111-----------Personal Viewpoint 

Supporting CINCs in Peacetime 

The U.S. Army may be a key 

player in a bold, new program 

aimed at developing free, stable, and 

prosperous nations throughout the 

Western Hemisphere. This conceptual 

program will encompass the Department of Defense (DOD) and use existing flag units (general officer units 

from Army, Navy, and Air Force), and 

agencies affiliated within their functional responsibilities. These units 

will assist commanders in chief 

(CINC) during peacetime to support 

other government agencies, particularly the State Department and 

drug law enforcement agencies. 

The program has merit. Looking 

into the future need for U.S. armed 

forces, we see it is logical and practical for military organizations to 

support CINCs in nation assistance. 

While the Army and other DOD services now participate in nation assistance activities, many projects 

are accomplished independently, 

with little or no coordinated planning. Under the new, joint service 

concept, planning for all agencies 

will be coordinated, with the 

recipient country's U.S. ambassador 

assuming overall responsibility. 

Engineer Roles 

This article describes the part 

engineers will play, using 

Central and South America as a 

concept model. I will describe engineer unit/agency affiliation and 

tailoring for campaign planning, 

crisis response, and special studies 

in consonance with proposals 

being developed for nation assistance policies, doctrine, and training. With some modification, the 

program can be applied to medical, 

civil military cooperation (CIMIC), 

and logistical units. 

Let's define the major activities. 

Campaign planning includes 

the preparation of long-range engineer, country, and campaign plans, 

activity development and evaluation, 

and development of host nation 

civilian and military institutions. 

Planning support to the U.S. 

countemarcotics campaign will link 

nation assistance activities to 

countemarcotics operations. It will 

anticipate countemarcotics facility 

requirements as narco-trafficking 

routes migrate, and promote 

countemarcotics and nation assistance activities that support U.S. 

ambassadors' country plans. 

Engineers will ensure· that 

countemarcotics considerations are 

built into construction projects. For 

example, an airfield built by the 

Army as part of a nation assistance 

project will be located where it can 

later serve commercial traffic. Or, 

we will ensure that Army-built 

schools are complete packages, 

equipped with books and teachers. 

Crisis response augmentation 

includes assistance with natural 

disasters, noncombat and evacuation operations, and operations 

short of war. 

In a crisis, U.S. military forces 

will be augmented from the same 

organizations that provided the 

planning and host nation support. 

Functions performed by U.S. 

military will include damage surveys and assessments, emergency 

operations, contracting, and natural 

disaster and hazard mitigation. 

The U.S. will look for shortnotice, brief deployments of selected 

personnel to serve on joint task forces and to augment command staffs. 

Primary resources for these missions will be U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) South Atlantic 

Division, U.S. Air Force (USAF) Engineering and Services Center, and 

Navy Commander Construction 

Battalions Atlantic (COMCBLANT) 

and Naval Facilities Engineering 

Command (NAVFAC) in the 

Southern Command's (SOUTHCOM) administrative offices. 

Special studies include host nation infrastructure assessments, installation plans, and surveys ofU.S. 

and host nation owned facilities. 

Army personnel must be teachers 

as well as doers. We must ensure 

that host nation personnel participate to the maximum extent 

practical in all construction-related 

activities. Future host nation institution development must include 

opportunities to advance the 

capabilities of their military and 

civilian organizations. Seminars 

and short courses, exchange 

programs, and mobile training 

teams can provide training. We will 

tap engineer resources throughout 

DOD, including USACE laboratories, the Army Engineer 

School, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and Air Force Engineering and Services Center. 

Organization 

Requirements 

I n Central and South America, 

SOUTHCOM will take the lead 

in activity evaluation, selection, 

and execution. Support will be 

provided by the 412th Engineer 

Command, selected Army National 

Guard and Reserve engineer 

brigades, USACE South Atlantic 

Division, Navy COMCBLANT, 

NAVFAC, and Reserve Navy 

Facilities Command, and the 

USAF Engineering and Services 

Center. Key players and their 

functions are: 

The 412th Engineer Command 

will provide planning direction and 

continuity, and theater-level planning and support. It will maintain a 

(Continued on page 31) 

By Major General Michael A. Schulz, Jr. 
E . ~ Ju~ 1991ng1neer 

UNITED STATES ARMY 

ENGINEER CENTER AND 

FORT LEONARD WOOD 

COMMANDE~COMMANDANT 

Major General Daniel R. Schroeder 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Catherine Eubanks 

FEATURES EDITOR 

Phillip R. Howell, Jr. 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Jennifer C. Bolyard 

By Order of the Secretary of the Army: 

CARL E. VUONO 

General, United States Army 

Chief of Staff 

Official: 

PATRICIA P. HICKERSON 

Brigadier General, United States Army 

The Adjutant General 

Cover photo: Engineer monitors air at 

drilling construction site (photo by 

J.M.S. Co., Inc.). 

Volume 21 PB 5-91·3 

FEATURES 

4 Engineers and Environmental Protection 

by Lieutenant Colonel Christopher P. Werle 

9 Training and Fighting with the Saudis 

by Major John R. Jones, Captain Everett McDaniel and 

Captain Stephen R. Zeltner 

14 Tackling Hazardous Waste at Fort Bragg 

by Stephen J. Mackmull and George D. Sample 

18 Area Damage Control: The Forgotten Mission 

by Major Edward M. McClure 

24 Underground Storage Tanks: The Silent Menace 

by Scott Murrell 

28 Operation Cross My Heart 

by Major Thomas J. Kelly 

37 Terra Geode: The Army In Space 

by Captain John Karpiscak Ill 

49 A District's Environmental Learning Curve 

by Colonel Wilbur H. Boutin, Jr. 

53 Commanders and the 15-6 Investigation 

by Captain Andy K. Hughes 

DEPARTMENTS 

Inside Front Cover: Personal VIewpoint 

2 Clear the Way 

3 Bridge the Gap 

23 Engineer Safety 

32 Engineer Problem 

42 Lessons Learned 

44 Book Review 

45 Engineer Solution 

56 Engineer Update 

59 Past In Review 

ENGINEER (ISSN 0046·19890) Is prepared quanerly by the U.S. Army Engineer School, ATTN: ATSE-TDM-PB, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473-6650. 

Second Class postage Is paid at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, and additional ma'llng 

of11ces. 

of expertise. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily 

reflect official Army or TRADOC positions, nor does the content change or supersede information In other official Army publications. ENGINEER reserves the right 

to edit material. 

POSTMASTER; Send address changes to ENGINEER, the Professional Bulletin lor Army Engineers, ATTN: ATSE-TDM-PB, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473-

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DISCLAIMER: ENGINEER presents professional Information designed to keep 

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CONTENT Is not copyrighted. Material may be reprinted II credit Is given to 

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OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION Is targeted to all engineer and engineer-related 

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Superintendent of Documents. 

Engineer 1 
LEAR THE WAY 

By Major Daniel R. Schroeder, 

Commandant, U.S. Anny Engineer School 

When I assumed my duties as 47th Commandant of the U.S. Army Engineer School, I said 

that it was an exciting time to be an engineer soldier. 

I was honored to accept the position and the challenges that went with it. In retrospect, I may have underestimated just how exciting things would be. In the 

past three years we have witnessed sweeping changes in the world order. These changes provided opportunities and presented challenges that will carry 

our engineer community well into the future. 

The move to Fort Leonard Wood and establishment 

of the Engineer Center as "home" for our Regiment 

has been accomplished. We now provide great training at one location for all engineer soldiers, from 

private to colonel. We will continue to exploit our 

capabilities in this area. 

Engineer combat developments experienced unprecedented opportunities as the Army officially 

adopted the Engineer Restructure Initiative (ERI). 

Years of hard work were rewarded when our forces 

organized under ERI during Desert Storm and 

provided superb support to the combined arms 

team. The M9 ACE, which was fielded to many units 

during Desert Shield, proved itself and became a 

valued addition to our combat engineer capabilities. 

The successes of the CEV mine rake, countermine 

equipment, and other minefield breaching equipment 

are tributes to the dedicated efforts of combat 

developers. 

The understanding and application of topographical 

engineering operations in support of combat operations increased greatly in the past three years. The 

concept of automated graphic terrain visualization support at the tactical level was validated time and again 

as our forces deployed to fight at locations around 

the world. The Engineer School is on the cutting edge 

of this evolving technology and leads the way in 

developing it for use in Airland Operations. 

Our engineer doctrine is evolving from Airland 

Battle, with a primary focus on a strong forward 

defense in NATO, to Airland Operations, which 

focuses on power projection with global responsibilities across the operational continuum. During 

this evolution, engineer soldiers were employed in 

roles ranging from domestic support (counterdrug), 

disaster relief, and nation assistance, to low-intensity conflict and mid- to high-intensity coalition warfare. Sound, flexible doctrine has never been more 

important than it is today, as we prepare to meet 

2 Engineer 

future challenges. 

The dynamics of shaping a smaller Army while improving the professional development of officers and 

noncommissioned officers (NCO) has caused us to 

scrutinize accession criteria, training and operational 

assignment opportunities, and distribution of engineers. This effort coincides with the fielding of ERI. 

Rather than limiting opportunities, the new engineer 

force has a proportionally greater number of command and leadership positions for officers and NCOs. 

Quality performance in the full range of leader and 

staff assignments will continue to determine the successful progression of soldiers. And for those who 

demonstrate excellence, the opportunities for school, 

promotion, and special assignments will be available 

at nearly the same rates as today. 

The competitive edge of the engineer force has 

never been better. The quality of new enlisted soldiers and junior officers has improved with tougher 

standards for enlistment and commissioning. The accomplishments in southwest Asia reflect these new 

standards in soldier development. 

The Army's top priority now is to shape the force 

for the future as its size decreases by as much as 25 

percent, while maintaining a structure capable of timely response to every contingency. Engineers must 

maintain the ability to meet these challenges. We 

must attract and retain high quality personnel; maintain forward-looking warfighting doctrine; continue 

tough, realistic training; sustain modernization; and 

develop competent. confident leaders. 

The foundations for this work are sound. Thanks to 

the unselfish, dedicated efforts of many people, 

military, civilian, and contractor, your engineer force is 

a respected member of the combined arms team. 

Maneuver commanders are our strongest advocates 

for the improvements required to bring our 

capabilities up-to-date. The heritage of this great 

school and the engineer force is the result of the 

work of our predecessors, to whom we owe our continued dedicated efforts. To them, and those who still 

labor in our vineyard, I give my respect and appreciation for your loyal support during my tenure. 

Many of you know my successor, General Dan 

Christman, who is a distinguished soldier. I am sure 

he will continue our tradition of solid training and 

responsive support to the field. General Christman is 

uniquely well qualified to be the engineer proponent 

as we embark into what I believe will be a watershed 
By Command Sergeant Major w. E. Woodall 

u.s. Anny Engineer School 

With all the changes taking place within the 

Army and throughout the world, it is important 

that we noncommissioned officers (NCO) retain a 

clear picture of our mission. We must continue to 

meet today's challenges, as we have in the past, with 

professionalism and a ''we can do it" attitude. 

Whatever the future brings, we must remain flexible 

and eager to meet the challenge. 

We noncommissioned officers are the best trained 

and most highly qualified group of soldiers the Army 

has ever produced. The performance of engineer 

NCOs in support of the Gulf War effort was outstanding, and reflects our dedication and pride in supporting the Commander in Chief. 

As I reflect on the qualities that make an outstanding NCO, the terms ''technical competence" and ''tactical proficiency" come to mind. These terms best 

describe the attributes NCOs need to succeed in a 

changing environment. I will take this opportunity to 

stress the importance of these attributes, and to 

describe what NCOs must do to prepare for an everchanging future. 

Technical competence, as related to our ranks, is a 

combination of schooling, job assignments, and selfdevelopment. It includes both formal and informal 

civilian and military education that develops specific 

job-related skills and leadership abilities. 

To remain competitive in the NCO system, you 

must continually seek jobs that require training at the 

next level higher than your current pay grade. It is not 

enough to wait for training to be scheduled. Take the 

initiative by enrolling in service school correspondence courses or courses in the civilian education 

system. 

Technical competence is more than being able to 

perform your tasks. It is the building block of confidence, respect, and trust your soldiers will have in 

you as a leader. Because it is essential for soldiers to 

have confidence in their leaders, you must set an ex-

(Clear the Way, continued) 

period in our history. Give him the same loyal support 

you have demonstrated to me and my predecessors, 

and I am confident engineers will continue to Clear 

the Way. 

ample by taking advantage of every training opportunity. You must encourage your soldiers to identify 

their shortcomings and then eliminate those shortcomings through remedial or advanced training. 

Some soldiers fail to graduate from basic or advanced courses because they lack the reading, comprehension, or mathematical skills needed to understand the instruction. If you see a soldier having 

difficulty with basic skills, encourage him or her to enroll in remedial courses that will strengthen them. To 

develop future leaders in light of current decreasing 

resources challenges us to take advantage of every 

developmental opportunity. 

Tactical proficiency refers to knowledge of tasks 

critical to our current warfighting doctrine. These are 

the skills NCOs need to survive on the battlefield. Tactical proficiency is essential to meeting our mission, 

and it requires tough, realistic training at home stations and at combat training centers. 

We must ensure that every NCO is prepared to 

deploy anywhere, at any time, to fulfill our national 

defense needs. To achieve this proficiency requires 

that we take the initiative to train ourselves in critical 

tasks and encourage others to do the same. We 

must take the initiative for our self-development as opportunities occur to prepare for battlefield contingencies. Training at each of the schools in the NCO eduction system is another building block in preparing 

NCOs for success in their military mission. 

Leader development is our business. I ask senior 

NCOs to provide their soldiers opportunities to be successful. Give them all the responsibilities they can handle, and hold them responsible for their actions. Above 

all, do not compromise the Army's professional standards. If we do these things, NCOs will be prepared to 

meet, with confidence, any change the future brings. 

CSM Woodall assumed duties as TRADOC Command Sergeant Major in May 1991. 

One parting comment: Do not forget the nature of 

your business-it is warfighting! That is, to support 

combined arms operations across the continuum. 

Keep the sapper spirit alive and there is no challenge 

we cannot overcome. Essayons! 

Engineer 3 
By Lieutenant Colonel Christopher P. Werle 

Over the last 20 years, the environmental 

conscience of this nation has experienced 

an unprecedented awakening. As members of the 

global society, we have moved our environmental 

concerns to the forefront. We have an increased 

sensitivity to diminishing resources and the potentially disastrous impact of continued indifference 

and neglect. As a result, legislators have enacted 

statutory requirements to control potentially harmful industrial activities in the public and private 

sectors. Toward that end, the Congress, enforcement agencies, and the public have clearly stated 

that federal facilities should be models of compliance to these guidelines. 

As one of the largest federal real estate holders 

(over 2,000 installations on more than 24 million 

acres of land), the Army is keenly aware of its 

responsibilities in the areas of environmental 

protection and enhancement. In 

consonance with its defense mission, the Army has established an 

environmental management 

policy that will ensure the longterm protection of the land and 

resources entrusted to its care. 

Issued jointly by the Secretary 

of the Army and Chief of Staff, 

this policy charges the Army with 

being the environmental leader 

within DOD. It mandates that 

taking care of the environment is 

a necessary cost of business that 

must be fully integrated into 

all aspects of mission accomplishment. 

Technicians from the Army Corps of Engineers check decontaminated pipe used 

for a test well on a hazardous waste site (U.S. Army photo). 

A key concept inherent in this 

policy is that our actions must be 

"environmentally sustainable." 

That is, we must enable mission 

accomplishment without compromising the environmental integrity of future generations. 

4Engineer 
To ensure proper focus and continued development of this program, the Army has established 

a comprehensive, forward-looking military environmental program. Falling under the purview of the Chief of Engineers, day-to-day 

management is provided by the Office of the Assistant Chief of Engineers, the Army Environmental Office, and the Army Corps of Engineers' 

Directorate of Military Programs. Funded for 

FY91 at more than $1.2 billion, it addresses the 

major functional areas of compliance, restoration, prevention, and stewardship. It also 

provides for incorporating military programs, 

civil works, and support for other agencies. 

Environmental Compliance 

A ,.my installations and facilities are reuired to comply fully with all applicable 

federal, state and local environmental statutes 

and regulations. Because there are more than 

50 major federal environmental statutes on the 

books, with more being introduced every year, 

total compliance is a challenging and sometimes 

elusive goal. 

To help meet its responsibilities, the Army established the Environmental Compliance 

Achievement Program (ECAP), which is funded 

for FY91 at $364 million. ECAP is an umbrella 

program which integrates the five basic steps 

needed to achieve and maintain environmental 

compliance: training, planning and programming, resourcing, assessing, and correcting 

deficiencies. The program addresses all environmental areas (except restoration), and ensures 

that the Army will: 

Preparing a monitoring well for insertion of tubing (U.S. Army 

photo). 

• Program adequate funding and resources. 

• Require and provide environmental training. 

• Develop reports on compliance status and improvement efforts. 

• Provide technical assistance to installations 

for implementing the program. 

• Reduce the production of hazardous waste. 

• Monitor expenditures on the program. 

• Track environmental compliance issues. 

• Recognize outstanding environmental effvrts 

by installations and employees through an 

awards program. 

The ECAP concept incorporates provisions of 

the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969. NEPA requires that all federal agencies consider the environmental impact of their actions, 

and take positive steps to eliminate or mitigate 

operations that have an adverse environmental 

impact. 

A key element of ECAP is the newly established 

Environmental Compliance Assessment System 

(ECAS). Essentially an expanded auditing program, ECAS determines how well Army installations are complying with applicable federal, state, 

local and host nation environmental regulations. 

Under this program, environmental compliance assessments are conducted for installations every 

four years by an independent agency. Internal, or 

self audits, are conducted at the mid-point of 

every four-year cycle. Such assessments help installations identify deficiencies, develop corrective 

action plans, and manage their program resources 

in order to achieve compliance. While auditing has 

always been required, it was not always effectively 

implemented because of budget constraints. The 

ECAS program will formally begin in FY92, and 

will receive about $25 million in funding. 

EngineerS 
Environmental Restoration 

""'e magnitude of the hazardous waste prob-

~ l~m in this country is so great that it almost 

defies comprehension. In addition to what's buried 

in thousands of disposal sites nationwide, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 

that our country generates 700,000 tons of hazardous wast e every day-<>r more than 250 million 

tons a year. Of that figure, the Army generates 

some 100,000 tons a year, chiefly through its industrial operations within the Army Materiel 

Command. 

Recognizing that federal laws were needed to address the potential dangers of abandoned hazardous waste sites, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and 

Liability Act (CERCLA). As the first major piece of 

legislation to address the problem on a national 

level, CERCLA has these key objectives: 

• To hold responsible parties liable, where possible, for the cost of cleaning up hazardous 

waste sites. 

• To establish a $1.6 billion Hazardous Waste 

Trust Fund (Superfund) to enable site 

cleanup when responsible parties cannot be 

found, and to respond to emergencies involving hazardous materials. 

• To foster improved scientific and technological capabilities to deal with hazardous waste 

management, treatment, and disposal. 

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 clarified that "each depart6Engineer 

An underground 

storage tank is inspected after 

removal from a 

contaminated site 

(U.S. Army photo). 

ment, agency, and instrumentality of the United 

States ... " was required to comply procedurally and 

substantively with the statute to the same extent 

as private companies. 

While this was clearly a landmark piece of legislation, it was upstaged by Army efforts to deal 

with hazardous waste sites. In 197 4, a full six 

years before the Superfund law was enacted, the 

Army initiated the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), which is now part of the larger 

Defense Environmental Restoration Program 

(DERP). Funded for FY91 at $287 million, the IRP 

is designed to identify and remedy contamination 

from hazardous substances and wastes at all 

Army installations. Army policy under the IRP is 

to clean up sites on a "worst first" basis. To date, 

17,482 sites on 1,855 installations have been surveyed to determine what needs to be done. While 

only about 40 percent of these installations will ultimately require cleanup, the large number of 

sites surveyed is testimony to the thoroughness of 

the IRP program. By the end of FY90, the Army 

had completed cleanup on 130 sites. 

