WINTER 1972 
WINTER 1972 VOLUME 1 NUMBER 4 

2 PipelinelNews ltems 

4 Engineer InterviewlMG H. W. Penney, BG C. N. LeTellier 

11 Ein Sportplatz fur Allel Engineer Staff 

12 Grossing Out Delta CompanylSP5 Hugh M. Gildea 

16 Operation CleanuplEngineer Staff 

17 Westward, Ho!/Robert G. McClintic 

26 ENCOESIMAJ Robert E. Harper 

30 Dynamic TrainingICOL W. R. Hylander 

3 Modernizing For The FuturelW. T. Spriegel 

36 The UET TodaylMAJ Scott S. Collins, Jr. 

39 Valor At VicksburglEugene V. McAndrews 

42 Bridging The GaplCareer Notes 

44 New Academic DepartmentslEngineer Stdf 

DEPARTMENTS: Chiefs BriefslPipelinelBridging The Gap 
U.S. Army Engineer School 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia 

Colonel Rufus Putnam, America's second Chief Engineer, was born 

at Sutton, Massachusetts, on 9 April 1738, and was apprenticed to 

millwright at the age of 16. 

He served in the French and Indian War from 1757 to 1760 under 

Colonel Richard Gridley-his predecessor as Chief Engineer-and 

after the Battle of Lexington was commissioned an officer of the line. 

mhen General Washington, who had discovered Putnam's practical 

\ gineering abilities, moved his Army south, he made Putnam Chief 

dngineer of his Field Army, and placed him in charge of the defenses 

of New York. 

Colonel Putnam laid out the fortifications at West Point in 1778, 

and participated in the capture of Stony Point in November 1779. His 

work in the planning and construction of those defenses was quite notable, and Fort Putnam still stands to honor his name at the United 

States Military Academy. 

In March 1786, along with other officers of the American Revolution, 

he founded the Ohio Company of Associates to purchase and settle 

lands to the west, and led the first great colonizing expedition to that 

area. 

He and his fellow veterans reached "Putnam's Paradise," the present 

site of Marietta, Ohio, on 7 April 1788, and began the first organized 

settlement west of the Ohio River in what was then known as the 

Northwest Territory. Thus, the first great organized migration of settlers 

to the west was personally spearheaded by the United States Army's 

second Chief Engineer. The fortifications which he built there saved 

the settlements from annihilation during the disastrous Indian Wars. 

Putnam's importance and authority increased. He was commissioned 

a brigadier general in 1792, and was directed to negotiate with the Tndians for peace. Later, he was made superintendent of the river postal 

service from Marietta, and in 1796 was appointed Surveyor General of 

e United States, serving until 1803. 

@'For his great contributions to its development, Colonel Putnam has 

,een called the "father of Ohio." He died in Marietta-"Putnam's 

Paradisew--on 1 May 1824, e 

Commandant 

MG Robert R. Ploger 

Assistant Commandant 

BG Richard 1. Harris 

Deputy Assistant 

Commandant 

COL William F. Hart, Jr. 

Officer-in-Charge 

MAJ Tommy B. King 

Editor 

Robert G. McClintic 

Managing Editor 

William T. Spriegel 

Executive Editor 

CPT Dennis F. Pierman 

Associate Editor 

1 LT Allen Sevier 

Art Director 

John W. Savage, Jr. 

The Engineer is an authorized quarterly 

publication of the U.S. Army Engineer 

School. It is published to provide factual 

and in-depth information of interest to all Engineer units. Articles, photographs 

and art work of general interest may be 

submitted for consideration to: Editor, 

The Engineer, USA Engineer School, Fort 

Belvoir, Virginia 22060. Views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily 

those of the Department of the Army. Use 

of funds for printing of this publication 

has been approved by Headquarters, Department of the Army, July ll, 1969. 

Subscriptions to THE ENGINEER magazine are available through the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government 

Printing Office Washington, D. C. 20402. 

Annual rates Are $1.50 for mailing to a domestic or APO address and $2.00 for 

moiling lo a foreign address. Individual 

copies of the magazine are 50< each. 

Checks should be mode poyable to the 

Superintendent of Documents. 

ABOUT THE COVER 

Rehabilitation of U.S. facilities in Germany as depicted 

by the sca!e model constructed 

by Art Director John W. Savage, Jr., is the theme for the 

cover of this issue. The engineers rehab effort is described 

in "Westward, Ho!" beginning 

on page 17. 
ENGINEERS SALUTE 

CORPS AT ANNUAL 

DINNER MAY 5 

The 105th annual Engineer 

Dinner will be hosted at Specker 

Field House, Fort Belvoir, Va., 

Friday, May 5, 1972. 

Theme for the occasion is "The 

Corps Cares." The cocktail hour bemy Engineers are needed, including 

diaries, photos, letters, biographies 

and personal papers of both military 

and civilian engineers. 

For research collections, copies 

are needed of the Chief's Annual 

Reports from 1866 to the present, 

The Military Engineer from initial 

publication to 1921 and MarchApril 1936, Professional Memoirs, 

full-tracked medium tractor such 

as the D7E is needed to move the 

heavy rollers through underbrush. 

Test plans for the brush cutter, 

one of five pieces of land clearing 

equipment being evaluated by the 

Tropic Test Center at Fort Clayton 

in the Canal Zone, call for completion of a 50-hour test mission in 

a humid environment. 

gins at 6:30 p.m. with dinner fol- and Engineer School Occasional 

lowing at 8. Papers. TOPO MOVES TO n 

Entertainment will be provided 

during dinner, followed by a brief 

program, including presentation of 

the Itschner Award. The Society of 

American Military Engineers presents the award annually to the outstanding unit in the Corps. 

The Castle Ball will be held the 

next night, Saturday, May 6, also at 

Specker Field House at 9 p.m. 

Information for the events can 

be obtained by writing Chairman, 

Invitations Committee, c/o DPTSEC Post Headquarters, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060. Or call A/C 

703 664-1215 (AUTOVON EXchange 354-1215). 

OCE NEEDS ASSIST 

IN PREPARATION 

OF CORPS HISTORY 

The Office of the Chief of Engineers is writing the history of the 

Corps and needs assistance from the 

field. 

Records and memorabilia of ArContact the Historical Divisbn, 

Office of the Chief of Engineers, 

P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-A/C 301 962-3250, 

Autovon 23 1-3890 (Ext. 3250). 

ARMY TRACTOR 

CLEARS LAND 

FOR U. OF PANAMA 

What started out as a routine 

evaluation of brush-cutting attachments of the U. S. Army's D7E 

medium tractor in a tropical environment developed into a civic 

action project when the University 

of Panama asked the U. S. military 

to help clear some heavy overgrowth from its research farm. 

The cutting mechanism being 

tested-two drum rollers fitted 

with longitudinal cutting bladesis designed to clear land covered 

by secondary growth, but little or 

no heavy timber. The weight of 

the rollers can be increased by adding water or oil to the drums. A 

UPDATE ITS MAPS 

The US Army Topographic Command is anxious to provide all Army 

units the best possible topographic 

services, products and maps. 

"However," Topo officials say, "it 

is difficult for us to improve present 

top0 maps unless we get definitive 

information from the field pointing 

out changes, weaknesses or errors in 

maps now being used. At the Topo 

Command we must rely on each individual soldier to tell us how our 

maps can be made more accurate, 

more useful in the field. 

"A soldier need not follow an 

elaborate procedure when he wants 

to give us some thoughts about topographic maps he uses. All he needs 

to do is jot down his ideas and send 

them (along with his return address 

for acknowledgement) to-US Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories, ATTN: Leroy Morkes, 

graphic Sciences Division (TP 2'- ' 

GSA 86100), Fort Belvoir, Virgh.. . 

22060. 
ENGINEERS AERATE 

TABLE ROCK LAKE 

TO SAVE FISH 

To save valuable trout from suffocation, last fall U.S. Army Engineers began forcing oxygen into 

the waters of Table Rock Lake near 

Branson, Mo. 

Ten large construction-type port6 le air compressors, were set up at 

le Rock Dam and Reservoir a 

;t distance upstream from Lake 

Taneycomo. Connected to the compressors by hundreds of feet of air 

supply piping, two large air diffusers, each measuring 80 feet across, 

were lowered to a depth of 185 feet 

in Table Rock Lake. 

Cooler air temperatures each autumn reduce dissolved oxygen 

(D.O.) levels in Taneycomo below 

minimums believed necessary to 

sustain trout life. D.O. readings of 

less than four parts per million 

(ppm), considered critical by the 

Missouri Department of Conservation, could result in a massive fish 

kill. The recommended level is six 

PPm. 

Surface water, warmed by summer temperatures, has high dissolved oxygen content, while cold water 

at greater depths (to 230 ft in Table 

Rock Lake) has relatively low oxyen content. In the fall, surface 

gir cools and sinks, displacing 

,F .er water at lower depths, which 

has less oxygen. 

Last October 1, two compressors 

began injecting air directly into the 

water that passes through two turbines of the dam's power plant. Biologists, engineers and technicians 

operate monitoring equipment at 

riverbank monitoring stations and 

in small boats above and below the 

dam. They record changes in dissolved oxygen content and other 

data, such as temperature and organic content. 

With first tests of the aeration system D.O. content below the dam 

rose from four ppm to six ppm, indicating the experiment could succeed. 

The project is considered important to the six million tourists, mostly fishermen, who annually visit the 

picturesque rolling mountain area 

surrounding Table Rock Lake and 

Lake Taneycomo. 

Agencies working with the Corps 

of Engineers in the project are the 

University of Missouri, Missouri 

Water Pollution and Water Resources Boards, the Southwestern Power 

Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

USACRREL FORMS 

NEW DIVISION 

IN ALASKA 

The US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory 

(USACRREL) at Hanover, New 

Hampshire, has established a new 

division in the state of Alaska. 

The Alaska Division will conduct 

and coordinate long-term research 

and technology applicable to Army 

engineering and environmental 

needs. With development of Alaskan resources, the Division will provide information on cold regions 

technology, environmental research 

and engineering for government and 

private agencies in the state. 

Offices and laboratories of the 

Alaska Division to be located at 

Fort Wainwright, Alaska, will include the present test and support 

facilities of the USACRREL Alaska 

Field Station in Fairbanks. 

ENGINEERS TEST 

NEW DISTRIBUTOR 

FOR DUST CONTROL 

Army Engineers are testing the 

abilities of a new distributor to apply liquid dust-control materials and 

bituminous liquids on airfields, helipads, roads and storage areas. 

The air-transportable vehicle is 

made in two sections which can 

quickly be coupled and uncoupled 

in the field. 

A two-compartment tank provides a 375-gallon water capacity 

and a 2,000-gallon capacity for dust 

control materials. The distributor is 

capable of simultaneously applying 

water for preconditioning soil, fiberglass scrim for reinforcing, and liquid dust control materials. e 
with 

major general Howard W. Penney 

and 

brigadier general Carroll N. LeTeIIier 

The war in Vietnam soon will be 

only a memory for veterans of that 

controversial conflict. The swift 

pull-out of U. S. forces continues 

and, eventually, approximately 50,- 

000 Army troops are expected to remain to carry out logistics-type missions. So, the question comes to 

mind, where will the rest of our professional soldiers go? Home! Yes, 

but many will be reassigned sooner 

or later to Germany where the Army 

is focusing new emphasis and priorities. 

To get a better understanding of 

the current and future role of the 

engineer in Germany, the engineer 

visited installations and studied activities in that country for two weeks 

and interviewed Major General 

Howard W. Penney, USAREUR 

and Seventh Army Engineer, and 

Brigadier General Carroll N. LeTellier, Commander, U. S. Army 

Engineer Command, Europe. 

General Penney's ofices are located in Campbell Barracks, Headquarters for U. S. Army Europe and 

Seventh Army. USAREUR stag 

sections have been housed in the imposing buildings of this kaserne i!z 

quaint old Heidelberg since the end 

of World War II. 

General LeTellier's ofices, on the 

other hand, are located in the new 

Engineer Command building just 

behind the I. G. Farben Building in 

downtown Frankfurt. 

Both Generals Penney and LeTellier are veteran engineer officers. 

General Penney has been in the 

Corps for 31 years; General LeTellier 21 years. 

As the Engineer for USAREUR 

and Seventh Army, General Penney 

has a unique position. He is the 

command stag engineer and reports 

directly to the Commander-in-Chief 

of USAREUR and Seventh Army. 

He receives technical direction from 

the Chief of Engineers for the command and funnels it to the Commanding General of Engineer Command, the commanders of the 130th 

Engineer Brigade in V Corps and 

7th Engineer Brigade in VII Corps, 

and all other separate unit commanders in Germany, the BE 

LUX countries and SETAF. f? 

only unit under his direct commor.~. 

line, however, is the USAREUK 

Topo Center. 

General Penney is perhaps the 

epitome of the engineer oficer. Very 

much the gentleman, he seems ro 

"We are trying to solve problems" ". . that require additional funds." "We must develop innovative idea. 

4 
have the steel-trap mind that looks 

ery problem with the cause and 

credentials 

that should enable him to get anv 

job done. The general is a 1940 

graduate of the U. S. Military Accrdemy and holds a masters degree 

from Texas A&M. He also is a 

graduate of the Command and Gel?- 

era1 Sta8 College, the Advanced 

Management Program at Harvard 

University, and the National War 

College. 

