadre that there was no assurance 

in fact, that a man had attended, 

an NCO course, who had been 

properly trained. With the advent of 

the Noncommissioned Officer Education System, patterned after the 

commissioned officer training scheme 

and somewhat standardized within 

a branch or military occupational 

Specialty scheme quality is guaranteed. Yes-it is a great improvement over the old approach and 

quite logically will meet the needs 

of a Modern Volunteer Army in 

providing a highly competent enlisted leader. 

ENGR: Both of the Engineer Advanced Individual Training Brigades at Fort Leonard Wood are 

engaged in training that they 

refer to as "maximum handson." What is the "hands-on" approach and how effective i 

compared to the training tha \ 

it has replaced? 

CSM: "Hands-on" training is simply instruction that emphasizes student participation and practical exercise. Classroom instruction, of 

course, is utilized to orient the 

trainee but is far less a part of the 

total block of instruction than it 

used to be. The "hands-on" approach makes good sense in engineer training. One just can't appreciate the difficulties in, for example, 

erecting a Bailey bridge until one 

tries to do something as simple as 

lift a panel and pin it into place. 

The right and wrong of it will fall 

right into place when the bridge is 

launched across the gap-or perhaps the next morning when a sore 

back graphically illustrates the use 

of an improper lifting technique. In 

a nutshell, I'd say it is a great approach to training. We can't, in my 

mind, get enough of it. r?. 

ENGR: Fort Leonard W0 

quite unlike Fort Benning, la 
pdot categorized as a VOLAR port brings us right hack to that old 

:g;; nd, as a consequence, is not a intra-system conflict over the 

recipient of funds appropriated 

for the purpose of implementing 

changes or testing ideas. Because 

of this situation, changes such as 

replacement of "GI" kitchen 

help with civilians and renovation of inadequate barracks, 

which are important to the6'GI," 

have not been impleme~ltecl. 

How important to the RlVA mission are these prospective changes? Do yoti thinlc the program 

may have missecl its mark hy 

emphasizing beer in the mess 

hall and longer hair when changes are vitally needed in other 

areas? 

CMS: No, I don't think the program missed the mark. Beer in the 

mess hall and longer hair were a 

place to start. The more significant 

changes that are being considered 

are still being tested under the proof the VOLAR experiment. 

nce a determination has been 

made about the relative merits of 

certain changes, I'm sure monies 

will be appropriated to have them 

implemented Army-wide. 

ENGR: VOLAR is said to he 

worlcing in the 197th Infantry 

Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, where MVA-proposed 

changes are being implemented 

and tested. What are your opinions about VOLAR? Will it 

strengthen professionalism as it 

is intended-or will it attract 

people other than those high 

quality individuals at whom the 

program is aimed? 

CSM: Well, VOLAR is strictly a 

test program, and as such I couldn't 

do it justice with an evaluation at 

this point. I will say that the idca 

behind the program is sound and 

when the testing is over I'm sure 

we'll see some changes in the MVA 

Comments from a few r-


old "Brow~lshoe" Army types, 

and adverse pul~licity in the news 

media imply that the MVA program has gone too far in "loosening the standards" which have 

traditionally heen associated with 

Army life and has, a3 a consequence, nnrlermined cliscipline. 

CSM: I'm an old "Brownshoe" man 

myself, and I don't think there is a 

widespread discipline problem. 

There are, have been and will continue to be occasional local problems, but they are resultant from 

poor leadership or bad attitudes 

among incompetent or inflexible officers and NCOs. You sce, the 

standards have not lowered. They've 

just been modified to suit the times. 

I've adapted and made adjustment 

without lowering my personal standards, and I can't see why others 

who call themselves professionals 

can't-or won't-adapt. These are 

the people who cause problems-the 

kind of so-called leaders who, because a man can now have longer 

hair, say: "The hell with all of it! 

If he can have his long hair, I don't 

care what he does anymorc." It's all 

a matter of professionalism. 

ENGR: The cliscipline question 

relative merits of the hardnosecl 

negative incentive-"do it or 

else!"-approach to getting the 

job done, as opposed to the positive ince~~tive or reward type of 

motivation which the Modern 

Volunteer Army program is concerned with developing. DO yo11 

thinli MVA will work, or do yo11 

thinli that the Army might have 

to re-adopt the old "Brownshoe" 

approach-much like the U. S. 

Marine Corps has maintained for 

the past 30 years-to accelerate 

its clevelopmenl into an efficienl, 

capably led, highly competent 

fighting force? 

CSM: Yes, I think the program will 

work because it is simply progresq 

called by another name. The growing pains will be less severe if we all 

work together. It's just unfortunate 

that we have those few individuals 

who are dragging their feet and 

fighting change. This is a point 

about which I feel strongly-so 

strongly, in fact, that I will not recommend for promotion a man who 

demonstrates this attitude, regardless of his technical proficiency or 

career motivation. What we want 

and need most is the professional, 

not the run-of-the-mill careerist.e 

" leadership schools 

back' here in the states 

are essential for people 

in this category and can 

provide a base of training to compensate for 

that lack of experience 

characteristic of the 'instant' NCO." 
pplication of the basic tenets of military engineering in Southeast Asia has not been without a generous serving of expedient and imaginative methodology. An interesting case in point is illustrated by the 

story of bridging the Ba Bep near Cu Chi in the Republic of Vietnam. 

The Cau (Vietnamese for, among other things, 

bridge) Ba Bep project began as a normal mission requirement for elements of the 554th Engineer Battalion 

(Construction), 79th Engineer Group, 20th Engineer 

Brigade, during the peak of enemy activity in the Tet 

season of 1968. It entailed, very basically, emplacement of a small dry span over the Rach (river) Ba Bep 

where route TLSA, a main supply route (MSR) to the 

25th Infantry Division main base camp at Cu Chi, intersected on its winding way to Phu Cuong. 

Actually, the bridging requirement was a part of an 

-did grave injustice to the complexity and sophisticason. The monsoon season, however, introduces the 

TL8A to another face of the Ba Bep with floodwaters 

from overflowing rice paddies and the agitation of tidal 

action transmitted up this small tributary by the Rach 

Saigon. 

Approached problematically, the two faces of Rach 

Ba Bep and its diverse moods necessitated special care 

by the 554th when they designed and began to construct Cau Ba Bep. 

Having spanned the short gap on schedule in early 

June, the 544th set about the task of stabilizing the 

approaches to Cau Ba Bep with laterite and coarse 

rockfill. They took extra care and time to comply with 

design specifications and despite a monsoon rain that 

had begun in earnest, completed the project without a 

hitch-almost! 

Seven days after the Cau Ba Bep was opened to 

wing, the north lane of the east aplater, surveyors noticed 
THE HENRY LARCOM A88077 AWARD 

and immobile, the east side of the stream bed was ing enough force perpendicular to the plane to stabiheaving upward and out toward the center of the lize the south side of the new road bed. The new laterite 

stream. Upon further examination of the bridge site, lane, however, was being filled with rock and laterite 

they discovered a fault in the surface of the ground that began to displace the silty, fluid paddy clay to the 

just off the north side of the road through which dark, area of least resistance-away from the "dam" created 

silty paddy clay was oozing. by the old roadbed and perpendicular bridge abutA call went out to 79th Group Headquarters this ments, across what had now become a classic "slip" 

time for a higher level assessment of the problem. The plane through the surface of the rice paddies to the 

decision made to answer that call, based on the neces- north. 

sity to keep this MSR open, specified a more sophisti- Having now identified the problem, the experts concated variation on the stabilization approach-with em- sulted their cone penetrometers and slide rules and 

phasis on preparing the subgrade for the subbase fill. came up with a solution-surcharge. They suggested 

The subgrade was attacked with leveling, scarifying, very simply a blast rock and earth fill on the open north 

stabilizing and compacting before eight huge 290M end of the "dam" to create sufficient force perpendicuscrapers made half a day's worth of passes at it with lar to the subsurface plane to "contain" the clay in a 

bellies full of laterite. But when surveyors evaluated the roughly rectangular perimeter. 

progress of six hours of continuous filling, it was dis- The 544th began to implement the plan with care, 

covered that the approach had actually-and very mys- first stabilizing the banks of the stream to insure that 

riously-defied hundreds of cubic yards of fill and 	 it would not be closed by sliding mud. They then filled 

an area approximately 100 feet by 200 feet on the 

The 20th Brigade Headquarters, having been kept north side of each approach with a primary layer of 

abreast of the now infamous Cau Ba Bep, dispatched blast rock and a secondary layer of rock and laterite 

a team of geologists and soils experts to the bridge site, mixture. In only 20 days they had completed the projThey arrived to be greeted by not only the command- ect and TL8A was open into Cu Chi. 

ing officer of the 544th, but also the very considerable The terrible temper of Rach Ba Bep had been curbed! 

failure of the west approach to the bridge. 

The team of puzzled experts began to closely scrutin- Captain Gary D. McDonald is a recent graduate of 

ize the area and local roads. They shortly discovered the Engineer Officer Advunced Course at Fort Belvoir, 

the interesting phenomenon to which the problem was Virginia. A Vietnam veteran and career oficer, Capto be attributed-50 thousand years of buffalo chips tain McDonald was recently presented the Henry Larsitting on a huge subsurface stabilized plane. corn Abbott Award for excellence in writing bused on 

ntation of "The Terrible Ternper of Rach Ba 

. . 

. . . . 

. . 11 .A_. 

-. . ,A?? g,.:<;-~-<T~$;@~: 
The first time most U. S. Army Construction Engineers were able to get a real handle on the relative 

merits of military and commercial equipment was after 

the big buildup began in Vietnam back in mid-1965. 

In those days of the early going, our Engineer construction units that deployed to Vietnam were equipped 

with "Army equipment." At the same time, civilian 

contractors were coming ashore to get the same job 

done with Commercial Construction Equipment. 

It did not take a mastermind to figure out the difference in the equipment. As construction progres~ed,the 

military engineer could look about with envy at the 

contractor's equipment. All he had to do was compare 

the production potential and efficiency of his machines 

with that of the contractor's commercial machines. 

The military equipment came out second best. 

Whenever an engineer construction platoon leader, 

his company commander, or his battalion commander 

felt the pinch of tight construction schedules or the 

rigors of heavy and complex construction, that individual could look over his shoulder at the sight of the 

contractor's equipment and begin dreaming of bigger 

and better things. 

The dreams first became a reality when MCA-LOC 

(Military Construction Army-Lines of Communication) 

equipment was introduced to select engineer units that 

were committed to Vietnam's highway lines of communication construction in 1968. The MCA-LOC equip 

ment consisted of some 28 separate items of commercial construction equipment that the U. S. Army Mobility Equipment Command (MECOM), St. Louis, 

Missouri, procured with Military Construction funds. 

Even though there was a valid need for the items 

to complete the planned LOC on time, it took a lot of 

paperwork to get the desired results. Direct Support 

and General Support maintenance and support of the 

MCA-LOC equipment was prov.ided by contract to 

assure maximum availability of the equipment. Then 

the requirement for the equipment was worked up and 

instigated in Vietnam and submitted directly to MECOM. It took approximately two months to analyze 

these requirements and another two months to solicit 

proposals from manufacturers and finally award a contract for the desired items. Delivery time varied from 

three to six months-making the total cycle time from 

receipt of the requirement to fielding of the item between seven and 10 months. Because of the urgency 

a 

of 

manufacturer's 

the requirements, 

ability 

contract 

to deliver 

awards 

an item 

were 

within 

based 

th 

o

6.

y 

shortest time frame. 

There are three basic ways the Army can obtain 

construction equipment. 

It can develop its own. Under this program, the 

Army can design its own equipment to meet all requirements-mobility, transportability, use in varied and 

extreme environments, maintainability, storage, and 

so on. It also can take maximum advantage of standardization and compatibility with other Army equipment. This system is generally used only when there is 

a requirement for an item that is not available commercially. The 20-ton rough terrain crane, for instance, 

is the result of Army research and development efforts. 

It can take a commercially available construction 

item and modify it to meet the various Army requirements. The popular 830M and 290M Medium Wheeled 

Tractors found their way into the Army inventory in 

this manner. Actually the majority of all the construction equipment in the Army inventory falls into this 

category. 

It can go "straight commercial." This method is 

indicative of the Engineer Family's current thinking. 

There are advantages and disadvantaees to all three w .a 

alternatives. But it is the disadvantages that come 

mind first when any piece of equipment is being 
Major Gerald M. Tippins 

cized. This is especially true when that equipment is associated with poor job performance. 

It is a fact, of course, that military-designed construction equipment serves its intended purpose. But this 

type of equipment usually has some obsolescence built 

into it relative to the civilian industry since the Army 

research and development cycle takes time to come up 

with the finished product. 

f'3 

After a military design item is fielded there is a 

tendency to keep it as long as possible. On the other 

hand, civilian contractors are taking advantage of techlogical advances in their equipment year by year. 

jr?t epair parts also can be a problem, especially when 

-key are designed characteristically for the military. 

These parts will be produced only on military demand and, if and when the balloon goes up, there will 

be a time lag in supplying them to the field. The military-adopted or military-modified commercial item has 

many of the same problems. The Army investment in 

development for the modification is usually considerable because of what follows. Basically, for every modification that is made to a commercial item, a military 

peculiar part is introduced into the system. The extent 

of the modification of the commercial items varies from 

item to item. Then too, there are extremes. One such extreme, for example, is the military adopted 20-ton Lattice Boom Crane. This item is reported to have 40 percent of its parts modified to meet military requirements. 