In some cases, site contamination h as been extensive enough to warrant placement on the National Priorities List (NPL) by the Environmental 

Protection Agency. Currently, the Army has 36 

NPL sites located at 32 installations. Federal 

Facility Agreements (FFA) have been negotiated 

at 22 of these sites, and we're making good 

progress on the remainder. FFAs serve as 

regulatory "blueprints" for facility cleanup. They 

also provide for state and EPA oversight of the 

cleanup process, and, in most cases, reimbursement for states' cleanup costs. 

In addition to managing its own pr ogram, the 
Army serves as executive agent for DOD in 

managing the Formerly Used Defense Sites 

(FUDS) program. Under FUDS, some 7,000 

additional sites are being surveyed for possible cleanup operations. Surveys have been 

completed on 2,400 sites, with 1, 700 found 

to need no further actiori. Of the remainder, 

85 have been cleaned up. FY91 resources 

dedicated to the FUDS program total $87 

million. 

It's important to note that the majority of 

environmental contamination problems on 

today's Army installations originated many 

years ago. At that time, the Army was in 

full compliance with applicable environmental laws. Unfortunately, we now know that 

the old laws were inadequate. 

While work done under the IRP has been 

an expensive and sometimes necessarily 

slow process, we're confident the Army is 

doing the right thing to repair the damage. 

Our goal is to have cleaned up-or at least 

initiated cleanup on-all contaminated sites 

by the turn of the century. 

Prevention 

M ost environmental legislation over 

the past 20 years has been geared 

toward controlling pollution. That is, pollutants are permitted to enter the environment in reduced concentrations, or hazardous wastes are placed in landfills designed to 

eliminate or reduce their detrimental effects. 

While this philosophy has done much to limit 

the uncontrolled spread of contamination, it 

A Corps geologist checks contaminated soil brought to the surface 

by a drilling rig (U.S. Army photo). 

has done little to actually preclude the introduction 

of waste materials into the environment. 

The Army believes that prevention must be the 

focus of our efforts over the next 20 years. In 

other words, if we limit waste generation, our disposal and containment problems are similarly 

reduced. To do that, we have initiated several 

programs aimed at reducing the amount of hazardous materials used in daily operations. 

One of our key initiatives is the Hazardous Waste 

Minimization (HAZMIN) program. Instituted in 

1984, it established the Army's goal of reducing hazardous waste generation 50 percent by the end of 

1992. Methods being employed under this program 

include recycling, using non-hazardous materials in 

place of hazardous ones, modifying specifications for 

system acquisition, developing more stringent 

procurement policies, improving material tracking, 

and improving our knowledge and use of new waste 

reduction technologies. 

In addition, the Army recently completed 

development of a 5-year Integrated Hazardous 

Material/Hazardous Waste Management Plan 

(HM/HW). Under this plan, we have identified 13 

major areas where additional emphasis is needed 

to streamline and improve the overall effectiveness of our efforts at controlling waste materials. 

Other ongoing and planned activities include precious metal recovery, recycling used oil, and the 

Used Solvent Elimination (USE) program. 

Stewardship 

T n the traditional sense, stewardship relates to 

.IJ;roper land management, including the preservation of cultural, natural and archaeological 

resources. Programs like Integrated Training Area 

Management (!TAM) help us identify environmentally sensitive areas on each installation. This 

helps us make smart environmental decisions as 

Engineer 7 
we plan and develop training ranges, maneuver 

areas, and other capital improvements. 

But from a larger perspective, being good 

stewards means that we also comply with environmental laws and regulations as a normal way of 

doing business. It also requires that we clean up 

our past mistakes, take positive steps to prevent 

recurrences, and pursue new ways to reduce the 

amount of pollution we generate. It means that we 

need to be more sensitive to the potential impact 

of our operations on our country. 

To further this stewardship philosophy, the 

Army is working hard to improve communications 

with other federal agencies as well as the general 

public. It's hoped that mutual understanding of environmental problems and programs will foster 

greater involvement and commitment among all 

parties. 

Program Initiatives 

The Army is committed to the long-term 

development and continued effectiveness of 

environmental programs. To support that dedication, we have completed or initiated these major 

programs: 

• Revised AR 200-1, Environmental Protection 

and Enhancement. 

• Published Commander's Guide to Environmental Management. 

• Established new tracking procedures to provide better management of environmental 

compliance funds. 

• Established an environmental "hotline." 

• Established an Army Automated Environmental Management Information System 

(AAEMIS) to provide needed management 

tools. 

• Established an Army Environmental 

Response and Information Center (ERIC). 

• Established a Senior Executive Environmental Council to foster a proactive stance in anticipating future requirements and implementing needed policies. 

• Developing an Army Environmental Training 

Master Plan to promote environmental awareness in the Army community. 

• Developing an environmental career management field staffing guide. 

• Developing an increasingly effective support 

structure to provide environmental support to 

installations. 

8 Engineer 

Strategy for the Future 

The Army is moving toward the next century 

with a sound environmental program. But 

we recognize that there are many challenges still 

before us. Our key areas of focus will be prevention, developing a more proactive compliance program, and fostering better public understanding 

and support of our efforts. 

To provide the proper foundation and impetus 

for our efforts, we're working hard to develop a 

comprehensive environmental strategy through 

the auspices of the Senior Environmental Leadership Conference (SELC), and the Defense and Environment Initiative (D&EI). The strategy will be 

centered on an assessment of the next decade's 

major environmental concerns; the programs 

needed to meet those concerns; scheduling actions 

and funding for DERA; assessment of federal, 

state and local requirements and their impact on 

operations, and a detailed analysis of all available 

environmental information. 

While the future will undoubtedly bring changing missions for the Army, the goal of its environmental program will remain the protection and enhancement of our country and its resources. 

The need to achieve this goal is well illustrated 

by the theme of the Army's Senior Environmental 

Leadership Conference: 

"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, 

We borrow it from our children." W 

Lieutenant Colonel Werle is serving with the 

Kuwait Reconstruction Task Force in the Persian 

Gulf. He was formerly assigned to the Army Environmental Office in Washington, D.C. Previous 

assignments include command and staff positions 

in Europe, Turkey and Conus, and a TrainingWith-Industry tour with the Environmental Protection Agency. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Virginia State University, and a 

master's degree in environmental engineering from 

Virginia Tech. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia. 

Readers wishing to comment on material appearing in 

ENGINEER are encouraged to address their 

comments to: ENGINEER Professional Bulletin, AlTN: 

ATSE-TDM-PB, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473-6650. 

Selected correspondence may be used in the bulletin's 

upcoming "Letters to the Editor" department. 
[/raining anJ 'Fighting 

with the SauJis 

By Major John R. Jones, Captain Everett McDaniel and 

Captain Stephen R. Zeltner 

On August 2, 1990, Iraq 

swept through Kuwait and 

massed combat units within 

striking distance of Saudi 

Arabia. To help counter the 

threat of invasion, and provide 

time for outside assistance to arrive, the Saudi Arabian King 

Abdul Aziz Brigade (KAAB), a 

National Guard infantry unit, 

moved to the Kuwaiti 

border. Within 24 

hours, the Saudis were 

conducting a screening 

mission along a 60-

kilometer (km) front. 

We were fortunate 

enough to have the opportunity to deploy with 

the brigade, an assignment arranged through 

the Office of the Program Manager-Saudi 

Arabian National Guard 

(OPM-SANG). An American agency headquartered 1

in Riyadh, 

OPM-SANG provides 

assistance to the Saudi 

Arabian National 

Guard. The agency was 

agreement which provides for the 

modernization of SANG. The 

agency is composed of 55 military 

and 134 civilian personnel with 

widely diverse training and experience backgrounds. 

One of us (Major Jones) was assigned full-time to OPM-SANG at 

the outbreak of hostilities, with 

normal duties focused on the planning, design and construction of 

SANG facilities. When it became 

clear that wartime advisors were 

needed, two captains from Fort 

Leonard Wood (McDaniel and 

Zeltner) were deployed to assist 

OPM-SANG. The three of us were 

then deployed with the Saudi 

brigade. The senior man served as 

primary engineer advisor to the 

formed to support a 1974 An American advisor conducts M17A2 protective mask training with soldiers from Saudi 

U.S.-Saudi cooperative Arabia's King Abdul Azlz Brigade (KAAB) (U.S. Army photo). 

Engineer 9 
It I LtJ ~ I I 

•• ••• ••• Pe..onnel 

8- Olflcers 

233 - Enlisted 8 ~ E1 

EqulpiNnl 

19 - V150 Armored Personnel Carriers 

8 - 5 Ton Dump Trucks 

2 • 07 Bulldozers 

4 - 2.5 Cubic Yard Scoop Loaders 

1- Blwkhoe 

2 - Road Graders 

20 - .50 Calber Machine Guns 

brigade , while the other two 

served as company advisors. 

Unlike the U.S. Army National 

Guard, SANG is a full-time force. 

It is capable of conducting shortnotice operations anywhere in the 

Saudi kingdom. Commanded by 

Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul 

Aziz AI Saud, heir apparent to the 

throne, SANG is known as the 

"Ikwan," which means "brotherhood" in English. It is composed 

primarily of intensely loyal 

Bedouin tribesmen totally dedicated to the royal family, the nation, and Islam. Major missions 

include protection of vital installations such as oil refineries, industria l fa cilities, and communications installations. 

Training 

Our initial task was to gain 

the trust of our Saudi allies. 

Taking a cue from Special Forces doctrine, we quickly learned 

their customs and traditions. We 

lived with the unit, ate the same 

food, learned their language, and 

suffered the same hardships. We 

also took a participatory approach 

to training that attempted to combine our own knowledge with the 

10 Engineer 

The King Abdul Azlz Brigade 

Saudis' extensive desert experience. Initially, progress was 

slow, but as the Saudis' began to 

see their accomplishments taking 

shape, pride and comradery soon 

followed. 

In the early days of the crisis, 

the KAAB was the only combat 

force on the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. 

With much of the brigade's attention focused on the Iraqi forces stationed only a few miles away, any 

time given to training had to be 

very battle-focused. Working with 

the Saudi engineer company officers, we helped develop company 

rmss1on essential task lists 

(METLs), and prioritized defenseoriented missions. Leader training 

with the Saudi officers included 

terrain walks throughout the 

brigade sector, and the development of a brigade barrier plan. 

As Operation Desert Shield took 

shape, our training activities 

focused on countermobility and 

survivability operations. With the 

increased allied buildup, the possibility of a coalition offensive 

called for even more intense training. A realistic training area was 

needed to provide the Saudis with 

advanced defensive and offensive 

operations. To accomplish this, we 

recommended to the KAAB commander that his engineers build a 

full-scale, company-sized Iraqi 

strongpoint to facilitate realistic 

training. He approved, and the 

resulting construction proved a 

valuable training tool-not only 

for the Saudi sappers, but for the 

brigade's infantry units as well. 

Because of time constraints, construction and training assistance 

for the project was provided by the 

Marine Corps' 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, and the Army's 

7th Engineer Support Battalion. 

Such joint cooperation boosted 

the training efforts. The Army's 

307th Engineer Battalion also conducted interoperability training 

with the KAAB, focusing on individual engineer skills and several 

crew and collective tasks. The 37th 

Engineer Battalion provided the 

Saudi's with extensive training on 

dismounted and mounted breaching operations. The use of live antitank mines, anti-personnel mines, 

and other demolitions provided the 

Saudi engineers with the most 

realistic training they had ever 

conducted. They performed superbly, and built a renewed confidence 

in their ability to support the 

brigade's offensive operations. 

To overcome some shortages of 

equipment and other resources, we 
Top: Gaining the trust and acceptance of the Saudi soldiers was the 

first step for the advisors. Here, 

Saudi spiced coffee Is served during 

a break In training (U.S. Army photo). 

Right: A KAAB soldier prepares Iraqi 

mines for demolition (U.S. Army 

photo). 

had to do some quick improvising. 

For example, a field-expedient 

minefield marking system was 

developed with locally available 

materials. Grappeling hooks were 

also in short supply, and were 

needed to support breaching training and operations. Using re-bar 

and nylon rope, and working with 

a local American contractor, we 

were able to fabricate enough 

hooks to outfit the Saudis. 'Tho, 

there were no mine probes for the 

sappers. A quick survey of available 

equipment resulted in a decision to 

carve up some Saudi bamboo tent 

posts into 18-inch probes. 

Fighting 

A !Ol Desert Shield turned to 

~torm, it was time to see if 

the hard work and training had 

paid off. The answer came quickly. 

Twenty-four hours prior to the 

---

start of the ground offensive, the 

Saudi sappers got the mission to 

prepare breach lanes through a 

complex Iraqi obstacle consisting 

of a tank ditch, berm and cyclone 

fence. This obstacle marked the 

southern edge of the SaudiKuwaiti border. The Saudis are 

not equipped to conduct mounted 

breaching operations. They lack 

mineplows, minerollers, and 

mine-clearing charges. Even so, 

the KAAB sappers executed the 

breach superbly. The combat engineer platoons provided site 

security, while engineer equipment platoons cleared and marked 

six 10-meter-wide breach lanes 

through the obstacle. 

For its part in the initial allied 

ground offensive, the KAAB's orders called for the unit to conduct 

a supporting attack into Kuwait. 

They had to secure the sector, and 

clear the coastal highway for use 

as the coalition's main supply 

route (MSR) into Kuwait City. 

Without quick repair of the severely damaged highway, resupply of 

ammunition, fuel and water would 

Engineer 11 
12 Engineer 

be severely hampered. 

On the morning of February 24, 

1991, one of the KAAB's motorized 

infantry battalions, supported by 

two sapper platoons, moved 

through the breaches and into 

Kuwait. As the infantry secured 

the first line of Iraqi defensive 

positions, the sappers began clearing mines along the highway, 

reconnoitering the area for 

minefields, and marking unexploded ordnance. Once the area 

was secured, an engineer equipment platoon began MSR repair 

and clearing operations. Other 

KAAB sappers initiated mine 

clearing operations along the 

Kuwaiti coast. 

The coastal highway in Kuwait 

is an asphalt, six-lane, divided 

highway. Iraqi combat engineers 

had destroyed the three northbound lanes, making a near-term 

repair effort an act of futility. The 

three southbound lanes had been 

cut, tank

-ditch-style, about every 

100 meters (m) over the first three 

kilometers. Over the succeeding 

7km, they were partially cut at the 

same interval. Destroyed Iraqi 

combat vehicles littered the MSR, 

and several artillery craters in the 

Top: Saudi engineers display the 

different types of 

Iraqi mines and 

munitions they 

recovered during 

their breaching and 

clearing operations 

In Kuwait. 

Left: A KAAB infantry squad 

celebrates their victory after the battle 

for the town of AIKhafjl (U.S. Army 

photos by CPT 

Zeltner). 
highway hindered repair progress. 

Within a few hours of starting 

work, the Saudi engineers had 

opened one-way traffic. By 

nightfall, they had opened two 

lanes of the highway, allowing 

both north and south-bound traffic. Other KAAB sappers continued breaching operations, 

clearing a 1,500m minefield, and 

widening breach lanes through 

several minefields adjacent to the 

MSR. 

Over the next two weeks, the 

Saudis continued their clearing 

and cleanup operations. They 

filled in more than 3km of the infamous "fire trench" within the 

first Iraqi defensive belt. They also 

cleared an additional 6km of Iraqi 

minefields, destroying over 14,000 

anti-tank and anti-personnel 

mines in the process. Tons ofunexploded ordnance were also 

destroyed. 

The Saudi sappers' achievements 

were extraordinary. Both the Saudi 

and Kuwaiti royal families, as well 

as senior American officials, applauded their accomplishments. 

Eight months of tough, realistic 

training had paid off. The Saudi 

engineers returning from the battlefield were a significantly improved fighting force. 

While we hope our engineer expertise played a small part in their 

success, we think another factor 

Left: Iraqi forces severely damaged the south· 

bound lane of Kuwait's 

coastal highway, the 

main supply route 

(MSR) for the coalition 

forces. The northbound 

lane was completely 

destroyed (U.S. Army 

photo by CPT Zeltner). 

Lower Left: Members of 

the advisory team 

prepare captured munitions for demolition 

(U.S. Army photo). 

deserves a significant portion of 

the credit: the warrior spirit of the 

Saudi soldiers. The men with 

whom we lived and worked were 

true warriors who had the will to 

close with and destroy the enemy. 

That kind of spirit is something 

that can't be taught. And because 

of it, we also returned from the 

battlefield as better soldiers. W 

Major Jones served as senior en· 

gineer advisor to the KAAB. He normally serves as engineer branch 

chief, OPM-SANG. Previous engineer assignments include tours 

with the New York District, and the 

3rd Armored Division. He holds a 

masters degree in civil engineering 

from Pennsylvania State University, 

and is a graduate of Command and 

General Staff College. 

Captain McDaniel served as an engineer company advisor in the 

KAAB. He is assigned to the 589th 

Engineer Battalion at Fort Leonard 

Wood. Previous assignments include 

duties with the lOlst Airborne 

Division (Air Assault), and the 8th 

Infantry Division. 

Captain Zeltner served as an engineer company advisor in the 

KAAB. He is assigned to the 87th 

Engineer Battalion at Fort Leonard 

Wood. Previous assignments include 

company commander and battalion 

Sl I S4 I S4. He also served as company executive officer and platoon 

leader with the 197th Infantry 

Brigade. 

Engineer 13 
Tackling Hazardous Waste 

At Fort Bragg 

By Stephen J. Mackmull and George D. Sample 

When Fort Bragg found itself with no less than ten 

hazardous waste sites, an 

avalanche of regulatory requirements, and an impending environmental nightmare on their 

hands-they knew it was time to 

tackle the problem head-on. 

When the post issued its first 

Installation Hazardous Waste 

Management Plan in June 

1990, in coordination with 

state and federal environmental officials, it found that 

the administrative requirements for ten separate waste 

sites were a headache. The 

plan requires the designation 

of waste accumulation site 

managers and weekly inspection of each site by these 

managers. In addition, it 

calls for monthly site inspections by the major unitlactivity environmental coordinator, and quarterly 

inspections by the post. The 

plan also requires training 

for all inspectors and 

A DEH employee takes a 

sample from an "unknown" 

fluid brought to their hazardous waste storage site. 

14 Engineer 

managers, and annual recertification of these personnel. Since most 

managers and inspectors are frequently rotated military personnel, the training requirement 

alone was seen as a significant 

l;mrden to the post. 

Th better manage their hazardous waste program, the post's 

Directorate of Engineering and 

Housing (DEH) decided to build an 

accumulation site to consolidate 

waste storage, utilization and disposal. In addition to eliminating 

Fort Bragg's relatively large number of dispersed sites, the single 

facility allows better management 

of waste materials, provides adequate security, and eases the job of 

transferring the waste. 
Top: Fort Bragg's new hazardous waste storage facility. The site provides better 

control and monitoring of hazardous materials, and Improved safety for post 

employeH and residents. 

Above: A forklift eases the job of moving large drums of material Inside the facility. 

Site Design 

The site was designed by 

DEH's Design Branch, 

in cooperation with the 

organization's Environmental 

Branch. The storage area, or 

pad, measures 30 feet by 60 

feet. The floor is 4-inch-thick, 

3,000 pounds-per-square-inch 

(PSI) concrete, with a 6-inch 

curb surrounding the entire 

pad. The pad has two sealed 

sumps, 24 by 24 by 24 inches, 

to catch any spills from 

stored materials. 

The facility has no walls, 

and the roof-with its 36-inch 

overhang-is supported by 18 

6-inch by 6-inch timbers. The 

site includes two fluorescent 

light fixtures, and one 110-volt 

electrical outlet. All electrical 

items are vapor-tight, industrial cast aluminum. A 

freeze-proof safety shower and 

eye wash assembly was also installed at one corner of the pad. 

Drainage is maintained within 

the pad's 6-inch curb, for obvious safety reasons. 

Engineer 15 
Typical e• thlcl! 6" high concrete curbing with three 

14 rebara. Curb typical lor lull perimeter of alab. 

Slab edge Ia minimum 2" above grade 

Typical ramp slope Ia 1" per 12" Level section 

Typical ~ ret..., water stope at any Joint In concrete forming. ea.t Iron 

storm e-r grate. 