General Pemey began his commissioned military career at the 

"home of the engineers," Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1940. He served at the 

Engineer School twice and held such 

positions at Supply Oficer, Secretary, Assistant to the Assistant Commandant, and Assistant Director of 

Courses. 

He has held a variety of top-level 

engineer jobs-Executive Oficer of 

the Albuquerque District, Cotnlzding Oficer of the 20th En- 

"?r Combat Battalion, Assista~lt r# .:ef of Civil Works for Flood Control, OCE; District Engineer for 

Tulsa, and Deputy Director of Civil 

Works for Comprehensive Planning, 

OCE. 

General LeTellier has moved 

swiftly up the ladder to the stars 

since his graduation from The Citadel in 1949. His credentials are 

many. But he needs them all to command the Army Engineer Command, Europe. As the commanding 

general, he is directly responsible for 

all new construction required by the 

three services in Germany and the 

BENELUX countrie.~ and for the 

maintenance, repair, and utilities 

services for all Army installations in 

Germany except Berlin and Bremerhaven. His command consists of 

some 19,000 military and civilian 

personnel with annual program 

values of upproximately $185-milp: for contract and troop con- 

;tion and design, and $205-mil- ;r r~dn for Facilities Engineering 

(R&U) and family housing maintenance. 

General LeTellier is one of the 

young new generals that will carry 

the .Army far in the future. He is 

what most people would call a 

comer. He is enthusiastic, brilliant, 

and highly-qualified to handle the 

job at hand. His credentials include 

holding a masters degree from 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a graduate of the Armed 

Forces Staff College at Norfolk, the 

Navy War College and the Command and General Staff College. 

The general has held a number of 

important engineer posts--Chief, 

Demolitions and Mine Warfare Section, USAREUR Engineer School 

Executive Oficer, 299th E 'n g' weer 

Battalion, Engineer Project Oficer 

for the Advanced Research Projects 

Agency in Saigon, Assistant Post 

Engineer and Doctrinal Oficer, 

Combined Arms Agency, Combat 

Developments Command; Director 

of Construction and Deputy for 

Troop Operations, Engineer Command, Europe; Engineer XXIV 

Corps, Phu Bai, Vietnam, Commander, 45th Engineer Group (Construction) Vietnam, and Assistant 

District Engineer, St. Louis. 

General Penney was interviewed 

first. 

ENGR: Do you see any immediate or long-range changes in 

the European Engineer organizational structure? 

PENNEY: No. The current structure with an Engineer Command 

under Theater Army Headquarters 

handling engineer combat service 

support, construction, and facilities 

engineering, has proven to be the 

besf here. 

ENGR: What are your top priority programs? 

PENNEY: The rehabilitation of 

troop facilities, the upgrading of 

training facilities, and the revitalization of unit training in line with 

recent guidance from the Army 

Chief of Staff and the USAREUR 

commander. I 

ENGR: What is your biggest 

problem right now? 

PENNEY: Lack of money to do 

critically needed rehabilitation of 

troop barracks, the rehabilitation af 

other facilities, and the conversion 

of heating plants from coal to oil. 

ENGR: Where do you go from 

here with the thrust of your activities? 

PENNEY: We are pushing hard 

toward solving the aforementioned 

problems with the available resources. We also are trying to get 

more funds and are increasing emphasis on realistic, effective, imaginative, meaningful training for all of 

our personnel. 

ENGR: Do your units need new 

or better equipment to handle 

their missions? 

PENNEY: We are able to operate 

with what we have now in the way 

of equipment. However, we could 

do a more efficient job if we had 

new equipment. Much of our equipment is old and tired, of low density, 

and consists of many makes and 

models. These factors create problems in keeping the equipment operational. 
ENGR: Now that the war in Vietnam is winding down, do you 

anticipate large cuts in manpower over here? 

PENNEY: I am not in a position to 

answer that question. 1 certainly 

hope not. Unilateral cuts would be 

a bad mistake in my view. 

ENGR: Are the training and 

readiness programs still receiving top priority in their overseas area? 

PENNEY: These programs a;e receiving high priority commandwide. Specifically, the engineers top 

priority for the next several months 

will continue to be barracks rehabilitation and associated projectstroop self-help, training area and 

rifle range upgrade. The best training an engineer unit can get is actual 

work on a project. 

ENGR: Are there any moves to 

close down some of the kasernes 

where our troops are quartered? 

PENNEY: Our Deputy Chief of 

Staff for Operations has the primary 

staff responsibility for development 

and restationing plans. There have 

been some relocations and consolidations of units for purposes of 

economy and to optimize positioning for mission support. 

ENGR: Do you see the U.S. military forces focusing their attention on Europe now that they are 

pulling out of Southeast Asia? 

PENNEY: There is a recent statement of priorities from the Army 

Chief of Staff where he points out 

that Europe can expect increased attention. 

ENGR: Are you getting enough 

trained engineers to handle the 

mission in this command? 

PENNEY: We have felt a recent increase in. the input to the theater. 

We are getting a good share of the 

training base output. Our main 

problem is no longer numbers. We 

do have some Military Occupational Specialty and grade imbalances. 

We are presently overstrength in 

some MOS's (e.g. Grader Operator) 

as a result of the Vietnam drawdown while remaining understrength 

in others (e.g. Mobile Assault 

Bridge Operators). We are in good 

shape in the lower ranks, especially 

in the entry MOS's (e.g. 12A10, 

Combat Engineer), but need more 

Squad Leaders and Platoon Sergeants. This is a world-wide problem which creates an unfortunate 

skill and experience imbalance. We 

are tackling this problem locally by 

OJT programs to increase skill qualification as well as use of the Seventh Army NCO Academy and the 

Combat Engineer NCO course at 

the Vilseck Training Center. We 

also are using brigade level "Engineer NCO Academies" to develop 

our leaders. 

ENGR: Do you have any OJT 

type training program in the 

construction skills? 

PENNEY: Yes. Our battalions, both 

combat and construction, qualify 

soldiers by OJT to the limit of their 

capability. We also use the La 

Semice/Civilian Labor Group 5 

ganizations. These are German a,.- 

third country nationals who are 

organized into para-military unitsconstruction and float bridge. They 

are highly-qualified professionals 

and we periodically place U. S. 

soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder with 

them to improve our own construction and combat support 

skills. 

ENGR: Is there any way you feel 

that the Engineer School could 

better assist you in training engineers? 

PENNEY: The Engineer School 

does a magnificent job for the Army 

and I am really not in a position to 

make any suggestions for improvement. The school was most responsive to our recent need for output 

of ADM Specialists and we in 

USAREUR are very appreciative of 

that effort. I am heartened to hear 

that an Advanced NCO cours fi 

being established there. A succ 

ful course of this type should be 

a major step toward further improvement of our posture and 

skills in the supervisory grades. 

Like the USAREUR Engineer, 

the Commander of Engineer 

Command, Europe, General LeTellier, has a monumental job. 

He is directly responsible for all 

new constrztction required by the 

three services in Germany and 

the BENELUX countries; and for 

maintenance, repair, and utilities 

services for all Army installtttions in Germany except Berlin 

and Bremerhaven. The general's 

command consists of approximately 19,000 military and civilian personnel with annual program values of some $185-million for contract and troop construction and design, and $205- 

million for Facilities 

ing and family housing mai 

rcance. 
GR: MAJ GEN Penney gave .et magazine an extensive over- 

,.;w of the engineer structure in 

Europe. Do you feel that it is 

better set up to do the job than 

the Engineer Command, Vietnam? 

LE TELLIER: I think our problems are different from Engineer 

Command, Vietn~m. We do not 

have the immediate operational 

support requirements of field commanders. The engineer organization 

in Vietnam is tailored to respond 

immediately to the operational suvport requirements of the tactical 

commander as first priority. The 

residual force, both combat and 

construction engineers, not employed 

on operational requirements is utilized in the overall engineer construction mission. In Germany we 

are not in an active conflict and 

Engineer Command forces do not (q-, ;e a tactical support mission. The 

anization here is tailored to the . r P' kuropean situation. The Engineer 

Command in Europe contains only 

construction battalions. Our peacetime mission optimizes the application of our construction troops, our 

in-house facility engineer works for 

this command to undertake the current multi-million dollar program to 

renovate the living and dining facilities of the USAREUR troop units 

to include renovation of the plumbing, heating and electrical systems 

while the troops continue to occupy 

these facilities. Our problem is 

complicated by having few accurate 

as-built drawings of the kaserncs, 

most of which were constructed 

hastily by the German Government 

prior to World Wars I and 11. Many 

unforeseen conditions are encountered which require contract modifications, while trying to maintain a 

tight contract schedule. Continuous 

r>rdination is required with the 

fpp units by Engineer Command 

pe;sonnel to minimize these problems. We match our contract construction capability against the military construction requirements of 

the Army and the Air Force and the 

facility maintenance requirement of 

the Army in Germany. The combat 

battalions are assigned to the Engineer Brigade in the tactical corps. 

You probably know, Corps commanders are utilizing their engineers 

extensively in providing technical 

advice to their non-engineer units 

as well as in support of their construction programs to maximize the 

self-help program. However, the 

combat engineer forces are not 

assigned to the Engineer Command. 

ENGR: You yourself have a very 

unique command and command 

structure. Could you give us 

more of an overview on the to- \.., 

tal mission of this command? 

LE TELLIER: I think we could 

tell you the war-time mission of 

the command which is to provide 

construction engineer supporr to a 

conflict in Europe. This is in accordance with the normal doctrine 

to provide construction support not 

only to the Army but to the Air 

Force. This, of course, is a continuous planning problem. In addition to that we have a peacetime construction mission for the 

Department of Defense and all 

agencies in the Federal Republic 

of Germany and the BENELUX 

countries. Also, we have the responsibility for the maintenance of Army facilities for the predominance 

of the Federal Republic of Germany. 

ENGR: Where do you go from 

here with the thrust of your 

command activities? 

LE TELLIER: The command in its 

current form has been in being now 

just a little over four years and has 

undergone only one, relatively 

minor, internal reorganization. I bzlieve our job now is relatively well 

defined. How do we do our job even 

better? We must now review our 

past, look at the future, and develop 

innovative ideas in order to make 

the dollar go further. This is obvious 

in our day to day operations. For 

example, in the administration of our 

O&MA program, the program managers of the troop, family housing, 

and the dependent school program 

all are operating on tight budgets 

and continuously demand more for 

their funds and minimum overhead 

charges. It is up to us to extend ourselves in construction area, the Engineer Command, Europe has a 

broader mission within the construction mission in accomplishing Army, 

Air Force, and Navy contract construction in Germany and the 

BENELUX countries. Also, the 

MACV Engineer is the CG, Engineer Command, Vietnam. In USAREUR, the USAREUR Engineer 

has broader area responsibilities 

outside the Germany and BENELUX area and does not act as CG, 

Engineer Command, Europe. 

ENGR: How do you correlate 

with the Chief of Engineers and 

the Chief Engineer, Europe? 
LE TELLIER: We are the recipient of the technical direction from 

the Chief of Engineers through 

General Penney, the USAREUR 

Engineer. Generally, our principal 

operational constrictions are received through fiscal program direction 

and the USAREUR Supplement LO 

the ARs governing the Construction and Real Property Management 

Activities. I believe that it is interesting to note that there is quite a 

difference in the Engineer Cornmand, Europe and the Engineer 

Command, Vietnam. The Engineer 

Command, Vietnam controls not 

only the construction engineer 

troops, but also the combat and 

topographic engineer troops. In Europe, the nondivisional combat engineer forces are controlled by the 

Corps and the topographic engineers are directly under HQ, US.4- 

REUR. In addition, in Vietnam, the 

DOD proponent for Construction is 

the Department of the Navy, whereas in Germany, the DOD propone~~t 

is DA. The Engineer Command, 

Europe and the Engineer Command, 

Vietnam both have the RPMA mission. Whereas the Engineer Command, Vietnam has broader responsibility outside the military order to 

maximize our effectiveness in this 

area. 

ENGR : Does your office have any 

interdisciplinary communications gap with the field units? 

LE TELLIER: To assume that 

there was no problem in this area 

would either require completely 

turning your back on a current 

problem or be a complete egotist 

and assume that the problem was 

solved. Though his command has 

suffered during the past several 

years due to peisonnel turbulence 

and understaffing, these two problems seem to be rapidly returning to 

normal. The settling of these two 

problems accompanied by the challenging nature of the command's 

current large number of projects 

should do much to provide all field 

units with a meaningful type workload which should promote pride in 

our organizations and reduce the 

current interdisciplinary communications gap. 

ENGR: What is your biggest 

problem right now? 

LE TELLIER: The greatest problem we currently face is coordinating our work with the troop units 

we support. Properly so, troop commanders are seeking two opposing 

objectives: maximum improvement 

of their facilities with minimum interruption of their organization operations. It is a real challenge. 

ENGR: You are definitely covering your vertical skills in your 

construction battalion; how 

about your earth moving? 

LE TELLIER: We are fully committed on our earth moving skills. 

Our horizontal capability has been 

fully utilized in about four areas. 

A. The Air Force has used a considerable amount of our capability 

on airfield construction and maintenance. B. As a result of our m 

out of France to Germany, TA 3 

COM and the Air Force have had 

a large number of projects involving ammunition storage. C. The 

earth-moving units also have been 

involved in construction of hardstand areas for support of storing 

Reforger equipment. D. Finally, the 

change from the English system to 

the metric system has involved considerable amount of revamping of 

our firing ranges. While we have 

been doing this, the ranges have 

been upgraded to meet the current 

German safety standards. 