Yet for construction purposes, this crane does no more 

than its commercial counterpart. The manufacturer 

stocks 60 percent of the parts for the crane for all of 

his customers, while the other 40 percent is provided 

only on military demand. 

The Army's appetite for Comn~ercial Construction 

Equipment was whetted when it began using MCALOC earmarked equipment. There should be a way to 

the commercial off-the-shelf equipment into the 

ds of our construction troops on a routine basis. 

It is not possible to go the MCA-LOC route because 

MCA funds can not be used routinely for equipment 

buys under current regulations. Today, more competition in procurement must be recognized because the 

urgency for new items is diminishing with the phasedown of the war in Vietnam. Therefore, the possibility 

of awarding contracts based on the manufacturer's ability to deliver is gone and, in fact, will not be needed. 

Now the items will have to be supported in a peacetime environment where contract maintenance support 

may be too costly. This means that the military will 

have to begin placing more reliance on the Defense 

Supply System. The Army anticipated this problem four 

years ago. 

In 1968, the Department of the Army (DA) organi~edan Ad Hoc Working Group to establish policv on 

the use and procurement of Commercial Construction 

Equipment. The DA policy was to include implementation procedures for expeditious adoption and assurances that any procured equipment would be of the 

highest quality. 

After the results of the Ad Hoc Group were staffed 

at DA level, they were published in a policy and guidance letter in August 1969. The Army Materiel Command (AMC) in coordination with Combat Developments Command (CDC) and Continental Army Command, developed a detailed implementation plan for 

the DA policy. Coordination of this plan at DA level 

resulted in the program that is generally followed today. 

How does it all work? Briefly, the cycle for fielding a 

commercial item starts with the CDC Engineer Agency 

at Fort Belvoir, Virginia's, initiation of a requirements 

document. The document is designed to completely 

describe the commercial item that is needed. This requires close coordination between CDCEA and the 

U. S. Army Mobility Equipment Center, which is also 

located at Fort Belvoir. 

The document includes two important pieces of in- 
forn~ation-a planned basis of issue (BOI) and a rationale for the type and size of the desired piece of 

equipment. The BOI is critical at this point since it significantly impacts on the cost effectiveness for the item. 

This must be shown before DA will approve a "goahead" to procure it. The goal of the program is not 

only to introduce the modern up-to-date commercial 

equipment but also to reap all the benefits of increased 

productivity and efficiency that will provide a maximum 

savings in manpower. 

After the requirements document has been coordinated through the major commands, it is forwarded 

through DA for approval. Once the document has been 

approved by DA, the Army Materiel Command develops an item description and sponsors a Request for 

Technical Proposal from industry. 

Then a field evaluation of the commercial items 

proposed by industry is conducted at civilian job sites 

by the U. S. Army Test and Evaluation Command 

(TECOM). All evaluated items must have been in 

general use by the construction industry for at least 

one year. This requirement has been instituted to take 

maximum advantage of the R&D work of the civilian 

industry and to minimize formal Army testing. 

There is a statement which is repeated time and time 

again. "Contractors are using this equipment every day 

and making money. The Army should just go out and 

buy it." While this may be true, the field evaluation insures that there is only a minimal risk involved with 

no formal testing. One should keep in mind that Department of Defense procurement policy is to "Fly 

Before You Buy." 

So after the evaluation is completed, successful candidates are then asked to submit a bid and generally 

the award will be given to the low responsive bidder. 

The successful bidder's item of equipment will then be 

type classified Standard A. The Defense Construction 

Supply Center will be the contracting activity and will 

provide for the support of the item once it is fielded. 

The item will normally receive the same type of support that is given to all other items of equipment in the 

Army inventory. The only noted difference that will be 

felt in the field will be that the using unit will have to 

make use of cross reference files to convert manufacturers' parts numbers into Federal Stock Numbers 

(FSNs) before it can requisition repair parts. Under 

this system, the fast-moving parts will be stocked 

issued upon demand. For items that are not stoc. "?

because of a low demand or are out of stock, separal~ 

open-end contracts with manufacturers may be used to 

get quick delivery of the repair parts. 

Currently, the Army is well underway with a program 

that is designed to "try out" the latest implementation 

plan. Three items are being used in this pilot programa 25-ton Hydraulic Crane, a 1,500-gallon Bituminous 

Distributor, and a 20-ton On-OR Highway Dump 

Truck. These items will replace the 20-ton Truck 

Mounted Crane, the 800-gallon Bituminous Distributor and the 5-ton Dump Truck now being used by 

construction units. 

The program, as presently envisioned, applies only 

to the construction battalion, construction support conipany, port construction company, dump truck company, engineer equipment operating teams, engineer 

utility teams, and in some cases, light equipment companies. 

Speculation grows that once the items are introduced 

into the system, the basis of issue will eventually include more engineer units and even units of other 

branches when appropriate. 

The initial program is moving slowly. Although the 

procedures do not seem to be grossly different fr, 

those that exist today, many decision points have b '7 

reached and a lot of problems have been aired all, 
explored. Case in point-the 25-ton crane is only about 

halfway through a planned 31-month-cycle from initiation to actual fielding. The field evaluation is currently underway and fielding is scheduled for July 1973. 

The other two items are currently scheduled to follow 

,pse behind. 

To prevent any time lag once the pilot program 

.dally begins to roll, CDCEA has already initiated requirements documents for other items. These include 

requirements documents for high speed embankment 

compactors, self-propelled vibratory rollers, self-propelled rubber-tired rollers, heavy and extra hcavy 

crawler tractors, equipment transporters, backhoes, and 

large front loaders. Also under consideration is a full 

array of equipment that will provide the Army's construction engineers with a modern, efficient fleet of 

equipment. 

This is all very interesting but what are the ways 

this program can be judged and measured in terms of 

success? It can be termed a success if the Army can 

ultimately get the commercial equipment off-the-shelf 

and into the hands of the construction troops. But 

what about the support? Obviously if off-the-shelf equip 

ment is fielded and not properly supported, the program 

will not be a success. Some experts nlay want to measure the program's success in terms of time. If they 

compared the predicted, perhaps optimistic,cycle tirnefrom CDCEA's initiation of the requirement to fielding 

in 3 1months-with other Army construction equipment 

programs, this could be called a success. Programs inplving developnlent of construction equipment could 

k longer than five years to show the end product. 

ograms involving military adopted or modified commercial equipment also can take as long before an item 

is type classified. 

The CCE program would be termed successful when 

it is compared to the other programs. However, if the 

experts would look closely at the seven to ten months 

it took to field the MCA-LOC equipment, they might 

feel that the program is still lagging in some respects. 

Shortening the cycle time is still a sought-after goal. 

Aside from what has already been mentioned about 

shortening the cycle time, there is still another unique 

aspect of the program. A permanent Ad Hoc Working 

Group has been established to monitor the program 

and to recommend and execute changes that will 

streamline and perfect it. 

The Ad Hoc group meets regularly at Fort Belvoir 

and is currently investigating ways to shorten the time 

that is required to initiate a requirements document 

and get it approved by DA. The group has already 

found a method that, if approved, would cut the present processing time in half. Even more dramatic, of 

course, would be a way to get relief in the area of type 

classification. The group claims that if the type of technical evaluation that was used in the MCA-LOC program were used, as much as six months could be 

chopped off the program. This probably will not work 

since existing regulations relative to type classification 

are very specific about the evaluation of an item that 

must be certified as "suitable for Army use" by TECOM. The Ad Hoc Group also has asked AMC to take 

another close look at all possible ways that the procurement cycle can be reduced. The group additionally 

plans to take a hard look at relative cost or effectiveness of the maintenance support of .the MCA-LOC 

equipment as compared to support,of standard equipment. 

If this intensive care continues on in the program, 

the first item will certainly be fielded. This is of paramount importance to cast the die. It is expected that 

a more vigorous program will continue to evolve as it 

is massaged into the most efficient and practical program the present-day Army can have. This type of 

forceful procurement program is needed for the Army 

to obtain the best equipment for the engineers so they 

can do their job in the challenging years ahead. e 

Major Gerald M. Tippins is currently assigned to 

the Materiel Requirements Division, Engineer Agency, 

U. S. Army Combat Developments Command, Fort 

Relvoir, Virginia. He Iias held a number of construction engineer assignments that incllrded tours with the 

293rd Engineer Battalion in Germany and the Lines 

of Comn?unication Llivision, Construction Directorate, 

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. The major is 

a 1961 gradliate of The Citadel, Cl~arleston, S. C. 
Tying modern America to its 

,', colorful past has been a source 

of many of our nation's finest collective efforts. Indeed, it is a theme 

that pervades virtually every aspect 

of the American existence-from 

blues music and politics to fairy 

tales and mountain moving. 

And when Americans think in 

terms of achievement against monumental odds, they think collectively 

of the nation's most celebrated rural 

folk hero-John Henry-the steel 

driving man. 

It was John Henry, so the stories 

go, who in the middle 1800's 

matched his own strength against a 

steel driving machine on the railroad 

and lost. But John Henry's tremendous losing effort is what people 

remember about him today. He 

fought against the odds and lost but 

won the hearts of his countrymen. 

The theme has been carried along 

through the centuries by each new 

generation of Americans and today 

we consider any difficult effort one 

of the mainstays of our rich heritage. Giving it the "old college try" 

is as American as bubblegum and 

baseball. And it is the motto of the 

Corps of Engineers-Essayons-

"Let Us Try." 

One of the Corps' units, for example, gave out with the old try 

not too long ago. The 562nd Engineer Company from Fort Richardson, Alaska, was given a task that 

had been attempted without success 

three times in the past. A crack 

separate outfit and winner of the 

Itschner Award in 1961 as the outstanding Engineer Unit in the U. S. 

Army, the 562nd was asked by 

State Department of Parks officials 

to construct a 45-foot steel stringer 

bridge over the Eklutna River 

Drainage Basin in Eklutna, Alaska. 

The base for the selected site was 

almost solid granite. What was not 

rock might as well have been. 

Permafrost-a permanent fixture in 

SHADES OF 

JOHN HENRY 

the world's cold regions-had frozen the earth hard enough to make 

steel picks bounce off like jack balls. 

The task of driving timber piles 

into a surface this hard looked like 

an enormous job. Indeed, civilian 

officials at the scene from the Alaskan Bureau of Land Management 

were convinced that the bridge was 

an impossible task. 

Although it is difficult enough to 

perform any kind of construction in 

extreme cold, the 562nd was not 

about to give up without a try. It 

was decided that demolitions and 

steel tips fastened to the ends of the 

40-foot-long, 18-inch-wide piles 

would have to be used to break that 

surface. The goal was to sink the 

piles eight feet into the granite mass. 

4-

With the help of 100 ~n~ineersd* 

50,000 pounds of material, and 300- 

tons of equipment, an attempt was 

first made to drive a single pile without demolitions. The pile sank two 

feet and then snapped and shredded. 

This was not a wasted effort. The 

562nd had found a swift way to 

make large quantities of firewood. 

Shaped charges of ammonium nitrate were then brought up from the 

rear to provide "beginner holes" for 

the massive creosoted piles. 

When the first 40-pound charge 

was set off at the proposed bridge 

site, there was little evidence of any 

depression when the debris had settled-only a puddle of water 18 

inches deep and 2 feet wide. 

The Engineers kept up the barrage and the piles slowly began to 

sink into the unwilling surface. 

After three weeks of concentrated 

effort, 562nd personnel were able 

to drive the eight main piles eig 

feet into the frozen surface, cor "?

struct end dams, and place four 7,- 

000-pound steel stringers in position over the 20-foot-wide glacial 

stream. 

Long working hours were the order of the day as the structure began to take shape. The 90-footlong, 16-foot-wide frame was dressed with eight-inch-thick treadway, 

two and one-half inch decking, fourfoot-high handrails, and six by six 

inch curbing. The finished bridge 

weighed some 42,000 pounds. The 

construction price was about $50,- 

000. 

The bridge represented not only 


a fine achievement but also a first 


for the Engineers in Alaska. This 


was the first time they had ever 


constructed this particular kind of 


bridge in that state. Completed on 


June 24, 1971, some five weeks after 


the 562nd "broke granite," the 


route for campers to the southea 

bridge has opened a new permane ? 

comer of Eklutna National Park. t 
- - 

-4 
 ''ATED "PM FOR

PROFESSIONALS 

Captain Dennis F. Pierman 

On (i datt~p Wlrlter morning in central Missourr, fug 

creeps from (he Ozarks, as Carl Sandberg reflected, 

"on little car feet." It tumbles and boils its bone-chilling shroud over the fingers of leaf-less trees, carrying 

the odor of mulch and sod with it. Into Fort Leonard 

Wood it quietly ~llps ut first light, turning off-white 

clapboard barracks into ochre sentinels end on end. 

The ghost of ten thousand reveilles clears a brassy 

throat as down makes its feinl at the fog. But the fog 

"sits looking on silent haunches", A-p-wu~tingfc thebugTe,? fi7srstZcatono~e assault the sounds of 5ilenc.e. 