Provide ateeHingle reaming 

around perimeter of aumpe lor grate to rast In 

,.....---- 8"---...---- 6"-----, Typlcal4" concrete alab with 6116-10110 

welclad wire r.brlc. Steel trowel ID smooth llnltlh, slope to aumpe1/4" per 12" Grade line 

4" gravel and vapor barrier 

Concrete looting with one 14 rebar 

Section through ramp, curbing and sump pits 

A 9-foot-wide concrete ramp 

leading to the pad allows personnel to move hazardous materials 

by forklift. The site is surrounded 

by a 7-foot-high chain-link fence, 

topped with barbed wire. The 

ground between the storage pad 

and the fence is covered with 

crushed rock. 

Waste Sources 

M ost of the toxic and hazardous waste used or 

generated at Fort Bragg is tightly controlled, and is part of a 

"continuous waste stream" system. That is, it comes from sources that generate such waste as 

part of their daily operations. 

Such materials include waste 

paints, used photographic chemicals, chemical cleaning solutions, 

and used oils. These wastes are 

carefully collected, placed in appropriate containers, tested to 

ensure their chemical composition, and then transported to the 

Fort Bragg Defense Reutilization 

and Management Office (DRMO). 

Civilian waste disposal companies, under contract with 

DRMO, then take charge of this 

waste. 

The rest of the hazardous waste, 

and the kind most often handled 

16 Engineer 

at the accumulation site, is usually the result of what we call "onetime events." For example, a particular job on the post may require 

the use of a toxic chemical, a toxic 

solution may result from mixing 

two or more chemicals, or 

suspected toxic material is found 

somewhere on the installation. 

Such materials often come from 

cleanup operations, and include 

decontamination solution No. 2 

(DS-2), and supertropical bleach 

(STB). 

One of the biggest sources of 

toxic waste is the so-called 

"mystery drums." This catch-all 

phrase includes long-forgotten 

containers of various sizes found 

in wooded areas, behind barracks, 

in motor pools, and any other conceivable location. These containers are usually rusted and unlabeled, requiring storage in the 

accumulation site while tests are 

made to determine the contents. 

Sometimes, new containers are 

mislabeled, posing a potential 

toxic risk to employees. Recently a 

motor pool labeled a group of containers as "used lead-acid battery 

electrolyte." However, a spot check 

by a waste management contractor found that several containers 

did not contain battery acid-but 

another potentially dangerous 

chemical. This batch of chemicals 

was placed in the "unknown" section of the accumulation site to 

await analysis. 

Waste Disposition 

T he accumulation site's pad 

is divided into pallet-sized 

storage zones (see illustration 

next page), with specific areas 

for flammables, corrosives, 

oxidizers, reactives, and unknown materials. 

Incoming wastes are placed in 

the appropriate storage zone for 

up to 90 days. "Mystery" containers are sampled and analyzed. 

When the test results are known, 

the material is moved to the 

proper zone to await removal. 

Material in deteriorated containers is repacked and labeled 

correctly for subsequent transfer. 

Most materials temporarily 

placed in the accumulation site 

are ultimately transferred to one 

of DRMO's waste contractors for 

proper disposal. 

There are a couple of exceptions, 

however. If flammability is determined to be the only hazard associated with material brought to 

the site, it may be taken to the 82d 

Airborne Division's heating plant. 

The plant is authorized to burn 

waste oil products, providing the 
products meet certain environmental criteria. Recently, a rusted 

drum with no labels or other 

markings was found on post. The 

bung seals, while badly deteriorated, were still in place-indicating that the drum had not 

been opened. Testing revealed 

that the drum contained petroleum nap~tha, which can be 

burned by the heating plant. The 

drum itself, after being thoroughly 

drained, will be taken to a local 

landfill. Non-flammable materials, if testing reveals that they 

pose no toxic danger, will also be 

deposited in the landfill. 

Minor Problems 

S orne lessons were learned 

during site construction. 