ENGR: With the emphasis, or 

focus if you will, swinging from 

Vietnam to Europe, it would 

seem that you will be getting 

more dollars from the Defense 

Budget. This should alleviate 

your construction problems, 

should it not? 

n 

LE TELLIER: I hope so, but th~ 

is also the problem we are facing of 

installation costs here in Europe. I 

will cite an example of coal. The 

price of coal. is forcing practically 

all of our utilities to go up. The cost 

of heating, and the cost of electricity 

are rising. Another interesting fact 

that has caused a rise in the cost of 

maintenance of the individual soldier's living area is the fact that we 

have just increased, not only the 

number of soldiers in Europe, but 

also the amount of living space assigned to each soldier. In the past 

we have had a DA objective of 

about 72 sq. ft. per man and now it 

is up to 90 sq. ft. per man. So we 

are maintaining, heating and providing electricity for more space per 

individual, we have more individuals and a greater cost to provide 

heat and electricity to that larger 

space. I might add that we are providing the individual with more e 

trical outlets for his hi-fi and ot ", 

electrical equipment to make it in 
act his home. No longer do we supt the single 40 watt bulb in the c, $die of a 4 to 6 man room. So, 

the more our utility bills go up, less 

money is available to fund main.- 

tenance and repair. 

ENGR: You talk ahout coal, the 

way we understand it they are 

converting the coal-heat to oilheat. What will this do to the 

American dollar. It is our unclerstanding that the coal is shipped 

over here from the States. 

LE TELLIER: As you probably 

know, the oil is purchased centrally 

in the United States. The coal has 

been predominantly purchased in 

the States. However, coal has a 

further impact than just the heating 

aspects because the electrical power 

generated over here comes from 

German sources, principally produced from coal. The price of coal 

is reflected in the price of electricity. 

,,t back to the heating, it is a 

$ar and cents proposition. The 

Cl oil will be considerably cheaper 

because we can automate these systems much more readily than coal; 

therefore, we can considerably reduce the amount of manpower required to maintain coal operated 

boilers. 

ENGR: Do you feel that our 

troops should he moved into 

newer kasernes rather than our 

trying to renovate some of the 

older ones that are in real had 

shape? 

LE TELLIER: It's a matter of 

purely dollars and cents. I think that 

the current climate of the country 

on military spending and the length 

of time necessary to fund a program 

to give all new facilities would be 

prohibitively long. I believe we are 

now taking the best alternative avail- T?,, r\-- to us; that is, to renovate what 

', Tihave. It is the most economical 

course to provide immediate relief 

to the maximum number of soldiers. 

ENGR: How long will it take for 

the engineers to get all of the 

living quarters, dependent, troop, 

ancl office, in first class shape? 

LE TELLIER: It's purely a matter of appropriation. Let's take the 

troops' allowance total requirement 

for something like $200-million. 

Only about 20-25 percent of that 

appropriated money is in sight now. 

We could accelerate our program if 

we had additional funds. We have 

been working about four years on 

the program now. Based on the current appropriation rate and considering the work I think we are thinking in terms of a five to 10 year 

program. 

ENGR : General LeTellier, now 

that you have your feet on the 

ground with a couple of months 

on the job, do you intend to 

make many changes in Engineer 

operations and in training programs within your command? 

LE TELLIER: Yes, there are several changes underway which will 

have a major impact on Engineer 

Command operations and training, 

but to credit these changes to my 

observations over the last couple of 

months is improper. These changes 

were directed by General Kennedy, 

the previous Commanding General 

of this command, based on his observations over the last three years. 

To understand these changes, I believe we must understand the organization of this command. First, the 

organizational nucleus is that of a 

war-time Engineer Command, with 

a base of US Engineer Construction 

Troops and German Labor Service 

and Civilian Labor Group Construction Troops on which to expand to 

meet the theater war-time mission. 

Next we have the Facilities Engineer mission for virtually every US 

Army installation in Germany, 

which exceeds that of any CONUS 

Army; and finally we have the military construction mission for the 

Army, Navy, and Air Force for 

Germany and the BENELUX, 

which really is a combination of the 

military construction functions of 

both a Division and District Engineer in CONUS. We have recently 

made major changes in the operations and training of our US Engineer Construction Troops. In the 

past we have habitually deployed 

these troops to construction assignments during the prime construction 

season from March to November 

and undergone intensified maintenance and training during the winter 

months to meet the madatory requirements of the ATP. In line with 

General Westmoreland's new training policy as outlined in his letter of 

April 7, 1971, this intensified three 

month training program has been 

virtually eliminated. Due to the large 

backlog of projects primarily in the 

troop living areas, Engineer Construction troops have been assigned 

projects over the entire 12 months 

of the year. Since these projects in- 
clude virtually every hard skill required for mission accomplishment, 

Battalion and Company Commanders will be responsible to schedule 

concurrent and supplemental training to fill the remaining' requirements of their units. To hasten this 

development of hard skills, General 

Kennedy instituted prior to his departure, a program called, "Shoulder to Shoulder." This program involved the assignment of US soldiers 

to Labor Service/Civilian Labor 

Group projects to work with the 

master craftsmen of this outstanding 

organization, virtually as apprentices. Though there has been the expected language barrier, the program is a tremendous success. After 

about two months, the US soldiers 

have achieved the proficiency required to undertake a project of 

their own without outside assistance. 

Then finally, there have been somc 

new innovations in the training of 

personnel in our Military Construction Program personnel. Last year, 

a team from Office of the Chief 

of Engineers, headed by General 

Daniel Raymond, at the request of 

General Kennedy, looked into the 

operation of the Engineer Command's Military Construction Program. As a result of this visit, the 

Engineer Command has been incorporated into the OCE Construction 

Evaluation Team's field visit schedule and also has been scheduled for 

classes from the OCE Military Construction Directorate's Field Training Team. It is desired that these actions will provide a procedure 

whereby the Engineer Command 

can keep abreast of the latest in 

CONUS construction procedures 

and management. 

ENGR: What can the Engineer 

School do to help the mission of 

the Engineer Command? 

LE TELLIER: In Germany, we 

have a requirement for masons, electricians, carpenters, welders and 

plumbers on our Stem-to-Stern and 

the Selective Rehabilitation of barracks and dining halls. We need 

well-trained, highly motivated soldiers in these hardcore skills for our 

projects. I think the movement now 

toward providing the Army skills 

some civilian status in the unions is 

certainly a step in the right direction 

in encouraging soldiers to refine and 

increase their skill level. They can 

have a future in the Army as well as 

in civilian life. The type of construction we are called upon to produce 

today requires a finished product, 

whereas in the recent past we needed only a rough product. We no 

longer need a soldier who is capable 

of making low grade cement, or possibly placing a rough slab. Now we 

may well need a steel trowel finish 

on a high strength slab. The skill 

level requirement of our artisan has 

increased and we have a tremendous 

construction program in Europe to 

apply these skills. Knowing that they 

are contributing to the overall welfare, not only of themselves, but of 

the Army as a whole is a definite 

help in job satisfaction. So we need 

well-trained, hardcore skills from 

Belvoir. One other area that I believe is of interest is that the Engineer School has for some years provided training for our Labor Service 

Group. This is one of the uni 91 things about our Engineer Cor.. 

mand. We have the 6970 Civilian 

Labor Service Group. Many of their 

officers and senior NCOs have been 

trained in construction management 

techniques at Ft. Belvoir. As a matter of fact, we have two individuals 

scheduled to go to Belvoir this year. 

ENGR: Do you see any immediate or long-range changes in 

the command's organizational 

structure? 

LE TELLIER: I suspect that the 

most direct answer to your question 

is, No. However, to one who does 

not understand this organization, 

such a direct answer is terribly misleading. The entire strength of this 

organization is built on its ability 

to respond to change. Five years ago 

the three primary functions of this 

organization were accomplished in 

three separate organizations with lit 

tle, if any, mutual support. For I 0 ample, the Engineer troops did lit. 

work in support of the Facility Engineers on O&MA projects; seldom 

did the operator of our facilities, the 

Facilities Engineer, provide advice 

to the Military Construction designers to insure current maintenance 

problems were rectified in new design; nor did either the troop units 

or the Facility Engineers fall back 

on the wealth of engineering and 

construction talent available in the 

Military Construction element. Now, 

the execution of the many different 

programs assigned to the Engineer 

Command are so interrelated that 

the above actions are commonplace. 

Fluctuations in workloads between 

programs (e.g., MCA & O&MA) 

can be balanced within the organization without the trauma of reductions in force or rapid increases in 

personnel. So in the light of the 

foreseeable future, the current or 

ganization appears to be q() 

sound. e 
It won't be Casey at the Bat in Mudville, but it may 

., Heinz playing Goalie in Hirsau thanks to the efforts f? ,the 78th Engineer Battalion. 

ld,'When the construction of a new road destroyed the 

sportplatz (playing field) in the community of Hirsau, 

Germany, they found they could not afford to build a 

new one. So the Buergermeister of Hirsau asked the 

engineers for help. 

The town purchased the land and hired an architect to draw up the plans. The job of the engineers, 14 

strong, was to level and grade the land, placing fill to 

build it up where necessary, and to put the drainage 

system in. 

Working from early in the morning until night, the 

men soon found themselves the center of attention. 

Crowds of children (aged 6 to 60) numbering as high I.. as 40 at a time gathered to watch the two-ton earth J -.- F- ~- q::y :Y:;:::G~ - --:<-z. : 

movers and graders push and pull the dirt around for .:;=::: -. ----_ _-------A ' , , . ,:z;zz::::z::-::, 

their new sportplatz. ----------::- 

.- -.--- -::::- - --- ----- ---z. 

;. 4 ,\ - .;;:;:::;=::-:- -.-- --::-z.- Hirsau paid for the living expenses of the engineers 

and purchased all of the gas and oil. Still, the Americans 

were able to save the small town DM 160,000 (about 

$48,500), and at the same time boosted German-American relations on a grass roots level, soldier to civilian. 

The engineers also used the opportunity to train new 

men to use the machines, while actually working on the 

ein &portplat? 

b. The men said the training gave them a sense of :G, 'isfaction, because they knew they were accomplish- 

,:'g something. They knew the sportplatz was going to 

stay and be used. 

f'ir glle 

By now the sportplatz is in use for soccer matches ENGINEER STAFF 

between local clubs and handball matches, and is being 

used by the schools. All made possible by the men of 

the 78th, American engineers. e . . 

ABOVE: A Hirsau lad salutes the 

troops. TOP RIGHT: Children of any 

nationality are always inquisitive. 

RIGHT: A front loader driver 

,es some German youngsters a 

of his vehicle. 

An OCS dropout peaking candidly 

about the program asks, 'Did 

you eyer think of becoming an office^"? 

Created during World War 11, the Engineer Oficer 

Candidate School trained over 25,000 commissioned 

officers for the Corps of Engineers. When the Korean 

Conflict began, Engineer OCS was reopened to provide 2323 new officers. 

After an eleven-year lapse, the Engineer Officer 

Candidate Regiment was reactivated at Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia, on September 15, 1965. The school was again 

officially closed February 1, 1971, after 5 years, 4% 

months. Of 15,380 candidates who attempted 'the 

program' in that time, a total of 10,380 had made it 

ough the 23-week course to receive commissionsas 

lieutenants, US Army. 

For Engineer Officer Candidate School (OCS), the 

war is over. 

The old 1800 area on Fort Belvoir's north post has 

been pretty quiet since the last class graduated just before Christmas, 1970. No longer does the air ring with 

rousing choruses of "There's a Gold Bar in the Sky," 

"California Dreamin'," and "The Whistlin' Gypsy." 

Gone are the harsh cries of "Drop candidate, drop! . . . Too slow. On your feet. Drop!-Now push out twenty." 

Barracks which held eight companies of officer candidates are now largely deserted. A few of the old buildings are occupied by clerks of the post's Adjutant 

General Division. 

Returning to Fort Belvoir from Vietnam I was irresistibly drawn back to the Engineer OCS area. A 

scene of frenzied activity in the days when the program 

was in operation, today the former officer candidate 

site is as dead as our hopes for a quick military victory 

in Vietnam. 

The candidates are all gone now, leaving behind only 

a few quietly deteriorating pioneer projects, rustic podiums and railings as evidence of the area's former 

.py. -(,, umping inside one of the barracks so a passing pri- 

\r: Ice wouldn't see the moisture in my eyes, I was cheered by the flamboyant red and orange decor of the latrine, lovingly embellished by the final class with 

cartoons of Snoopy and his comic strip friends saying 

things like "Smack it in!" (your chin that is) and "Happiness is 19 November." 

I lingered in the latrine until the private had passed, 

musing on the cryptic inscription on the wall, "Master 

of My Fate, Captain of My Volleyball Team." Then I 

stepped back into the autumn sunshine. For the Corps 

of Engineers, and for myself, an era had passed. 

Before going any further, I will confess that I am an 

Engineer OCS washout, a hopeless "grossoid" in candidate jargon (one who grosses out, or makes mistakes 

frequently) who after eight weeks (in May-June 1969) 

was dumped from the program and returned to the ranks 

for an early visit to Vietnam. I would be first to admit 

that my efforts in the Officer Candidate Regiment met 

with limited success, and that I would not have been 

an effective combat leader by graduation time. 

So with no alternative to Vietnam except Canada, J 

went, I saw, and if I did not exactly conquer, at least in 

that respect I was not alone. 