This morning, "Reveille" introduces nothing more 

than the time of day to those interested enough to be 

listening at 6 a.m. To the disappointment of a lurking 

fog, row upon row of iapstrake hulks, neatly dressed 

covered, stand the only reveille formatioil on Fort 

71iurd Wood. 

Keverlle, to the chagrin of old "First Shirts" everywhere, has died the same death, it seerns, thut while 

side-walls and spit shining died with the "snicker-snack" 

of the Modern Volunteer Army Progr~im's Broadsword. That invincible giant, tradition, is being carefully dismembered to rnake way for a streamlined, contemporized Army whose new mainspring is synchronized wirh a changing America. 

The Army is changing in the wake of progress, ad- 


dressing problem areas with programs such as the 


M_odcrn_ Yolunteer Army -Proganr 4WA) a~d 

VOLAR, a controlled testing program designed to 

sxpand the volunteer, professional base upon which the 

structure of the Army is based. Because MVA has a 

wider, more universal application to the mechanics of 

the Army system, it warrants close examination by 

organizations Army-wide. 

The Modern Volunteer Army program, designed 

basically to develop the Vietnam-era Army into an 
The 4th Engineer Advanced Individual 

Training Brigade maintains this huge 

open-earth training area in the heart 

of Fort Leonard Wood. Pictured on these 

two pages is a sampling of the diverse, 

equipment-oriented training that one 

will encounter on an average training 

day in the "Million Dollar Hole." 

THEMILLION DOLLAR HOLE 


efficient, capably led, highly competent fighting force, 

necessarily plays an important role in the training 

environment and is easily dissected in units such as the 

1st and 4th Engineer Advanced Individual Training 

Brigades at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. 

It is this level, the second 8-week increment of a 

soldier's first 16 weeks of introduction to the Army 

in living color and stereophonic sound, that the promotional effects of the accessions system and that 

initial introduction to the MVA are put to a critical 

Lest. 

It is during this period of indoctrination and rudimentary introduction to a military occupational specialty that the prospective careerist tries on the Army's 

multi-media, multi-million dollar advertising campaign 

for size-does today's Army really care more about 

what he thinks than how he wears his hair?-does that 

Army really want to join Him? This is the period 

during which that unique consumer tries it all firsthand, developing impressions that are sometimes an 

indelible influence on his vulnerability to the professional mystique. If the MVA succeeds in the development of a salable product to market at this level, that 

prospective professional will have been effectively 

exposed to attractive career prospects. If it does not, 

the young soldier who is a "high quality individual" 

will have been lost to civilian enterprise before the 

contest for his energies has even begun. 

MVA, of course, has come to Fort Leonard Wood 

as surely as it has to installations throughout the 

world. It was recently examined in the 1st and 4th 

Engineer Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Brigades at that post to provide the engineer with 

insight into controversy about the program. 

Initially, it was discovered in interviews with a cross 

section of permanent party personnel that inconsistency 

in the application of changes for one unit to the next is 

most aggravating. This failure to establish a "universal" 

application of needed reform-a failure based on 

non-availability of funds Army-wide-coupled with 

a politically uncomfortable "institutionalization" of a 

long awaited program of reform, has become a subject 

of concern and a basis for heated argument. 

Examination of MVA in Fort Leonard Wood's two 

engineer training brigades was preceded by an introduction to the local application of the program- a la 

post MVA project officer. He simply reiterated a bythe-numbers presentation in pamphlet form "The Fort 

Leonard Wood Scoreboard for the Modern Volunteer 

Armyv--indorsed by the post commander, Major 

General W. T. Bradley. It contained, in the first few 

pages, excerpts from Army Chief of Staff General 

W. C. Westmoreland's address to the Army Commanders' Conference of November, 1970, in which he 

established guidance for the Modern Volunteer Arm 

concept. d 

"I expect commanders at every level," he directecl. ' 

"to take rapid and positive actions which will enhance 

service attractiveness and remove irritants to the troops 

-We are willing to part from past practices where 

such practices no longer serve a productive and useful end-Nothing is considered sacrosanct except 

where military order and discipline . . . are jeopardized-" 

The remainder of the "Scoreboard" for Fort Leonard Wood illustrates examples of recently implemented changes common to most post activities Armywide as a result of the Westmoreland edict. 

EliminatedRevielle formations except for ceremonial training or other special occasions. 

Local requirements for the pass form (DA Form 

345.) 

Bed checks except for control and personnel undergoing punishment. 

Unnecessary troop formations and curtailed "hurry up and wait" activities as much as practical. 

EstablishedA five-day work schedule, with modification for 

BCT units. 

Short order meals in the messhalls for weekends. , 

Proposed- *,' 

Civilian kitchen attendants to replace soldiers on 

KP duties (contingent on funding.) 

Leonard Wood's MVA actiun officer added, "What 

hurts so badly is that old stickler-lack of money. Fort 

Leonard Wood has the unhappy circumstance of not 

being VOLAR funded (is., recipient of specially appropriated monies for promoting an All-Volunteer 

Army.) As a consequence, we can't put our effort into 

critical areas such as barracks renovation and the like 

which are necessarily expensive. We could, of course, 

put our backs into it and do that kind of thing ourselves, but we would run into trouble with the civilian 

community to which this sort of thing is normally contracted. A small town such as Waynesville (Missouri) 

is like Fayette, North Carolina or Columbus, Georgia, 

in that it is dependent on the military installation in its 

locale for the livelihood of many towns people. No one 

wants to violate an existing policy of sound community relations and return Fort Leonard Wood to its 

place as a self contained 'little Korea' as some oldtimers had once labeled it." 

Close examination of MVA within Leonard Wood's 

two Engineer training brigades necessitates an evaluation of each brigade, its special mission, the type of stq 

dent or trainee with which it deals, and its cadre. 

The 1st Engineer Advanced Individual Training 
P

Brigade, once known as the U.S. Army Training Cen- 

'er, Engineer, 1st Training Regiment, is the only unit 

in the Army which offers combat engineer training. 

Functional areas with which its training deals include 

construction, combat arms and combat support, each 

of which is a facet of the complicated role of the Table 

of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) combat engineer. Specific engineer instruction, accomplished 

through a committee system, includes map reading, engineer tools, panel and timber bridging, river crossing 

operations, and expedient construction of roads and 

culvert systems. "Combat" training covers land mine 

warfare, field fortifications, explosives and demolitions 

tactics and weaponry. In addition, under provisions of 

the Skill Development Base Program, the 1st Brigade 

has operated the Combat Engineer Noncommissioned 

Officer Candidate Course which is being phased out to 

accommodate Fort Belvoir, Virginia's new Engineer 

Noncommissioned Officer Education System (see 

the engineer, Winter 1972, Vol. 1, No. 4.) 

The 4th Engineer Advanced Individual Training 

Brigade, on the other hand, represents a departure 

from the combat engineer theme in providing the Corps 

of Engineers with its heavy equipment operators and 

engineer soldiers with construction-oriented skills such 

as blasting (Powderman Course), utilities and plumbFng, carpentry and the like. But its most spectacular 

~nterprise is its Heavy Equipment Operators Course 

and Training Area 256; part of the ''Millton Dollar 

Hole" where, on an cxpanse of open earth work resembling a huge quarry operation, row upon gargantuan row of cranes, shovels, scoop loaders, drilling 

machines, tractors and the like rumble and crunch 

through the training day. 

Because the training mission of each brigade differs 

so significantly from that of the other, it is not at all 

unusual that one finds two generally diverse groups of 

trainees in the enlisted and drafted (RA and US components) categories. The combat engineer in the lqt 

Brigade, because he is by definition of its military occupational "specialty" a generalist, seems less sophisticated and less highly motivated than the prospective 

specialist who is undergoing more specialized training 

in the 4th Brigade as an equipment operator or tradesman. 

The great equalizer, however, appears to be the 

large percentage (sometimes 90 percent) of enlisted 

Reserve and National Guard (ER&NG) trainees in 

both brigades. Their attitudes, because they are only on 

temporary active duty and generally have a higher 

formal education base, have a universally positive 

mnd stabilizing effect on their RA and US contemporaries whose perspective is strongly influenced by active 

duty service obligations of two or three years and a 

significantly lower average formal education base and 

average age. 

A basic flaw in the program is apparent at Fort Wood 

as it must be elsewhere; one unit, the 4th Brigade, 

grabbed the brass ring and found itself in new modern 

brick barracks while its sister element, the 1st Brigade, 

maintains the old frame "T" variety and its characteristic headaches. The resultant contrast, because it is in 

an area so elementary, establishes an argument for 

uniformity. 

An articulate and concerned officer from the operations shop (S-3) of the 1st Brigade put it this way, 

"The 4th Brigade people are the lucky ones. We here 

have not only the complicated administrative and training problems common to both brigades but also the 

sometimes impossible task of motivating a trainee 

whose barracks is not fit for human habitation. For 

example some of the heaters don't work. So in subyero weather, I would guess, indoor temperatures are 

far below the 70 or 72 degrees they should be. The 

wiring is old and inadequate and the plumbing is in 

the same sorry state. And there isn't a lot we can do 

about it with no money and regulations that prohibit 

extensive renovation of the "T" buildings. We are violating a basic pyramid of human needs principle by not 

providing these men, who as combat engineers spend 

a great deal of their training time out in the weather, 

with adequate shelter and simple creature comforts. 

A staff officer in the 4th Brigade commented to that 

end saying, "Yes, it is too bad there wasn't enough 

money to get all of our engineers into these new buildings. I can understand the kind of a problem those old 

billets constitute for the 1st Brigade-especially when 

some of their trainees have had the new accommodations a few weeks earlier as basic trainees right here at 

Fort Leonard Wood." 

Trainee perspective about MVA is limited in scope, 

but one of casual interest permeates both brigades. 

The difference in billeting is mildly controversial, but 

actually of little consequence as they are too busy 

training to get into philosophical arguments about it. 

And having had no exposure to the 'old' Army, their 

expertise is rather valueless based on an ability to compare a change to a point of order discarded sometimc 

before they were inducted." 

Cadre, however, had some rather strongly worded 

comments about the changes introduced by the MVA 

program. 

"Institutionalizing this program of changes and giving it an official, high level 'handle'," said one 1st Brigade Drill Instructor veteran of 18 years in the Army, 

"has turned many people off. I'm of the opinion that 

things are getting too centralized back at Department 

of the Army level. Things that should and have been 
The I st Engineer Advanced Individual 

Training Brigade trains engineers. Pictured here from "high noon" counterclockwise to seven o'clock are combat 

engineers assembling an aluminum 

floating foot bridge, trainees crossing 

the finished footbridge in combat gear, 

and a combat assault from fiberglass 

assault boats on the Big Piney River. The 

4th Brigade conducts training of a more 

specialized application as exemplified 

by the Carpenter Course. Pictured at the 

right, a 4th Brigade instructor shows 

trainees the correct way of nailing, 

sheathing, and bridging on exterior 

walls. In the bottom center photograph, 

an instructor assists trainees in installing 

hip jacks and valley jacks on a "hip and 

valley roof." 
VINTAGE 1972:A GOOD YEAR 


FORTRAINING AT FORT WOOD 

company-level determinations-like sign-in/sign-out 

policies and haircut regulations-have been taken away. 

This hurts us here in the training company and impairs 

our ability to accomplish our mission because our authority has been usurped by the Pentagon. 

"But for the most part, I think the MVA approach 

is basically a sound one and the resultant standardized 

changes are awkward but essential while the Army is 

in a state of flux as Vietnam 'winds down.' It just 

makes the job of the training cadre a little more demanding. But, then, that is what I'm being paid for 

in the first place-to accomplish the mission as directed." 

Comments about the caliber of the engineer trainee 

at Fort Wood, how he differs from the trainee of the 

post Korean War period and his "trainability" were 

consistent from one brigade to the other. Cadre personnel saw him as more highly sophisticated. better 

educated, and easier to work with than his predecessor. 

Black and white overkill in the lecture phase of instruction, because even "average" trainees can be used 

as "assistant instructors," is no longer an evil necessary 

to accommodate the occasional slower learning trainee. 

This has given rise to "hands on" training. the training 

brigade jargon for practical exercise employed to the 

maximum. This is a more practicable kind of teaching 

vehicle and much more satisfying to the trainee who 

is, in many cases, working overtime simply to adapt to 

Army life. 

Other recent changes in training emphasis have, as 

part of the MVA effort, had significant impact on the 

trainee, his cadre, and the Army. As exemplified by a 

conservation project involving engineer trainees of the 

Skill Development Base in the 4th AIT Brigade, training has a new practical slant that generates that rare 

con~modity known as job satisfaction for trainees and 

cadre alike. 

Working in conjunction with the Fort Leonard Wood 

Post Engineer activity, the 4th Brigade launched wildlife habitat improvement project for rabbit, quail, and 

other species of local small game about 17 months ago. 

The project, which involved improvement of land be- 

!onging to the Army and a National Forest, was completed in late Spring 197 1 after extensive work by 4th 

Brigade trainees operating tractors, dozers, and Rome 

plows. The trainees incidentally rotated into the work 

schedule on a daily basis to give as many individuals 

as possible a chance to get involved. 

The 1st and 4th Engineer Advanced Individual 

Training Brigades at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 

have been tempered by nearly two years of MVA-propelled changes since General Westmoreland outlined 

his initial proposal for a Modern Volunteer Army. The 

challenges associated with implementing these changes 

during this critical period in a trainee's developmef 

have been demanding, but met with the kind of strm . professionalism which MVA hopes to engender Arm) 

wide. 