The initial ramp to the pad 

turned out to be too narrow. The 

original 6-foot ramp was wide 

enough for a forklift to move 

CJ Corrosives 

~~~~~ Flammables 

fj%8 Oxidizers 

~ Reactlvas 

Unknowns 

materials up to the pad-but 

only if it was perfectly positioned. However, in hindsight, we 

felt that toxic and hazardous 

materials needed more of a 

safety margin than "just wide 

enough." The ramp was widened 

to 9 feet before the site was officially opened. 

We also found that grates over 

the sumps would not support the 

weight of a forklift because the rim 

around the inside of each sump 

was too weak. Three inches of 

angle iron was subsequently 

added around each sump to correct the problem. 

A Success Story 

F ort Bragg's accumulation 

facility has been a proven 

success. During calendar year 

1990, the site played a major role 

in helping the post eliminate 

more than 400,000 pounds of 

c: 

"C 

Storage Area 

hazardous waste. The site has 

also helped to facilitate management of toxic and hazardous 

wastes, improve safety conditions 

for Fort Bragg personnel and 

their families, and brought the 

post into compliance with current state and federal environmental regulations. 

Military or civilian engineers interested in more information on 

the accumulation site are invited 

to contact George Sample or 

Stephen Mackmull at Autovon 

236-3341 or commercial (919) 396-

3341. w 

Mr. Mackmull is an environmental engineer and chief of 

the Environmental Branch of 

Fort Bragg's Directorate of Engineering and Housing. 

Mr. Sample is a chemical/environmental engineer and the 

hazardous waste manager for 

Fort Bragg's DEH. 

Engineer 17 
Area Damage Control: 

The Forgotten Mission 

By Major Edward M. McClure 

When enemy action, accidents or natural disasters wreak havoc in the rear area, it's 

usually engineers who are tasked to lead the restoration effort. While I have no doubt that we are 

capable of handling damage control, we don't 

usually get much training or guidance on how to 

do it. This article is intended to serve as a primer 

on planning and executing damage control in the 

rear area of operations, division and corps rear 

areas, and the communication zone (COMMZ). 

Area damage control (ADC) is described in FM 

90-14 and FM 90-23 as "Measures taken before, 

during and after hostile action or natural or manmade disasters to reduce the probability of 

damage and minimize its effects." Note that this 

definition calls for minimizing the effects of 

damage, not damage itself. Damage control is not 

the same thing as damage repair. There are five 

basic principles of damage control that I'll cover 

through the article. 

Princi pie #1 

Repair-rebuilding something back to its 

original state-takes place after control. 

This is the first and most important principle of 

damage control. Translating this into operational 

terms, the ADC mission is to ensure freedom of action and restore operations. This is accomplished 

by preventing damage, preparing for expected 

damage, and responding to damage after it occurs. 

ADC is an operations function, although FM 90-

23 overemphasizes the role of engineers in ADC. 

ADC actions have a direct impact on the 

commander's ability to complete his missions and 

18 Engineer 

take care of his soldiers. The impact may be 

direct, as in cases of soldier injuries, damage to 

militarily-useful facilities, and destruction of equipment. Indirect impact includes diversion of manpower and equipment from primary missions, interference with movement, and degradation of 

morale. 

Principle #2 

A rea damage control is not exclusively an en-

~neer mission. In fact, the primary 

operators in ADC missions are the soldiers in or 

near the affected areas and facilities. However, 

eight times out of ten, local engineers will be 

tasked to take care of the problem-or at least 

lead the ADC effort. But engineers cannot do the 

job alone, even with host nation assistance. Even 

simple ADC efforts require circulation control and 

communications. 

Almost everyone in the rear area has an ADC 

mission. These are some of the non-specialized 

functions of an ADC effort: 

Rescue 

First Aid 

Firefighting 

Communications 

Earthmoving 

Evacuation 

Site Security 

Reconnaissance 

NBC Reconnaissance 

Decontamination 

Mess and Water Supply 
These are the specialized functions normally 

performed by specific types of units: 

Heavy Earthmoving 

Demolition 

Construction 

Facilities Inspection 

Road and Bridge Recon 

Circulation Control 

Combat Patrolling 

Crowd Control 

Large-Scale NBC Decon 

Ordnance Disposal 

Emergency Medical Care 

Medevac/Dustoff 

Long-Range Commo 

Supply 

Transportation 

Maintenance 

Civil-Military Liaison 

Graves Registration 

Personnel Accounting 

Engineers 

Engineers 

Engineers 

Engineers 

Military Police 

Military Police 

Military Police 

Military Police 

Chemical 

Explosive Ordnance 

Disposal (EOD) 

Medical 

Medical 

Signal 

Support 

Support 

Support 

Civil Affairs 

Adjutant General's 

Corps 

Adjutant General's 

Corps 

In addition to these, numerous resources are 

provided by other services, allied forces, civilian 

contractors, local civilians, and the host nation. 

The rear command post (RRCP), rear tactical 

operations center (RTOC), or rear area operations 

center (RAOC), will coordinate the ADC plans and 

operations for its area of responsibility. If these 

control centers are not available to oversee ADC 

operations, engineers are most frequently 

nominated to run the show. 

Principle #3 

The best way to control damage is to prevent 

it from happening. Terrain managers can 

control damage by exploiting readily available 

natural and man-made cover and concealment, 

and by dispersing and concentrating, as appropriate, troops and facilities. Then, we can look 

at enhancing cover through site hardening, and 

concealment through additional camouflage. 

Units, bases and base clusters need to start 

with self-help, using organic resources, and then 

request support through normal organizational 

channels. Decisions about who gets scarce resources must be coordinated at the RAOCIRTOC/RRCP. 

The principles of METT-T (mission, enemy, terrain, troops, resources available, and time) apply 

to this decision process. 

In setting priorities for ADC protection operations, determine the mission-essential activities 

and facilities for the division, corps and theater. 

Note that we are not looking at the rear area's 

mission, but the mission of the entire command. 

Then we must identify the threats: enemy, accidental, and natural. Both the likelihood of the 

threat(s) and the vulnerability of personnel, 

facilities, systems or operations must be 

evaluated. The result of this estimate process 

should be a set of priorities for ADC operations, 

which are then translated into mission orders and 

Class IV supply guidance. 

Principle #4 

There are never enough resources or time to do everything. The priorities we developed 

to guide the prevention effort also serve as a pattern for our response to damage. Somebody must 

set the priorities for ADC response operations, 

and it must be somebody with sufficient authority 

to make them stick when the going gets roughlike the division commander or assistant division 

commander. When the damage is done and things 

need to get fixed in a hurry, it's too late to go 

through an analytical process to determine who 

gets the relief effort. And the need to get facilities 

and operations back on track is too critical to 

allow subordinate commanders to squabble over 

who gets what slice of the ADC pie. 

As far as possible, analyze your potential ADC 

problems in advance, gauge your ability to 

respond to them, and get some priorities down on 

paper. Identify and continue to monitor the status 

of ADC assets, especially heavy engineer equipment, chemical decontamination units, and emergency medical capabilities. Identify and monitor 

the ADC resources available in units, bases and 

base clusters. Determine the distance between 

bases and their ADC assets. In other words, how 

long will it take to get the nearest decon platoon 

to a certain base? The monitoring process must be 

continuous and must track both commitments and 

movements. The bottom line is knowing where 

your ADC assets are, and what their capabilities 

are at any given time. 

Review the positioning of units from an ADC 

perspective. We've already looked at cover and concealment, dispersion and concentration, and vulnerability. Now consider access to ADC assets for 

the bases, and the disposition of the ADC assets 

themselves. Do they match the load? Are they 

where they need to be to get the job done? Do we 

have high-priority bases that are too far away 

from medical, chemical, or engineer support? Do 

we move the base, move the asset, or just sweat? 

Engineer 19 
Top left: Engineers make a damage assessment of cratered runway. In wartime, repair of such damage Is likely to be a major 

focus of engineer effort. 

Top right: A soldier compacts soli In a crater as part of the repair 

process. 

Above: Engineers clean up the edges of the concrete surrounding 

a bomb crater. 

20Engineer 

Whatever level you're at, remember 

to advise your higher headquarters 

and the local RAOC!RTOC/RRCP if 

there is an unfilled need or an uncovered vulnerability. 

Local measures are the foundation 

of effective damage control. Every 

level-unit, base, base cluster, and 

higher-needs to plan and coordinate 

response to damage. Develop generic 

responses to general categories of 

threats. Develop specific contingency 

plans for likely, dangerous and 

known threats. Identify specific local 

vulnerabilities. In addition to coordinating with the potential "victims" 

and ADC assets, coordinate with the 

command and control systems in the 

rear area, including the movements 

control center (especially the highway traffic headquarters, or HTH). 

the echelon's logistical headquarters 

(DISCOM, COSCOM, Area Support 

Group), and higher and adjacent 

headquarters. 

Part of this preparation process is 

a review of lower level ADC plans. 

You need to make sure that units, 

bases and base clusters for which 
you are responsible know how they are going to 

conduct ADC operations. Each individual unit or 

base plan must have procedures for identifying 

and monitoring ADC resources, both on and off 

base. For example, where is the nearest surgical 

facility, and how will casualties be transported? 

Each base must have an alarm system with distinct signals (air attack, ground attack, NBC attack, fire, and all-clear). Base plans must also 

direct units to furnish ADC reaction teams for 

firefighting, NBC reconnaissance, NBC contamination, casualty transport, first aid, light rescue 

(with jacks, shovels, rope and pry bars), heavy rescue (with wreckers, forklifts, and vehicle-mounted 

winches), and EOD reconnaissance. Personnel 

must be organized, trained and rehearsed. Personnel accountability and emergency supplies must 

be included in the plans, along with alternate 

operating locations and rally points. 

The unit, base and base cluster ADC planning 

process is basically the same as that used at 

higher levels: What are our most important 

facilities? (Note that this question must be based 

on guidance from higher headquarters in the tactical chain of command. The local base commander 

may not know what facilities are the most important for his higher command's current operations.) 

What are the threats? How does each threat affect 

each facility? What do we have to do to preclude 

damage? What time and resources do we have 

available? How will we respond to identified 

contingencies? 

Finally, contingency plans must be rehearsed or 

they won't work when they're needed. Unit, base, 

base cluster and area commanders must supervise. Rehearsals are a pain, and drumming up any 

enthusiasm for them is a challenge for commanders. But no plan will work effectively 

without practice, especially for operations as potentially complex as ADC. 

When your area is hit, and ADC is implemented-you will probably find that even wellplanned efforts will be stretched beyond their 

capabilities. 

Your first step is to assess the damage and/or 

contamination. This requires information. If bases 

in the impacted area do not conduct the necessary 

reconnaissance, then you will have to direct it. 

Technical experts-engineers, signal, ordnance, 

and chemical-may be needed to determine: 

• What happened and where? 

• What impact does it have on operations? 

• How do we get around it or do without it? 

• What time and resources do we need to get it 

operational? 

Report the extent and location of the damage 

to the RAOC/RTOC/RRCP, higher headquarters 

and relevant command and control systems as 

soon as possible. For example, the movements control center (MMC), or movements control agency 

(MCA) in the COMMZ, needs to know about road 

and rail problems immediately so they can reroute convoys and trains. If an airfield is knocked 

out, the support command needs to know that supplies cannot make it through. The intelligence 

community needs the information to pick out patterns in enemy behavior that indicate their 

intentions. 

At the scene, isolate the danger area and 

prevent continuation or extension of the damage. 

Mark contaminated areas and keep traffic out so 

possible contamination cannot spread further. 

Troops in a contaminated area must remain there 

until a decontamination site is established and a 

safe route is established to it. Make sure this 

route does not cross any important roads or pass 

anything else of importance to the operational effort. Prevent fires from spreading by clearing 

firebreaks. Mark and rope off unexploded 

ordnance and other hazardous areas. 

When it comes, you won't find damage in isolated incidents. You will usually have many things 

happening at the same time. And you won't have 

the resources or time to deal with all incidents at 

once. Look at your priorities, swallow hard, and 

start at the top of the list. Then, conduct an "ADC 

triage" by posing three questions for each case: 

• First, does it have an impact on operations? 

If not, go to the next case. You have a war to 

fight, and damage that doesn't impair or 

threaten operational capabilities will have to 

wait until later. 

• Secondly, will your efforts help? Will it do 

any good? If nothing can be done to restore 

the base or facility to operation, then don't 

waste time or resources on it. Just like a 

medical triage situation, hard decisions are required. But you do not have the luxury of 

taking care of hopeless cases. 

• Lastly, can the damage be controlled by onscene personnel? If local base resources can 

deal with it (fighting fires, clearing rubble, filling craters), then let them do it and get your 

people to more critical areas. 

Next, determine what is needed to restore operations and ensure freedom of movement. This is a 

three-step process: 

• Determine which operations and movement 

routes are really required. Ask yourself: 

Engineer 21 
What does this facility, bridge, road, or unit 

contribute to the mission? Answering this 

question requires a depth and breadth of 

knowledge about combat, combat support, 

and combat service support operations-as 

well as access to appropriate staff planners 

and operators. If you have done your priority 

analysis well, this information will be at your 

fingertips. 

• Once you know the value of the damaged 

facility, determine what level of restoration is 

required to reach the needed level of operation. Remember, more extensive or long-lasting repairs can wait until after the war. We 

just want to get operating again. For example, you may need to clear rubble off a 

highway, but only enough to open one lanenot two. You may need to replace a bridge, 

but only up to class 24-not 60. 

• Finally, translate those critical requirements 

into specifics: blade hours, soldier-shovel 

hours, medics, EOD specialists, fixed bridge 

bays, and so on. Again, you'll need technical 

specialists for this process unless you make 

yourself knowledgeable in fields other than 

your own. Learn how much of each resource is 

required to take care of each kind of problem. 

This may be the most difficult part of organizing damage control responses. Often you will 

need to rely on the analysis of soldiers on the 

scene. If you have the opportunity, train them 

to make good ADC estimates. Keep a reference guide so that your successor can use the 

same knowledge without having to "re-invent 

the wheel." 

Once you know what needs to be done, somebody has to make it happen. Someone in 

authority must task units and personnel to take 

care of the damage. An SOP annex will not make 

it happen. One practical thing I've learned from 

ADC operations is that this requires someone 

who can speak for the corps or division commander. If the order does not come from someone 

in the tactical chain of command, it won't get 

done. Operators in the field have many pressures-so many tasks, missions, and requeststhat the damage control effort will be pushed low 

on the list unless significant command attention 

is brought to bear. 

The operations order (OPORD) for an ADC 

response uses the same principles as any other 

OPORD. The usual five-paragraph field order 

works just fine. A few things, however, need special attention. In a tactical OPORD, unity of command is not a problem; it comes with the tactical 

22 Engineer 

organization. In ADC operations, it's not that 

simple. The base and base clusters contain many 

command structures. Add the ADC response forces, and it can be a real nightmare. You must ensure unity of command at the site by setting out a 

clear task organization. Based on METT-T, you 

can either place the response forces under the 

base commander, base cluster commander, or vice 

versa. 

Principle #5 

Every one in the impacted area must be 

placed under the control of one commander. 

That commander must mesh operational priorities 

in the OPORD with the resources available to control damage and resume operations. 

In summary, when you're planning or implementing area damage control, remember these 

points: • 

• Unity of command is vital to getting the job 

done. Somebody has to be in charge. 

• There are never enough resources or time to 

do everything. Do a triage of each situation. 

We get paid to make hard decisions. 

• The best way to control damage is to keep it 

from happening in the first place. 

• Engineers are not alone when damage hits. 

Know what everyone else does, and use them. 

• Your mission is to restore operations-not 

repair facilities. 

Damage control is a combat multiplier that, 

when properly conducted, can minimize the 

enemy's ability to affect your operations. Make it 

happen. Ill 

Major McClure is an engineer officer and member 

of the North Carolina National Guard. He currently serves as an assistant professor of military 

science at North Carolina State University at 

Raleigh. Previously, he served with the 139th Rear 

Area Operations Center-the first RAOC deployed 

in Desert Shield I Desert Storm. He has also served 

as commander of an area damage control task 

force, and worked as a Middle East analyst for Intelligence qnd Security Command. 
Safe Port Operations 

T he timely shipment 

of thousands of 

tons of equipment, ammunition, and supplies 

was critical to our victory 

in the Gulf War. This 

task required the orchestration of several 

Department of Defense 

agencies and all aspects 

of port operations, including port support activities 

(PSA). 

• Ensure all helicopters on 

board a vessel are properly 

grounded. 

• Clearly mark tie-down 

points and lift points to 

avoid confusion. 

• Brief your personnel not 

to stand under cargo as it 

is being hoisted. 

• Inspect rail car spanners 

for potential instability. 

For the Engineer 

Branch, PSA are a necessary and recurring part of 

our deployments. And all 

facets of PSA, rail moveLopsided loads are a common hazard during load-up operations. This truck's center of gravity changed due to the 

weight and height of the secondary load. As the truck was 

lifted it began to lean dangerously toward the heavier side. 

• Ensure cargo and secondary loads are secured 

before loading them aboard 

the vessel. 

• Ensure only 

licensed/qualified operators 

are allowed to operate 

ments, staging, and ship loading/off-loading operations, have inherent hazards. 

Army leaders must assess these hazards to 

prevent or minimize the number and severity of 

mishaps and injuries their soldiers sustain. They 

must inform soldiers about the risks associated with 

each part of a port operation. As in any activity, the 

success of our prevention efforts depends ori how 

well we communicate. 

The tailgate session is a successful method of 

presenting a safety message. Its name came from 

the practice of employees sitting beside a truck's tailgate while they listened to their supervisor's safety 

briefing. Tailgate sessions are effective because they 

allow a supervisor to describe specific tasks and associated hazards at the job site- where the rubber 

meets the road. Supervisor involvement lends 

authenticity to the safety message. 

The following safety tips apply to port support activities in any deployment situation. Use them to 

develop and implement a meaningful accident 

prevention plan for your unit. 

• Commanders, ensure that PSA personnel are 

given specific guidance on their duties before they 

start an operation. 

• Warn all personnel about smoking in unauthorized areas, and that violations will not be tolerated. 

• Ensure that all soldiers are drownproofed; develop 

and practice a soldier-in-the water drill. 

• Brief port operators on how to safely climb on a 

helicopter covered with shrink wrap. 

loaded equipment. 

• Alert your personnel that commercial stevedores 

often back vehicles without ground guides. 

• Never allow personnel to walk in front of a vehicle 

that is coming down a ramp. 

• Avoid stopping a vehicle midway on a ramp; this 

practice may result in clutch damage or brake failure. 

• Brief soldiers never to stand in front of a parked 

vehicle when ground guiding another. 

• Remind soldiers to use hand tools correctly and 

never to use a body part as a tool. 

• Enforce the use of personal protective devices for 

head, eyes, ears, hands, feet, and lungs. 

• Brief proper lifting techniques: Think before lifting. Analyze the task. Get help. Find a better way. 

Save a back or muscles from injury. 

• Keep the work area clean. Look for surface 

hazards before starting an operation. 

• Know the hazards associated with pressurized 

hoses and energized wiring. Decompress or disconnect-save a limb or a life. 

• Split rim tires can kill. Always use a safety cage. 

Use only tools designed for mounting and demounting tires. 

Leader involvement is required for a successful 

safety program. Safety is a graded exercise, and a 

single preventable mishap may cause you to fail. Supervisors must review their daily activities and assess risks before a job is started. Commanders must 

keep their standing operating procedure current 

with changing missions and unit equipment. 

By Captain Miguel Torres, Engineer Branch Safety Manager, Fort Rucker 

Engineer23 
""- , r \ . -,! 

Underground Storage Tanks: 

The Silent Menace 

Most underground 

storage tanks are 

made of steel, which 

started corroding 

the day they were 

placed in the 

ground. 

24 Engineer 

B y s c 0 t t 

The story is becoming all too 

familiar. Someone turns on 

their kitchen faucet one day and 

finds water reeking of gasoline. 

The bewildered person calls the 

fire department and the utilities 

company. There's no immediate 

fire hazard, but further investigation reveals that the ground 

water has been contaminated by 

gasoline from a neighborhood filling station. The sole water 

source for the neighborhood is 

now undrinkable, and will 

probably remain so for years. 

The gasoline contamination was 

caused by a leaking underground 

storage tank (UST), one of 

hundreds of thousands buried all 

over the country. While putting 

gasoline and oil tanks underground minimized fire hazard 

problems and improved esthetics, 

it also gave us a monumental environmental problem. Most USTs 

are made of steel, which started 

corroding the day they were 

placed in the ground. 

As these tanks aged, corrosion 

caused tiny holes in many of them. 

Gasoline and oil leaks usually took 

Murrell 

place slowly-too slowly for the 

owner to notice the problem. By 

the early 1980s, some experts estimated that 25 percent of all 

USTs were leaking. Many private 

water wells and some municipal 

water supplies became contaminated. In the state of Missouri alone, some 6,000 leaking 

USTs have been discovered, 

enough to contaminate the state's 

entire ground water supply if corrective action was not taken. 

As the scope of the UST problem 

became apparent, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

began to take action. In 1988, the 

Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act was amended to provide close regulation ofUSTs. The 

new legislation calls for determining the location of all existing 

USTs, and requires their owners 

to conduct leak testing. Leaking 

tanks must be repaired or 

replaced. Corrosion protection 

systems must be installed on all 

existing tanks by 1998, and new 

tanks must be double-walled, and 

made of corrosion-proof materials. 

New tanks must also be equipped 
with sensors which sound an 

alarm if a tank develops a leak. 

Fort Leonard Wood 

A decade ago, Fort Leonard Wood had hundreds of 

USTs. Over the post's 50-year 

history, almost any unit with 

vehicles had been given its own 

fuel storage tanks. More than a 

hundred of the post's USTs were 

large gasoline and diesel fuel 

tanks. Many small heating fuel 

tanks were also spread throughout the installation. 

Beginning in the mid-1980s, in 

anticipation of the new regulatory 

requirements, the post's Directorate of Engineering and Housing 

began to remove unneeded USTs. 

By the time the new regulations 

started taking effect in 1988, the 

post still had 7 4 regulated tanks 

that had to be registered with the 

Missouri Department of Natural 

Resources (MDNR). These tanks 

were then prioritized for a testing 

and upgrade program. 

During 1988 and 1989, tanks at 

the post airfield and at a unit 

motor pool were discovered to be 

leaking and were removed. Both 

tanks had contaminated small 

amounts of soil, which were easily 

removed. The MDNR was satisfied with our cleanup efforts, and 

our experience to that point 

seemed to indicate that USTs were 

not going to pose a significant 

problem. However, this turned out 

to be the proverbial calm before 

the storm. 

The Gas Station 

T wo years ago, DEH turned its attention to four large 

gasoline tanks located at the post 

exchange service station. Since 

inspection of these tanks would 

involve considerable excavation, 

a decision was made to go ahead 

and put in new fuel pumps and 

supply lines that had been 

scheduled for installation later. 

The entire project had an estimated cost of $400,000, and the 

service station was expected to 

be closed for about four months. 

But in February 1989, before 

work on the project had begun, the 

service station manager reported 

discrepancies in gasoline inventories. Leaking tanks were 

suspected, although there was no 

outward evidence of this. As required by the new storage tank 

/--- Appro::rmately -1 

Arrows Indicate 

suspected flow of 

contamination 

Location of leaking USTs 

regulations, the post notified the 

MDNR and began drilling a 

ground water monitoring well to 

determine what was happening 

underground. 

Confirmation of fuel leaks was 

almost immediate. The monitoring well was positioned over the 

service station's parking lot. As 

soon as the drill penetrated the 

pavement, gasoline welled up in 

the hole. Further drilling at that 

location was deemed too dangerous, and other spots were 

chosen some distance away. Drilling at these locations found 

ground water at about 20 feat. As 

soon as this level was reached, 

several feet of gasoline immediately accumulated in the well 

casing. 

At this point, it was obvious 

that the gas station posed a more 

serious UST problem than our 

earlier tank projects, but we still 

believed that the contamination 

was localized . A project to 

replace the tanks was still in the 

design stage , and was not 

scheduled for completion until 

later that year. The MDNR 

agreed to delay a full-scale excavation of the site until the 

UST replacement project was 

ready. As part of the agreement, 

the post maintained ground 

Gas Station 

Not to scale 

Engineer 25 
, 

Recharged area for 

Shanghai Spring 

Possible area of 

contamination 

.lll: 

Cll 

! 

(J 

~ 

c 

t---------I 

I 

Area I Gas I Station of I 

Evacuation I Building 

I 

\ '-- ~ 

I 

I 

r----------- .J 

water monitoring wells, and periodically pumped out leaking 

gasoline that accumulated in the 

wells. 

The service station was built in 

1959, on a site which originally 

had been a deep valley. Half ofthis 

valley had been filled with earth to 

provide space for the pumps, 

storage tanks, and a parking lot. A 

small creek flows through the valley along the bottom edge of a 20-

foot-high earth fill embankment 

bordering the station parking lot. 

In hindsight, it should have been 

apparent to the original project 

engineers that any spilled 

gasoline and diesel fuel would 

pass easily through the relatively 

loose fill material. 

Replacement of the station's 

USTs began in December 1989. 

Following removal of the tanks, 

we began to excavate soil from 

the surrounding area, testing for 

contamination as we went. The 

MDNR required that any soil 

26 Engineer 

Road 

remammg in the excavation 

zone show a contamination level 

of less than 100 milligrams of 

total hydrocarbons per liter. But 

as the hole grew deeper and 

wider, contamination levels 

stayed well above acceptable 

levels. Veins of contaminated 

soil snaked off in several directions from the original site of the 

leaking tanks. Weeks turned 

into months as backhoes tried to 

dig out these contaminated 

veins. By the end of the summer, 

almost 11,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil had been 

removed from the service station 

site. Although some contamination had "snaked" under a nearby four-lane highway, and under 

the main station building itself, 

the MDNR declared the site 

cleanup complete-but only for 

the immediate service station 

area. The worst news was yet to 

come. 

The Creek 

Contamination from the 

leaking USTs had reached 

the creek at the bottom of the 

valley. Water and soil samples 

from the creek indicated that 

gasoline had permeated the 

gravel streambed, and levels of 

contamination were well above 

the allowable level. The DEH is 

now in the process of investigating the extent of contamination, 

and will be responsible for Fort 

Leonard Wood's obligation to 

clean up the creek. 

When the service station 

reopened in December 1990, the 

total cost of the project had reached 

$800,000. Over half that amount 

consisted of UST contamination 

cleanup costs. The station is now 

equipped with four 10,000-gallon, 

double-walled, fiberglass tanks 

with double-walled fiberglass connecting pipes. The tanks and pipes 

are also equipped with electronic 

leak detectors. 

In the early stages of this 

project, we had no idea of the full 

magnitude of the problem. Up to 

this point, we had not encountered 

serious problems with USTs. The 

few "leakers" we had dealt with 

were easily cleaned up by simple 

excavation. Unfortunately, we also 

believed that excavation was the 

answer to the service station 

USTs. This turned out to be a significant error. The entire project 

was delayed by the massive earth 

moving requirements, and by the 

need to obtain new project funding 

at the start of a new fiscal year. 

During the entire year-long 

project, the post was without a service station. 

In Retrospect 

I f we had the chance to do it over again, how would we go 

about it? A more logical approach 

- ----
would have been to tackle the 

leaking USTs and the soil/water 

contamination as separate 

projects. Temporary, aboveground tanks could have been installed to keep the station operational while the UST problem 

was studied further. With more 

time to study the problem, and 

with more monitoring wells and 

soil samples, we could have identified the true magnitude of the 

problem before we began moving 

dirt. Conceivably, excavation may 

not have been the best choice for 

cleanup of the site. 

Three basic methods exist for 

cleanup of underground contamination. Excavation is the 

most common, with subsequent 

disposal of the contaminated soil 

in a sanitary landfill. This is a 

relatively inexpensive method, as 

long as small amounts of soil are 

involved. But it has the drawback 

of posing potential problems at the 

landfill site. 

A more permanent solution is 

soil excavation, followed by incineration. However, this is extremely expensive. 

The third method is treating the 

contamination in sutu, that is, 

without soil excavation. This 

usually involves a pumped well, 

positioned to lower the water table 

under the area of contamination. A 

cone of depression is then created 

in the water table, trapping the 

contaminates and preventing 

their further migration. Oil 

products are easily recovered from 

the extracted water by gravity 

separators. 

Once most of the contaminates 

are removed, microbes are introduced to the site. Under oxygenated conditions, these aerobic bacteria feed on hydrocarbons. 

Although they are naturally occurring to depths of several thousand 

feet, they do not normally get 

enough oxygen to consume significant amounts of petroleum. 

But when used for in sutu treatment, these microbes are supplied 

with oxygen, nitrogen and phosphates from injection wells installed on the site. 

The effectiveness and speed of 

the treatment depends on the permeability and moisture content of 

the soil. This technique provides a 

permanent solution to the probThe service 

station's new 

USTs awalt Installation. The 

fiberglass tanks 

are corrosionproof, doublewalled, and contain electronic 

leak detection 

devices (U.S. 

Army photo). 

lem, but it's comparatively slow, 

requiring months or even years to 

complete. It's also expensive, 

though in some cases the cost can 

be comparable to incineration. 

The Army's experience with underground storage tanks has been 

unhappy and expensive. We are 

gradually eliminating USTs completely, unless real and compelling 

necessity dictates their placement 

in the ground. And from now on, 

tanks that are put in the ground 

will have state-of-the-art construction with electronic monitoring for leaks. Though we must 

work under the burden of decades 

of past national ignorance of environmental concerns, we are 

learning fast-and making 

progress. ~ 

Mr. Murrell is chief of the Environmental and Natural 

Resources Branch for Fort 

Wood's DEH. He previously 

served as a mechanical design 

engineer for DEH. He holds a 

bachelor of science degree in 

mechanical engineering from 

the University of Missouri at 

Rolla. 

Engineer27 
Operation 

(lross ro~ Xearl 

By Major Thomas J. Kelly 

For engineers, getting mechanized maneuver forces across rivers is one of the 

riskiest-and most rewardingmissions around. Aside from 

being at the head of an advancing attack force (and bearing a 

good portion of the enemy's ire), 

engineers must overcome unpredictable rivers, too little bridging 

for the number of missions, and 

less-than-desirable crossing sites 

dictated by tactical necessity. 

During Team Spirit 1990, the 

44th Engineer Battalion, in 

Operation Cross My Heart, 

crossed three brigades of the 2nd 

Infantry Division over the N am 

Han River in the Republic of 

Korea. The operation provided the 

battalion with a number of training and operational lessons that 

might be valuable to other engineer units-principally in ford 

site selection and construction. 

Several important considerations need to be taken into account 

when selecting fording sites. Obviously, the first is the potential 

site's width and depth. This directly impacts on speed of construction-a critical factor in almost all 

tactical crossings. We were able to 

28 Engineer 

obtain maps produced by the 29th 

Topographic Battalion in Hawaii · 

that detailed all existing •v.' ~~~~~~~~'1f~~~ 

in our area of ope:~) ~;~ ~~ existing sites were 1 

low, and usuallyr ~~~~~;~~~~~"" points in the 'e. 

provement, these locations provided the quickest option for river 

crossing sites. 

Fluctuations in river levels can 

play havoc with ford construction. 

In the case of the N am Han River, 

we were at work on several crossing sites when a dam was opened 

upstream to release excess accumulated water. As the water 

level went up, and the current 

speed increased, it became impossible to continue construction. 

While operations were halted, we 

stockpiled borrow material at each 

site. Once the water level went 

back down, we were able to make 

up for lost time by quickly placing 

the stored material into the water. 

The speed and route of river currents are also crucial. For successful ford construction, the current 

must be less than 3.5 meters (m) 

per second. Anything greater than 

this, and the ford will suffer rapid 

erosion. Depending on the location 

of the strongest currents, a 

straight-line ford may not always 

be the best choice. In fact, one of 

the fords put in by our D Company 

was curved. At this particular site, 

the presence of large rocks in the 

stream and their potential use in 

ford construction led to the curved 

design. 

A rapid current may also cause 

gaps in an otherwise fordable site. 

High current speed will then 

prevent repair of the gaps, with fill 

material being swept away as fast 

as it's dumped in. In building one 

of their fording sites, B Company 

encountered just such a situation. 

The middle of the ford kept washing away, but there were no tactically-suitable alternatives available. Gabbeons made of chicken 

wire and large rocks were considered as a possible solution, but 

we ended up using an AVLB (armored vehicle-launched bridge). 
.! .~.:· ••• 

.. .. _.. ,.·:'!-.:· .. 

. ·: .· ... ~ ... :/·::·.: ..... -~. . . . . ·. ··:: . 

. ·.·· ::·:>:':·.-~'~.-- :·:.:.·· ·:,. 

·.· ,' :· . 

•'i::.\-, ·~ . ..:.; : : ·:. >>: ··:·· .. :. :._ : ',•. 

;-·; 

: .. ·.· 

·:· . . .. ··... . '•' 

. r 

. 

- ~~;~( 

:;.,W-,, 

'~f!~ij==i~ ':' • . ,r :;;.~,_, . . <·. , 

,1'/ p,: ' ..,. · / ) ;:~ 

I (~, 

The AVLB was brought to the mid- / 

dle of the river and placed across I/ " . . _ 

the gap in the ford. With the AVLB c_211siderations-. However, we made 

in place, the ford was passable for _;ttl~ best of the selected sites, as in 

both tracked and wheele<!r- the case of B C01ppany's "AVLB 

vehicles. ford." "Needless, to say, there 

Tactical suitability is ey .~.- s~ould be' dose coordination beconsideration in fording :S~ selec- tween supporting engineers and 

tion. The site must ·sJ»{port' the · the man·euver commander and his 

maneuver commap-d'"e'i's opera- staff. While this will not eli"minate . 

tional schem{.'Af6fortu.riately, the · technically awkward fording sites, 

rugged, com'pa'rtmentalized ' an engi~eer who acco~panies the 

Korean terrain doesn't allow many maneuver commander on h·is 

easy choices. Many sites chosen by ground recon and participates in 

maneuver commanders for their operational planning will often be 

tactical advantage were not ideal able to offer perfectly suitable alchoices in terms of engineering ternatives. 

Material availability should ·, 

also be considered when planning 

or conducting ford ,construction. '· 

. We found that for the Nam Han 

River, w~' rieede!l river run 

materia) in about a 6-inch grade. 

. The location of this mateDial in 

relation to the ·ford site affected , 

the tjpe and number of vehicles 

needed to haul it. This, in turn, 

affected the speed of construction 

and the availability of equipment 

for other sites. 

Engineer 29 
ford, with the concave side of 

the picket facing the friendly 

shore. A 6-inch chemlight 