Shortly after returning to Ft. Belvoir from Vietnam 

I appeared before a Soldier-of-the-Month board. The 

kindly gentleman who was chairman, after inquiring 

about my civilian background (BS in civil engineering 

with two years' field experience), popped the inevitable 

question. "Did you ever think of becoming an officer"? 

Ah, indeed I had. For eight weeks I had thought 

about it nearly every waking moment of every dayand a good portion of most nights . . . often spent 

scurrying furtively around the barracks in the dark 

'functioning' on a variety of ridiculous makework missions assigned us by our upperclassmen. 

I still think about it from time to time, but no longer 

from the standpoint of personal advancement. Instead 

I am wondering if the training we received in the old 

Engineer OCS program really served the best purposes 

of the Army at a time when our country's military commitment stood deadlocked in a long and demoralizing 

war. 
I wonder if all the functioning, dropping, grass-drilling, bracing, punishment-tour-walking, smacking-it-in 

and gutting-it-out really accomplished what the Army 

thought it should to the extent the Army believed it 

did. Or might some of that time and effort have been 

spent in better ways? In the hours I passed (and they 

did noL just seem like hours) braced against the wall in 

the tactical shack waiting for counseling sessions, I 

could have made a good start toward learning to speak 

Vietnamese or studiqd People's Wnr, People's Army: 

The Viet Cong Insurrection Manual for Underdeveloped Countries. I could have learned to disassemble 

an AK-47 or, more appropriately, the .45 caliber pistol. 

As I recall, the training schedule permitted an hour or 

so of instruction on characteristics of the .45 accompanied by live-firing of a couple of magazines on a range 

at Camp A. P. Hill. I don't remember anyone explaining how to aim the weapon effectively so if necessary a 

soldier could kill someone with it. The truth is it became 

far more important to have all traces of Brasso removed from your collar insignia than to know the operation of the officer's traditional weapon. 

During the first eight weeks, contact with one's wife 

and family was limited to attending church together with 

a brief visit following the service (standing at parade 

rest) in the parking lot. An overnight pass was unthinkable; a candidate could look forward to a three-day pass 

about the 20th week (out of 23) in the program. The 

premise for such restrictions seemed to be that service 

as an Army officer often involves separation from your 

family, so you should get used to it right now. 

Again and again we were offered the old combatenvironment theory as justification for physical and 

psychological pressure. How well did OCS really duplicate a combat environment? In all our training no mention was made of the hutch maids, massage girls (in 

both Post Exchange-operated establishments and native enterprises), bar hostesses ("Hey GI! You buy me 

Saigon tea?"), bunker bunnies, sickaloe girls, and little 

Rest-and-Relaxation (R&R) friends the budding officer 

on a hardship tour away from his family might encounter. Needless to say, at Fort Belvoir no effort was 

made to simulate such aspects of the combat zone. 

Nor was any guidance offered on how to deal with 

drugs, alcohol, hedonism, racism, loneliness, boredom, 

frustration with the system, indifferent civilians and reluctant draftees, easy money, ready vice and crime that 

plagued an officer in Vietnam, both as a leader of men 

and as an individual. Virtually nothing was taught about 

the Vietnamese or the Viet Cong. After all, each man 

DID get three days of Republic-of-Vietnam Training 

before shipping over. 

"An officer's word is his bond," we were told. Our 

lives were governed by an Honor System which attested that a candidate did not lie, cheat or "quibble." 

Our lives were also governed by numerous regulations, 

including many which were contrary to tasks we were 

expected to perform. One regulation stated a candidate 

was to be in his bunk from 2200 hours until 0530 hours. 

At 0535 of course he was expected to burst from the 

billets fully dressed, booted and shaved with all not. 

turnal tasks completed. 81 

A candidate did not lie, cheat or quibble, but he wa, 

expected and encouraged to exercise all his ingenuity to 

circumvent any regulation or other official obstacle 

standing in his way. Whatever a man did was all right 

it seemed, so long as he did not get caught. 

For example, every class had its "official" parties 

which every candidate attended. A certain regulation 

prohibited the "slush funds" used to finance these and 

other functions. Much furtive collecting, secret accounting codes and midnight bookkeeping was therefore required so that on the night of nights the hall would be 

rented, the booze provided, and the band would be 

playing merrily-(to everyone's aytonishrnent). The 

successful candidate became most adept at being "sly, 

cunning and alert." 

At the foot of each candidate's bunk, his bookcase of 

Army literature contained training manuals on rules 

of Land Warfare, treatment of Prisoners of War and 

Civilians in a Combat Zone. The average man rarely 

looked at these or the other manuals. With all the 

"functioning" required of a candidate, he found few 

occasions for idle curiosity. Besides, he really did not 

need to study superfluous material. Classes designed to 

make him "technically and tactically proficient" we 

heavily studded with "teaching points" to indicate si 

lar questions would be found on the quiz. 3 
This is not to say that the quality of instruction was 

high. It was, and often we met instructors who 

their material admirably. But I observed that 

hajority of the candidates were so "smacked in"- 

tense, distracted and fatigued-they neither absorbed 

nor remembered much of the instruction for long after 

each exam. 

No comprehensive examination at the end of the 23 

weeks determined whether a candidate was as "technically proficient" at tying bowlines and clove hitches 

as he had been when the helpful old sergeant on the 

rigging committee was guiding his hands. 

I could go on and on, reminiscing about the program . . . about how in lieu of punji stakes we effectively crippled ourselves with the "Corcoran bite" of 

our spitshined jump boots . . . the switch-aroundswitches, poagy bait (surreptitious food) runs, being 

"Nuked" by the upperclass (afterwards the barracks' 

interior looked like it was hit by a nuclear explosion), 

honor council hearings, and so on and on . . . But no more war stories. As I said at the beginning, 

for Engineer OCS the war is over. 

I would not deny that some very fine officers 

emerged from EOCS. They did. Above average and 

adequate lieutenants also were graduated, along with 

some who were mediocre and a few duds. But I do 

believe that some very obvious improvements in the 

r gram could have made the best of Belvoir's OCS 

:)>hates better officers, more able to meet demands 

of leadership. 

Now that EOCS is history we can judge it more 

objectively than when we were immersed in the program as candidates or as cadre. But if the school no 

longer exists, why debate its merits now? 

Since World War 11, OCS at Fort Belvoir has been 

reactivated twice, to supply officers for the Korean 

war and for Vietnam. Will it be reborn again to meet 

some future world crisis? . . . In the Middle East, 

Africa, South America, or again in Southeast Asia? 

Perhaps even in our country events might create a need 

for quickly-trained engineer officers . . . 

My message is this. If the United States Army 

does not judge the training of officers we followed in 

Vietnam with today's perspective on our experiences 

there, what mistakes made there will we see repeated 

in some future conflict? 

If you are staying with the Army, you might find 

yourself with the job of starting up that program 

again . . . Not me, though! Soon I will be stacking arms 

and returning to civilian life. But I will always remember Engineer OCS. And at that final reveille 

ation on high, should the great commanding officer 

in the course of his in-ranks inspection to ask 

if I ever though of becoming an officer, I will smile 

and say, "Yes, sir," fondly remembering grossing out 

Delta Company in the days of the Old Program! e 

Specialist Five Hugh M. Gildea, a graduate of the 

University of Virginia, works as a clerk in the Personnel Services section of the Adjutant General Division, 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia. 

This is the first in what we hope will be a series of 

articles dealing with subjects that, although controversial, are of concern to all Army Engineers. The 

engineer staff hopes that these stories, contributed 

by our readers, will serve the mission of your magazine as "an open engineer forum." 

Specialist 5 Hugh Gildea's thoughts about the OCS 

program are certain to simulate a reaction among 

those who attended, taught, or otherwise viewed 

the program. In printing these provocative observations, the engineer looks for remarks from the field. 

Comments from our readers in response to this discussion are welcome. Contributions on other pertinent topics are also solicited. We reserve the right 

to edit material submitted, for purposes of publication, space limitations, etc. 

This article doe's not necessarily represent the 

opinions of the Department of the Army, Fort Belvoir, 

or The Engineer School. 
The enemy was nature! 

A flood swirled over much of-Montgomery County 

on the outskirts of Philadelphia recently and caused 

major problems for the area. Citizens were having a 

difficult time clearing the wreckage themselves until the 

county commissioners asked for help from a professional source. 

The help came quickly from the 365th Engineer 

Battalion (Reserve), headquartered in Schuylkill Haven 

(Pa.). Two Companies, B and D, both assigned to the 

Reading U. S. Army Reserve Center about 35 miles 

from the flood scene, received the mission to assist in 

the cleanup operation. 

THE TWO COMPANIES were able to clean up 

most of the debris in just one weekend. Working in 

around-the-clock shifts, they opened parts of Skippack 

Creek that was blocked by uprooted trees and an overturned steel truss bridge. The engineers used cutting 

torches to slice the macadam roadbed of the bridge 

into sections and hauled it away with bulldozers. Debris 

also was removed from the area of two other damaged 

bridges-Germantown Pike and Cedar Lane. Both 

companies were able to work throughout the night by 

using floodlights. Their command post was located at 

Evensburg State Park Headquarters and the bivouac 

and mess facilities were provided by Methcaton High 

School near Collegeville. Personnel slept in the school 

gymnasium and ate two meals in the cafeteria. Othzr 

meals were served at the job sites. 

The operation was called a success by both engineer 

officers and the county commis'sioners. It proved that 

engineer Reserve units can do the job in a given situation. But it also gave the members of the 365th a chance 

to make first-hand use of their training and provide 

much needed help when and where it was sorely needed. 

ENGINEER STAFF 

This soldier cuts the distended bridge into sections 

so cranes or winches can haul them away. 

This member of the 365th Engineer Battalion (Reserve) heads back to the creek with his front-end 

loader to haul more debris from the flood-ravaged 

creek. 

These two bulldozer operators use their vehicle to 

push flood debris from Skippack Creek, northwest , Philadelphia. More than 200 reservists of the 366;) 

Engineer Battalion participated in "Operation Cleat,- 

up." 
Robert G. McClintic 

Editor, the engineer 

"THE TROOP ENGINEER MUST HAJ7E LABOR AND TRANSPORT WITH 

WHICH TO DO HIS WORK, AND BE PROVIDED WITH A HORSE TO INSPECT ITS PROGRESS. HE MUST SERVE MANY AND ACCOMPLISH MUCH 

WITH LITTLE, YET, SINCE HE CANNOT DO EVERYTHING FOR ALL, HE IS 

BELOVED BY NONE." KING CHARLES 1 (1600-1649) 

T he U. S. Army is looking Westward again! 

With the slowdown of the war in Vietnam and 

the gradual drawdown of our Armed Forces from that 

turbulent country, the Army is once more focusing renewed emphasis on the continent of Europe; particularly Germany. 

Although our Army has been holding forth in Europe since the end of World War 11, the "hot" war in 

Vietnam caused a swing in the emphasis pendulum-- 

money, troops, and thinking-to Southeast Asia about 

five years ago. 'F This has produced a number of perplexing probdl,!~ms for our Germany-based headquarters-U. S. 

Army, Europe (USAREUR)-which has been a major 

force in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for 

many years. 

The USAREUR buildup in Germany began in earnest 20 years ago as a deterrent to aggression from the 

East and it still has the same mission. But there has 

been little money and poor troop stability in that country since the Vietnam conflict mushroomed into a major war. 

The Army looked to its forces in Germany for leadership, professionalism, and combat security following 

World War TI and following the Korean War, and is 

looking at them again today as the acrid smell of gun 

powder begins to lose its sharpness in the Vietnam air. 

The basic mission of our engineer units in Europe 

has not varied through the years. The 20 battalions and 

23 separate companies have been stationed in Germany primarily to support the U. S. elements of NATO. 

When required, they also have the capability and the 

mission of supporting the military forces of our allies. 

The engineer command structure in USAREUR is 

unique. It breaks out this way. There are two combat 

brigades-the 130th and the 7th-assigned to V Corps 

q., d VII Corps, respectively. The other major unit, the 'P -8, bth Construction Group, is assigned to Engineer Command, Europe. The command line is decentralized in 

that the brigade commanders report directly to their 

corps commanders; the commander of the 24th Group 

reports to the Commanding General of Engineer Command; and he, in turn, reports directly to the Commander-in-Chief of U. S. Army, Europe. The USAREUR engineer-a two-star billet-is not directly in 

the command line. However, he also reports to the 

CINC, USAREUR. 

Intensive combat support training such as tactical 

bridging, line of communication bridging and demolitions work has been continually conducted by the combat engineers. They must maintain these proficiencies 

if they are to be combat-ready. 

On the other hand, our USAREUR construction engineers have emphasized a two-fold training role. Full 

emphasis is placed on funded projects that support facility needs during good construction weather. When 

the weather is bad in the winter, the emphasis shifts to 

tactical combat-type training. 

Today, however, with the priorities swinging back 

to USAREUR, the engineers training role is undergoing a major change. Most of the training mission will 

be devoted to special projects-the rehabilitation of 

U. S. occupied troop billets, mess halls, dependent housing, and offices. This on-the-job type of training mission 

will create many challenges. The problems are many 

too. 

But perhaps the command's greatest problem is time. 

USAREUR needs time to get its house in order if it is 

to meet the demands that will be expected of it in the 

early seventies. There will be additional manpower, additional modern equipment, and additional funds to improve facilities. 