"The new trainee may have long hair and classroom 

episodes low key compared to the trainee of 10 years 

ago," commented a Drill Instructor typical of the cadre 

from both brigades, "but he is much easier to work 

with and to motivate. It's sometimes tough on me now 

that a man is encouraged to ask 'why' and to risk a 

barrage of 'sharp shooting,' but it's rea!ly good for me 

because it motivates me to keep abreast of things which 

I might otherwise have let slide by. I just have to keep 

sharp, know my job thoroughly, and use my head. 

Those old-timers who've been 'ghosting' for years and 

getting by with it by intimidating the young enlistee or 

trainee with a couple of stripes are going to be slow to 

adapt and will just fall under the ax as the post-Vietnam Army gets peacetime 'svelte'." 

And that is the honest truth of it. A change has been 

directed and change the Army will. The engineers, alive 

and well at Fort Leonard Wood, have "gotten with the 

program," as have true professionals throughout the 

Army, and have risen to meet the challenge of creating a Modern Volunteer Army. Training has become 

more effective, the trainee more trainable now that 

dignity as a human being is his to maintain as a ma 6 

of universal policy while the Army itself has becol. 1' 

more acceptable as a prospective career for today's 

youth. But there is still a long way to go before all the 

problems are identified and resolved. The 1st and 4th 

AIT Brigades are into the fray and helping the Corps of 

Engineers maintain its reputation as a highly progressive, professional component of the U. S. Army. e 

As a k~rzd of postscript to our examination of MVA 

unci training at Fort Leonard Wood, it must be added 

that 1esson.r learned in the last year and a half ha~je 

caused people such as Brigadier General Ira A. Hunt, 

Jr., Director of Training for the Continental Army 

Command, to talte a second look at changes implemented in training centers. Emphasis /?as now been 

placed-eflective mid-February-on an "austerity" 

common to the pre-MVA training environment and a 

more vigorous training (PT) oriented curriculum. 

It is anticipated that this old variation on an older 

theme will revitalize training and make it more "palatuble" in the long run to botll the Army and the trainee. 

Perhaps tlze trainer and trainee alike Imve discovered 

tlzat beer and rnashed potatoes, mixed well with p.sych -= 

delic music and posters, garnished with plenty of $1 

and week-end passes, malce GI Joe a dull boy. In 

event, tirne and the Army march on. The Editor 

6 I 
- -7 

ENGINEER STAFF 

U. 	S. Army combat engineer battalion is geared 

to perform many tasks that augment the mission 

of friendly forces in an unfriendly environment. 

According to the Army's definition, combat engineer 

battalions are highly efficient outfits that are capable 

of aiding the operations of "friendlies" in a variety of 

ways. They can erect tactical bridges, build tactical 

roads and airfields, clear mines, and perform reconp,issance. These outfits also know how to use demoIons to impede the enemy-by blowing up his 

oridges, roads, and airfields. 

So what, then, is the mission of the combat engineer 

battalion stationed in the Continental United States? 

Is it solely to maintain a training program to intensify 

the engineer skills of the individual engineers assigned 

to that unit? 

No! In reality, the role of a stateside combat engineer unit is far more diversified than one might think. 

Even though military occupational specialty training 

is essential, the skills of the engineer lend themselves 

too readily to peacetime necessities to go unused. 

But what might a specialist in bridging demolitions, 

reconnaissance, excavation, or rigging do to benefit a 

civilized and highly technical world at peace? The answer is-many things. With imaginative planning, combat engineers can accomplish many worthwhile projects such as improving recreational and educational 

facilities, helping civilian organizations or municipalities, providing training facilities for other units, or contributing to the upkeep of a military reservation. 

A prime example of what a combat engineer unit 

can do when its capabilities are channeled in a positive 

direction is the "track record" of the 18th Engineer 

,,)rCattalion (Combat), stationed at Fort Devens, Massausetts. 

During the past several years the battalion has undertaken numerous on-post and off-post projects. Many of 

these projects have been in direct support of Fort Devens, both to assist other units and to aid the general 

operation of the base. For instance, the 18th labored 

to enlarge the Turner Drop Zone for almost two years 

in order to improve the training capabilities of the Fort 

Devens-based 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). 

This project, which entailed the clearing of 278 acres 

of land, was a massive exercise in all phases of combat engineering. The project called for the utilization 

of every engineer skill because it involved the felling 

and disposal of almost 200 acres of trees, filling a large 

marsh, levelling steep inclines, and the installation of 

proper drainage. 

The battalion also has supported in the general operation of Camps Drum in New York and Edwards on 

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by initiating intense range 

rehabilitation programs. In addition, the 18th has upgraded roads and provided field construction to improve 

the training facilities at both camps. 

In other projects such as the construction of the 

Fort Devens sanitary landfill, the 18th Engineers reflect the Army's sensitivity to the pollution concerns of 

the country. The sanitary landfill, which consists of 

four, 17-foot-high, collapsible berms, affords the post 

with a means of disposing of its refuse without resorting to the traditional incineration method. 

In fact, ecological consideration has been given top 

priority treatment in the planning and execution of all 

of the battalion's projects. The Turner Drop Zone project is a good example. The ground there was reseeded 

and drainage ditches were strategically located to insure proper drainage. e 

Members of the 18th help landscape and extend 

the Fort Devens Golf Course. 
Building demolition techniques also have been altered in the interest of the environment. The old practice of tearing outmoded buildings down to the base 

and leaving concrete foundation eyesores is a thing of 

the past. Now the buildings are completely razed, the 

foundation is removed, and the area is graded and 

seeded. This leaves an attractive plot of grass until that 

space is again put to use. 

These considerations for ecology on the part of the 

18th Engineers have paid handsome dividends for Fort 

Devens. The battalion's efforts have been instrumental 

in the post's selection as the winner of the Army Chief 

of Staff's Conservation Award for 1971. Fort Devens 

also was named runner-up for the Secretary of Defense's Conservation Award for 1971. 

During 1971 alone, the battalion completed 68 projects designed to make the lot of the individual soldier 

happier during his leisure time. Members of the 18th 

extended and improved the Fort Devens golf course, 

built a horse training carral at the Fort Devens Saddle 

Club, improved the baseball, track, football and beach 

facilities, and constructed a patio for the Noncommissioned Officers Club. 

The Army's contribution to the civilian community 

has recently been questioned by its critics. Many have 

asked, "Shouldn't the Army become more involved in 

the problems of the community they live in?" These 

critics should check the 18th Engineer Battalion's record. Its very mission charges the unit with providing 

general engineer support for the entire First Army area. 

Civic action assistance is more than just a byword 

with the 18th. It assisted in the rebuilding of war-torn 

West Germany after World War 11. And the battalion 

has lived up to its legacy during the past several years 

Personnel from the 18th improved this beach area 

at Mirror Lake. 

Engineers from the 18th raze some old buildings to 

make the post look beautiful. 

by aiding local civilian municipalities and organizations. When emergency conditions exist, it is a common sight to see members of the battalion on the scene 

providing assistance. 

Engineers of the 18th have rolled out the heavy 

equipment on many emergency occasions to plow out a 

snowbound community during the harsh winter months 

in New England.. Not long ago, the battalion provided 

engineers and heavy equipment for the dredging open 

tion 

Fort 

that 

Devens. 

was 

After 

needed 

130 

to 

tons 

clean 

of refuse 

up Spicket 

was hauled 

River 

away, 

m 1

this action provided recreational facilities for the surrounding area. 

Like any good neighbor, the 18th has maintained a 

keen interest in youth organizations in the area and has 

helped them in many ways. The battalion provided a 

major portion of the support for the Fort Devens-conducted Project Summertime, a program that gave underpriviledged children from Eastern Massachusetts a 

vacation equivalent to any summer camp. Members 

of the 18th also constructed a youth center in Athol, 

Massachusetts, in support of Project VISTA, and 

cleaned up a playground in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 

for the Neighborhood Youth Corps. 

All these achievements add up to proof beyond 

doubt that a combat engineer unit can and does function as an integral part of a society at peace. Every 

combat veteran knows the necessity for the type of 

support the combat engineer can provide in a hostile 

fire zone. The value of the combat engineer, however, 

is not depreciated by a Continental United States assignment. His skills are just as applicable to peacetime 

as they are to combat. The proper employment of those 

abilities can and have benefited both the Army 

the country it serves. e 
,n Captain Robert J. Oldmixon 

ow you see it-now you don't! 

In the blink of an eye, a high-explosive charge 

blasts away the supports from underneath a vital bridge. 

Downstream, dark figures move toward the shadows of 

the riverbank. After observing the effects of their carefully placed explosives, enemy sappers are quietly leaving the area . . . The capability of the enemy in Vietnam to destroy 

bridges causes great problems for US and Republic-ofVietnam forces, just as General Robert E. Lee's Confederate saboteurs a hundred years ago created problems for General Ulysses S. Grant's advancing Union 

troops. 

With all the air capabilities of our present-day forces 

in a technological age, bridges remain about as critical 

to military communication as they were to army commanders a century ago. Unconventional (guerrilla-type) 

war tactics used by the enemy in South Vietnam.--cornpounded by the large number of bridges required to 

support the country's transportation routes-have made 

protection of bridge structures a primary mission for 

Engineer units. TWO construction companies of the 92nd Engineer 

1 .ttalion and the 41st Engineer Port Construction 

Company attached to the 92nd, began work on the 

1002-foot Phu Cuong Bridge in October 1967. The 

bridge was opened to traffic nine months later. On November 6, 1968, North Vietnamese Army sappers, 

swimming undetected to the bridge, attached explosive 

charges to a pier. Minutes later the critical link of Main 

Supply Route (MSR) 25 between Long Binh Depot, 

Di An, Phu Loi, Cu Chi, and Lai Khe was crippledafter only five months of use. 

A young North Vietnamese lieutenant named Nguyen 

Diem switched allegiance, rallying to the side of the 

South Vietnamese government only a few weeks after 

the sapper attack on the Phu Cuong Bridge. The new 

"Hoi Chanh" (defector), Lieutenant Diem had been 

executive officer of a highly-trained North Vietnamese 

Army underwater demolition company. He had been t leader of the sapper team that hit the Phu Cuong 

Bridge. 

Before the North Vietnamese Army would make him 

a lieutenant, Nguyen Diem had to complete two years 

of extensive training in swimming and underwater deI molition in the port of Haiphong, North Vietnam. Although use of SCUBA equipment was among the 

'brigs Lieutenant Diem was taught, he admitted that 

:h sophisticated equipment was rarely available. He 

explained that sappers commonly used snorkels which 
they made from sections of garden hose about seven 

inches long. 

Lieutenant Diem used the snorkel while swimming in 

a sitting position, with his head tilted back beneath the 

surface of the water. He was taught to navigate in this 

position by kicking with a bicycle-pedalling motion, 

moving in the direction of the current while towing up 

to 500 pounds of explosive charges. The charges are 

often suspended with rubber floats at a neutral buoyancy approximately one meter below the surface of the 

water. Ordinarily a swimmer enters the water upstream 

of his objective through an unsuspected inlet. With the 

snorkel in his mouth, he makes his way to the bridge, 

ties off the charge and exits the river downstream in 

much the same m:~nner as he entered. Meanwhile a 

chemical delay fuse, timed to allow the swimmer to 

reach safety, detonates the charge. 

Two methods are used in disabling a bridge. A critical pier may be demolished by exploding a charge 

placed directly on it. If a large amount of explosive is 

available, it may be anchored on the floor of the riviw 

or to a pier protection system to create a blast capat ' 

v of dropping a span. 

The explosive required to drop a span is calculated 

by a field expedient formula used by the North Vietnamese Army, C=30Kdr2. C is explosive required. K 

is a factor for specific resistance characteristics of construction of the span-wood, concrete or steel. D represents thickness of the bridge, or breaching distance 

in meters. R is the distance from the center of the explosive mass to the top of the bridge. 

Kilograms of explosive required by the formula is 

based on deterioration of the strength of the blast taking place when it passes above the surface of the water. 

Since submersion of the explosive reduces the quantity 

needed to drop a span, that quantity may be reduced 

(by up to one-half) by scheduling detonation at high 

tide, when the water level is closest to the bridge span. 

(At a depth equal to or less than 1/2 r, the charge may 

be reduced by as much as one-half. Tests indicate this 

formula has some validity.) 

Early in 1969 the 20th Engineer Brigade began a 

survey of bridge security in the 111 Corps Combat Tactical Zone. Key bridges in this region were visited by a 

team accompanied by a Hoi Chanh who had been 

trained in bridge demolition by North Vietnames 

forces. Each bridge was analyzed to find weaknesses n,! 

existing protective systems. The object was to find wayto eliminate weaknesses that made bridges susceptible 

to sapper techniques. The bridges had six common 

weaknesses. 

River inlets within 100 meters of bridges seldom 

yierded to good observation. 

Mine booms (cables stretched across a river's upstream side, at water level) which did NOT have 

chain link or concertina wire fencing suspended below 

water level, would stop floating mines but would not 

deny swimmers access to bridge piers. 

Sampans capable of transporting large quantities 

of explosives were generally allowed to pass unchecked 

under bridges. 

Due to improper placement, lights did not eliminate shadows and dark areas on the water surface. 