was then placed in the concave side of each picket. We 

also tied white engineer tape 

around each picket to help 

highlight it. Initially, we tried 

stringing engineer tape between the pickets in the river. 

But the tape quickly became 

wet and heavy, and had a tendency to pull down the pickets (we were never able to 

anchor these pickets securely 

to the river bottom). Marking 

these fords is much like 

marking a lane through a 

minefield, and we executed 

them like battle drills. When swift currents kept washing out the center section of a ford, the battalion's 

Bravo Company used an armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB) to complete 

their mission (U.S. Army photo). 

One of the most valuable 

lessons we learned during 

the exercise was how to best 

care for equipment used in the 

water. Water contamination of 

lubricating fluids and air filters 

was our biggest headache. The 

most seriously affe cted were 

transmissions and differentials on 

the 621B scrapers. As the scrapers 

moved through the river, water 

splashed between the tractor and 

the pan. Water then entered the 

breather tubes that vented the 

transmission. Early in the exercise, we had to take a number of 

scrapers off the job to replace the 

contaminated fluids. We quickly 

went through all of our on-hand 

stock of fluids, and had to send 

back to our home base for more. 

The 16-hour round trip caused significant down-time , for the 

scrapers. 

Using a dozer/scraper team was 

the fastest technique for ford construction. At least two dozers were 

on each team; one with a winch to 

pull out mired vehicles. We also 

tried to have as many scrapers as 

possible on the site. The technique 

called for using the scrapers to 

haul in borrow material and stockpile it at the entrance to the ford. 

The dozer team would then push 

the material out into the river. 

Once the dozers had built the 

foundation of the ford across the 

river, the scrapers no longer stockpiled, but spread fill directly on 

the ford. For the scrapers to do 

this, the water had to be no higher 

than the center of the 621B 

scraper's tires (about 36 inches). 

After the scrapers started 

depositing material directly on the 

ford, the speed of construction increased dramatically. The 

scrapers could usually pick up 

material on both banks of the 

river, allowing them to build up 

the ford each time they crossed the 

water. Sometimes the water was 

shallow enough to begin this 

process right away. We always 

checked ford sites with a dozer, 

testing the water depth as the 

30Engineer 

dozer made its way across the 

river. If the river was less than 3 

feet deep, the scrapers were put to 

work right away. 

The other technique we used 

was the dozer/dump truck/scoop 

loader team. This worked best 

when the nearest borrow site was 

more than two kilometers away, or 

when scrapers were not available. 

This method is basically the same 

as the dozer/scraper team, but 

material is hauled by dump trucks 

filled by scoop loaders at the borrow site. This method works, but 

it's slow and requires more equipment. When using this technique, 

I recommend against the use of 

20-ton dump trucks because of 

stability problems (they tend to tip 

over in rough terrain). Five-ton 

dumps are better because of their 

rough terrain capabilities. On the 

flip side, of course, they can't haul 

as much fill. 

Marking kits for the fords were 

prepared well in advance of our 

arrival at the sites. Each kit 

marks 200 meters offord, and consists of 8-foot U-shaped pickets, 

engineer tape, and chemlights. 

The pickets were placed 10 to 20 

meters apart on both sides of the 

To help alleviate the problem, 

one of our maintenance warrant 

officers developed a scraper 

modification that extended the 

length of the breather tube about 

two feet. This gave us pretty good 

insurance that water would not 

enter the tube. Even with the 

modification, we had to carefully 

monitor the scrapers for water 

contamination, checking them 

about four times a day. 
We also had a problem with 

dozers and scrapers moving too 

fast in the water. This caused 

water to splash into the air filter 

housing intake and soak the filter. 

Operators checked the air filters 

regularly during operations. If a 

wet filter was caught soon enough, 

we could wipe out the housing and 

air dry the filter. If it stayed wet 

too long, we had to substitute a 

new filter. This quickly expended 

our available supply of filters. 

The water contamination problem with the scrapers and dozers 

drove home the need to ensure 

extra POL and filter packages for 

equipment that was expected to 

operate in water for any length of 

time. I recommend stocking at 

least two changes of transmission 

and differential oil, along with two 

air filters, for each vehicle that 

will be over water (including dump 

trucks). Even if water contaminat ion wa s not detected during 

operations, we felt it was necessary to change all fluids and air 

filters after fording activities were 

concluded. So be sure to take along 

at least one change of engine oil for 

each vehicle as well. 

Several safety procedures need 

to be observed during fording 

operations. All operators and supervisors must wear life vests 

when they are over water. When 

working at night, operators need 

to have chemlights in their helmets so they can be seen if they 

fall into the water. If the river is 

fast and deep, it's wise to string a 

safety line downstream from the 

construction site. Soldiers who 

might fall in the water then have 

something to grab onto before they 

are swept away. 

One of ou r companies also 

recommended tying scraper doors 

open so if a scraper overturns, the 

operator can quickly escape from 

the cab. It's also a wise precaution 

to have a safety NCO with the sole 

responsibility of watching for unsafe acts or conditions. In addition, we placed supervisors with 

signal flags on each side of the ford 

to safely pace crossing traffic. 

Team Spirit provided the 44th 

Engineers (the "Broken Heart" battalion) with some valuable training 

experience in fording operations. 

And while we took some lessons 

learned home with us, the success 

of moving three brigades across a 

Korean river gave us that rewarding sense of accomplishment that I 

mentioned earlier. 111 

Major Kelly is executive officer of 

the 44t h Engineer Battalion. 

During Tham Spirit 90, he served as 

the battalion's S -3. Previous assignments include engineer group S-2, 

engineer group assistant S-3, battalion S -4, and company commander. He is a graduate of Command and General Staff College, 

and holds a masters degree in 

robotics from Carnegie Mellon 

University. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia. 

(Personal Viewpoint, continued) 

full-time staff in theater to perform 

special studies and assessments. 

Army brigades and Navy 

COMCBLANT will provide regional planning support and 

region/country expertise, and perform preliminary project planning. 

USACE South Atlantic 

Division will provide technical support and life-cycle program management. The Corps will conduct institution improvement programs, 

function as DOD construction 

agent, and maintain a full-time staff 

element in theater. 

USAF Engineering and Services Center will provide technical 

support, conduct institution development programs, and provide staff 

augmentation as required. 

This program applies CAPffi'ONE 

program concepts to theaters and 

regions for which CAPffi'ONE was not 

designed or appropriate. It addresses 

CINC requirements during peacetime 

and operations short of war. The same 

organizations can be used for low-, 

mid-, and high-intensity conflicts in any 

theater. Sl1Cal88 in this program, however, is likely to prevent such conflicts 

by alleviating economic problems 

within host nations. 

The mission will be given to flag 

headquarters in addition to their 

CAPSTONE affiliation. This will 

allow headquarters to tailor the support they provide. Individuals will 

stay under the command and control 

of their parent unit but will work for 

and within the joint arena. No changes in the functions performed by 

headquarters now in place are anticipated in planning, preparing, and 

executing the program. 

End Results 

The economic benefits are 

many. By combining expertise from many agencies and coordinating planning, we will 

eliminate duplication and locate 

developments where they will 

most benefit host nations. U.S. 

ambassadors will play a major role 

to ensure America receives a maximum return for every dollar spent. 

And, the program works. The 

412th Engineer Command, headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 

is successfully working under this 

concept. In conjunction with CINC, 

SOUTHCOM, the 412th is planning 

nation assistance activities that are 

integral parts of the CINC's 

counternarcotics campaign plan 

and the ambassador's country 

plans. 

The United States must work to 

prevent conflicts in developing nations. We must help them develop 

an infrastructure that will improve 

their citizens' lives. At the same 

time, our units will receive valuable 

training. It is a true win/win situation. Let us support this joint service concept! 

General Schulz, commander of the 

412th ENCOM since November 

1986, assumed command of the 

377th Theater Army Area Command in May 1991. He has worked 

on war planning in Europe for 14 

years and with engineer deployments in Central and South 

America since 1981. 

Engineer 31 
32 Engineer 

Engineer Problem 

ASSAULT BREACH 

This is the third of four engineer problems dealing with breaching operations. 

The problems reflect concepts outlined in FM 90-13-1, Combined Arms Breaching Operations, which was distributed in February 1991. Previous problems dealt 

with in-stride and deliberate breaching operations. This problem focuses on an 

assault breach. 

The scenario depicted in each problem illustrates specific teaching points on 

that type of breach. An excerpt from FM 90-13-1 describes the characteristics of 

the breach and when it will be used. The problem-solving process is presented 

using the engineer estimate process and includes some key discussion points. 

Problem: As the task force (TF) engineer of a light/heavy task force and the 

engineer platoon leader, you are to recommend a task organization of engineer 

assets to the TF commander. 

Mission: You are the platoon leader of 1st Platoon, Company C, 21st Engineer Battalion (1/C/21 EN BN), which is attached to TF Steel. The task force's 

mission is to secure a section of Highway One, from its intersection with Highway 

Two to the bridge over the Blue River (Figure 1). Control of this highway will 

allow follow-on heavy forces access to Highway Two and deny the enemy a supply route over the river. 

Situation: TF Steel has one light infantry battalion, one company of M 1 A 1 

tanks (equipped with three mine plows and one mine roller), two stinger teams, 

and your engineer platoon. 

Hill165 (Figure 1) is the dominant terrain feature in TF Steel's zone. Thick 

forest and dense underbrush prohibit vehicular movement through most of the 

sector. The enemy is dug in on Hill 165 in company strength. Another enemy 

company is dug in near the intersection otHighway One and Highway Two. One 

enemy squad is guarding the bridge over the Blue River. The enemy is armed 

with assault rifles, medium machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), and 

Sagger anti-armor missiles. They can also call upon indirect fire from mortars 

and artillery. Enemy artillery is capable of delivering scatterable mines. 

One of your engineer squads has completed a reconnaissance of enemy 

obstacles. The squad leader reports that the only bridge over Green Creek has 

been destroyed; a bypass just west of the bridge is the only s~e where vehicles can 

cross the creek. An anti-tank point minefield followed by an abatis, located north of 

the bridge on Highway Two, can also be bypassed. 

The position on Hill 165 has an anti-personnel (AP) minefield located from 25 

to 75 meters in front the fighting positions. This minefield is about 25 to 35 

meters wide and consists of surface-laid mines with trip wires. The squad leader 

is certain there are some M16A1 AP mines, but he does not recognize the 
Engineer Problem 

16 17 

Figure 1. Situation Template 

others. They are shaped somewhat like an M16A1 AP mine, but have a halfdome with one pin sticking straight up out of the top. Four other pins stick out of 

the canister in various directions. The squad leader does not know if other mines 

are buried in the minefield-he could not detect any obvious signs of buried 

mines. 

A concertina fence near the edge of the minefield consists of two rolls of concertina stacked one on the other. The rolls are held in place by metal pickets. The 

fence is anchored with barbed wire strung over the top concertina roll and staked 

in the ground with wooden tent pins. A 4-strand barbed wire cattle fence stands 

Engineer33 
34Engineer 

["\.n.r\.l") 

1 Engineer Problem 

I 

at the far edge of the minefield. Most of it is strung around trees, but some is 

strung on pickets. 

Along the bank of the Blue River is a large concertina fence. It consists of eight 

rows of concertina that are stacked three high and held in place by pickets. There 

are no gaps between the rows, and the squad leader detected no break in the 

fence. 

Commander's Intent: ''The key is Hill 165 (OBJ TOP). We must move quickly 

and violently to secure the hill. OBJ X-RAY, near the intersection of Highways 1 

and 2, cannot be taken until we occupy OBJ TOP. I would like to take the bridge 

intact, but I am more interested in securing OBJ TOP as quickly as possible." 

Execution: The task force commander selects the scheme of maneuver shown 

on the Task Force Operations Overlay (Figure 2, page 35). The operation will consist of three phases: 

Phase 1 - Secure OBJ TOP 

Phase 2- Secure OBJ X-RAY and OBJ AXE 

Phase 3- Secure OBJ HATCHET 

Phase One: Team Tank, which includes one tank company, one infantry 

platoon, and the battalion TOW (tube launched, optically tracked, wire guided) 

missile will occupy attack by fire (ABF) position 1, oriented on Hill 165 (OBJ 

TOP). Division artillery assets will provide preparatory fire on OBJ TOP, and battalion mortars will fire smoke to obscure the assault. Companies A and B will attack in echelon along Axis Right to OBJ TOP. Company A is tasked to breach 

footpaths through the protective obstacles and to gain a foothold in the enemy 

entrenchments (OBJ TOP). Company B will then pass through Company A, 

secure OBJ TOP, and occupy ABF 2, which is oriented near the road intersection 

(OBJ X-RAY). Company C (-),the battalion reserve, will prepare to assume the 

missions of Company A or Company B, as necessary. 

Phase Two: As soon as Company B has occupied ABF 2, Team Tank will attack along Axis Left and secure OBJ X-RAY. On order, Company A will secure 

the bridge (OBJ AXE). 

Phase Three: After OBJ X-RAY is secured, Companies Band C will occupy 

OBJ HATCHET, and the task force will prepare to pass follow-on forces to the 

north. 

The commander of Company A informs you that he plans to assault OBJ TOP 

with two infantry platoons. The TF commander then asks you to recommend an 

engineer task organization to support this mission. 
Engineer Problem 

Axis 

Left 

[Q] ... ... cz::sJ W 

Figure 2. Task Force Operations Overlay 

ASSAULT BREACH DESCRIPTION 

Axis 

Right 

Definition: A unit conducts an assault breach during the penetration and 

destruction phases of action on the objective, when the mission requires destruction of an enemy that may have emplaced protective obstacles. 

The commander uses an assault breach to break a dismounted force through 

enemy protective obstacles to the enemy position. The assault breaching procedure may be a variation of either deliberate or in-stride breaching techniques. 

Engineer35 
36Engineer 

Engineer Problem 

The type of procedure used depends on the size and complexity of the defensive 

obstacle system. 

Characteristics: 

The commander uses an assault breach for-

.,. Small unit actions (squad or platoon teamwor1<) 

.,.Actions when enemy small-arms fire is the primary threat to be suppressed 

.,.Obstacle reduction when breaching a footpath that has few if any assault 

mar1<ings 

.,.Extremely decentralized fights; breach efforts will be synchronized by small 

unit leaders 

Problem Solving Process: The engineer estimate, an integrated extension 

of the command estimate, is conducted concurrently with other staff estimates. 

Command Estimate 

Mission 

Facts and assumptions 

Mission analysis 

Commander's guidance 

Develop courses of action 

Analyze courses of action 

Decision 

Action and orders 

Engineer Estimate 

Engineer mission 

IPB and engineer battlefield assessment (EBA) 

Engineer mission analysis 

Develop a scheme of engineer operations 

Wargame and refine engineer plan 

Recommend a course of action 

Prepare final engineer plan and issue orders 

You have enough information to start developing a scheme of engineer operations. Use essentially the same steps the commander used to develop courses of 

action to develop the scheme of engineer operations. 

1. Analyze relative combat power 

2. Identify engineer battlefield missions and allocate forces 

3. Develop a scheme of engineer operations 

4. Balance force allocation with available assets 

5. Integrate decisions into the maneuver course of action sketch 

After developing a scheme of engineer operations, the next step in the engineer estimate is to wargame and refine the engineer plan. Once completed, 

this step should provide a recommended course of action. 

Engineer Solution begins on page 45. 
By Captain John Karpiscak III 

The modem battlefield, as so vividly illustrated during 

the Gulf War, is dominated by 

high-tech, well-trained forces 

who can strike the enemy at will 

throughout the theater of operations. To assist ground commanders in determining terrain 

conditions and enemy disposition, the Army Corps of Engineers has initiated its Terra 

Geode space program. 

Terra Geode is an experimental 

program designed to determine 

the value of having a soldier in 

space who can make military 

mobility predictions from Earth 

orbit. It's one of a series of experiments sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct 

space-related military experiments from Earth orbit. The Army, 

Navy, and Air Force all have ongoing or planned space experiments 

falling under the Military Man in 

Space (MMIS) program. MMIS 

covers defense-related experiments involving direct military 

astronaut participation, and experiments that have a military application but do not require the 

presence of a military astronaut. 

Why is the Army involved in 

space when many people say its 

attention would be better focused 

on the ground? Simply put, the 

Army is reaching into space 

precisely because it has an increasingly complex and demanding job on the ground. 

Time and world events are 

reshaping modern warfare. A 

shrinking force structure that's 

transitioning from a deployed to a 

deployable force, and increasing 

emphasis on non-linear warfare 

will mean a greater need to assess 

enemy strengths, intents, terrain, 

and movements. The Army's use of 

space will help us do just that. It is 

out of this need for rapid information gathering and analysis that 

Terra Geode came about. 

The experiment began in 1986 

when the Chief of Engineers 

proposed a program to provide terrain and geomorphological 

analysis from Earth orbit. 

Designed to provide near-real 

time battlefield perspective for 

maneuver commanders, the Terra 

Geode concept is well on its way to 

becoming reality. 

Terra Geode is organized into 

four phases, with the first two 

already completed. The first involved basic terrain observations by military astronauts. 

The next phase include terrain 

Engineer37 
observations by an astronaut with 

a background in geology. 

The third phase will call for a 

synthesis of the talent found in the 

first two phases: an astronaut who 

has both the scientific/geologic 

background to recognize terrain 

features, and the military background to translate the terrain observations into military operational considerations and terminology. 

The final phase of the experiment will see an Army payload 

specialist making observations of 

the Earth while stationed aboard 

a continuously-manned platform. 

In 1988, the Engineer School accepted responsibility for the project, 

now overseen by the school's Directorate of Combat Developments. A 

year later, Army personnel were invited to apply for the position of Terra 

Geode payload specialist. Four highly 

qualified soldiers would be chosen. 

One would be the payload specialist, 

the person who would conduct the 

Terra Geode experiment in orbit. 

Another would be a backup, fully 

capable of conducting the experiment 

should something happen to the 

38 Engineer 

primary. Two other persons would 

serve as alternates; qualified for 

flight but not involved in training 

with the crew or development of the 

experiment. 

By January 1990, 21 military 

personnel had applied for the positions. After an initial qualification 

scrub, the field was narrowed 

down to eight. Two later withdrew 

from consideration for medical 

reasons. In June 1990, the 

remaining six were interviewed at 

Fort Leonard Wood by a panel of 

engineer officers, and the final 

four were selected. 

Man vs. Machine 

I n discussing observations of 

geological forms from Earth 

orbit, an argument can be made 

that there is no need for a 

manned presence in space. It has 

been said that unmanned assets, 

such as remote sensing satellites, 

are available for conducting such 

missions. However, in observing 

the Earth from orbit, it turns out 

Dr. Kathy Sullivan, 

the only trained 

geologist on the 

NASA astronaut 

staff, makes observations of the 

earth's surface 

during a space 

shuttle flight 

(NASA photo). 

that the human eye has a 

greater visual range capability 

than remote sensors. 

Man's unique advantage over 

orbiting sensors is his ability to 

not only gather raw information, 

but to instantaneously evaluate 

the situation. Sensors may provide follow-on supporting information. However, it's important for 

the human eye to take the first cut 

at Earth observations. 

The National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA) noted 

the limitations of remote sensing 

when it wrote " ... fixed automated 

sensors ... do not have the capabilities 

of human observers in space to 

search for (in this case), sources of 

moving sand or to relate evidence of 

eolian transport to changes on the 

land surface." NASA went on to say 

that "A human observer in space has 

the unique capability to take highoblique photographs and stereophotographs and to select areas to 

photograph with a telephoto lens. 

This capability should be used to the 

fullest extent in future missions." 

With regard to geological 
observations, NASA has also said 

that 'The great value of photographs is in the effective selection 

of a view of the subject in which 

lighting and camera position, as 

well as other transient conditions, 

permit the geologically significant 

aspects of the subject to be photographed. This requires a value 

judgement on the part of the 

operator of the hand-held camera, 

which distinguishes his work 

from mapping-camera photography. 

There is a tendency to view geological subject material as static and 

therefore automatically capturable. 

This is erroneous. Informative 

photographs of geological features 

are the result of an educated 

photographer recognizing an effective opportunity." 

Another unique advantage of 

manned observation from earth orbit 

is a human's ability to shift his field 

of view-tightening and widening his 

area of focus-to concentrate on 

areas of current interest 

Unlike a machine, a human also 

has the ability to discriminate or 

filter out unneeded data while 

making evaluations. He can make 

more subtle color distinctions and 

comparisons than are possible by 

machine. Too, the human being 

can take advantage of exploring 

and exploiting other opportunities, interpreting previously 

documented but hitherto unexplained phenomena. The human 

eye also has a greater 'dynamic 

range' for detecting light in the 

visible spectrum than either color 

film or orbiting instrumentation. 

Eye vs. Camera 

A s an example of this, Wil-

~iam Pogue, a former Skylab astronaut, along with the 

rest of his crew, noted with disappointment at his post-mission 

debriefing, that the pictures of 

earth taken from orbit looked 

'washed-out', and did not record 

the details of texture and hue 

that were visible to the naked 

eye. Pogue explained that "the 

tone sensitivity of the color film 

emulsion was inadequate." Pogue 

went on to say that, in some 

cases, items clearly visible to the 

eye didn't even show up in the 

pictures, although properly exposed film was used. 

Pogue also noted that the eyebrain system has the ability to 

probe, or see through partially 

opaque layers of clouds such as 

haze, scattered light clouds, 

aerosols or thin clouds. After filtering out the opaque, the brain 

reassembles the partially obscured image into one that provides a more complete picture 

than would be available to a 

camera. This is similar to looking 

through blinds or an insect screen 

in a window out at the ground 

below. The brain "restores" the 

tiny missing pieces of the picture, 

and gives the viewer the impression of a complete image. 

Soviet views on the subject are 

similar. Jim Oberg, in his book, 

Pioneering Space, cites Vladimir 

Lyakhov, a veteran of almost an 

entire year of orbiting the planet 

on two flights, as stating that "No 

form of optics can replace the 

human eye." 

Recognition of patterns, shapes, 

sizes and textures are other 

qualities that enable man to 

transcend the abilities of machines. While film is able to discriminate better with respect to 

size, the human eye is vastly superior when it comes to the color and 

tone of an object. 

It is virtually impossible for a 

remote sensor to observe and discriminate between patterns on the 

Earth's surface. For example, it's 

been demonstrated aboard the 

Sky lab orbiting workshop that the 

A photo of the Lake of the Ozarks 

area of central Missouri, taken 

during a space shuttle flight (NASA 

photo). 

Engineer 39 
A satellite photo of the Libyan chemical weapons facility. Army astronauts, with 

vanced, artificial intelligence system), is man's 

ability to adapt. Man has 

the ability to react to a 

changing environment and 

take advantage of unforeseen and unpredictable 

opportunities by restructuring standing instructions 

and protocols. Views of 

eruptions, fires, storms, 

and storm damage, once 

detected, would take long 

periods of time to program 

into an orbiting automated 

sensor and an almost equal 

length of time to process 

into an acceptable image. A 

human in orbit would be 

able to analyze the situation instantly. 

Geology and the 

Military 

both tactical experience and geological training, could be Invaluable to military planners when observing such potential targets (EOSAT photo). 

The concept of predicting military 

mobility from space faces 

an unusual challenge. 

While we tout the capabilities of manned observation, there is only 

one trained geologist on 

the NASA astronaut staff: 

Dr. Kathy Sullivan. 

human eye Herein lies a dilemma. is far superior to a 

remote sensor in its ability to distinguish between snow, ice, and 

cloud formations. 

The human is also able to take 

advantage of opportunities that 

are beyond the capabilities of 

automated sensors. For instance, 

waiting for the right time (lighting, cloud cover, etc.), to accentuate a particular feature for 

photographic purposes. By the 

same token, the human is able to 

recognize differing geographical 

and geological areas under a wide 

variety of light and perspective 

conditions. Features such as ice 

and snow, sand dune formations, 

along with atmospheric disturbances such as dust storms, fire, 

40 Engineer 

and haze are some of the things 

more easily distinguished by the 

human eye than by machine. 

Again, NASA has stated that 

previous space crews "were able to 

observe selected areas, taking full 

advantage of changing solar illumination (Sun elevation and 

azimuth); varying degrees of obliqueness, and shifts in line-of-sight 

azimuth. Geologically, this targetof-opportunity capability is very 

useful because one particular combination of viewing angle and illumination may provide the key to 

recognizing new features in wellmapped terrain." 

A benefit that will never be surpassed by machine (with the possible exception of a highly adWe have military astronauts, 

some with ground combat experience, but none with backgrounds in geology. Conversely, 

we have one geologist astronaut 

who has no ground combat 

experience. 

Terra Geode will provide the 

Army with a payload specialist 

who has the geology and terrain 

analysis training, as well as the 

military expertise necessary to 

make mobility predictions from 

low Earth orbit. 

Military experience is a prime 

requirement for the Terra Geode 

payload specialist. While a geologist may be able to answer some 

basic questions about terrain 
analysis, more involved terrain 

questions--and certainly mobility 

prediction&-require experience beyond classroom instruction. And 

qualifying military experience is 

acquired only after a comprehensive tour of duty in line units. 

1b illustrate, if a non-military 

astronaut were to try to obtain sufficient military experience by participating in exercises such as 

REFORGER, he or she would get 

an appreciation for only one particular type of Army operation. The 

scenario would include a handful of 

basic military unit types, and 

would be conducted in a single 

operating environment. While such 

experience would be helpful, it 

would be so narrow as to create the 

false impression that this is the 

standard (or only) way that the 

Army conducts operations. This 

could lead to misleading or erroneous conclusions in assessing 

and making mobility predictions 

for the terrain being observed. 

Astronauts (or mission specialists) are charged with piloting 

shuttle and other spacecraft, and 

don't have the time to be sufficiently trained in military operations. It's vital that this experiment be conducted by a military 

payload specialist with broadbased field operations experience 

and a geological background. 

Maps 

I n addition to the inherent 

problems of using remote sensors for terrain observation, maps 

used for military operations also 

have their limitations. The Defense 

Mapping Agency, contrary to 

popular belief, does not have the 

entire surface of the Earth mapped 

at either the strategic (1:1,000,000) 

or operational (1:500,000) levels. At 

the tactical level (1:50,000), only 6 

percent of the Earth has been 

mapped. 

A look at recent history is telling. 

In his book, Urgent Fury: The Battle 

for Grenada, Major Mark Adkin, a 

retired British officer, wrote that 

"Perhaps the most serious handicap, 

aside from the conspicuous lack of 

good intelligence on all aspects of the 

operation, was that nobody had a 

map. 1b plan a military operation 

without a map is a sure way of ensuring participants are confused and 

unclear about their objectives." 

Additionally, the information 

that some maps carry is inaccurate or out of date. This may 

lead to poor mobility predictions 

regarding threat movements. A 

recurring reason for many 

military failures has been the inability to predict the movements of 

an enemy force, or to have underestimated its mobility. For example, when a commander looks 

at dune patterns on a 1:500,000 

scale map, he must decide if the 

patterns are current, or if they 

have shifted since the map was 

produced. Do the maps indicate a 

continuous sand floor, or exposed 

bedrock between the dunes? How 

old are the maps that are being 

used in this area, and what data 

was used to construct them? Looking at dense forest terrain, can it 

be determined if the area you are 

looking at is thick South American 

rain forest, or has the area been a 

recent victim of slash-and-burn 

clearing activity? All of these questions are important to a terrain 

analyst, and Terra Geode is expected to help address them. 

Things to Come 

None of this information is new. What have been 

described are proven techniques 

and capabilities that have apparently been set aside or forgotten 

over time with the advent of (or 

perhaps preoccupation with) newer, 

more sophisticated remote sensors. 

But scientists and astronauts 

have recommended that a welldesigned Earth observatory be put 

into orbit to monitor both the sunlit and dark sides of the Earth. 

Such a facility would be equipped 

with manual pointing capabilities, 

surface feature automatic tracking, zoom optics, field-of-view 

alpha-numeric displays, time tagging of verbal comments and data, 

and film/video recording of active 

viewing sequences. These are all 

features we envision being used 

during Terra Geode Phase IV. 

Gerald Carr, a Skylab IV 

astronaut, wrote "I think that we 

have discovered a new national 

resource. With better equipment 

and more sophisticated training, 

space observers can capitalize on 

their initiative, discrimination, 

and judgement to obtain information to better understand and 

manage our environment and to 

conduct Earth science experiments from space." 

While much has been accomplished on the Terra Geode 

project, a lot of work remains. As 

yet, there is no firm timeline on 

the program, and full NASA acceptance and subsequent completion 

of the program will likely depend 

on competing projects, projected 

launch schedules, and funding. 

But when Terra Geode reaches 

its goal, it will give the Army an 

unprecedented advantage in 

military mobility prediction&-an 

advantage that cannot be attained 

by machines alone. W 

Captain Karpiscak is the space 

officer for the Engineer 

School's Directorate of Combat 

Developments. He previously 

served as commander of HHC, 

lst Engineer Brigade. Other assignments include battalion S -

1, DEH staff officer, commander of 95th Engineer 

Detachment, combat engineer 

platoon leader, and vertical 

construction platoon leader. He 

holds a degree in architecture 

from Kansas State University, 

and a masters degree in business administration from 

Rider College. 

Engineer 41 
LESSONS LEARNED 

Tactical Lane Marking Procedures 

By Captain Martin B. Dorey 

Engineer doctrine for marking tactical 

lanes during combined arms breaching operations changes frequently. To help 

you cope with the changes, we have 

gathered the following information from observations made at the National Training 

Center, REFORGER, and Operation Desert 

Storm. Use this information to help develop 

or improve the field standard operating procedure (FSOP) on breaching operations for 

your unit. 

Tactical Lane Marking. The breach 

force has initial responsibility to mark a tactical lane. After the breach is completed, the 

breach force commander reports it to higher 

headquarters. On order, breach force engineers then begin to tactically mark the 

lane, as described in FM 5-71-100. 

Tactical lane markings must be easily 

seen and recognized by crews in buttoned- • • 

r 

1 0 

20m 

L o 

0 

0 

0 

• 

0 

Width required to support the assaut 

vehicles (normally 8 meters) 

• 

Symbol Key 

• Entrance funnel gu ide 

markers 

Entrance and exit markers 

Q9 (usually double posts 

about six inches apart) 

0 Left side of marker . D Far recogition signal 

~ Traffic control post 

T 

50 m 

• • up vehicles. The breach force must mark a 

breach lane at the entrance, along the left 

side, and at the exit. 

lo------ 100 m --------i + 400 m 

Entrancs Markings. Entrance markings 

must be easily distinguished from all other 

lane markings. Establish a funnel-shaped 

entrance and spread it over a 1 00-by-50 

meter rectangular area. The funnel shape 

provides an opening that narrows in width 

from 1 00 meters at the outer edge to 50 

meters at the entrance to the tactical lane. 

This shape allows dispersed, mounted forces 

to transition to a column formation. 

Establish far recognition markers to guide 

follow-on assault forces to the breach lane. 

Place these markers as far as 1 kilometer 

(line of site dependent) from the breach lanes. Place 

unmanned, intermediate recognition markers about 

500 meters (line of site dependent) out from the 

obstacle. 

Breach Lane Marking. Observations and experiences from the Combat Training Centers indicate 

that drivers of M1, M60, M2/3, and M113 series 

vehicles prefer left-hand rail markings on lanes. They 

find it difficult to remain on a centerline due to dust 

and smoke. To be clearly visible, drivers need 

42 Engineer 

D Intermediate recognition 

signal 

TCP (ij D Far recognition signal 

Figure 1. Tactical lane marking system 

500 

t m 

markers that are at least 3 to 5 feet tall. These 

markers should be reusable. If possible, emplace leftside markers from an armored vehicle to protect the 

sappers or infantrymen from direct small arms or indirect fires. 

Exit Marking. Like the entrance, the tactical lane 

_ exit must be clearly distinguishable. The driver and 

track commander must know when they are out of 

the lane and free to maneuver (Figure 1). 

Use a standard tactical lane marking system 

throughout the division. The division engineer will 
Traffic 

cone 

Highway 

marker 

"Tippy Tom" 

Figure 2. Currently available lane markers 

determine which method to adopt. 

Marking systems currently in the supply system 

are-

.,. Hand-Emplaced Minefield Marking System 

(HEMMS), NSN 9905-01-019-0140 

.,.. Minefield Marking Set #2, NSN 9905-00-375-

9180 

.... CLAMS, NSN 2590-01-205-3082. 

Nonstandard items that can be used include traffic cones, highway markers, and 

locally fabricated ''lippy Toms." A Tippy 

Tom, copied from an Israeli system, is 

made from a fabricated base and HEMMS 

poles (Figure 2). 

Expanding Tactical Lane Marking. Up 

to this point we have discussed the minimum requirements for a tactical lane marking system. However, we also need a 

simple, workable system to improve the 

markings for expanded tactical lanes. 

As a situation develops, regimental sappers will reduce the number of lanes and 

place markers on the right side of the breach 

lane. Engineers will place markers as far out 

as required to control traffic flow. 

Engineers must widen the original 

breach lane, which is 4 meters wide, to accommodate two-way traffic. This high 

priority mission will expedite passage of 

divisional units and facilitate the evacuation 

of casualties from the front. After the 

widened lanes are proofed, engineers will 

establish a centerline and emplace an exit 

funnel marking system. 

Prepare lanes to standard widths-8 

meters for one-way traffic and 16 meters 

for two-way traffic. Install one-way traffic 

signs on each lane, for both directions, to 

assist traffic flow (Figure 3). 

• 

• 

• 

HEMMS 

pole 

accordance with procedures on 

page 67, Chapter 3, FM 20-32, 

using Standard Minefield Marking 

Set #2, (Figure 4, page 44). The 

final marking system must be standard throughout the corps. 

The Engineer School is requesting 

information about effective methods 

of marking breach lanes. If your unit 

has developed an effective marking 

system, or if you have an idea you'd 

like us to explore, write to: 

Commandant 

U.S. Army Engineer School 

ATTN: ATSE-ESA (Captain Dorey) 

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 65473-6630 

Include your name, address, unit, and telephone 

number . 

References. The following references provide information about breaching obstacles: 

• • I· + ·I • Expanded lanes support 

0 0 0 two-way traffic (normally 6 

to 7 m per lane) 

0 0 0 

0 0 0 

0 0 0 

0 0 0 

0 0 0 

0 0 0 

• One way 

traffic • 

• • 

Friendly Side 

D Intermediate 

recognition signal 

As the final step, follow-on corps combat 

engineer units expand and mark the 

breached lanes. The lanes are marked in Figure 3. Expanded tactical lane marking system 

Engineer43 
I 

I 

Lights 

green 