The crux of how well USAREUR will do, however, 

lies in a single word-improvement. The sad fact is 

that the troop billets, mess halls, dependent housing, 

and offices occupied by our forces stationed in Germany 

have badly deteriorated in the last 10 years. 

Most of the military kasernes (posts) in that country 
ENGINEE~

KEY TO 

FOR 

BUILDUP 
FbLD 

SUCCESS 

USAREUR 

PLANS 

I 

I 

Engineer troops face a challenge of major proportions in USAREUR. It will not 

be easy for them to fulfill the needs of the Army in Europe in the years just ahead. 

They are involved in helping paint a new image for the U. S. soldier in Germany. 

The first coat is still undergoing the brush. They recently built this hardstand atop 

a hill in Bavaria (left photo, page 18); are helping build this structure that will 

house U. S. personnel soon (center photo); work on the interior of their barracks 

(top photo, page 19); and had a hand in completely renovating this troop washroom and shower (bottom photo, page 19). 19 
were built before World War 11; some before the turn of 

the century. This means that sanitary facilities are antiquated and many of the heating and lighting systems 

are unsatisfactory. 

Rehabilitation of the barracks and the mess halls is 

closely tied into the USAREUR Volunteer Army plan. 

The rehabilitation must be done quickly to handle the 

expected boost in troop strength. Many of 'these troops 

will be volunteers who are enlisting for Germany because it has always been a choice duty assignment. 

The USAREUR Engineer, Major General Howard 

W. Penney, says the rehabilitation program breaks 

down into three priorities-1 .) barracks and mess halls, 

2.) dependent housing and 3.) offices. He estimates that 

it will take five years to completely rehabilitate the 165 

kasernes which house our troops in Germany. However, much has already been accomplished and much 

more is currently being done to alleviate the problem. 

Our Germany-based engineers are approaching the 

problem through three programs-Stem-to-Stem, SelfHelp, and Selective Rehabilitation. 

Stem-to-Stern was launched in Fiscal Year 1968 

when funds were very tight but it has produced results. 

Under this program, the troop living and messing facilities of one kaserne at a time are completely refurbished 

with modern heating, plumbing, electrical systems, 

floors, windows, stairs, painting, plastering, and roof 

restoration. The Stem-to-Stern goal is to renovate barracks in 120 of the 165 kasernes at an estimated cost 

of $200-million. Our engineers in Germany (through 

Fiscal Year 1972 funding) will have modernized or are 

in the process of completely renovating 26 kasernes at 

a cost of $60-million under Stem-to-Stern. The remaining work will require an additional $167-million. 17 

survey and design of an additional 21 kasernes has nc 1 r 

fd been accomplished under the program. This represents 

a great deal of improvement but about 100 kasernes 

still will require extensive renovation to bring them up 

to decent standards. 

Self-Help also is a realistic program. Under this 

plan, personnel from non-engineer units do work on 

their own billets that does not require a high degree of 

special skill. Supervised by engineer personnel, these 

soldiers install glass, repair faucets, doors, floors, and 

paint. 

The other program, USAREUR engineers have 

launched to get the renovation job done is called Selective Rehabilitation. This is a piecemeal program 

which involves renovating sanitary facilities in the 

troop billets, modernizing mess halls, and repairing 

the heat-distribution and hot-water systems in the 

kasernes. Selective Rehabilitation is used in emergencies-cases where the work cannot be delayed for full 

Stem-to-Stern work to be funded. It is also used in 

kasernes that are not earmarked for the Stem-to-Stern 

plan. 

The actual barracks and mess hall rehabilitation 

work is being accomplished by civilian contractors, engineer units (both construction and combat) Self-He! 

troops, and by 24-man Utility Teams on six-modi q 

TDY from the states. It works this way. If a kaserne 

has 20 barracks which need renovation, the construction work is broken down into four phases so no more 

than five buildings will be vacated at a time during any 

one phase of construction. 

Stem-to-Stern has been continuously refined over the 

past three-year period. One of the engineers' primary 

objectives has been to provide durable buildings, capable of withstanding heavy troop use. Each year construction mistakes that surfaced were studied and alternate methods were used the following year. This 

principle has brought about a number of construction 

improvements. For example, follow-on actions from 

alternate methods have introduced Frenzelite-type ceilings for shower rooms, stainless steel lavatories, fluorescent fixtures, shower room benches, improved shower 

and sanitary area ventilation, and improved quality 

control of materials. Engineer efforts also have improved the European application of U. S, standards in 

mess hall design and functional use of barracks. 

But even with all the accomplishments, our engineers 

in USAREUR are facing a serious related problem. 

There is an immediate need to convert coal-fired boilers 

to oil. Only solid and liquid fuels are used to heat wat 

and buildings in Germany. Most of the boilers that pr 
duce the heat and hot water are coal-fired. They are {c, undependable, expensive, and are swiftly wearing 

-I ;lc. 

Overall conversion of the coal to oil program is still 

in limbo because there has been no authoiization and 

appropriation to cover it in the military construction 

budget. Current USAREUR directives, however, do 

permit the replacement of coal-fired boilers that fail 

during the current heating season. 

The remaining boilers in the same plant may be 

converted only if safety considerations and operational 

or construction costs preclude using a dual plant. 

But this is not enough, according to USAREUR engineers. They argue that existing restrictions which 

block the conversion of USAREUR's heating plants 

from coal to fuel oil must be removed without delay. 

Engineers feel that the inability to complete the conversion program will have the following adverse impacte Unreliable and inadequate heat and hot water 

services for the U. S. Forces in Germany. 

Continuation of high fuel charges since coal costs 

twice as much as oil for the same amount of heat thst 

is produced. 

Continuation of high labor costs. 

Unreasonable installation costs through piecemeal 

version. P ~$'e Increased fuel storage installation costs, since 

coal and oil must be stored separately when plants are 

operating on dual fuels. Also, special parapet walls 

must be constructed as a safety measure under the dual 

plan. 

General William C. Westmoreland, Army Chief of 

Staff, recently told a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that U. S. units stationed in Europe have been 

forced to operate on extremely austere funding in recent years and the effects have become painfully apparent. 

He said, "Many of our soldiers in Europe are living 

in old German barracks, most of which were built many 

years ago. Many are in disgraceful condition because 

they have not been properly maintained for years, due 

to the expense involved. German troops in the same 

towns are living in modern barracks. I find that our 

soldiers sometimes pay for essential barracks maintenance out of their own pockets rather than accept these 

conditions." 

Assistant Defense Secretary for Installations and 

Logistics Barry J. Shillito also has gone on record as a 

strong advocate for improved troop housing. He claims 

is one of the most important requirements to persuade C vicemen to make the Armed Forces their life career. 

Mr. Shillito says the Defense Department believer 

"implicitly that improved housing will provide both 

immediate and long-range benefits through increased 

reenlistment, heightened morale, and reduced recruitment costs." 

The U. S. Army Engineer Command, Europe, has 

launched a unique craftsmen apprenticeship program 

called Shoulder-to-Shoulder that also should augment 

the rehabilitation program. 

The troop element of Engineer Command consists 

of the 24th Engineer Group (Construction) and the 

6970 Labor Service-Civilian Labor Group (LSCLG). The 24th Group is made up of four construction 

battalions and one construction support company that 

provide specialized heavy equipment to reinforce the 

battalions and the LS-CLG companies as required for 

special tasks. 

All three LS construction companies are constituted 

from third country nationals, mostly displaced persons 

from World War TI. On the other hand, the four CLG 

construction units are manned by artisans and engineers 

who are primarily German Nationals. 

Engineer Command has been able to integrate the 

forces of U. S. military, U. S. civilians, German Civilian 

Labor Group, multi-national Labor Service units, and 

German National employees (including many personnel from other countries such as Spain, Italy, Turkey, 

Greece, Ethiopia, Australia, Great Britain and others) 

into a harmonious working group. It provides con- 
t 

I 

REFORGER d 

I 

REFLECTS 

READINESS 

USAREUR's largest field training exercise is Reforger. During this FTX, The U. S. redeploys duaibased stateside Army units to Europe where they 

are placed under NATO control. As the photos on /a, 

these two pages depict, engineers play a major part -- -- .) 4 

in the role of the player forces during the exercise. 

This FTX is classified as a full-scale assault so the 

engineers normally show their flexibility by establashing a bridge, performing reconnaissance, clearing roads and impasses, and supporting classical 

infantry-tank combat attacks on an enemy force. 

Reforger Ill was held in its usual maneuver site again 

last October-deep in the Bavarian countryside. 

'4 

'4 

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.T. 4 . . . --'5 

L ." . . . ,' 

. , 

.- * *@ ;. * *' , - . II 4 '4. -'. - 7 - a' - I./- -( , r 

----.' I-' - . 6-'+ , I 

- .,.itf~ : &&. I -v 

struction and real property maintenance in support of 

the following programs-Military Construction Army 

(MCA) to include further program subdivisions into 

family housing and U. S. dependent schools, Military 

Construction Program of the Air Force (MCP), Military Construction for the Navy and Coast Guard, Operating and Maintenance, Army (O&MA), Non Appropriated Fund (NAF), NATO Infrastructure Program, 

Alternate Construction Program with the Federal Republic of Germany, and Procurement of Equipment and 

Missiles, Army (PEMA) . The uniqueness of the work force and the diversity 

of the types of construction from multiple funding programs give this organization great engineering capability. 

The U. S. units have a history of being extremely 

competent in earth moving and paving (horizontal 

construction) while the LS/CLG units have been 

manned with skilled artisans in the building trade crafts 

such as carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and e!ectrical 

installations. 

.So, the Engineer Command has paired U. S. personnel with their more experienced civilian counterparts to learn some of the various job skills. This program has benefited both the Army and the individual. 

USAREUR headquarters sees it as an imaginative 

training vehicle that offers more professionalism in the 

trade skills. In an attempt to capitalize on the morale 

and motivational aspects of the program, efforts are 

currently under way to give participants a special certi 

cate of achievement upon satisfactory completion ' x, ' their apprenticeship. USAREUR also is investigating ' 

the feasibility of obtaining trade unit certification in 

Germany. It would be similar to the proposal now being undertaken by the Engineer School with the U. S. * 

trade unions. fl 

In this regard, the commander of Engineer Command, Europe, Brigadier General Carroll N. LeTellier, . 

says, "Here in Germany we are now utilizing the four 

related skills of mason, electrician, carpenter, and 

plumber on the Stem-to-Stern and the Selective Rehabilitation programs where we need well-trained, hardcore skills for our projects. -1 

I' 

"I think the movement now toward getting profes- h 

sional trade credit from the unions for Army skills is 1 

t 

certainly a step in the right direction in encouraging 

these young men to refine and increase their skill level. 

They can have a future in the Army as well as in civil- , 

ian life. 

"One program that I think is interesting which the ? 

Engineer School is providing for us-and has for some 

years-is training members of our Labor Service Group. 

"This is one of the unique things about our Engineer 

Command. Many of the officers and senior NCO's of 

the 6970 Civilian Labor Service Group have bee 6 :'I trained in construction organization techniques at Fol 

Belvoir. We currently have two men scheduled to attend school there this year." 

USAREUR will use the various programs and personnel to get the job done as quickly as possible. Of 

course, while most engineer units will be primarily 

concerned with rehabilitation and boiler conversion in 

the coming months, there are many other projects that 

cannot be ignored. 

Elements of the two combat engineer brigades and 

some of the separate companies will continue to conduct 

intensive combat support training. These units still will 

be involved in field training such as hasty gap crossing, 

barrier construction, river crossing, and air movement 

operations. 

Both of the combat engineer brigades and the Engineer Command have been and will continue to be engaged in the many other construction projects in Germany. These include-expansion and development of 

roads, railroad sidings, tank trails, storage areas, hardstands, athletic fields and known distance ranges; assemblying prefabricated school buildings for dependent 

school children; operating rock quarries; operating percussion well-drilling rigs; building helipads, and build- , 

ing or improving airfield runways. 

It is a fact that Engineer projects in Germany art P) , 
many and are varied. One that has not been mentioncd 

is the annual field training exercise (FTX) Reforger. 

pis is the largest FTX our Germany-based troops 

rticipate in each year. During the FTX, the U. S. recieploys dual-based Army units stationed in the United 

States to Europe. 

Reforger 111 was launched last October in the U. S. 

maneuver area in Bavaria. Some 1 1,000 troops redeployed from Fort Riley, 16,000 U. S. soldiers stationed 

in Germany, 2,800 Canadians, and 3,000 Germans 

made up the entire complement of NATO forces. 

Engineers had more than a passing interest in this 

important field exercise that was held under the watchful eyes of the Army Chief of Staff and distinguished 

visitors from the U. S. and allied countries. 

Our engineers were called on to recon roads and 

bridges in the maneuver areas; establish a railhead; prepare the exercise Highlight site; and be a vital part of 

: the Highlight. They were expected to establish a bridge 

to allow for a successful penetration of enemy forces; 

be ready to support the crossing of four major rivers in 

the maneuver area; reinforce the combat engineer capability of player forces; provide potable water for nearly all participating forces; act as umpires to check the 

proficiency of fellow-engineer participants; and to coordinate the control, reporting and repair of maneuver 

mage throughout all unit assembly and the extensive 

neuver area. 

Some 50 members of four engineer companies made 

surveys of the "battle" area before, during, and after 

the exercise. Survey results will determine the reimbursement Germans may receive from the respective 

NATO countries for property damage caused by the 

field exercises. 