Catwalks, suspended beneath the superstructure 

on piers, were often too far above the water to allow 

effective observation. 

Guards unconsciously established habit patterns 

on their watches. An observant enemy could pick the 

best time for an effective attack. This weakness, present at the site of the Phu Cuong Bridge, was capitalized 

on by Lieutenant Diem's sapper team. 

engineers 

As a result 

have 

of 

developed 

experiences 

improved 

in Vietnam, 

bridge defenses. 

U.S. A6 
mine boom strung across the river can help keep the 

emy away from a bridge structure, if chain link and 

ff? certina wire is suspended deep into the water from 

,e boom. Such an obstacle is difficult for a swimmer 

(with no underwater breathing device) to breech, especially if he is towing explosives. This defensive network should be supplemented by guards, posted to 

allow complete observation of the mine boom. After 

passing under such a barrier, a swimmer must surface 

to clear his breathing tube. At this time, he would likely 

be spotted by alert guards. 

Barriers around piers also can be an important defensive measure. The fixed pier-protection system was 

designed to protect piers of permanent bridges. Steel 

H-piles driven into the riverbed provide a frame for 

rebars welded into a six-by-six-inch mesh cage, or a 

frame for a (less desirable) chainlink cage including 

the pier. The cages are then filled with "Shariffs" (three 

U-shaped pickets centrally welded together to form a 

six-pointed frame which is wrapped with barbed wire), 

concertina or other wire to make penetration of the 

cages difficult for a sappel-. A critical part of this system, the catwalk around the top of the cage, allows a 

guard visual access to the water surface on all four 

sides of each pier. 

Although a fixed system is a positive deterrent to 

ttack, it has several disadvantages. 1) A tremendous P4t construction effort is required for each pier-in 

.der from 20 to 70 feet deep. 2) Bridges remain substantially unprotected for a period of time since work 

progresses slowly. 3) Costs are enormous. It would 

have cost about $630,000 to place fixed protective systems on piers of the Phu Cuong Bridge, a bridge whose 

total construction cost was just twice that amount-

$1,250,000. 4) Furthermore, abnormal tidal fluctuations on major rivers coupled with fixed-level catwalks 

limit a sentinel's ability to closely observe the water 

surface for signs of underwater activity-like air bubbles breaking the surface. 

Such elaborate defensive systems clearly require 

great engineer effort to construct. However, as the Phu 

Cuong incident showed, when a bridge is suddenly 

destroyed by enemy sappers, the psychological impact 

on defending troops can be heavy. 

An alternative to the fixed pier-protective system is 

the floating collar. Initially collars were made of wooden rafts, with styrofoam-filled containers adding buoyancy. From the sides of these floating collars, chain 

link fabric is dropped to the river bottom. The chain 

link fabric is woven together by divers to yield a closed 

cage, which is filled with materials in the same way as 

e

Aadding buoyancy because highly-organic river polfixed system. Time proved styrofoam undesirable 

Ion tended to dissolve it. Also, the supply was limited. Styrofoam was replaced by Navy mine buoys 

("ping-pong" balls) capable of supporting weight in excess of 5,000 pounds. 

The simple rectangular frame of this wooden collar 

was replaced with 10-inch channel iron, cut and welded 

into a reinforced frame, supported by "ping-pong" balls 

and topped by a catwalk. Concertina wire both inside 

the cage and surrounding the collar discouraged enemy 

thoughts of climbing onto the collar platform to assault 

yards. 

Among advantages of floating pier protection is the 

reduced construction effort. A platoon can complete a 

floating systern in about two weeks, meaning that more 

bridges could receive defenses in a given amount of 

time than would be possible with fixed systems. Cost 

of construction also is proportionately reduced. The 

floating collar can be penetrated with less effort than a 

fixed rebar cage, but it is an effective hindrance to underwater sappers and protects piers from mine5 floated 

downstream. Floating construction can absorb considerably more shock than fixed systems, and is less easily 

damaged by floating debris. Repairs are more easily 

accomplished than on a fixed-cage. Finally, the collar 

deck forms an excellent catwalk for guards which by 

it is always at water-level. 

River traffic presents a hazard to both fixed and 

floating pier-protection systems. Heavy currents and 

unskilled pilots cause boats or barges to strike the pierguards. Damage from such mishaps can be limited by 

effective fenders. Best fenders to date are built of nine 

heavy steel I-piles, driven in a pattern so that the center 

pile acts as an axis of rotation when a craft collides with 

the bumpers. Five horizontal bumpers ordinarily are 

used to make the fender effective at any tide level. To 

avoid the destructive force of a direct impact, fenders 

are constructed to establish channels at a 45-degree 

angle to the shipping stream. While fenders protect a 

system against river traffic, they add little resistance to 

an underwater sapper. 

With either a fixed or floating pier-defense system, 

it is essential that guardposts be established at probable 

entry points on upstream riverbanks. 

These defensive techniques all help limit access to a 

bridge for underwater aggressors. The key to a secure 

bridge, of course, is always the effectiveness of its 

guards. e 

Captain Robert J. Oldmixon is a former platoon Zeader with tile 4Ist Engineer Port Construction Company 

in the Rep~thlic of Soutlz Vietnam. Currently assigned as 

Chief, Services Division, Directorate of Industrial Operations, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he I?olds a Bachelor of 

Science degree from Michigan Technological University. 
ACTION 


The cry for help came from a small agricultural 

town nestled in the heart of Colorado's San Luis 

Valley. The request was triggered by residents of Center, Colorado, who banded together last June to ask 

the U. S. Army for an assist in combating an enemy 

as deadly as one armed with the latest weapons. 

That enemy-poverty, disease, and ignorance-is 

hard to beat. But the U. S. Army has faced adversity 

before and has always been equal to the challenge. 

After a quick study of the situation by a group of 

officers from nearby Fort Carson, it was determined 

that Center had one of the lowest per capita incomes 

in the Nation and that problems existed between the 

two largest ethnic groups of residents-the "Chicanos" 

and the "Anglos." 

To fight these imposing problems, the group recommended that a city planning commission composed of 

"Chicanos and Anglos" be formed to determine specific 

needs, set priorities for projects, and to establish the 

extent of community participation in the projects. 

Then the Army brought in some domestic action experts-members of Fort Carson's 52nd Engineer Ba -

talion (Construction)-to work on the four mA) projects. The projects consisted of a city cleanup ca~ , 

paign, city park improvement, preparation of city streets 

for paving, and closure of the city dump. All of the 

clean-up workload was coordinated through a central 

office occupied by military and civilian operating personnel. 

It was a community relations publicity chairman's 

dream come true to see Army engineer dump trucks, 

front loaders, wreckers and civilian pickups and trucks 

STYLE 

removing old car bodies from streets and yards and 

hauling them, along with other accumulations of junk, 

away to a new city sanitary fill. 

Ammy engineers and local civilians also prepared 

more than five miles of city streets for paving, rehabilitated the city jail and improved the Healthstart mobile clinic. 

Secretary of the Army Robert F. Froehlke liked what 

he saw at Center during a visit to Fort Carson and indicated that the Army's domestic action program could 

see increased emphasis in the future. 

Mr. Froehlke said, "As long as we limit it to something that will help the soldier in his training mission; 

as long as we can accomplish our other goals without 

adding more men or dollars, I see no limitation. I don't 

see people objecting because we don't take over the 

ENGINEER STAFF 

leadership. As we get closer to that time when domestic action programs become all-important in winning-over uncommitted peoples , domestic action has 

to become more and more important." 

With support coming from the Secretary of the 

Army, it is expected that the Army engineer will become more and more involved in domestic action projects like the one that was so successful at Center in the 

months just ahead as the U. S. Army moves into a 

peacetime status. 

How well this type of program will be adopted by 

engineer troops is, perhaps, best summed up by the 

52nd Engineers' commander, Lieutenant Colonel Edgar J. Mixan, who said, "Projects of this nature tend to 

enhance community relations, raise morale of our 

troops, and provide excellent training." e 

The photos on these pages show civic action at its 

best. Members of Fort Carson's 52nd Engineer Battalion got right to the heart of the matter at Center, 

Colorado. They worked side by side with the civilian 

populace to clean up the town. In the photo on the 

opposite page an abandoned auto is being delivered 

to the city dump. The three photos on this page tell 

some more of the story. Beginning at top left and continuing clockwise-a dozer operator takes a break 

with children at the city dump; a grader operator explains Army equipment to the local children; and another operator participates in cleanup operations 

following the demolition of a building. 
------ 

--------- - 

THE FACT that the U.S. Army 

currently is directing increased 

effort toward achieving its goal of 

being an all volunteer outfit does 

not imply that anything short of a 

highly professional, quality Army 

will be acceptable. 

There may be some confusion 

among engineer enlisted personnel 

since new policies are inconsistent. 

Why, for example, is the Army seeking higher enlistment rates while, at 

the same time, it is involuntarily releasing other personnel? 

The answer, of course, lies in the 

need to place decreased reliance on 

the draft as the primary source for 

the recruitment of younger soldiers 

while concurrently attempting to 

phase the overall Army strength 

down to lower authorized levels. 

Quamtive Management 

Program which was announced in 

Change 41, AR 600-200, is a major 

feature of the new program. The 

first phase of this program extended 

to June 30, 1971 and the second 

began July 1, 1971. The total impact of this program will have a 

far-reaching effect on the enlisted 

force of the Army. 

With career tenure governed by 

a combination of time-in-grade and 

time-in-service while qualitative 

screening of the enlisted force continues, personnel with a history of 

mediocre performance will no longer be retained in the Army. 

Complement this information with 

the recent announcements raising 

promotion and reenlistment criteria 

and one soon gets the message that 

professionalism and discipline would 

not be compromised. All of these 

new policies point to the fact that 

the "automatic reenlistment environment" is a thing of the past. 

Since, under the new programs, 

an individual must establish and 

maintain his military and technical 

-wand ~aliticatioFsat a 

level which wilI insure his tenure 

as a career soldier, the logical question uppermost in the minds of most 

career soldiers is "How am I rated 

among my contemporaries and how 

can I stay on top?" 

The answer to the first part of 

the question lies partly with the Enlisted Evaluation System set forth 

in Chapter 5 of AR 600-200 and 

the Enlisted Efficiency Report a 

Rating System set forth in Chap 

8, of the same regulation. '0

The EM Evaluation System provides an objective measure of the 

technical knowledge of an individual 

in his Military Occupational Specialty Code while the Efficiency Report and Rating System is a subjective evaluation by the individual's 

supervisor of his job performance 

and potential. Both systems are given appropriate weight and together 

serve to determine if minimum 

qualifications have been met. The 

two systems also rank the individual among his contemporaries by 

grade and MOS. Placing consistently low can hurt an individual's opportunity to compete for promotion, 

reenlistment, and other career opportunities. 

Commanders, personnel managers, and enlisted personnel also 

should be aware of another important point. In order for an individu 

to be in the best possible position 

compete in this highly competiti 
environment he must be placed, 

in Army requirements, in a ca- pfield and MOS best suited to 

111sprior experience, aptitudes, and 

potential. He must then be allowed 

to develop this potential to the maximum. Only then do both the Army 

and the individual benefit. 

Now more than ever before, commanders and personnel managers 

must assess the potential impact on 

the careers of their personnel prior 

to any reclassification action between career fields or MOS. 

Misutilization of personnel, whether through malassignment or mismanagement, may seriously jeopardize an enlisted man's career in that 

personnel not actively engaged in 

the application of their primary 

skills tend to lose them. This places 

these individuals at a disadvantage 

with their contemporaries during 

annual MOS testing. Some EM may 

even fail to achieve the minimum 

score necessary to verify in their 

r ailure of an individual to verify OS- .."ice consecutively in his MOS triggers mandatory reclassification action. Three consecutive failures to 

verify in an MOS, of course, can 

result in elimination from the service. These rules are set forth in 

Chapter 2, AR 600-200. 

A low MOS score can have a 

tremendous impact on the individual soldier in many other areasA score below 70 in the final 

12 months of service bars reenlistment. (To reenlist a soldier must 

have been tested in the preceding 

12 months unless specifically exempted by Headquarters, Department of the Army.) 

A score below 100 is a bar to 

promotion qualification. 

A score below 70 is a bar to 

the award of Specialty Pay. 

A score below 130 (Combat 

Support MOS) or below 120 (Comis a bar to the award of 

xior Performance Pay. /POS) 

~inceMOS evaluations have such 

impact on soldiers careers, it is the 

responsibility of commanders and 

personnel managers to ensure that 

EM are tested and given an Enlisted Efficiency Report during the prescribed time-frame. 

Individuals should review those 

areas in which deficiencies were apparent in the last evaluation. The 

old test guide can be used in early 

study until the new publication is 

received. Care should be taken to 

insure that new current references 

are substituted. 

Major General Robert R. Ploger, 

Commanding General of the U. S. 

Army Engineer Center and Fort 

Belvoir, and Commandant of the 

U. S. Army Engineer School, is encouraging all Engineer unit commanders through individual letters 

to exercise their responsibilities to 

assist personnel in improving technical proficiency. 

Group seminars are ideal for refresher training when a number of 

individuals have the same MOS. 

Concurrently unit proficiency is increased. 