~~~t~ 

~whn~ entrance/exit red 

.,. FM 20-32, December 1985 (under 

revision) Mine!Countermine Operations 

.,. TM 5-9905-200-10, August 1979, 

Operator's Manual; Minefield Marking 

Set, Hand Emplace able, M 133 

(HEMMS) 

... TM 9-2590-508-10, July 1989, 

Operator's Manual; Clear Lane Marking System (CLAMS) 

.,. REFORGER, National Training Center, 

and Operation Desert Storm observations (Lessons Learned) 

Figure 4. Marking lanes with Standard Minefield Marking Set #2 

Captain Dorey is an evaluation officer with the 

Directorate of Evaluation and Standardization, 

U.S. Army Engineer School. He previously 

served as brigade engineer, company conr 

mander and S4 with the 7th Engineer Bat-

.,. FM 5-71-100, February 1991, (Coordinating 

Draft) Regimental Engineer Combat Operations 

.,. FM 90-13-1, February 1991, Combined Arms 

Breaching Operations 

Book Review 

"The Forgotten War. America in Korea 1950-1953, • by Clay 

Blair, 1136 pages, Anchor Books, New York, 1989. 

44Engineer 

----

talion, 5th Infantry Division, and platoon leader 

and executive officer with the 58th Engineer Company, 

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He is a graduate of the 

Engineer Officer Basic Course, Armored Officer Advanced Course, and the Combined Arms Services and 

Staff School. 

each passing battle and buildup of US divisions, it becomes 

battle hardened and successful when properly led. 

The introduction of Chinese forces marks a major turning 

point. The United Nation (UN) Command's poor intelligence 

and underestimation of China's response were major strategic 

failures. 

Much is written about the spell MacArthur had on the 

Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Administration. His push for expanding the war is seen as an attempt to save face for his 

failure as the Far East Commander, and in the process the 

Eighth Army was nearly destroyed. 

Blair fairly portrays the history of the infantry in Korea. 

The US "drew the line" and UN forces stopped the communist 

aggression. It was the first test of UN forces, and the last true 

UN coalition until the recent Gulf War. 

The performance of the US Army so shortly after the victory of World War II was disheartening to read. I was dismayed by the politics and power play by US senior military 

leaders. Battlefield leadership was absent or infrequent until 

LTG Ridgway arrived in December 1950. The book abounds 

with reports of cowardice and retreat on one hand and 

heroics by small unit leaders on the other. The pri~ we paid 

in lives for not properly preparing, training, and leading soldiers is a black mark on our Army's history. For this reason, 

the book must be read and studied by all leaders. We must 

never again go to war like we did in June 1950. 

We partially learned our lessons from Korea in Vietnam. 

But like Korea, the nation tired of the war and did not acknowledge returning soldiers. In contrast, the success of the coalition forces in the Gulf War is in part a result of several factors: 

our learning the lessons of Korea (and Vietnam); never to go to 

v.:ar unprepared; never piecemeal the fight; develop a profesSional army and leadership corps; and have the commitment 

and support of the nation to the soldiers who fight. 

By LTC Ralph Grieco, commander of the 31st Engineer 

Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood. 

---------- -- ----
[1....0....0... 

Engineer· Solution 

DEVELOP A SCHEME OF ENGINEER OPERATIONS 

Step 1. Analyze relative combat power. The analysis of relative combat 

power is based on the Situation Template (Figure 1, page 33) and an assessment of enemy and friendly engineer capabilities. Use an engineer battlefield assessment (EBA) to determine these capabilities. 

Enemy engineer capability. The terrain and vegetation from phase line (PL) 

Wet to PL Dry will prohibit vehicular movement except along Highway Two. Tanks 

can cross Green Creek only at the ford site, just west of the destroyed bridge. Extensive protective obstacles, including barbed wire and AP mines, are on OBJ 

TOP. These mines probably are well camouflaged, and some probably are 

equipped with anti-handling devices. The bridge across the Blue River may be 

rigged for demolition. The enemy is capable of delivering scatterable anti-tank 

(AT) and AP mines from artillery. 

Friendly engineer capability. The mobility assets of the task force are emphasized in this problem. The attached tank company has one mine roller and 

three mine plows. Each of the nine infantry platoons is capable of limited breaching operations, and the task force is accustomed to integrating your three sapper 

squads when they conduct breaching operations. 

Step 2. Identify engineer battlefield missions and allocate forces. Use the 

reverse planning process to identify engineer tasks from the objective back to the 

start of operations. Each time you identify an engineer mission, you must determine what resources are needed to accomplish it. The Engineer Working Overlay 

(Figure 3, page 46) shows the engineer missions identified and resources required to accomplish them. 

Summary of engineer tasks: 

Axis Left 

1. Assist clearing bunkers on OBJ XRAY. (one engineer team) 

2. Breach potential scatterable 

minefield. (three mineplows, two engineer squads) 

3. Clear bypass of mines. (one engineer squad) 

Axis Right 

Clear bridge of demolitions. (one engineer platoon) 

Assist in clearing bunkers on OBJ 

TOP. (three enginer teams) 

Breach one footpath per infantry 

platoon assaulting through the protective obstacles. (two engineer squads) 

Remember, you must consider all engineer assets at the task force's disposal, 

not just those from your engineer unit. Remember that the resource estimates 

are unrestrained. 

As you allocate resources, you realize there are not enough engineer assets on 

hand to successfully breach the potential obstacles on Axis Left. You bring this to 

the attention of the task force S-3. He requests an additional engineer platoon from 

the follow-on forces, but instructs you to complete the task organization on the 

Engineer 45 
46 Engineer 

Engineer Solution 

"--~----4-~~ Assist Assault 

Axis 

Left 

Breach Through 

Protective Obstacles 

Axis 

Right 

Figure 3. Engineer Working Overlay 

assumption that the task force will not receive addijional assets. 

Step 3. Develop a scheme of engineer operations. The goal of this step is 

to allocate the resources available to accomplish tasks identified in Step 2. Experiment with various resource allocations, considering the task force' mission 

and the commander's intent. As assets become scarce, determine where they 

can reasonably accomplish several tasks. Determine where maneuver elements 

may be called upon to accomplish engineer tasks, or revise your estimates. 

Step 4 Balance force allocations with available assets. In this problem, 

Axis Right has priority. At the end of Phase 1, an engineer platoon is needed at 
n..nnr1 

Engineer Solution 

the bridge over the Blue River, and three engineer fire teams are needed on OBJ 

TOP. Because the commander is more concerned about OBJ TOP than the 

bridge, Company B is allocated three fire teams. Company A, with assistance 

from one engineer fire team, must remove demolitions from the bridge. 

Two engineer squads may be required on Axis Left. One squad probably can 

accomplish most of the mobility tasks on the left with equipment organic to the 

armor company. If necessary, the infantry platoon will provide assistance. 

s 5 Integrate Into maneuver course of action sketch. Prepare a statement describing the scheme of engineer operations. The statement must 

address-

..,.. How engineer assets support the maneuver course of action 

..,.. Engineer mission priorities for each phase 

..,.. Critical engineer events and activities 

..,.. Task organization for combat 

n Using the course of action developed in 

Step 1 through Step 5, visualize the operation as the TF commander. Begin with 

Phase 1 of the operation and continue through Phase 3. Note any shortfalls. Be 

aware of other staff members' plans and ensure all plans (including your's) are 

mutually supporting. 