Now, with all these projects and more aborning, the 

immediate challenges and problems facing the USAREUR engineers will not go away. They have an enormous task ahead. Much of the success of the Volunteer 

Army program in Gelmany, of course, will hinge on 

the overall success of the engineer effort. 

The USAREUR and Seventh Army Commander-inChief Michael S. Davison says his sweeping improvement program could set an example for the entire Army 

in the crucial seventies. He sees USAREUR as a foremost leader in NATO, the U. S. Army, and the Defense Department in the coming years. The strategic 

location of the command may help make this prophecy 

come true. The engineers role in Germany also will 

have a great bearing on the eventual outcome. 

The engineer surely will improve the USAREUR 

image through this new rehabilitation program. Time, 

labor, and money are the must ingredients if the recipe 

for rehabilitation is to be a success. Labor and money 

will be available but USAREUR's engineers may have 

a problem getting enough of the other ingredient mixed 

into the batter on schedule. e 
ENLISTED C 

A new approach to enlisted leadership will be unveiled at Fort Belvoir's Engineer School this month 

as the new Engineer Noncommissioned Officer Education System (ENCOES) shifts into high gear. It is 

part of an Army-wide revamping of its program to foster the educational development of its NCO's. 

From July 1968 to December 1969, the Department 

of the Army and the Continental Army Command 

(CONARC) were involved in the proposal and planning of the new Noncommissioned Officers Education 

System (NCOES). The resultant letters of instruction to 

CONARC branch schools (i.e., armor, artillery, engineer, infantry, etc.) identified three progressive levels 

of instruction as basic, advanced and senior, the first 

two of which were implemented as pilot courses at ' 

U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virgi6 ,I\\ 

in July 1970 and May 1971, respectively. 

The requirement for an NCOES is related to recently 

identified needs for more effective leadership at all 

levels in the "new" Army. The key man in the management structure, because he either controls or directly 

supervises 80 percent of the Army's personnel resources, is the noncommissioned officer. It is upon his abilties, technical knowledge and application of basic leadership tenets, that his individual success, and the success 0f.a modern Volunteer Army, is contingent. 

 he' noncommissioned officer has always been the 

"backbone of the Army." His needs for progressive, 

professional development, however, have often been 

overlooked because of unrealistic emphasis on the experience factor-and in all too many cases, the NCO's 

with the greatest potential have been kept out of even 

the local NCO schools because command interest has 

been heavily slanted toward the mission. Hopefully, the 

All Volunteer Army program with its emphasis on enlightened leadership and professionalism throughout 

the ranks will help to eliminate short-sightedness and 

allow an innovation such as the NCOES to realize its 

potential. 

While the informal approach of on-the-job trai 

(OJT) is recognized as the most expeditious mea 
1 QNARY FORMULA FOR 

AREER DEVELOPMENT 

Rlajor Roljert E. Harper 

the end of developing some highly technical job skills, 

it is also apparent that it does not meet the need for 

progressive and continuing formal education of career 

enlisted men. The increasing complexity of equipment 

and expanding responsibilities of supervision, as well as 

the unique leadership problems inherent in an all-volunteer Army, necessitate a drastic and imrnediatc 

change to the OJT approach. Emphasis on a program of 

continuing formal education not only in professional 

military considerations, but also in civilian educational 

endeavor beyond the high school level is an apparent 

panacea. 

The pilot courses at the Engineer School have provided an interesting study of the capabilities and edu- 

?tional needs of Engineer NCO's. They have generated 6 inent observations, vital student feedback and local, 

, ,fessional expertise which have been employed in development of the "second generation" NCOES which 

starts this month. 

Not meant to be an inflexible program with cast-inconcrete st bject matter and methods of instruction, the 

curriculum and teaching vehicles will be variables in 

the educational equation, changing with the Army and 

the student. The objective of the program, however, is 

not likely to change. As a matter of policy, it will begin 

and continue to provide the Engineer NCO with guidance and expertise that promotes Icadership, encourages 

broader knowledge of Military Occupational Specialties 

(MOS's) and provides low-liability exposure for the 

student to the responsibilities of leadership positions 

into which he will be promoted in the future. 

At a primary or basic level junior enlisted men will 

be given the opportunity to find answers to the question 

"Do you think you could do the job better than your 

squad leader or platoon sergeant?" At the second or advanced level, NCO's with a little more experience under 

their belts will entertain the same question as applied to 

that old "First Shirt" or Sergeant Major, who really do 

seem to know it all. At the senior level, successful superEngineer NCO's will be exposed to the sophistid problems and responsibilities of top staff and 

command positions, much as their commissioned counterparts are at the Command and General Staff College 

at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This is no simple "spit 

and polish"' local NCO academy. It is part of a new 

and highly sophisticated system designed by the Department of the Army to provide the non-comniissioned 

officer with an unparalleled professional education. 

On the surface, the task of providing a progressive 

career educational program for enlisted men with 36 

different engineer-related MOS's seemed monumental. 

The pilot courses at the Engineer School, however, enabled school cadre to develop a program of instruction 
whose basis is flexible enough for application to both 

Basic and Advanced NCO courses, accommodating all 

engineer-related management fields and MOS's in four 

distinct phases. 

Phase I is designed much as the lecture period of a 

laboratory science course in college, with students 

lumped together for discussion of universal leadership 

topics such as professional ethics or military resource 

management. It is beyond this point that ENCOES 

becomes tailored to the individual. 

Phase I1 necessitates a breakdown of the class according to individual career field patterns whose subject matter is, by definition, more specific. Presently 

there are five such career fields. 

Combat Engineer 

Construction and Utilities 

Engineer Equipment 

Mechanical Maintenance 

Topographic 

Phase TI1 is devoted to MOS specialization, with emphasis on increasing skill levels within "target" MOS's. 

Target MOS is defined as that MOS with the 40 or 50 

skill digit to which the student's own MOS career pattern leads. 

Phase IV consists of specialized group and individual 

projects where the student is required to make practical 

application of the skills and knowledge to which he was 

cxposed during the preceding three phases of instruction. Consistent with Phases I1 and 111, the length of 

Phase IV is variable and established according to the 

changing needs of the career groups and Military OCcupational Specialties. The projects on which the s 8- ;) dents will work throughout this phase will be design, 

to make optimum use of the facilities at Fort Belvo~r, 

and will tie into mission requirements of local TO&E 

units such as the l lth Engineer Battalion (Combat), 

tenant organizations such as the Mobility Research and 

Development Command, and nearby District and State 

cngineering agencies. 

The Engineer version of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System emphasizes the "Whole Man 

Concept," making provisions for the students' needs 

in areas exclusive of his military education. An electives 

program with five major divisions has been devised to 

that end, offering the student the opportunity, during 

duty hours, to develop the entirc scope of his abilities. 

The five elective division are as follows: 

High School Equivalency Programs-In coordination 

with the Fort Belvoir Education Ccnter, this elective 

provides the individual student with no high school 

diploma the opportunity to identify and improve upon 

weak areas in preparation for the General Educatioil 

Development Test for high school equivalency. 

Preparation for or retake of the Army Classification Battery Test-Individualized instruction is made 

available to help the student improve scores in the 

Army Classification Battery Test. P\ Northern Virginia Community College-This el , 
tive provides the student the opportunity to pursue an 

Associate Degree in Applied Technology. Subject mathr will include "Human Relations and Leadership," 

3asic Psychology," "Effective Communications." 

"Principles of Data Processing," "American Economics," and "American Constitutional Government," any 

one of which is available to the student NCO. 

Formal College Credit-For students with a high 

school diploma or GED equivalency, who desire a baccalaureate degree program, arrangements with local 

universities through the Education Center have been 

made. 

Military Electives-USAES is making available to 

the student, courses in military subjects of special interest. 

A requirement has been established for individual 

student participation in each of two electives, one military and the other the student's choice of the-remaining four. To aid the student in the evaluation of his 

choices, an academic diagnostic test is administered 

early in the course. This provides in-house and Education Center counselors with substantial input for advising the student on establishing a continuing educational development plan. 

Both ENCOES courses, the Basic and Advanced, 

are currently 12 weeks in length. While the Basic Coursc 

is oriented toward providing the E3, E4, and E5 exPure to responsibilities at squad, section and platoon 

,vel. the Advanced Course is supervisory or management oriented for the E5, E6, or E7 who will some day 

be the E8 or E9 sergeant major at the top of the enlisted promotion ladder. 

ENCOES is a major departure from the standard, 

dated approach to enlisted career development. While 

completion of the basic course is worth 42 promotion 

points to the NCO, the distinct advantages of having 

had this newly professionalized course of instruction 

with emphasis on total career development is worth 

much more. It is hoped that commanders who will be 

evaluating their enlisted men for ENCOES will keep 

this in mind, making the selectees only the best qualified-the doers and movers who always seem to get the 

job done for the quotas are sure to be smal1.e 

Specific information for the prospective ENCOES student or interested reader is available 

from: Assistant Commandant, US Army Engineer 

School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060, ATTN: Office of the Secretary. 

Major Robert E. Harper is the Chief of the Prograrrts 

Brancll, Curriculum Division, Departn~ent of Instruction, The Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, VA. .4 196-3 

gradrrute of the U. S. Nuval Academy, Annapolis, Md., 

he took his comn~ission in the Army Corps of Engineers. Tlze major subsequently served with the 19th 

Engineer Battalion YCombat); the 249th Balt~iliotl 

(Con.struction); advisor to the 5l.rt Battalior1 (Construction) in Vietnam; and the 2d Emngineer Buttalion (Comhot) in Korea. 
an Old hoblem 

Colonel W. R. Iiylander 

What is this dynamic training program the Army is 

hearing about? 

Is it for real? Can Engineers do it? Can you do it 

in your unit? If so, when is someone going to tell you 

how to train dynamically? 

I hope to answer these questions on these pages. This 

article, hopefully, will also give small unit leaders an 

assist in overcoming some of the problems they have in 

trying to make day-to-day training realistic, interesting, 

and effective. 

That really is what dynamic training is all aboutday-to-day training that is realistic, interesting, and effective. This type of training can be performed in almost any active Anny or Reserve component unit. It 

also has the complete backing of the Army Chief-ofStaff, General Willianl C. Westmoreland. 

The Chief-of-Staff set the stage for dynamic training 

in a message to the field in June 1971 which eliminat 6. , most mandatory subjects from unit training as well , 

the requirement for maintaining individual training rec- - 

ords at unit level. He directed that conlmanders at battalion and company levels have greater flexibility in 

planning and conducting the training of their units. 

Also, to assist small unit training managers in the 

combat arms, General Westmoreland established a 

Board for Dynamic Training last September at Fort 

Benning, Ga. This Board was charged with identifying 

the problems with training, with assessing their causes, 

and with developing innovative solutions. A representative of the Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Va., was a 

member of this Board for Dynamic Training. 

Recognizing an opportunity to improve engineer 

training, the Commandant of the Engineer School and 

Commander of the Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir, 

Major General Robert R. Ploger, has initiated a parallel 

effort at Belvoir by establishing an Engineer Dynamic 

Training Council. This Council is continuing indefinitely 

and is designed to provide an enduring link between engineer trainers afield and the Engineer School. 

What, really, is dynamic training? Basically it is nothing new. It is a new name, applied to training that ism Tailored to the commander's own appraisal of what 

his unit needs. /c Realistically designed to meet those needs, desp 
I the constraints of reduced strength, limited resources, 

, or scarce resources. 

Imaginative and innovative, from input by the 

trainers. 

Stimulating, interesting, zestful, and rewarding for 

1 the trainees. 

Adventure training is one form of dynamic training 

in which a sport or challenge augments the purely military incentives to learning. For example, orienteering 

is adventure training. 

Dynamic training has been loosely called "shade tree 

training." It has also been described as "going skiing 

instead of having physical training (PT). It is these, 

indeed, but it is more. You can have dynamic training 

in a classroom, or during a halt on a march, or while 

performing maintenance on your equipment. Dynamic 

ining is just ordinary training plus one secret ingredi- W_ imagination. 

.. For engineer units, dynamic training can take many 

forms. Dynamic training could bee A domestic action project to build something offpost for a worthwhile cause. 

An on-post construction project assisting the facilities engineer, another unit, or an individual's own 

unit. 

Integration of a unit's training program with that 

of a combat arms unit or allied units in overseas areas. 

Competition in military engineering tasks. 

The Engineer Dynamic Training Council at Fort 

Belvoir is trying to come up with some imagination of its 

own. The Council, which consists of ohcers from the 

Staff and Faculty of the Engineer School, has met frequently since October 1971 to review the small unit ' training problems at Fort Belvoir. They have been 

studying problems reflected by a survey of certain evaluations involving 400 officers, warrant officers, and 

noncommissioned officers stationed at Fort Belvoir. 

The study is patterned after a similar survey that is being conducted by the Board for Dynamic Training at 

Fort Benning. 

Direct contact has been eqtablished with the senior 

7 ineers of the major comminds, the Engineer TrainCenter at Fort Leonard Wood, the Topographic 

~mmand, and some separate engineer units in the 

continental U. S. A questionaire is being mailed to selected units and individuals to help the Council identify problems and collect innovative solutions. (Responsible persons are urged to respond to this questionaire 

because it is one of the few ways the Council can communicate with the field.) The Council does hope to 

have its representatives visit many active Army and Reserve component units in the U. S. and overseas. 