Potential individual enrollees 

should complete DA Form 145, 

Army Correspondence Course Enrollment Application. For study 

groups, the unit commanders should 

transmit applications (DA Form 

145) with the name and rank/ 

grade of the designated group 

leader. 

Enrollment for individual and 

group study can be accomplished by 

writing to--Commandant, U. S. 

Army Engineer School, Attn: 

DNRI, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 

22060. MOS evaluation tests are 

scheduled for August and November 1972. 

A total of 35 MOS Evaluation 

Tests affecting engineer personnel 

will be given this August. Here they 

are by MOS and title, respectively12A10, Pioneer; 12B20, 12B30, 

12B40, Combat Engineer; 12C20, 

12C30, 12C40, Bridge Specialist; 

12D20, 12D40, Powered Bridge 

Specialist; 12E20, 12E40, Atomic 

Demolition Munitions Specialist; 

12F20, 12F40, Combat Engineer 

Track Vehicle Crewman; 12250, 

Combat Engineer Senior Sergeant; 

41K20, Reproduction Equipment 

Repairman. 

Also 51N20, 51N40, 51N50, 

Water Supply Specialist; 62B 10, 

Engineer Equipment Maintenance 

Apprentice; 62820, 62B30, 62B40, 

62B50; Engineer Equipment Repairman; 62D20, 62D40, Asphalt 

Equipment Operator; 62620, 62G30, 62640, Quarryman; 62H20, 

62H40, Concrete Equipment Operator; 82E20, 82E30, 82E40, 

Topographic Computer, and 83F20, 

83F40, Offset Pressman. 

MOS Evaluation Tests will be 

given in 26 engineer specialties in 

November. Here they are by MOS 

and title, respectively-5 1E20, 

51E40, 51E50, Camouflage Specialist; 5 1F20, 5 1F40, 51F50, Pipeline Specialist; 5 1M20, 5 1M40, 

Firefighter; 52B20, 52B30, Power 

Generation Equipment Operator/ 

Mechanic; 52C20, Power Pack Specialist; 52D20, 52D40, Power Generation Equipment Repairman; 

52E20, 52E40, Power Station Operator; 53B20, 53B40, Oxygen-Acetylene Production Specialist; 62C20, 

62C30, 62C40, Engineer Missile 

Equipment Specialist; 62F20, 62F30, Crane Operator; and 82D20, 

82830,82D40, 82D50, Topographic Surveyor. 

Absence of current evaluation 

data can also have an adverse impact on many personnel actions and 

will result in loss of Proficiency Pay 

unless testing has expressly been excused by the Department of the 

Army. 

Today's Army is moving rapidly 

toward a highly qualified, competitive profession where commanders 

and personnel managers must apply 

sound personnel management principles and individuals must work 

hard to maintain their skills and a 

high level of performance. e 
Captain Julian E. Pylant 

The Corps of Engineers is managing one of the most 

complicated construction programs ever undertaken 

by this country! 

On March 1969, President Nixon announced the 

following objectives for SAFEGUARD. 

". . . Protection of our land-based retaliatory force 

against a direct attack by the Soviet Union. 

". . . Defense of the American people against the 

kind of nuclear attack which the People's Republic of 

China is likely to be able to mount from any source. 

". . . Provide for local defense of selected MINUTEMAN missile sites and an area defense designed to protect our bomber bases and our command and control 

authorities. 

". . . By approving this system, it is possible to reduce U. S. fatalities to the minimal level in the event 

of a Chinese nuclear attack in the 1970's, or in an accidental attack from any source." 

Thus, rather than focusing on a single purpose, 

SAFEGUARD has been and continues to be designed to 

achieve several objectives against a combination of 

Soviet and Chinese threats. 

Extensive progress has been made in the two years 

since construction was started on the nation's first 

SAFEGUARD Ballistic Missile Defense System site. 

The huge concrete and steel structures at the Grand 

Forks SAFEGUARD complex now dominate the surrounding North Dakota wheatlands. 

The second site presently authorized for deployment 

is in early stages of construction near Malmstrom Air 

Force Base in Montana. Two additional sites in Missouri and in Wyoming are currently authorized for advanced preparation which includes site survey, selection, and advanced acquisitions. 

Comprised of five principal components, the North 

Dakota and Montana sites will consist of two types of 

radars, two types of missiles, and the complex data 

proccessing equipment that is necessary for operation 

and control of the SAFEGUARD program. 

In operation, the system's long-range Perimeter Acquisition Radar (PAR) will detect targets as they appear above the horizon. It will track and relay target 

information to the Missile Site Radar (MSR) which 

picks up the targets in the later phases of their trajectories. The MSR will refine tracking data, calculate intercept points, and launch and control the defensive 

Spartan and Sprint missiles. 

Normally, the long-range Spartan missile, capable 

of intercepts well outside the atmosphere, woul~, 

employed first. If the Spartan defense is penetratec 

if the targets are allowed to enter the atmosphere LO 

distinguish between warheads and decoys, the shortrange high acceleration Sprint missile would be employed. 

The data processing equipment which integrates the 

other components and actually makes employment 

possible is capable of handling millions of calculations 

per second. All these tactical components are housed 

in hardened facilities designed to withstand the shock, 

dust, debris, pressure and electromagnetic pulse caused 

by a nuclear detonation. 

SAFEGUARD development and deployment is the 

responsibility of the System Manager, Lieutenant 

General Walter P. Leber. He is responsible directly to 

the Chief of Staff of the Army, General William C. 

Westmoreland. 

The Army's Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General 

Frederick J. Clarke, has the responsibility of designing and constructing the SAFEGUARD facilities. To 

accomplish this mission, the Huntsville Division in 

Alabama was formed on October 15, 1967. The Huntsville Division, while assigned to the Chief of Engineers, 

carries out its functions under the operational control 

of the SAFEGUARD System Manager. Unlike conF\, 

tional Engineer Divisions, the Huntsville Division , 

neither civil works functions nor territorial boundar~es 
on watershed basins. Its military construction 

n can be carried out anywhere in the 50 states. 

ne Division has conventional responsibilities for 

designing and construction of facilities, and site selection and validation. Additionally, its mission includes responsibility for operation of facilities during the installation and test period; assisting Army Air Defense Command, the ultimate user in on-site training; providing 

engineering support to the Weapon System Contractor 

at the deployment sites; assisting in development of 

manning tables and equipment lists; and developing 

operation and maintenance procedures. 

The organization of the Division reflects the scope 

and diversity of its SAFEGUARD role. There are 

three Assistant Division Engineers, two of whom function as Contracting Officers for multimillion dollar programs. One serves as Contracting Officer for the Construction Program, the other as Contracting Officer for 

Architect-Engineer services. In addition, the Chief of 

the Procurement and Supply Division is the Contracting Officer for the tremendous amount of governmentfurnished equipment incorporated into each site. The 

Division's Area Offices, located at the respective deployment sites, manage the actual construction. 

In creating the Division, care was taken not to staff 

f functions which could be performed by existing Pions and Districts in whose area SAFEGUARD 

might be located. Examples of such functions include acquisition of real estate and contracting for 

family housing. While the Huntsville Division performs 

a major role in site selection, actual land acquisition is 

conventionally carried out by the Office of the Chief of 

Engineers through respective Districts. Family housing 

is acquired in a similar manner. 

Work at Grand Forks started April 3, 1970, three 

days after the award of the $137,858,850 contract. The 

fixed-price contract was at that time the largest ever 

awarded by the Corps of Engineers (a larger contract 

has since been signcd on February 24, 1972, for 

Malmstrom Phase 11 SAFEGUARD work valued at 

It takes a 100-ton diesel engine like this one in above photo to 

drive the 3,000 kilowatt generators that provide the precise power 

at both the MSR and PAR sites. Left photo shows the North Dakota MSR site as it appeared in May 1971. 

$160,927,932). The 500-pound bid package contained 

4,100 drawings and more than 5,000 pages of specifications for the four major structures (the MSR and the 

PAR and their power plants) and missile field. Five 

other construction contracts totaling more than $28 

million have since been awarded at Grand Forks for 

the remote Sprint launch sites, nontechnical support 

facilities, water line construction, and family housing 

site work. Since construction started, the Huntsville 

Division has issued over 100,000 contract drawings 

with changes, construction shop drawings, and government-furnished equipment shop drawings. 

Work on the North Dakota technical facilities was 

scheduled so that each radar and its associated power 

plant was enclosed prior to the onset of the first winter. This was of such importance in meeting the ultimate Bid Opening Date that an item for rapid mobilization was part of the bid schedule. With closure and 

other winterization measures such as temporary shel- 
ters and heating, effective work on mechanical and electrical systems proceeded throughout a winter that frequently had temperatures that dropped to 30 degrees 

below zero. 

As weather improved, the contractor increased his 

work force in the spring of 1971 and reached a manning level of more than 2,500 men at the two radar 

sites. By the end of October 1971, major concrete 

placement was completed on both radars and power 

plants. 

At the control center for the Grand Forks complex, 

structural work on the MSR building is virtually complete. Now backfilled, only a 76-foot-high pyramid 

shaped turret, containing blockouts for the four radar 

faces, appears above ground. Beneath, there is a 232- 

foot by 232-foot two-s:ory hardened building. Hardening includes electrc~magnetic shielding which is provided by integral one-eighth inch steel liner plate. Individual rooms in the MSR building are lined to protect components from both nuclear blast produced 

pulses and from mutual interference by system equipment. Another unique feature is the extensive utilization of shock isolation platforms for sensitive equipment. They are used where it is more economic to isolate the equipment than to design it to standards to 

withstand a nuclear shock environment. 

Adjacent to the MSR building is the site's hardened 

17.3 megawatt power plant and an eight-million-gallon 

underground heat sink. Both are structurally complete 

and were backfilled late in 1971. Other primary tactical facilities include the Spartan and Sprint missile 

fields, warhead handling building, and missile assembly 

building. Conventional administrative, industrial, and 

recreational buildings and family housing comprise the 

balance of the construction at the MSR site. 

The PAR site and its self-contained community arc 

located some 20 miles to the east of the MSR. When 

structural concrete was completed on October 27, 

197 1, the 125-foot-high PAR became the tallest building in North Dakota. Measuring 204 feet by 213 feet 

This is a July 1971 


view of the four-foot- 


thick turret of the 


North Dakota Missile 


Site Control Building. 


The workers are start- 


ing to tie resteel. The 


resteel used at each 


SAFEGUARD site to-


tals more than 25,-


000 tons. This means 


that on an average 


there is almost 300 


pounds of resteel per 


cubic yard for the 


some 170,000 cubic 


yards of concrete at 


each site. 


at the base, it rests on a 10-foot-thick slab and has 

eight-foot-thick walls-all of heavily reinforced concrete. The north wall slopes back at 25 degrees 

contains 6,888 penetrations for the phased array r j-7

elements. As in the MSR, protection from elect1d 

magnetic radiation is provided by steel liner plate. The 

protection scheme is different, however, in that the inside of the exterior walls, floor, and roof are lined instead of lining individual rooms. As in all the tactical 

facilities, shock isolation platforms are used where 

necessary. The buried PAR power plant has a 14.4 

megawatt capacity. 

Four Remote Sprint Launch (RSL) sites are spaced 

several miles from the CSR in the surrounding Minute- . 

man field. These are being constructed under two contracts totaling approximately $14.5 million. Though 

much smaller than the two radar facilities, the RSLs are 

of the same hardened type structures. 

In all the SAFEGUARD facilities, standardization 

of equipment is a key factor. Over $30 million in government-furnished equipment is being integrated into 

the Grand Forks complex. Types of equipment include 

such items as 3,000 kilowatt motor generator units, 

pumps, chillers, electrical switchgear, shock isolators, 

valves, and the heavy steel cans which house the Sprint 

missiles. Approximately 10,000 items of 1,700 different makes and models are provided by over 50 supply 

contracts. At the first two deployment sites alo 

standardization is expected to yield savings excee 2-l 

$32-million in reduced training requirements, mZl 

tenance, and repair parts stockage. e 

Captain J~clian E. Pylant has been the Assistant Ex-


ecutive Oficer of the Huntsville Division since April 


1971. He is a 1965 graduate of the U.S. Military Aca- 


demy, completed the Engineer Oflicers Advanced 


Cour.~e in 1968 and holds a Master's Degree in Civil 


Engineering from Stanford University. Previous assign- 


ments include two tours in Vietnam-one with the 


169th Engineer Battalion (Construction) and one with 


the 326th Engineer Battalion (Airmobile). 

The following excerpts were taken from U. S. Army Chief of 

Engineers, Lieutenant General F. J. Clarke's, address during the 

105th annual Engineer dinner, May 5, 1972. 

". . . . Each of us knows that 'The Corps Cares' 

about many things, has always cared, and will continue 

to care. There are some considerations, however, that 

I would like to reflect on for a few minutes, about the 

things we do care about, and some things about which 

we do not have concern. 

". . . . The Corps has always been an action agency, 

and has made its reputation by doing things. It has 

lived by its motto-Essayons-which we translate alr

rnately as "we try" and "we do". We live by accomishments, and for 197 years have demonstrated time 

,~nd time again that we can produce. 

". . . . The work of the engineer continues to be the 

same basic job-of taking what nature provides, and 

our knowledge of the laws of nature which increases 

but rarely changes and applying our skills to the benefit 

of people, in the Army or in the country at large. And 

our job becomes a twofold job in the future-first of 

increasing our knowledge of the laws of nature, so that 

we can be more confident of our abilities, and secondly, 

of determining better what our users want, so that we 

can apply ourselves to what is important. 