While wargaming this mission, you see a potential problem in Phase 1. Two engineer squads are attached to Company A for the assault breach, and then three 

of four engineer fire teams switch to Company B when they move into OBJ TOP. 

You decide to refine the plan and place yourself with Company A for the breaching operation. This will allow you to ensure the fire teams transition smoothly to 

Company B. 

d u of c /on. According to the commander's intent, taking 

Hill 165 is key to the operation. Thus, the mobility tasks to breach through the 

protective obstacles and to provide fire teams to assist in destroying bunkers are 

the first priority. Because Company A is tasked to complete an assault breach 

into OBJ TOP, two engineer squads will be attached to it. Company B requires 

three engineer demolition teams to destroy bunkers, and Company A requires a 

platoon to clear the bridge of demolitions. The commander is more interested in 

securing Hill165 than in keeping the bridge intact. Therefore, as Company B passes through Company A, it will pick up three engineer fire teams from Company 

A. The remaining engineer fire team will stay with Company A and assist that unit 

in clearing demolitions from the bridge. 

Team Tank has three mineplows and one mine roller. In addition, the remaining 

sapper squad will be attached to Team Tank to breach potential obstacles on Axis 

Left and possible bunkers on OBJ X-RAY. 

Should the addttional engineer platoon requested from follow-on forces arrive, it 

will be allocated to Team Tank. In this case, the remaining sapper squad from your 

Engineer47 
48 Engineer 

Engineer Solution 

Phase I • Initial 

A~ B 

• ••• 

•• 

~ Tow 

• 

Phase I· Final (B Company passes through A Company) 

A~ B 

. (·) • . In• I . (·) 

Phase II • Same as Phase 1 • Final 

Phase Ill • Same as Phase I • Final 

TM Tank Unchanged 

Figure 4. Task Organization 

platoon will be attached to Company A to assist with the assault breach mission. 

The platoon leader will be with Company A for the breaching operation, and he 

will ensure that the three engineer fire teams transition properly to Company B. 

Because this is an assault breach, the engineer squads attached to Company A 

will be under the command and control of the infantry platoons that conduct the 

breaching operations. They will not be under the control of the engineer platoon 

leader (Figure 4) . 

This Engineer Problem was submitted by Captain Jon Jones and Captain Michael Premo. 

Captain Jones is currently assigned to the 554th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood. 

Previous assignments include the 37th Engineer Battalion and as a task force engineer in 

the 2nd Infantry Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. Captain Premo is an 

instructor/writer in the Department of Combined Arms, U.S. Army Engineer School. He 

previously seNed as a platoon leader, 52nd Engineer Battalion, and commander, A 

Company, 79th Engineer Battalion. 
A District's Environmental 

Learning Curve 

By Colonel Wilbur H. Boutin, Jr. 

e nation's growing aware-

~ ~ess of the environment 

has led to a new mission for the 

Army. With the Corps of Engineers in the lead, the Army is 

playing a key role in cleaning up 

current and former Department 

of Defense (DOD) properties, and 

providing support to the Environmental Protection Agency in 

hazardous and toxic waste 

(HTW) operations. 

To help expedite the Army's contribution to the cleanup effort, the 

Corps' Kansas City District has 

been designated as a design center 

for HTW activities. Design centers 

conduct the geotechnical 

groundwork that helps identify 

hazardous waste sites and provide 

recommendations for treatment. 

In its new role, the district will 

provide HTW operations support 

to DOD, the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA), and 

other federal agencies. 

Background 

'1"\e Corps is a logical choice 

~ to assist in the nation's 

HTW cleanup efforts. As early as 

1982, the Corps provided assistance to the EPA in its efforts to 

manage and clean up the worst 

of the country's HTW locationsthe so-called Superfund sites. 

What then app ear ed t o be a 

transitory project for the Corps 

has now been mainstreamed into 

its future missions. 

This early opportunity to learn 

the "ins and outs" of environmental program management has 

proven invaluable to the Corps. 

When the Superfund program was 

expanded in 1985 t o include 

federal facilities, the Corps of Engineers enjoyed the advantage of 

considerable experience in the 

HTW field. Against a backdrop of 

growing national concern for the 

environment, a significant portion 

of Corps resources is being turned 

to the HTW effort. As a result, engineer officers assigned to Corps 

Engineer 49 
districts are likely to be heavily 

involved in such activities. 

As "point man" for the HTW effort, the Corps operates on a solid 

foundation of support within 

DOD. Secretary of Defense 

Richard Cheney said in 1989 that 

he wanted the Department of 

Defense to be " .. . the Federal 

leader in agency environmental 

compliance and protection." 

Lieutenant General Hatch, Chief 

of Engineers, has taken that mandate and made the environmental 

mission part of his vision for the 

Corps' future. 

Mission Overview 

0 ur HTW missions fall into 

two broad categories: support of the EPA, and support of 

DOD environmental programs. 

Support for the EPA includes 

design work, construction contract management, and technical 

support. Of course , our work 

with the EPA leads to a broad 

range of cooperative projects 

with both private industry and 

other government agencies, such 

50 Engineer 

as the Department of Energy. 

Within DOD, a significant portion of our work deals with the 

management of governmentowned sites which may need 

rehabilitation. For such sites, we 

provide preliminary assessments, 

investigations and feasibility 

studies, and reme4ial design. If 

necessary, we can also provide 

remedial or cleanup action. Additionally, we provide DOD organizations with legal representation in what we call 

"potentially responsible party" 

(PRP) negotiations. This usually 

involves a DOD organization 

which was a previous tenant-or 

current tenant-of a site which 

now has a HTW problem. 

Be Prepared 

Army engineers can expect significant demands on their 

time and expertise in the rapidly 

expanding HTW field. For the 

young engineer officer who may one 

day serve in the Corps, the lessons 

we've learned in the Kansas City 

District may prove valuable. What 

Civilian contractors set up a 

drilling rig to 

dig an extraction well on an 

HTW site. The 

"'""'•I HTW field Is a 

relatively new 

one for both 

private companies and the 

Army (J.M.S. 

Co., Inc. photo). 

follows is some general advice in 

the areas of customer support, staffing, contracting, regulatory compliance, and innovative technology. 

Customer Support 

0 nee a course of action is 

selected for an HTW site, 

the focus of project management 

will generally shift to the district 

office during the remedial design 

phase. In its role as a quasi-contractor for the EPA and other 

federal agencies, the district 

must view customer supportespecially during remedial design 

and action-as a central part of 

its duties. There are alternative 

sources of expertise, both government and private-sector, available to our customers. If we are 

not sufficiently responsive to 

their needs, they will go elsewhere. Make sure your scheduling requirements are straight, 

and your projects on-line. The 

HTW mission is an important 

one for the Corps and for Army 

engineers in general. We don't 

want to lose it. 
Another aspect of customer support is our duty to the public. Include public participation in your 

programs whenever possible. Environmental citizen-action groups 

may express their concern about 

your activities, and they will be 

vocal about the pros and cons of 

district activities. So don't ignore 

the public. Work with your public 

affairs office to develop a public 

involvement/public information 

plan so your energies won't be 

diverted from your engineering 

tasks. 

Staffing 

I n the HTW field, staffing is a 

primary consideration for 

both the government and the 

private sector. Demand for 

qualified personnel exceeds the 

supply. Sometimes it's difficult to 

find sufficient personnel with the 

technical expertise to oversee 

contractors and quality control 

for field activities. Keep in mind 

that most of the contractors you 

will deal with are having the 

same trouble hiring and retaining experienced HTW professionals. Often, relatively inexA private contractor 

tests the perimeter of 

a hazardous and toxic 

waste landfill site. District offices of the 

Army Corps of Engineers often work 

with private firms In 

the management and 

cleanup of HTW 

materials (J.M.S. Co., 

Inc. photo). 

perienced contractor personnel 

are handling difficult environmental assignments with little 

internal oversight or review. 

Engineer action officers and 

project managers working in the 

HTW field should carefully consider whether they have adequate 

personnel resources. If not, they 

need to get the system working to 

fill authorized positions. 

Contracting 

Contracting for HTW operations is difficult and challenging. Many aspects of these 

projects don't fit neatly under 

construction or service contracts. 

Unpredictable work requirements, highly advanced technologies, and widely varying site 

conditions can complicate even 

the smallest project. 

A good example is subsurface 

contamination remediation 

projects. Site characterization and 

problem definition are critical to 

putting together a sound contract. 

But these are difficult things to 

determine. This means accurate 

cost estimates are nearly impossible until the project is well into 

the design phase. This is quite a 

switch from the typical construction projects most engineers are 

familiar with. 

The contracting strategy should 

be pinned down early in the 

development of each project, especially if sole-source contracting is 

needed to obtain a specific technology. Current working estimates 

(CWE) on computer-aided drafting and design (CADD) projects 

need to be continuously updated. 

This will help avoid unpleasant 

surprises when you get ready to 

award a contract. This is particularly true if you will be using 

someone else's design. One of the 

innovative contracting methods 

we're pursuing is a large, indefinite-delivery architect/engineer contract, with a $2 million 

limit per delivery order, and a $20 

million total contract limit. 

Bonding for HTW work is also a 

major consideration, and is particularly important in light of 

heightened public interest in such 

projects. If the government determines that the public interest 

needs protection during the course 

of a particular project, all HTW 

contracts, from service (normally 

requiring no bond) to construction 

Engineer 51 
(requiring 100 percent bonding) 

can have a bond requirement imposed. Several contractors have 

discovered that environmental activism and protection of the public 

trust are major considerations in 

pursuing HTW work-and can influence bonding requirements. 

Regulatory Compliance 

A s mentioned earlier, HTW 

ctivities often do not fit 

neatly into the regulations-~wen 

guidelines that have been written expressly for that purpose. 

State and EPA regulations can 

oft en differ on HTW matters, 

and each can take precedence 

over Corps guidelines and procedures. We've found that some 

regulations even contradict each 

other. So early on, establish contact with personnel in other 

agencies who are knowledgeable 

about their HTW regulations, 

and can help guide your actions. 

But don't count entirely on other 

agencies. Develop a working 

familiarity with all HTW regulations. The smallest oversight can 

ensnare a project for weeks or 

even months. You must have a 

thorough knowledge of regulations, site conditions, and 

remediation technologies in order 

to prepare sound proposals. 

To be a fully functioning member of a district's HTW team, you 

must also be familiar with the 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation and 

Liability Act (CERLA), and the 

RCRA. Superfund sites and most 

formerly used defense sites 

(FUDS), fall under CERLA. Installation Restoration Program 

(IRP) sites may be covered by 

either CERLA or RCRA. 

Innovative Technologies 

Don't be afraid to use innovative technologies in 

52 Engineer 

solving HTW problems. The advantages can sometimes be significant, and the additional risk 

can be minimized by making full 

use of treatability studies. Such 

studies will indicate the applicability of specific technologies 

for each site. 

Also make sure that you are 

properly sequencing your project. 

Your project planning process 

should include opportunities to 

discard the technology if it proves 

ineffective or too expensive. In 

other words, have a backup plan. 

When considering new technologies, use design firms with extensive remedial design experience and a proven record for 

design implementation. The combination of innovative technologies and HTW can be extremely challenging. You want to deal 

with a firm that already knows the 

ropes. In any event, require contract firms to do thorough research of existing literature and 

field application problems. The 

design effort necessary to implement innovative technologies is 

often greater than most firms are 

accustomed to. 

To further minimize risk, try to 

perform pilot-scale field demonstrations at your site prior to 

full-scale operations. This will 

help avoid costly contractor claims 

resulting from unforeseen 

problems and delays. Also, be 

wary of incomplete data sets 

which appear to prove the 

proposed technology-even if the 

data was derived from a previous 

full-scale operation. 

Don't lose sight of the fact that 

an innovative technology is usually only part of the site treatment 

process. Associated operations like 

material handling, soil moisture, 

and disposal of side streams may 

be difficult to accomplish. 

Be realistic about matching a 

new technology with site cleanup 

criteria. A particular technology 

may provide significant advantages at a particular site, but 

may not be effective enough to 

meet the required cleanup standards. We have found, however, 

that cleanup criteria may be 

legitimately "softened" to accommodate a particular technology. 

The EPA's Technology Innovation 

Office is a good source of information and support when considering 

the use of innovative technology. 

The Challenge 

The Corps has taken the 

lead in DOD efforts to 

clean up and control our hazardous and toxic waste problem. For 

officers serving in an engineer 

district, HTW operations promise 

an exciting, demanding challenge. Traditional engineering 

skills will still be needed, backed 

by new expertise gained in the 

HTW field over the past several 

years. 

The road has not been easy so 

far. Mistakes have been made, 

partly because the problem is so 

large, and partly b ecau se engineers-military and civilian 

alike-are still on the upward side 

of the HTW learning curve. But 

getting a handle on HTW is now a 

significant part of the Corps-and 

the country's-future. 

I hope that our experiences will 

serve others who will come to meet 

the challenge. W 

Colonel Boutin is the Kansas City 

District Engineer. He previously 

served as deputy commander of the 

18th Engineer Brigade. He also 

commanded the 5th Engineer Battalion, as well as engineer units in 

Vietnam and Germany. Previous engineer district service includes a 

tour with the New York District as 

assistant chief of operations, and 

chief of the Regulatory Branch. He 

holds a bachelors d egree in engineering m anagem ent from the 

University of Missouri at Rolla, and 

a masters degree in business 

administration from Boston 

University. 
Com d the 

15- tion 

By Captain Andy K. Hughes 

The military justice system enjoys a well- ~-g_~t!'~~~:: ritical to the success of the investigation: 

deserved reputation, even among the nation's 

civilian law community, for procedural fairness . .,.. Who should conduct the investigation? 

Through the informal 15-6 investigation, the Army's .,.. What should be the scope of the investigation? 

legal framework also gives commanders flexibility in 

handling disciplinary matters which may not warrant 

immediate criminal investigation. 

All commanders-and all leaders, both officer and 

NCo-need to be aware of the informal 15-6 and 

how it works. This article explores this legal option 

which, like the famous Dragnet line, gives "just the 

facts , ma'am." 

For Example 

A battalion commander receives information that 

one of the higher ranking men in his unit may 

be fraternizing with junior female enlisted soldiers. 

The allegations include information that the man 

might be using his rank and position to influence the 

female soldiers into "sex-for-favors" situations. 

For obvious reasons, the battalion commander 

must find out the truth about these allegations in the 

interest of his unit's good order and discipline. On the 

other hand, the commander doesn't yet want a formal 

criminal investigation by military police or agents of 

the U. S. Army Criminal Investigation Command 

(USACIDC). Until he has further information, he 

wants to protect the man from the professionally embarrassing spotlight that a full criminal investigation 

would bring. 

Getting the Investigation Started 

The first two things that the battalion commander 

must decide appear simple on the surface, but 

Army Regulation 15-6 directs that unless the investigator possesses certain technical qualifications that 

are essential to completing the proposed investigation, the investigator will be an officer (including warrant officers). As a matter of common sense, the commander should select an officer who, in his opinion, 

has the ability, judgment, and maturity required to 

conduct a thorough investigation. 

The commander should also decide what area(s) 

of concern the investigator should look into. Since the 

investigation is informal, the answer to this question 

is limited only by the commander's discretion. A common method that commanders use to determine what 

areas should be Tnvestigated is to make a list of questions that the commander would like the investigator 

to answer. T~is list will become important as a means 

of expressing the commander's intent concerning the 

investigation and providing initial guidance to the investigating officer. 

After the commander makes these first two determinations, the next step is to appoint the investigating officer and brief him on the mission. Although this 

information can be given to the investigating officer 

verbally by the commander, a much better method is 

through a memorandum of appointment to the investigating officer. This memorandum should contain, at 

a minimum, the following: 

.,.. A statement that the officer has been appointed 

to conduct an informal investigation concerning 

certain allegations. 

.,.. The area(s) which the investigator must cover, 

and on which he must make findings and 

Engineer 53 
recommendations (this is similar to the mission 

statement in an operations order). The commander should include the list of questions 

developed earlier to assist the investigator in 

focusing his investigation. However, the investigator should be told that the list of questions 

is not all inclusive, and he should use 

discretion. 

... The method for reporting to the commander any 

findings and recommendations made (verbal or 

written), and the names of persons to contact for 

special assistance or administrative support 

(such as legal advisors, technical experts, or 

typists). 

... The suspense for the completion of the investigation and procedures for extending that suspense 

if needed. 

Once this memorandum is completed and 

presented to the investigating officer, the investigation 

has begun. The investigating officer is now prepared 

to start his work. 

Conducting the Investigation 

After he receives the appointment memorandum 

(or other guidance), the investigating officer's 

method of proceeding can almost be defined by the 

famed musical title "Anything Goes." Unless his appointment memorandum directs otherwise, the investigating officer may obtain statements (both sworn 

and unsworn) from witnesses, copies of documents, 

summarized records of oral conversations, or any 

other source of information that will yield "just the 

facts." 

However, there are some practical considerations 

that investigating officers should take into account 

while conducting their investigation. One such consideration is that the regulation indicates a preference 

for sworn statements compared to unsworn statements. The reason for this preference is twofold: The 

requirement of an oath or affirmation impresses upon 

persons giving statements the importance of the 

truth. Secondly, if it is later discovered that someone 

knowingly made a false statement, they can be 

prosecuted for false swearing under Article 134 of the 

Uniform Code of Military Justice (for military personnel) or Section 1 001 , Title 18, United States Code 

(for civilians). Since investigating officers are 

authorized to administer oaths (Sections 936 and 

1 044a, Title 10, United States Code), sworn statements should be taken whenever possible, using 

either DA Form 2823 or its equivalent. 

54 Engineer 

· --

Another consideration is whether an individual 

should be advised of their rights against self-incrimination under either Article 31, Uniform Code of 

Military Justice, or under the Fifth Amendment to the 

Constitution of the United States (the so-called "Miranda" rights) prior to conducting an interview. The 

general rule is that since no individual is designated 

as a respondent in an informal investigation, the individual does not have any of the "rights" of a respondent (which includes a rights warning). Therefore, in 

an informal 15-6 investigation, the investigating officer 

is not required to provide a rights warning in advance 

unless he has information leading him to suspect that 

the person may be guilty of a crime. If the question is 

too close to call, the investigating officer should get 

guidance from a legal advisor . 

However, like most general rules, there are exceptions. For example, during the course of an interview, 

if the person being interviewed begins to make statements that may tend to incriminate him for being involved in criminal acts, then the prudent investigating 

officer should stop the interview and advise him of his 

rights. 

A rights warning certificate (DA Form 3881) should 

be used to advise the person of his rights and to 

determine if the person wants to proceed with the interview. If the individual wishes to consult with counsel before proceeding, the interview should be terminated and the individual allowed to seek legal 

assistance. 

In light of recent decisions of the U. S. Supreme 

Court, if an individual consults with counsel, the individual should not be further questioned unless 

either the individual comes to the investigating officer 

and wishes to make a statement, or counsel for the 

individual is present during the interview. 

So while the investigating officer has wide discretion as to his procedures for conducting the investigation, that discretion is not unlimited. The wise investigator should consult legal counsel at the outset of 

his investigation, and develop a plan or road map for 

how he plans to conduct the investigation. He should 

maintain contact with his legal advisor until the mission is completed. 

The Final Report 

G athering information is only half of the investigating officer's job. The officer must now organize that information into a form that his appointing 

authority (the battalion commander in the example 

above) can easily understand. Depending on the 

scope of the investigation, this task can be relatively 

simple or extremely complicated. 

The investigating officer must examine all of the 
material he has gathered, and make findings of fact 

based upon the evidence he has discovered. Usually, 

these findings are made in narrative form, and should 

answer the questions or issues that the investigating 

officer was tasked to answer in the appointment 

memorandum. In addition, the investigating officer 

should recommend to the commander actions that 

should be taken in light of the findings. 

Unless the appointment memorandum states otherwise, the exact form of the report is left to the discretion of the investigating officer. DA Form 1574 is a 

recommended tool that can be used to organize the 

report, but its use is not required. The report should 

contain the findings, recommendations, and copies of 

all documents (witness statements, etc.) which the investigating officer used to make his findings. These 

documents should be marked as lettered exhibits to 

the report (for example, "Exhibit A"). 