The Council is continually looking for imaginative 

and innovative ideas to help revitalize and stimulate 

engineer small u&t training. These ideas will be published in an Engineer School publication and distributed 

to the units on a worldwide basis. The best of the dynamic training ideas also will be published in future 

issues of the engineer. Some of the ideas that already 

have been generated are contained in this feature on 

"Engineer Dynamic Training." 

Just as dynamic training is nothing new, small unit 

training problems also are nothing new. Here are a few 

of the old problems with new emphasis. 

The demands for post support-guard, kitchen 

police, ash and trash, grass cutting-constitute a major 

problem for all types of units worldwide. 

I 

The lack of materials and sites for river crossings, 

demolition, and road building are problems peculiar to 

engineers. 

a The boredom that comes with tearing down a 

bridge you have built, filling in a crater you have blown, 

or digging up the mines you have laid, constitutes a 

morale problem. 

The biggest problem, however, is the lack of knowhow, motivation, or imagination among small unit 

leaders. This problem appears to be common all through 

the Army. 

Some solutions that are being considered to alleviate 

these problems areMore emphasis and better instruction in the classrooms at Army service schools on how to plan and 

conduct small unit training. 

Improvements to the Training Manuals and Field 

Manuals that discuss small unit training. 

A catalog of "do-it-yourself" training aids, to go 

along with. the catalog of dynamic training ideas. 

Actions to provide engineer materials for consump- 
tion in training-timber, cement, and asphalt-similar 

to training ammunition allowances. 

The Engineer Skills Training program which is 

designed to upgrade individual construction skills 

through a combination of correspondence courses and 

on-the-job training with the facilities engineer. 

The Engineer Dynamic Training Council does not 

have all the answers yet. The Council's program has 

just begun to get underway but it is already evidentthat dynamic training is not widely understood; that 

there is an underlying reluctance to innovate; and that 

training often has low priority at small unit level. 

It is equally evident, however, that engineer units 

have been and are doing a lot of dynamic training. Good 

examples are domestic (civic) action and on-post construction projects. So, too, are cases where engineers 

train with combat arms units, with allied units, and 

where they put some competition into otherwise dull 

training. General Ralph E. Haines, Jr., Commanding 

General of the Continental Army Command, Fort 

Monroe, Va., says the engineers have an easier job of 

making their training dynamic because of their mission 

than does the infantry, the armor, or the artillery. 

There is much more we can do. General Westmoreland has given the small unit leader the freedom and the 

encouragement to introduce imagination into training. 

The entire Army is pressing forward to help reduce 

some of the obstacles to good training. The Engineer 

School, through the Engineer Dynamic Training Council, is working to provide the know-how for engineer 

units. 

Every engineer can play a part in this prog 

Think for a moment what should be done to make v? " 

gineer small unit training more interesting and more 

rewarding tomorrow, next week, or the next time 

around. Do it! All it takes is imagination! e 

Colonel Walter R. Hylander, Jr., Director of Doctrine and Training Development at the Engineer School 

and Chairman of the Engineer Dynamic Training Council, maintains he has trained dynamically the Ist, 2d, 

3, 138th and 288th Engineer Combat Battalions; 

487 Aviation Engineer Battalion (USAR), and at the 

Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Engineer School. 

He has a master's degree in Civil Engineering from 

M.I.T., and is a registered professional engineer in 

New York and a Fellow, American Society of Civil 

Engineers. 

Thi~ article introduces a new department that 

will officially begin in the next isme of the engieer. In the future, the Dynamic Training Depart. 

ment will be devoted to examples about how units 

in the field are implementing their methods into 

the program. There is a catch. It is up to youthe reader-to make this department a success. 

You may be assured that your training ideas 

be published if you send them to us. the 
ERNIZING 

"Okay-we've done our job. 

We've cleared mines, busted a few 

obstacles, put in some quickie tactical bridges, roads and airfields. 

We've paved the way-our troops 

are settled in. Let's hope that Theater Command can spare some of the 

construction guys to get some of this 

r: kload off our backs and to do 

ie of this fancy work. 

"Forget it-no way, man-they're 

so uptight with what they're doing 

out where they are that they won't 

even be thinking in our direction 

for awhile. They'll probably give 

out with some more of that good 

jazz to use what is called "that old 

engineer ingenuity." Remember that 

famous saying-flattery will get you 

anywhere? Well, it sure as the devil 

won't get this job done to the Old 

Man's liking. So, let's get with itwe've got one heluva lotta work to 

do." 

If such a conversation appears to 

be unreal, there is little doubt but 

that, in the past, similar ones-in 

language more caustic, bombastic, 

colorful and profane-have polluted 

the air surrounding members of nondivisional combat engineer units in 

the field. History records, too, that 

they did just what had been suggestthey applied "that old engineer 

nnuity" and more than fulfilled 

their normal combat support mission, making do with what was at 

hand, and in the process, discovered 

talents which previous experiences 

had not revealed. 

How do you effect command control over engineer troop units in 

such situations, and under such conditions? 

Some commanders have several 

proposals which they believe would 

help. 

So-you commanders of non-divisional combat engineer units at all 

levels-take heed! 

As part of a continuing program 

to improve upon military engineer 

troop organization, the Corps of 

Engineers recently completed a special review which took such matters 

under advisement-and a number 

of recommendations resulted from 

it. If reviewing authorities give their 

blessing to such suggestions, nondivisional combat engineer units 

may well be in for a bit of face-lifting in the not too distant future. 

Lieutenant General Frederick J. 

Clarke, U. S. Army Chief of Engineers, submitted a report on the results of the review to the Combat 

Developments Command (CDC) as 

technical engineering advice for action "as deemed appropriate." 

(CDC is the Army agency that pulls 

William T. Spriegel 

Managing Editor 

together ideas on how we should 

organize and equip Army units and 

how we should fight and operate, 

shoot, move and communicate, that 

is.) Technical information, such as 

the Corps of Engineers' report, contribute to CDC's determinations. 

The report was compiled by a 

10-man Special Review Board of 

officers headed by Brigadier General Richard L. West, who at that 

time was District Engineer, U. S. 

Army Engineer District, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and who is now 

assigned as Comptroller at the Continental Army Command, Fort Monroe, Virginia. The Special Review 

Board was appointed by General 

Clarke to examine the structure of 

current combat engineer units and 

to determine what changes, if any, 

in personnel, skills, equipment and 

employment concepts would provide 

the best arrangement for combat 

engineering support to the Army in 

the field. The Board's report focused 

on non-divisional types of combat 

engineer units. A similar review to 

be conducted by another board will 

go into the operations of engineer 

units organic to divisions and separate brigades. 

Current arrangements for nondivisional engineer combat support 

generally follow a pattern which 
evolved during World War 11, and 

the Army wants to insure that the 

capabilities of its combat engineer 

organizations are not outdated, numerically imbalanced, or lacking in 

quality insofar as the combat support requirements of today and the 

immediate future are concerned. 

In the process of making the review, many Army Senior Commanders were requested to furnish 

their views on how the organization 

and doctrine for non-divisional engineer combat support could be improved. A separate questionnaire 

was sent to senior staff engineers of 

the Army's major commands worldwide for distribution to field grade 

and company grade officers asking 

their opinions on the employment 

philosophy and organization of the 

non-divisional engineer combat battalion. These views are reflected in 

the Board's report. 

Non-divisional combat engineer 

support as of now is provided primarily through the use of engineer 

combat groups consisting of a group 

headquarters and a variable number 

of Army combat engineer battalions 

and separate equipment companies. 

One of the most significant recommendations to come out of the 

study was for the adoption of a 

"Universal" headquarters organization for engineer groups and brigades, capable of handling the full 

range of tactical and technical functions inherent in both combat and 

construction engineering. There is a 

big difference in the technical and 

tactical capabilities of the combat 

engineer group and brigades. Operational experience in South Vietnam 

raised some doubt as to the validity 

of having "pure" combat and construction engineer groups and brigades as envisioned under current 

concepts of non-divisional engineer 

support organization, where the 

former function in the Corps and 

Army areas of the Combat Zone 

while the latter would normally operate in rear areas where more complex, heavier and permanent construction is usually needed. 

Board recommendations would 

result in use of "Universal" Engineer Group and Brigade Headquarters for command control of engineer operations at Corps, Army and 

Theater Command levels, where 

each would manage the activities of 

variable numbers of engineer combat or construction battalions in the 

combination best suited to accomplish the mission as dictated by the 

situation at hand. Such an arrangement would place no constraint on 

a commander's decision to shift battalions as he might think necessary. 

Under this concept, engineer 

groups and brigades located in the 

field army area would be heavily oriented to combat battalions, while 

those in the rear areas might consist 

entirely of construction battalions. 

Depending on the circumstances, 

the number of combat battalions in 

the base development area miglit 

well be zero, as might the number 

of construction battalions in the 

combat zone. 

The Board recognized too, that 

an augmented design and construction supervision capability, as well 

as increased engineering and design 

skills would be required by the 

"Universal" groups and brigades 

when engaged in a purely base dcvelopment mission. They consequently proposed the adoption of 

an "Architect-Engineering" package, 

consisting of three sections-drafting and design, soils and soils analysis, and the technical specialty of 

surveying which could be added to 

group headquarters when needed. 

In looking at the nondivisional 

engineer combat battalion-recognized throughout the Army as the 

"workhorse" for general engineer 

support and construction in the combat zone-the Review Board concluded that the present organizational structure was suitable for accomplishing its mission, although they 

decided that certain changes would 

make it more efficient and responsive. Its mission traditionally lybeen to increase the combat e!( I ') 

tiveness of Corps and Army tro: .- 

operations, and to reinforce engineer units of divisions and separate 

brigades when necessary. 

Members of the Board reasoned 

that by assigning five combat companies to a battalion (rather than 

four, the present practice), the number of headquarters in a group could 

be reduced. The number of personnel spaces thus saved could be used 

to give the remaining battalions the 

following capabilities- 

@ Surveying 

Drafting 

Soils testing 

Grading and compaction 

Engineer direct support maintenance 

A number of other changes were 

recommended as a result of the 

study- 

@ Increased communications capability, with wider range. 

More automatic weapons.fi) 

The Board also felt that non-/ 

visional combat engineers needed 

a greater capacity for hauling construction materials and the capability to participate in and support airmobile operations. They recommended reorganization of the present light equipment company to include an airmobile equipment platoon and the addition of a platoon 

of heavy dump trucks (20-tonners). 

They also proposed the unit be renamed as an Engineer Equipment 

Support Company. 

One of the potentially more important missions of non-divisional 

Combat Engineer Battalions is the 

employment of atomic demolitions 

munitions. However, the Board concluded, after detailed evaluation 

that because of the special nature 

of the mission, unique training involved and the security requirements 

necessitated by the mission, AD - 

platoons presently attached to s?q 

engineer battalions be placed in 1 
cia1 detachment under control of ?=I engineer brigade. The engineer .. .talion would retain the responsibility for site preparation and emplacement of the weapon when directed. It was felt that training, 

command and control, and selection 

of personnel to be trained could be 

handled more easily by the larger, 

more experienced staff at brigade 

level. With the advent of air mobility, the Board felt that flexibility for 

employment would be enhanced by 

consolidation of the ADM resources. 

The study also considered how 

best to accomplish the peacetime 

' training for non-divisional engineer 

units. Many of the combat missions 

of engineer units are also valuable 

peacetime tasks. Such horizontal 

construction and maintenance and 

repair projects as road constitution, 

improvement, repair and maintenance, and bridge building, are 

ally suited for Engineer Combat fi training. ,vlany specific civil engineering 

tasks may be found on troop installations. These include construction 

and maintenance of ammunition 

storage areas, float bridge training 

areas, airstrips, recreation areas, 

motor parks, drainage projects, facility demolition, ranges and firebreaks. There are many other projects which engineer troops could 

complete which would serve to improve the installation far beyond the 

point possible within the resources 

normally available-and concurrently serve as a training vehicle for 

the troops. 

Combat engineer units can be a 

valuable source of assistance for the 

Facilities Engineer in performing 

his utilities and building maintenance, and emergency construction 

functions. 

The Board felt that much of this 

work would add realism and meaning to engineer unit training, and 

would raise morale while increasing 

the livability of the installation for 

all to enjoy. 

Another aspect of peacetime stationing and training of engineer 

combat units concerned their availability for use during civil disasters. 

Because of their command and control structure, their rapid and mobile 

reaction capability and operational 

flexibility, the Board considered 

such units ideally suited for such 

missions, and recommended that 

combat engineer units be used in installation facilities projects and disaster recovery operations, which are 

consistent with the combat missions, 

functions and capabilities of the 

units involved. 

So-to you members of non-divisional combat engineer units, 

stand by! Much appears to be in the 

offing for you. Will it work? To best 

advantage? Has the Board rightly 

interpreted the signs, suggestions 

and Army trends? They were constrained by the need to keep any 

changes and modifications within 

the framework of presently available 

resources (manpower, money and 

materiel), and to economize where 

possible. 

Let it be said, in any case, that 

you are being looked at-you are 

being thought about-and there is 

concern at higher echelons of command about some of the problems 

which you have. 

"It's ironical," reported one officer-now of field grade rank-who 

was made action officer on one of 

the questionnaires sent to the field 

for reply, and who was present at a 

recent conference of top-level brass 

to consider the aforementioned rec- 

~mmendations-~~I now can believe 

what has been said in the past. The 

Army really does act on recommendations that come from junior officers. It's a good feeling to be able 

to be in on an official examination 

at top-level of some suggestions 

which I, myself, initiated." 