". . . . The first of the two tasks can best be described 

by the term of professionalism. General Westmoreland 

has set goals for the Army of becoming an army of 

professionals-soldiers who know their business and 

know how to practice it. We in the Corps have the 

identical responsibility of being professional soldier engineers. This is a responsibility which extends from the 

engineer soldier or specialist to the highest officers. It 

requires each of us to know what we should do, why 

we should do it, how we should do it, and to have developed proficiency in practice, so that we have congo up exponentially as the Army gains new levels of 

mobility, and particularly as the Army sets its sights 

for increased mobility in the future, as the Army sets 

new standards of sophistication in its weaponry, and 

makes use of the new marvels of communication. The 

Army is talking about and planning on an Army that 

will move, shoot, and communicate better-and the 

job of the Engineers is to make it possible-while using 

the same media of water, earth (or in combination as 

mud) and air. 

". . . . Engineer support of the Modem Volunteer 

Army is giving us some additional opportunities to employ troops on meaningful projects. With encouragement from General Haines at CONARC, and careful 

selection of stations where the limited number of engineer troops are stationed, we find them well employed 

on projects to improve the livability of the old barracks, 

on construction of ranges and rugged training facilities, 

in support of the tests of new techniques at Fort Hood. 

". . . . The second task that I set for the engineer 

is to determine better what the Army needs and wants. 

If these needs and wants are not foreseen, planned for, 

and provided for, we stand a better than even chance 

that opportunities will be lost or delayed to our detriment. The determination of what is needed comes 

through many channels-but the primary one is a mutual exchange of ideas at all levels between the Engineer and the forces he supports, so that concepts are 

clearly understood as plans are formulated. 

". . . . I see for the future that as long as we care for, 

and consider important, those matters which are important to the Army and the Nation, so long as we 

develop the professionalism of our people, and so long 

fidence in our ability to do it. as we continue to act objectively and honestly, we need 

. . . . This is one of our principal cares-that the have no concern that the need for our services will di- n' rps continue to be a professional outfit-throughout. minish. So long as the Corps cares about others, they 

r'he requirements of the Army for Engineer support will care for us. 
--- 

FIELD 

Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Crosby 


Secretary, USAES 


n the Winter Issue of the engineer we announced I the introduction of a new department on Dynamic 

Training as a regular feature. This is it. In this and 

succeeding issues we will present Dynamic Training 

ideas which have been submitted by our readers. We 

also will keep you informed about the activities of the 

Engineer Dynamic Training Council that has been established here at the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia. In large measure, however, we are depending 

on you (our readers) to send your experiences and 

ideas to this department if it is to be successful as a 

primary source of Dynamic Training ideas. With perhaps a bit of innovative thinking and a dash of inpenuity, these ideas should help make your respective training programs more interesting and motivating. 

In case Dynamc Training is a new term to you, 

maybe you will want to take a look at "DYNAMIC 

TRAINING, A New Approach to an Old Problem," 

an article that was published in the Winter Issue of this 

magazine. Basically, the idea is to inject new life into 

unit training-to do away with the monotony and 

boredom that is brought about by mechanically conducting training to comply with relatively rigid requirements that arc established by various higher headquarters. 

Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland provided the opportunity for a more dynamic approach to unit training in a message to the field in June 

1971 in which he gave full responsibility for unit training to the battalion and separate company commanders 

of the Army. Who, after all, is in a better position to 

know what kind of training a unit needs? In developing a training program, who is better qualified to consider the basic mission of the unit, the contingency plans 

it may have to support, the readiness of that unit's 

equipment, the local climate, range and training facilities limitations and all of the other factors which directly affect the training program? 

Perhaps more to the point, who is directly responsible for the success or failure of that unit to perform 

any assigned mission when the chips are down? This is 

why the battalion and separate company commanders 

have been given the opportunity and the responsibility 

to take a more flexible-and dynamic-approach to 

training. 

So, it was a combination of things that led to the establishment of the Dynamic Training Board at Fort 

Benning, Georgia, and the Engineer Dynamic Trainin 

Council at Fort Belvoir, to help provide useful infor* 

tion and ideas for those individuals who are responsil 

for this new approach to training. The role of the engineer and this new department is to give visibility to 

these ideas. 

"So, what else is new?" could be the reaction of many 

when they are exposed to the ideas individuals in the 

field submitted in response to the Engineer Dynamic 

Training Survey Questionnaire. It should be no surprise 

to anyone that new and unique ideas are few and far 

between. Obviously, this is as true of engineer un~t 

training as it is of a11 other areas of human experience. 

What is important to us, though, is how we can take a 

successful training experience and, by injecting some of 

that engineer ingenuity and innovative thought, come 

up with a new application to fit another situation. 

Here is an example of a dynamic approach to unit 

rifle qualification. This is not a "new problem" to the 

Army and the successful solution is not a "new" one 

in the sense that it was done within the last few months. 

But it was new to Lieutenant Bruce C. Clarke when he 

was assigned to Company C of the 3rd Engineers in 

1932, and, without doubt, there are many engineer lieutenants today who are facing similar "new" situations. 

The first in the series of Dynamic Training experiences 

is submitted by that lieutenant of the "old ~rmcj 

who climbed to the top of the ladder during that 40 ye 

span of time. General Bruce C. Clarke (USA-Ret) 
I 

makes a point on how to motivate soldiers and tells it 

like this- 

"The officer who can come up with a program of 

awards or other means of motivating his men which is 

effective is well on the way to being what is now called 

a Dynamic Trainer. 

"In 1932, I was assigned as a lieutenant to Company 

C, 3rd Engineers, under a captain who had been a company commander for several years. The annual qualification rifle range season was approaching. 

"The Company Commander put the instruction for 

the range season under me with the admonition that he 

wanted the company to win the Regimental Commander's Trophy which was given to the company with the 

highest average score on Record Day each year. 

"T carried out what I felt was good preliminary rifle 

marksmanship instruction and we had good practice 

firing on the range. 

"Before the record firing, T consulted with the First Pgeant as to what awards were given last year for 

,cord firing. He told me that about $85 was taken out 

of the Company Fund and prize money was awarded 

for the following rifle qualification positions: high offhand score at 200 yards; high kneeling score at 300 

yards; high sitting score at 300 yards; high total rapid 

fire score at 200, 300 and 500 yards; high 500 yards 

score at slow fire, and high 600 yards score at slow fire. 

The top award was given for the high aggregate score 

(officers did not compete as they were motivated in 

other ways). 

"T asked the First Sergeant who won the high aggregate the year before and he said he did. 

"I wondered how such a system motivated the 

'Bolos.' We had had several last year and this brought 

our average down. T asked for last year's record score 

cards. 

"After much research, and being mindful of the fact t 

that the Company Commander allowed me $85 from 

the Company Fund in prizes for the current year, I 

came up with this program which I carefully explained 

to the men-On Record Day you will receive five cents 

for each bull's eye you fire. But 4s are par-no prize. 

It will cost you five cents for 3s; ten cents for 2s, and 

(flenty-five cents for misses. 

The men were skeptical. They felt that it was a de- 

-e to make money for the Company Fund. I assured 

them that it would have cost the Company Fund about 

$80 last year. They reluctantly went along with my program. 

"On Record Day the men won $125 from the Company Fund. Only a few had to pay in any moneynone over $1 .50. We won the Regimental Commander's 

Trophy with points to spare. 

"What produced these results? Each man was competing against the Company Fund in a way that meant 

something to him. He tried to "hold and squeeze" each 

shot-even after he had enough points for sharpshooter 

or marksman and could not reach the next higher 

qualification. 

"The First Sergeant was still the high winner because he was an experienced competitive shot but the 

men were not competing with him. His known ability 

did not dampen the motivation of the troops. Of course, 

my Company Commander was pleased. The Division 

Tnspector General heard about it and came around to 

see if such a program was according to the Regulations 

governing the use of the Company Fund. He gave it a 

clean bill of health. 

"We can draw several lessons in motivating men from 

this example (five cents was money to a soldier in 

1932) ." 

General Clarke's method of motivating his men 

would be just as good today as it was those many years 

ago. His unit also must have participated in some form 

of Adventure Training in those days without knowing 

it by that name. Here is an example-1972 style. 

Platoon Sergeant Vernon L. Allen of the 8 14th Engineer Float Bridge Company, 559th Engineer Battalion, Hanau, Germany, submitted the following dcscription of a platoon-level Adventure Training experience that was conducted by his unit- 

"My platoon was selected by higher headquarters to 

run a course setup in Adventure Training. We were to 

test how much weight a man could carry travelling in 

hilly terrain with the use of maps and compass. This 

included water, food, clothing for three days, ammunition, protective mask, and the weapon. 

"The course started first with a helicopter ride to the 

drop point. Then, from the drop point we had to walk 

30 kilometers in hilly terrain to a location on the main 

river. Between these two locations we were told to reconnoiter three demolition targets and to suggest types 
of targets, tools, and equipment that would be needed 

to do the job. 

"At the river, we boarded 15-man assault boats that 

were provided by our company for a run down the 

river for 29 kilometers. The allotted time was from 8 

a.m., Thursday until 5 p.m., Saturdav. The platoon arrived at our home station at 6 p.m., Friday; 23 hours 

ahead of schedule. The test was a success and the course 

is now being used by the units of the 130th Engineer 

Brigade." 

There is much more to the Dynamic Training program than just Adventure Training. Dynamic Training 

embraces the entire unit training picture. For example, 

Captain Thomas F. Ramos submitted this description 

of some squad-level training that was conducted while 

he was with the 237th Engineer Battalion, Heilbronn, 

Germany-

"To increase the confidence and proficiency of my 

squad leaders, and to help then1 get to know their men 

better, I sent my squads on three-day missions. A squad 

was subject to be called on to move out on these missions at any time without previous warning. 

"If a squad leader was alerted after duty hours, he 

had two hours to round up his squad and leave the 

kaserne (post) in his vehicle with all equipment aboard. 

Missions included preparation and execution of target 

folders, route reconnaissance, erecting rope bridges 

across small rivers, mine detection, and anything else 

that was pertinent to our squad missions. 

"The exercise was usually concluded with a 10 mile 

map reading course across wood countryside. Rations 

were picked up by giving the squad leader only the 

map coordinates as to their location on the radio. 

"As the program developed, I was able to send one 

squad out each week on a mission. We even broadened 

the exercise by requesting aviation support. Competition among the squads on who performed the best missions added a great deal of enthusiasm to the program " 

These are the types of ideas and experiences we p\

looking for from you. What you submit does not haw 

to be "new." Sergeant Allen's experience was just as 

new as General Clarke's experience as a lieutenant. 

What is essential is that the Dynamic Training idea in 

some way presents some form of stimulation or challenge. The reward is that the unit, individually and collectively, realizes that it has successfully performed a 

task or mission-while exercising and perfecting the 

missions' essential skills. This is where it's at! 

How about you? Have you led or been involved in 

any particularly interesting and effective training exercises? The Engineer Dynamic Training Council is interested in hearing about what you have done. This 

department of "the engineer" will regularly feature 

ideas that have been submitted. We need your support. So please send a brief write up of your training 

experiences and ideas to: The Engineer Dynamic Training Council, U.S. Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia 22060. e 

Lieutenant Coloniel Robert L. Crosby currently is 

Secretary of The Engineer School and Deputy Chairman of the Engineer Dynamic Training Council. His assignments have included duty with the 271st and 9th 

Engineer Combat Battalions; Commanding 0ficern 

the 92nd Engineer Construction Battalion, and later 

IV Corps Engineer Advisor in the Republic of Vietnam. He is a graduate of the Air War College, holds 

a master's degree in Civil Engineering from Iowa State 

University, and is a registered professional engineer in 

the "Hawkeye" state. 

"Grossing Out Delta Company," a story on Engineer Officer Candidate School (OCS) by Sergeant 

(then Specialist 5) Hugh M. Gildea, appeared in the 

last issue of the engineer, Winter 1972. In a response 

to that story Captain John J. Connor, who attended 

EOCS at an earlier time, presents an opposing point 

of view. After a year's drcty as a tactical officer Captain 

Connor departed the Officer Candidate Regiment in 

May, 1969, about the time Sergeant Gildea's class began "the Program." 

Could a rookie baseball player who was cut from 

his team in spring training be an authority on the playing of major league baseball? How well then could a 

23-week course be judged by a student who experienced only eight weeks of it? 

To understand the perspective from which Specialist Gildea viewed the Engineer OCS program, I did 

some homework, checking official records and interviewing several people to get an appreciation for the 

people and events that shaped his experiences during 

those two months. I concluded that his analysis was 

based on a very limited, restricted experience. But a 

point-by-point rebuttal would leave much unsaid. A 

positive approach would try to show what OCS was 

rather than dispute what it was not. 

Most of Specialist Gildea's misconceptions can be attributed to the fact that his judgments are based on the 

first eight weeks of the program. The junior and senior 

phases (which he did not experience) were far different from that underclass program, as I hope to make 

clear. In his nearsighted perspective, Specialist Gildea 

fails to see the differences between "means" and "ends." 

Certain elements of the program which seemed bothersome and pointless at the time had purposes which 

later became clear. 