The findings should reference the exhibits upon 

which the investigating officer based each of his findings of fact. This will assist the commander in understanding the investigating officer's thought process. 

In all reports, the answers to the following questions must be 'yes': 

IJil> Are the findings consistent with the evidence? If 

the investigating officer makes a finding of fact 

that is not supported by the attached evidence 

in the report, then the finding is improper. For 

example, a finding based upon pure speculation 

must not be included in the report. However, it 

is acceptable to make a finding of fact based on 

the investigating officer's determination of which 

witnesses are telling the truth. 

IJil> Are the recommendations consistent with the 

findings? To illustrate, assume that the investigating officer in the example found that the 

man in question was involved in a fraternization situation with a junior enlisted woman. 

However, in this case, the investigating officer 

recommended that no disciplinary action be 

taken and that the man be reassigned to 

division headquarters. It's obvious that either 

the investigating officer did not make sufficient 

findings of fact (maybe the man shouldn't be 

disciplined, but the investigating officer did not 

explain his reasoning). Or, the recommendation 

is inconsistent with the finding that the man 

was engaged in misconduct (a consistent 

recommendation might be a recommendation 

of some form of administrative action or discipline against the NCO). 

To insure that reports are properly prepared, investigating officers should obtain assistance from legal counsel. 

Post-Report Actions 

After the commander receives the report, 

several events may take place. The commander may approve all of the findings, or may approve some of them. The commander who initiated 

the investigation is not bound by the findings of fact 

or the recommendations of the investigating officer. 

He may draw different conclusions from the evidence 

and take a course of action other than that recommended by the investigating officer. He may direct 

that the original investigating officer (or officer appointed to succeed the original investigating officer) 

conduct further investigation concerning areas previously stated in the memorandum of appointment or 

into additional areas. 

If the commander wishes to look into additional 

areas, he should give the investigating officer a supplemental memorandum outlining them. If the commander wishes additional areas explored, the report 

should be amended to incorporate these new areas. 

The commander may use the report of investigation in a variety of ways. It could, for example, be the 

basis for referring a case to the USACIDC, for relieving an officer, for initiating a report of survey, or for 

revising administrative procedures in the unit. 

Just the Facts 

I

n the example of the alleged fraternization case, if 

both the battalion commander and the investigating 

officer follow the guidance described in this article, 

the result should be a report that clearly states "just 

the facts" to the battalion commander and makes 

recommendations supported by the evidence. With 

the facts discovered in the informal 15-6 investigation, the battalion commander should be in a far better position to make an intelligent decision about 

whether to take action himself or to refer the matter 

for possible criminal investigation. 

This flexibility makes the informal 15-6 investigation, when properly executed, one of the most effective and useful investigative techniques available. 

w 

Captain Hughes is chief of the Administrative Law 

Branch of Fort Leonard Wood's Staff Judge Advocate. He previously served as Administrative Law Attorney in the same office. Other assignments include 

senior defense counsel, trial counsel, and legal assistance officer for Fort Rucker's Staff Judge Advocate. 

He is a graduate of Combined Arms and Services 

Staff School. Captain Hughes received his law degree from the University of Mississippi. 

Engineer 55 
M ENGINEER UPDATE 

Autovon numbers are 676-XXXX, and commercial numbers are 

(314) 563-XXXX, unless otherwise written. 

Directorate of Training and 

Doctrine (DOTD) 

Directorate of Combat 

Developments (DCD) 

56 Engineer 

New Director Welcomed. DOTD welcomed LTC Robert Martin 

as director in June. LTC Martin last served as director of the Engineer School's Department of Military Engineering. COL John 

Pierce left in June to assume his new position as commander, 

U.S. Army Engineer District-Alaska. 

Engineer Hotline. For hard-to-find information regarding 

military engineer issues, call the engineer hotline at -7324. The 

service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most 

questions are answered within one or two working days-we are 

here to serve you I POC is SGM Donald Rasmus, -7528. 

Combined Arms Training Strategies (CATS). Starting in FY 

92, CATS will incorporate a tailored training strategy in Mission 

Training Plans (MTP). The first set of CATS will be included in 

ARTEP 5-605-series MTP (topographic engineering). POC is CPT 

Jim Glass, -7784. 

ARTEP 5-145-32 and 5-145-12-MTPs, Bridge Company and 

Platoon. New MTPs for engineer bridge companies and platoons 

will be distributed in the 4th quarter, FY 91. These MTPs, which 

replace ARTEP 5-64, dated July 1982, provide training and 

evaluation guidance for units with assault float, medium girder, 

panel, and M4T6 class 60 bridges. POC is Russ Hinkle, 

-7513/7786. 

Medium Equipment Transporter Training Package. An exportable training package will beavailable in the 4th quarter, FY 

91, for the M916 and M920 truck-trailer combination vehicles. The 

13-day program includes preventive maintenance checks and services (PMCS), engine brake (Jake's brake), and driving techniques for the M916 (with M172A2) and M920 (with M870). The 

package will be available upon request from the Individual Training Branch, DOTD. POC is CPT Karl Rhynes, -6144/7785. 

AN/PSS-12 Mine Detector. Purchase of the sensitive AN/PSS12 Mine Detector for distribution to Army units depends on results 

of an in-process review scheduled for August 1991 . The AN/PSS12 is a hand-held, portable mine detector that can detect buried 

metallic antitank and antipersonnel mines, and small metallic firing 

pins on buried non-metallic controls. The device weighs about 8 

pounds ; its handle extends from 19 to 57 inches. 

The mine detector will be used by combat, combat support, and 

combat service support troops in both forward and rear areas to 

locate land mines and unexploded ordnance. Initial basis of issue 

will be one-for-one replacement of the AN/PSS-11/12 mine detectors, followed by other combat support and combat service support units. POC is SFC Wilder, -7993. 
Directorate of Evaluation 

and Standardization (DOES) 

Department of Instruction 

(DOl) 

M605 Fuze 

Back view Front view 

Special Projects and Studies. The Engineer School matches 

requests from students for thesis research projects with topics 

submitted from agencies and units for research. The research will 

be performed at the Command and General Staff College, War 

College, equivalent Department of Defense schools, or graduate 

schools. If your agency or unit has a topic to submit, or if you are 

a student seeking a thesis topic, call CPT Martin Dorey, -5321. 

Engineer School Reorganization. Effective 17 June, the Departments of Combined Arms and Military Engineering were reorganized 

into a single department, the Department of Instruction. This move was 

made to consolidate all teaching requirements into one department, 

and to create overhead space savings for the school. Faces, phone 

numbers, and office locations initially will not change rruch. As they do, 

additional announcements will be made in ENGINEER. 

Request you bear with us and have patience when dealing with DOl. 

We will continue to support the field in the same manner that DCA and 

DME did in the past. When writing to us, the new office syni:x>ls are: 

ATSE-DI- Director 

ATSE-DI-CE- Combat Engineering Division 

ATSE-DI-CC- Combat Construction Division 

ATSE-DI-AC - Engineering Office Advanced Course Division 

ATSE-DI-TT- Tactics, Training, and Doctrine Division 

POC is SFC John Williamson, -5746. 

Additional Arming/Disarming Procedures for M16 Series An· 

tlpersonnel Mine (M605 Fuze). The following information is in 

addition to the procedures published on page 46 of the January 

1991 issue of ENGINEER Professional Bulletin . 

..,. M16 mines must have collars on the M605 fuze. The collar 

provides additional clearance between the striker and primer, adding a greater margin of safety in case the striker is accidentally 

released. When arming or disarming the M605 fuze, soldiers must 

ensure that the metal collar over the top of the striker is in place . 

..,. The term "collar" refers to the cylindrical piece of metal that 

slides over the top of the firing pin. It rests on the upper-most part 

of the fuze body, between the three prongs. The collar has a slot 

that lines up with the hole in the striker (firing pin). When the positive safety pin is inserted through the slot in the collar and the hole 

in the striker (firing pin), the collar helps prevent the striker from 

making contact with the primer. 

.,..The collar comes with the fuze when it is first issued; it is not 

an additional part. The metal collar should not be discarded when 

arming the fuze. It must be in place before attempting to insert the 

Engineer 57 
Department of Topographic 

Engineering (DTE) 

Engineer Branch Safety 

Office (EBSO) 

Engineer Personnel 

Proponency Office (EPPO) 

Reserve Component (RC) 

1st Engineer Brigade 

58 Engineer 

positive safety pin. If the collar is missing from the fuze, do not 

arm or disarm the mine. POC is CPT Green, -5596. 

Director Change. In June we said farewell to our director, 

COL Kirby, who will become director of the Defense Mapping 

Agency's Hydrographic and Topographic Center, in Washington, 

D.C. 

We will welcome the new director, LTC Schnabel, in August. 

LTC Schnabel is commander of the 29th Engineer Battalion, Fort 

Shafter, Hawaii. 

Road Grader Operation Update. An item in the January 1991 

issue of ENGINEER (p. 45) reported that road grader operators 

should stand up when moving the vehicle in reverse. That statement is true for all older model road graders used by the military 

(Caterpillar 120 and Westinghouse 440 HAHA). 

Caterpillar M 130G road graders operate differently. Operators 

must remain seated with the seatbelt on when moving this vehicle 

in reverse. POC is Paul Rusinko, -5002. 

Army Diving Open to Women. Military occupational specialty 

(MOS) OOB, Diver, is now open to female soldiers. This decision 

opens 153 Active, National Guard, and Army Reserve positions to 

female soldiers. POC is SFC Eelman, -5361 . 

Army National Guard (ARNG) Officer Welcomed. Effective 8 

July, 1991, LTC Mark L. Juneau (LAARNG) assumed the duties of 

assistant deputy assistant commandant ARNG at the U.S. Army 

Engineer School. He replaces LTC Charles Doll (OHARNG), who 

was selected as a senior service college fellow at Tufts University, 

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. LTC Juneau may be 

reached at -7742. 

Reorganization and Realignment. Engineer training units 

at Fort Leonard Wood are being realigned under a multi-phase 

plan to bring the installation in line with the TRADOC school 

model. The 31st, 35th, and 589th Engineer Battalions (one station unit training) are now attached to the 3d Training Brigade. 

The 577th Engineer Battalion will inactivate on 12 July, and its 

horizontal construction and engineer equipment maintenance 

training missions will transfer to the 87th Engineer Battalion. 

The final phase of the reorganization will redesignate the 1st 

Engineer Brigade as the 1st Engineer Brigade (Center). It will 

absorb missions and units from the 136th Engineer Brigade, 

which will inactivate 20 July. POC is CPT David Kline , AV 581-

4128, or (314) 596-4128. 
---------Past in Review---------

CLEANUP IN THE ALEUTIANS 

By Charles Hendricks 

Few locations in the United 

States have endured as 

dramatic a physical impact from 

warfare in this century as 

Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Scene 

of the only foreign military occupation and land combat in the 

50 states during World War II, 

these islands until recently 

remained scarred by the aftereffects of hasty military construction and rapid post-war 

demobilization. 

The Corps of Engineers has now 

begun a broad effort to clean up 

unsightly remnants of World War 

II on these once pristine islands. 

At the same time, engineers are 

collecting artifacts and records 

that preserve the memory of the 

area's significant historical 

events. Alaska's story, although 

unique, portrays the magnitude of 

the environmental restoration effort currently confronting the 

Department of Defense. 

In 1940 the United States began 

to build substantial facilities for 

naval and land forces at Dutch 

Harbor, near the eastern end of the 

Attu Island 

~ 

Kiska Island ?J 

Scale: 1 inch = 150 miles 

archipelago. These forces were assigned to defend the islands from 

the threat of Japanese aggression. 

Unalaska Bay, on which Dutch 

Harbor was situated, had been the 

commercial hub of the Aleutian Islands since Russian traders settled 

there in the 18th century. 

Navy contractors and troops, including the first Seabee construction regiment, built a $44 million 

operating base at Dutch Harbor 

during the period 1940-44. It included a seaplane station, submarine base, Marine barracks, 

and radio facilities. The base had 

17 office buildings, a 200-bed 

hospital, and seven operating 

docks. Navy builders also erected 

a typical Army mobilization-type 

garrison for 10,000 men adjacent 

to the Navy base. When the buildup of forces made it desirable for 

Navy personnel to occupy those 

facilities, Seabees built another 

Army base on nearby Unalaska Island. Army engineers, meanwhile, 

built an airfield on Umnak Island, 

just west of Unalaska Island. 

Japanese planes bombed Dutch 

Bering Sea 

Harbor in early June 1942 in an unsuccessful attempt to divert American forces from the critical battle at 

Midway Island Attacking aircraft 

destroyed two Army barracks and 

four large oil tanks; damaged three 

quonset huts, a hospital, and a naval 

radio station; and set the barracks 

ship Northwestern afire. American 

fighters at Umnak engaged the 

Japanese planes but lost eight aircraft to the enemy's seven. American 

ground casualties amounted to 43 

killed and 50 wounded 

Immediately after this attack, 

Japanese seized the undefended 

islands of Attu and Kiska, in the 

western Aleutians. At this point, 

the U.S. Army recognized the 

serious threat that the Japanese 

posed to the predominantly Native 

American population inhabiting 

the island chain. The Army 

reacted by hastily evacuating 

most native Aleuts in the Aleutian 

and nearby Pribilof Islands to 

camps in the Alaskan panhandle. 

The residents of Attu, unfortunately, were interned by the 

Japanese in Japan. 

ColdBay-~ ~ 

""'=' '' 'M'CJ'~" 

Atka Island 

Dutch Harbor &....,o 

""'""' '"M' :;po 

Umnak Island .. ~ fl. ~~o• ~ Y fo;. 

;a J' 

• (? 0 

Adak Island ~ C> 

0 ~r:dJbDI>~ ~ oc:. And re an o t Is I a n d s 

Pacif i c Ocean 

Aleutian Islands 

Engineer 59 
Dutch Harbor ... 

During 1942 bombing raid 

In disrepair 

After 1985 restoration 

60Engineer 

General Simon Bolivar Buckner, commander of the Army's 

Alaska Defense Command, responded to the Japanese attacks 

by expanding Army bases on the 

Alaska Peninsula and pushing his 

forces westward from island to island in the Aleutians. By January 

1943 Buckner's forces, which included U.S. and Canadian troops, 

had reached Amchitka Island, 80 

miles southeast of Kiska. Army 

engineers quickly constructed airfields on the occupied islands, 

which enabled American fighters 

and bombers to launch destructive 

raids on the Japanese garrisons at 

Kiska and Attu. 

When 11,000 American forces 

landed on Attu on May 11, 1943, 

they found 2,400 Japanese well 

entrenched on the island's rocky 

heights. The Japanese were in no 

mood to surrender, and only a 

combination of intense naval 

shelling, aerial bombardments, 

and ground attacks eventually 

forced them from their mountaintop positions. Before the battle 

ended 18 days later, the American 

commander had been relieved, 

550 Americans had been killed, 

and 1,150 had been wounded. 

Only 29 Japanese were taken 

prisoner. 

The Aleutian campaign came to 

an anticlimactic end in August 

1943, when 34,000 allied troops 

landed on Kiska. The assault 

troops soon learned that the estimated 9,000 to 10,000 Japanese 

had already been evacuated. The 

Americans, nonetheless, suffered 

21 killed from friendly fire in the 

operation. 

After the Japanese in the 

Aleutians were defeated, the number ofU.S. and Canadian troops in 

Alaska, which had reached 

144,000 in September 1943, 

declined steadily. By the war's 

end, most of Alaska's wartime 

military installations were abandoned, except for substantial garrisons near Anchorage and Fairbanks, on Kodiak Island, and at 
Adak Island in the Aleutians. 

The displaced Aleuts returned 

to their islands in 1944 and 1945 

only to find their homes ransacked 

or destroyed. The Aleuts' Russian 

Orthodox churches had been vandalized, and the village on battletorn Attu had been obliterated. 

The United States spent $250,000 

after the war rehabilitating the 

Aleut communities, but the money 

did not adequately compensate for 

the damage inflicted by souvenirhungry troops. Many small Aleut 

settlements were abandoned. 

While the federal government 

built 24 homes on Atka, including 

six for Attuan families returning 

from Japan, most Aleuts had to 

rebuild as best they could on their 

own. Many found useful building 

materials at abandoned military 

facilities. 

The Aleutian economy improved 

significantly in the 1970s, aided by 

the United States' declaration of a 

200-mile domestic fishing zone in 

1976. Also, the Native Land 

Claims Settlement Act of 1971 

provided substantial benefits to 

the Aleut community. In the midst 

of this prosperity, the continued 

presence of dilapidated, abandoned military buildings formed 

an unsightly contrast. 

Congress asked the Corps ofEngineers to plan the removal of 

abandoned military buildings in 

the Aleutian Islands and at the 

two largest wartime installations 

on the Alaska Peninsula in a 1974 

water resources act. During the 

next five years, the Corps' Alaska 

District prepared two inventory 

and planning documents for the 

environmental restoration work. 

It concluded that a respectable 

cleanup would cost at least $22 

million. 

Recognizing the magnitude of 

the military cleanup prob-lem 

throughout the United States, 

Alaska's Senator Ted Stevens proposed, and Congress in December 

1983 enacted, legislation creating 

a Defense Environmental Restoration Account. This account 

contained appropriated funds that 

could be used only to clean up hazardous wastes and unsafe and unsightly buildings and debris at 

current and formerly used defense 

sites. 

The Corps' Alaska District 

moved quickly to clean up 

Aleutian and Pribilof Island sites. 

By 1985, the district had awarded 

contracts totaling $2.8 million to 

clean up Dutch Harbor and Unalaska Island, $4.4 million for environmental restoration at Atka 

and Amchitka Islands, and $2.8 

million for clean-up work at Cold 

Bay. 

The Corps maintained a lively 

interest in historic preservation 

as it undertook the cleanup 

operations. Joined in its effort by 

the State of Alaska's Historic 

Preservation Office and the National Park Service, the Corps 

carefully documented wartime 

construction in Alaska and 

preserved the best surviving 

structures. Project staff recorded detailed structural information about several historic 

sites before buildings were 

razed. These included the Navy's 

administrative headquarters at 

Dutch Harbor, the first Marine 

barracks erected there in 1940, 

and the air operations building, 

which later served for 37 years 

as Dutch Harbor's airline terminal. The group also documented the standard Pacific hut, 

a lightweight, easily assembled 

plywood structure similar in 

design to the steel quonset hut. 

Pacific huts had proliferated in 

the Aleutians during the war, 

proving impervious to the wind 

and rain for which the islands 

are renowned. 

Cleanup operations were especially extensive on isolated Amchitka and Atka Islands. On Amchitka, the contractor removed 

417 frame buildings, more than 

1,500 quonset and Pacific huts, 

3,300 barrels, 129 tanks, and some 

37,000 cubic yards of wood and 

metal debris. A Corps contractor 

removed thousands of 55-gallon 

oil drums and excavated oilsaturated soils from a landfill site 

used by the military in the Pribilof 

Islands. 

While these cleanup efforts 

were underway, the National Park 

Service conducted a survey of wartime sites in the Aleutians. The 

Park Service's study led to national historic landmark status for the 

Attu battlefield and Army and 

Navy airfields on Attu Island, the 

Japanese occupation site on Kiska 

Island, Army and Navy bases on 

Adak Island and at Dutch Harbor, 

and the Umnak Island airfield. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

now administers the once-occupied Kiska and Attu Islands as 

part of its Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. 

The initial defense environmental restoration projects in the 

Aleutians have been completed, 

but work continues on recently issued contracts. These include a 

$7.6 million contract for site restoration at Port Heiden, on the 

Alaska Peninsula, where an Army 

base was built after the 1942 

bombing raid at Dutch Harbor. 

Two contracts totaling $1.7 million 

have been awarded for additional 

restoration work at Dutch Harbor 

and Unalaska Island. 

More work is in the offing. The 

Alaska District will survey the environmental restoration needs of 

Attu and Kiska Islands this summer, in advance of anticipated 

work there. These projects, aimed 

at removing the scars of war from 

a land of great natural beauty, 

form a colorful part of the more 

than $300 million of defense environmental restoration work 

which the Corps of Engineers executes annually. 

Charles Hendricks is a historian, 

Office of History, U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers, Fort Belvoir, VA He 

earned a PhD in history from Cornell University.