To judge whether the officer candidate school accomplished its mission, we must first look at that mission. Then we should examine the way it went about 

executing its mission with what was called "the Program." Third, we need to judge the OCS graduates. 

DA Pamphlet 601-1 (The OCS Story) states: "Thc 

mission of Officer Candidate Schools is to develop competent leaders for the nation's Army. These schools 

emphasize the development of practical leadership, 

with special emphasis for male candidates on building 

physical stamina, and the mastery of tactics and weapons. The rigorous program of training and discipline 

furnishes the means of confirming whether a candidate 

possesses the potential ability to become a competent 

leader. The schools' further function is to develop this 

ability once it is recognized, by teaching the professional 

knowledge needed for successful leadership." 

This statement informs us that OCS has a dual mission, first to confirm a candidate's potential and then to 

develop it. 

The initial part of this mission, which included 

plebe and underclass phases, took up the first one-th11- 

of the 23-week program. During these two memorable 

months the candidate's mettle was tested. To the plebe 

it was a period marked by endless missions with never 

enough time to complete them. In these hectic weeks he 

learned how to "function," that is to plan, organize and 

efficiently use his time, manpower and resources-a 

very important lesson indeed! 

It was during this period that most of the candidates 

who would fail to complete the program were elirninated-victims of poor physical condition, lack of desire and motivation, or less frequently, lack of ability. 

At this point very few candidates, especially those 

who dropped out, realized what was really happening. 

It wasn't until much later in the program that "lessons 

learned" became clear. But toward the end of this 

phase there did appear to be hope for the bewildered 

candidates, some light at the end of the tunnel in the 

form of "white tabs" which signified the junior phase. 

In this middle stage a class was at its peak when it 

began to supervise an underclass of its own. This was 

a unique experience for most candidates, entirely different from sharing command positions among one's 

own peers. This was the first taste of leadership, 

It 

first 

was, 

real 

however, 

feeling for 

a time 

what 

to 

the 

make 

program 

mistakes. 

was 

The 

all ab 

canh 

dates made many mistakes, and paid the consequences 

for them. . . . And a few more candidates were dropped 

from the program. 

Then came "Operation Red Tab," the tactical exercise which led to senior status. It was now time to polish 

rough edges and assume greater responsibilities-company, battalion and regimental command positions. It 

was a time to assess one's progress through the many 

weeks of training. 

Only now did some of the obscure events of the 

early weeks make sense. The "switch-around-switch" for 

example, which at the time seemed nothing but harassment, served several purposes. This exercise tested a 

class's ability to organize and work as a team, and at 

the same time gave everyone a better chance to get to 

know all those men they were helping to evaluate. From 

the perspective of a senior, the candidate could see that 

this exercise and other training tactics were only 

"means" designed to achieve a specific "end," development of competent platoon leaders. By learning how to 

"function" early in the program, senior candidates were 

able to routinely accomplish tasks that a few weeks 

earlier seemed impossible. 

How many times did a senior stare in disbelie r\ 

members of a new class stumbled all over themsel, 
tP

attempting a simple mission and ask himself, "Did my 

s really look like that?" Newly developed skills, 

cipline, stamina and organizational abilities helped 

mold a candidate throughout the program to graduation, and on to his initial assignment as a second lieutenant. It becomes evident that even OCS itself was 

only a means designed to train a man to be a leader. 

It was not the OCS goal to mold a man to be a good 

ccmdidate, as an end in itself. 

One candidate's thoughts as he looked back on the 

program are revealed in an excerpt from a speech 

given the eve of his graduation in November, 1968. 

"Officer Candidate School has done something for us 

because it was a . . . succession of constant challenges 

that made us look closely at ourselves and others (and 

it) has given us a confidence in ourselves and the growing ability to 'keep our heads while all (those) about 

us are losing theirs.' The program has taught us to roll 

with the punches, to handle crises, to control men, to 

command respect-all necessary abilities of a platoon 

leader which we are now more qualified to be. Of 

course we're not perfectly qualified, no Program can 

profess to accomplish that mission. But at least we're 

the product(s) of a system designed to eliminate the 

totally unqualified and, more importantly, to develop 

the potential of the qualified. We have succeeded here 

r" success will stay with us, promoting greater suc-

,(es) in the future. OCS has done something . . . u~fferent for each one of us, but basically it has prepared 

us to do a better job as platoon leaders." 

Any article that attempts to convey the meaning of 

OCS but contains no mention of the black-capped, 

ever-present, never-satisfied group of men known as 

"tacs" would be anything but complete. Again the 

words of a candidate best describe the tactical officer 

and the role he played in OCS life. This description is 

taken from a presentation to Class 14-69, "These are 

the men who pushed us, men who drew from us the 

stuff necessary to make a good leader. There were 

times we inwardly cursed and briefly hated them 

(when) they did what they knew was necessary. The 

why of it is clear now. We admire them and what they 

have given us, and again we know pride. Pride that we 

have measured up to their standards, pride that we shall 

be treated as their equals even though they will always 

seem a bit taller, their expectations a little out of 

reach." 

But their expectations were reached! Whether at the 

rocky training sites of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 

or in the lush jungles of Vietnam, Engineer OCS graduates forged a distinguished record of accomplishment 

hich they can be justly proud. To their credit are 

hundreds of bridges of all descriptions, mile 

after mile of roads, plus countless other combat, 

military and civic-action construction projects that bear 

solid testimony to both their spirit and their skill. This 

prized record was won by the sweat, the blood, and in 

many cases the very lives of these young men. 

On December 10, 1967, the Distinguished Service 

Cross, the nation's second highest award for valor, was 

posthumously awarded to Second Lieutenant Robert E. 

Knad!e (Clearing The Way, Fall Issue, the engineer) 

for gallantry in action near Phu Li Bridge, Republic 

of Vietnam, where on October 9, 1967, just 10 days 

before his 22nd birthday, "he was mortally wounded 

while gallantly leading his men in the face of grave 

danger." A special exhibit honoring Lieutenant Knadle, 

December, 1966, graduate of Engineer OCS Class 2-67, 

is part of the OCS Hall of Fame in the Engineer Museum at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Hall of Fame 

honors all Engineer OCS graduates through recognition 

of achievements of its most distinguished graduates 

from the three eras marking the existence of Engineer 

OCS-World War IT, Korea and Vietnam. 

In all three programs the "end" was the same, but 

the "means" were varied. During the Vietnam era 

( 1966-70) the program was constantly being refined. 

In 1968 graduates were first commissioned in branches 

other than the Corps of Engineers. Graduates of the 

"Old Program" (that was everyone before your underclass) would hardly recognize the program of late 1970 

that saw underclass candidates without the traditional 

"beanhead" haircuts, when weekend passes were standard for all candidates after the second week. But all 

exterior trappings were secondary to the goal-training 

a competent second lieutenant. 

In the early days of the Vietnam buildup, OCS depended heavily on career-type enlisted men with prior 

service to fill its ranks, but after mid-1968 the typical 

candidate was a fresh-to-the-ranks college graduate. 

New means were required to achieve the same goal. Occasionally a "means" lingered after its usefulness had 

passed, but this should not be cause for forsaking the 

entire system. In the final analysis it can be judged 

that the Engineer Officer Candidate Program successfully completed its mission. 

Should a future conflict require for a fourth time 

that Engineer OCS be called into the service of its country, 1 would be proud to be a part of it again! e 

A May 1968 EOCS graduate, Captain Connor was 

a Tactical Oficer in the Engineer Oficer Candidate 

Regiment from June 1968 to May 1969 and again in 

June and July of 1970. Between OCR assignments, he 

served in Vietnam as a terrain intelligence officer with 

the Assistant Chief of Stafl for Intelligence (J-2), Military Assistance Command. Since July 1970 he has 

been a geology instructor, Dept. of Engineering Science, 

US Army Engineer School, Ft. Belvoir, Va. 
Qi 

Bridging 


LIMITED QUOTA EXISTS 

FOR OFFICERS TO TRAIN 

AS ROTARY WING AVIATORS 

APPLICATIONS ARE being accepted for officers to train as rotary wing aviators, but selections are being made 

on a best qualified basis. A decrease in warrant officer candidate flight training created a very limited need for commissioned officers to train in this field. To be eligible, officers must have less than 48 months commissioned service 

at time of entry and should have an above average performance record. Interested officers should consult AR 61 1-

110 for information or contact the Engineer Branch. 

SPECIAL PROGRAMS 

CAN ENHANCE 

OFFICERS CAREERS 

THE ARMY wants officers to become more aware of the opportunities special career programs afford qualified 

individuals. These programs are designed to develop and assign officers who are particularly well-qualified in c 

tain functional areas. Such areas are of special Army-wide importance, but do not fall within the development l'-l 

tern of a single career branch. Specialist programs have been established for careers in Atomic Energy, Automa, 

Data Processing, Comptroller, Foreign Area Specialty, Information, Logistics, Military Assistance, Operations Research/Systems Analysis (OR/SA), Procurement, and Research and Development. Army Regulations in the 614 

series describe the prerequisites, procedures for enrollment, education and training, career development, and specific positions associated with each program. Officers should consider the possibility of developing a specialty in 

addition to maintaining their branch competence. Interested individuals should review the AR's and contact their 

assignment officers to discuss how membership in a special career program could enhance their careers. Right now 

the Engineer Branch is primarily interested in having new members participate in the Logistics, Military Assistance, OR/SA, and Research and Development programs. 

THERE IS 

NO SECRET 

OR MAGIC OML 

MANY OFFICERS think there is something secret or magic about the OML (Order of Merit List). To set the 

record straight an OML is a merit ranking of officers of the same branch for a limited specific purpose. OML's establish the relative standing of an individual officer among his branch contemporaries to insure equal consideration in the identification of the best qualified officers when making career management decisions. OML's are prepared for specific purposes at specific times-such as recommendations for CGSC, graduate school, and so on. 

Therefore, any given OML will contain only the names of those officers who are eligible for the personnel action 

that is being considered. All career branches in OPD use the same general procedures to prepare OML's but no 

attempt is made to compare officers with their contemporaries in other branches. Major factors considered in the 

preparation of OML's include manner of performance as indicated on the officer's efficiency report, awards 

and decorations, combat experience, and military and civilian education. An officer's relative standing can change 

from one OML to another depending upon the particular group of officers with whom he is compared and 

purpose for which the cqmparison is made. Assignment officers can inform an individual during a normal coun: 

ling session whether he was recently considered for some opportunity and where he stood in that consideration. 
I 

n 


the Gap 

ARMY ENDEAVORS 


TO STABILIZE 


TOUR LENGTHS 


SHORT TOUR requirements have begun to drop for Engineer Officers and warrants. Greater stabilization has arrived now that the Army is cutting back its strength. Today, the Engineer Branch says that dependent tours in 

Europe should be three years and all Continental U. S. tours at least two years. Also tours with major commands 

and agencies are being stabilized to three years. It is interesting to note that only a year ago almost 25 percent of 

the officers in the Corps were serving in short tour areas. And as the drawdown in Vietnam continues, it is expected 

that many officers will not be permitted to complete their full tour there. Many will be pulled out without being 

able to complete five-sixths (10 months) of the tour. Even so, the Engineer Branch points out that any officer in 

this category will receive credit for a short tour regardless of the time he has spent in Vietnam provided the curtailment is for the convenience of the government. 

r 

CERTAIN PERSONNEL 

'ELIGIBLE FOR ASSIGNMENT 

,HOSTILE FIRE ZONES 

INDIVIDUALS BEING ASSIGNED to a hostile fire zone should check their status in regard to the following additional requirements for the area. If they have not had a dental check, they should insure that dental examinations 

are accomplished and appropriate dental care is completed in accordance with Chapter XIII, AR 40-3. If they 

are under 18 years of age at the time they are sche'duled to report to the oversea replacement station, they are ineligible for assignment in accordance with Paragraph 8-1, AR 614-30. If they are assigned to a country in which 

they were previously in a prisoner of war status, they are ineligible and should be deleted from the alert orders in accordance with Paragraph 8-1, AR 614-30. If they are credited with a tour in the Republic of Vietnam, they will 

not be involuntarily assigned to that country unless expressly affirmed by the Chief of Personnel Operations in accordance with AR 614-30 and AR 614-200. If they are sole surviving sons, they must sign a waiver indicating that 

no objection is interposed for the assignment in accordance with AR 614-75. If they have another family member in a Hostile Fire Zone, they may be eligible for a deferment. There also are other conditions involving immediate family members that may qualify them for deferment or exemption from assignment to a Hostile Fire Zone, 

in accordance with AR 614-30. 

UPDATED ARMY FILM 


GIVES BETTER SLANT 


TO GROWING ROLE OF EES 


THE FILM "EES, Key To Your Future" has been updated to more clearly portray the ever-growing role the Enlisted Evaluation System is serving under the Modern Volunteer Army concept. The film (MF12-5663) is now 

available at all field audiovisual centers. The importance of the Enlisted Evaluation System as a personnel management tool in the development of the soldier's career is dramatically portrayed. The film focuses attention on 

the responsibilities of the individual soldier, commanders, test control officers, personnel officers, and the U. S. 

?y Enlisted Evaluation Center toward the successful operation of the system. It explains how the system afthe individual soldier's future regarding such important personnel actions as promotions, award of proficiency 

pay, assignments, retention in service, and eligibility for reenlistment. 
if-