Final note-we hope that your 

recommendations pay off! And that 

the Army will reap much benefit as 

a result of your contributions! e 
Bulldozing with the UET. In tests at U. S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, the UET has out-dozed the 

standard medium crawler tractors. 

Major Scott S. Collins, Jr. 

Having talked to quite a few engineers about the 

Universal Engineer Tractor (UET), I know that 99 

percent of the readers who have read this far, already 

are having negative reactions regarding the subject. The 

reaction is automatic. Also from experience, I know 

that most of the negative reactions are based on erroneous assumptions or outdated information. Therefore 

the purpose of this article is simply to provide up-todate information on the progress the Army has made 

toward getting the UET to the field. 

Let us begin by looking at the UET's requirements. 

The Combat Developments Command (CDC) determined that the users in the field needed an armored, 

amphibious, multi-purpose combat engineer earthmover. It was to be highly mobile, have high work capacity, 

be air-transportable, and capable of providing combat 

engineers with a high speed tractor having mobility 

equivalent to that of supported units. It also had to be 

able to bulldoze, scrape, rough-grade, and haul. It was 

expected to provide the combat engineer unit with a 

single versatile construction tool that would significantly 

increase the combat construction potential in a hostile 

environment . To meet this requirement, the development of the 

UET has spanned several years and included more than 

11,000 hours of prototype tests. It began in 1956 when 

the concept was proposed by International Harvester 

Company as an alternate to a request for wheeled airborne equipment. Four generations have been built and, 

in the process, the armor and swim requirements have 

been added. The requirements that the tractor be airdroppable and carry an engineer squad have been 

dropped. 

The UET has been designed to travel light and work 

heavy in keeping with the mobility requirements. It 

must add weight for earthmoving operations because 

performance at a given horsepower is proportions 

the gross weight of the vehicle. A rule of thumb 
Here the UET is seen loading the eight-cubic-yard scraper bowl. The apron is raised and the road wheels 

have been raised relative to the hull, exposing the scraper cutting edge to the soil. Once fllled the UET is ready 

for dozing or the soil can be hauled to another site. To empty, the apron is raised and the ejector pushes the 

soil from the bowl. 

rC ntly used for tracked vehicles sets the theoretical 

6imum draw bar pull equal to 80 to 90 percent of 

' gross weight. 

The UET increases its weight for dozing by seifloading its eight cubic yard scraper bowl with about 

20,000 pounds of earth ballast and has achieved a draw 

bar pull of 37,500 pounds with a 32,000 pound net 

weight vehicle. Another feature that makes the dual role 

possible is the suspension system. It is a hydropneumatic system-that is hydraulic suspension units backed 

up by air springs. 

For earthmoving, the springs are switched out and 

the blade height is controlled by varying the flow of 

oil to the suspension units. For high speed operation, 

the units operate at fixed pressure and are backed up 

by the springs. The ride has been rated as better than 

either the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) or 

the five-ton dump truck. 

Operating the UET is quite simple. For high speed, 

the only controls involved are the throttle pedal, brake, 

steering wheel, and power shift transmission. For earthmoving, the blade height is controlled similarly to the 

low speed dozers, except that the hull moves with the 

blade. The operator can see the blade top for the full 

width and for this reason the UET is somewhat more 

P trollable than the low speed dozers. 

ndependent tests by the U. S. Army Test and Evaluation Command have verified a top land speed of 30 

miles-per-hour and a water speed of three miles-perhour. The tests also have verified that the UET equals 

or exceeds the bulldozing capability of the standard 

medium crawler tractors by moving 188 cubic-yards-anhour in a 100-foot slot versus 150-170 cubic-yards- I 

an-hour for the standard dozers. It also out-hauls the 

five ton dump truck over a one mile, secondary-haul 

road. 

The operator of the UET is provided armor which 

is equivalent to that of the APC. Although performance 

has been quite good, reliability has not been high 

enough for issue. Failures have not been concentrated 

in the suspension system as most experts would assume. 

The reliability problems have been attributed mostly to 

random failures throughout the machine, and quality 

control, rather than basic design errors. All known design problems are believed to have been corrected nt 

this time. Additional data are shown in Figure Two. 

Progress is checked during a periodic conference 

1 

called an In Progress Review (IPR). Members of the 

IPR include the developer (AMC), the user (CDC), 

the trainer (CONARC) and the Department of the , 

Army Staff Logistician (DCSLOG). As a result of the 

IPR held on the UET at the end of the most recent 

tests, the members have concluded that because the re- I 

quired reliability has not been achieved, additional I 

I 

37 8 
work will be required before the tractor will go into 

production. 

On advice from industry representatives, the following course of action already has been initiated. Contracts have been awarded to two civilian firms to evaluate the design and make recommendations for improvements. Both firms have had considerable experience in the production of high speed tracked vehicles. 

Each firm has been furnished a rebuilt UET prototype, all design data and the test results. After full consideration of their recommendations, it is planned to 

select one of these contractors to produce the next UET 

prototypes. Also, an additional full cycle of testing is 

being scheduled (more than 650 hours of tests for each 

of the tractors). The UET will be fielded only if all of 

the requirements are met. The schedule calls for type 

classification in 1975. The first units would be equipped 

shortly thereafter. The schedule is tentative and its 

completion will be based on the successful contractor's 

appraisal. 

Solving the low reliability problem will be difficult. 

The required reliability for the UET' is comparable to 

that of commercial construction items-single purpose 

machines that have no restrictions on weight. 

Because of its lightweight requirement, the UET was 

designed with much smaller safety factors than commercial construction items. High performance at both 

ends of the speed spectrum has never been accomplished prior to the UET, and complexity has been the 

price. The UET is more complex than any of the single 

purpose construction machines. Since reliability is 

somewhat of a function of the total number of comr 

ponent parts or systems, the added components present 

another factor that makes the reliability requirem 

tough to meet. p>i r 

It is planned to issue the UET primarily to divisionaland nondivisional combat engineer battalions. The tractor is expected to replace the medium crawler dozer and 

some of the low bed trailer, prime movers. The basis 

of issue is tentative, however, and will be finalized after 

field evaluation. Issue would generally call for one UET 

per combat engineer platoon. The planned distribution 

will result in an increase in capability at a reduced cost. 

The UET will provide a versatile, high-speed earthmover to divisional and nondivisional combat engineer 

units. The tractor will enable the engineers to match 

the mobility of the units they support. e 

Major Scott S. Collins, Jr., the former Special Item 

Manager of the UET at the U. S. Army Mobility and 

Equipment Research and Development Center at Fort 

Belvoir, Va., is enroccte to a new assignment in Korea. 

He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master's 

degree from Michigan Technological University and 

the Ulniversity of Michigan, respectively. The major prcviously served with the 27th Engineer Battalion at 

Fort Campbell, Ky., and overseas with engineer units 

in Korea and Vietnam. He is a graduate of the Engineer OfJicer Advance Course at Fort Belvoir. n / 

This schematic of a rebuilt 

UET prototype shows changes 

that may be the answer to the 

combat engineer's need for a 

multi-purpose earthmover. Tests 

to date prove that the UET has 

armor that is equivalent to the 

APC and exceeds the bulldozing 

capability of the standard 

medium tractors. But its reliaBLADEIAPRON BOWL 1 a 3 

ENGINE HATCH IN 

\ STOWED POSITION 

bility has been low and there 

will be no UET for the user until all requirements are met. 

38 
Eugene V. McAnclrews 

"It is the year of our Lord 1863 

and well into the springtime. Your 

name is Jimmy McClelland, Private, 

30th Ohio Infantry, and you wish 

ydu were home on your old man's 

little farm with the cool, rich dirt 

between your toes and the sunshine 

warming your back. But you are 

here in a grimy little Mississippi 

river town called Vicksburg, playing 

at a game called war. It will be a 

long time until you'll see home 

again, boy, or the farm or your old 

man. Wars are like that, you know. 

"Old General Grant is anxious to 

take Vicksburg, so the story goes 

down the line. You've heard that the 

Army of Tennessee moved 2,000 

miles in 18 days, throzcgh five successful encounters with the enemy. 

Six thousand of them Rebels was 

captured, tf~ey say, and 67 artillery 

pieces. We only lost 4,500. Now 

Vicksburg. Once you get to moving, 

you know, it don't do to set and 

pick at old scars and nits. Johnny's 

waitin' over there in them woods 

like always. If we keep on doggin' 

him maybe he'll just up and quit. I 

don't want to kill nobody nomore." 
The rumors Jimniy heard were true enough. A wily 

U.S. Grant, using that same "set and pick" logic felt 

that his momentum would insure a fast victory at Vicksburg by little more than a series of quick assaults. With 

tragic understatement, however, he conceded that this 

town was "admirable for defense." 

President Lincoln himself supported Grant wholeheartedly, remarking, "We may take all the northern 

ports of the Confederacy and they can still defy us at 

Vicksburg. It means hot biscuits and hominy without 

limit, fresh troops from all the states of the Far South, 

and a cotton country where they can raise the staple 

without interference." Lincoln was impressed with 

Grant's fighting abilities, and with good reason. The 

cigar-smoking General was bringing home the victories. 

Engineers in the Army of Tennessee had offered an 

unusual idea as an alternative to storming the city-bypassing the city by constructing a canal across the milewide DeSoto Peninsula, a landform created by silt deposits at a spectacular, lumbering bend in the Mississippi River. Grant considered the canal plan impractical. 

General William T. Sherman, commanding the 15th 

Army Corps, supported Grant's strategy and readily 

agreed to order his troops to storm the city. But on the 

19th of May, 1863, when the 13th Infantry Regiment 

led the first charge against the Confederate defenses, 

withering fire cut it to pieces. The casualty count was 

disconcerting. Morale sagged and the Army of Tennessee stopped in its tracks. 

Confederate General John Pemberton 

40 

Union General John G. Parke 

Grant suddenly realized that he had underestimated 

the defenses and the effectiveness of Confederate General John 

had constructed a 

C. Pemberton's 

defense line 

engineers. Pemberton's 

one historian has descr, m 

ed as "an achievement of which a military engineer (;I 

the 19th Century could be proud." 

The defenses were designed by Pemberton's Chicf 

Engineer, Captail Samuel Lockett: His plan created a 

system of redoubts, redans, lunettes and small fieldworks connected by rifle pits, that would afford the 

Confederates a continuous line of defense. 

In the seven months before the union forces struck, 

the Confederates had built a nine-mile line to protect 

Vicksburg from the rear. Nine key forts comprised the 

strongpoints: Fort Hill, Stockade Redan, Third Louisiana Redan, Great Redoubt, Second Texas Lunette, 

Railroad Redoubt, Fort Garrott, Salient Works and 

South Fort. 

The strength of the defenses became all too apparent 

to the engineer officers in Grant's Army, several of 

whom were line conlmanders-Colonel Frederick E. 

Prime, Chief Engineer for the Mississippi campaign; 

Major General James B. McPherson, in charge of the 

17th Corps; Major General John G. Parke, commanding the 9th Corps at Vicksburg; and Major General 

Cyrus B. Comstock, who had been instrumental in the 

success of the Mississippi Campaign. 

Having witnessed the failure of the attack on M 

19, someone proposed another scheme: to bridge $9 

ditch in front of the formidable key, Stockade ~edaz 
allowing the 17th Corps to cross and hit the fortificas with a hammering blow. Though history does not 'B a1 who that someone was, the fact that the decision 

was a significant one is quite apparent-the "volunteer 

storming party" (of engineers) created to execute this 

dangerous task became the most honored contingent of 

so!diers in American military history. 

Union officers agreed that the Stockade Redan had 

to be taken. Commanding a crucial route into the city, 

its main earthwork was a redan with an attached stockade. The ground sloped to the front and flanks of the 

redan, allowing Confederate defenders a fine field of 

fire. For nearly 200 yards in front of the redan, Gravcyard Road ran level in full view of the defenders. 

The call went out for volunteers. Because of the lack 

of engineer troops, Union policy was to create them 

from the ranks despite their lack of training. Labeled 

pioneer or pontonier units, they consisted of two percent of the effective force then in the field and were 

usually commanded by a captain, who was not always 

an engineer officer. 

So the call went out at Vicksburg, with a quota fixed 

at 50 enlisted men and two officers from each brigade 

in General Francis Blair's division. When finally assembled, the force totaled 156 officers and men from 

15 regiments. They knew well what was expected of 

W' and the price they might have to pay. They were 

that if they could bridge the ditch for the 17th 

rps, Vicksburg would fall. 

With the tools of the engineer-gabions, fascines, 

ladders, shovels and picks-the party began the attack 

on the morning of the 22nd May, 1863. Led by Captain 

Richard H. Wood, 97th Illinois Infantry, and Lieutenant William C. Porter, 55th Illinois Infantry, the group 

rushed forward toward the ditch, running the 300 yards 

in three minutes. Confederate fire tore through their 

ranks. Many fell on the road under their heavy burdens. 

Pvt. Howell T. Tugwell, 8th Missouri Infantry, carried 

the colors to the slope of the Confederate escarpment 

and planted it there. His comrades tumb!ed into the 

ditch, which protected them from the fire coming from - the redan, but not from sharpshooters farther down the 

line or from Confederate 12-pound shells that rolled 

into the ditch. 

For hours the assault group suffered under the Confederate pounding. Their attack was stopped. Behind 

them the advance of the 17th Corps ground to a halt. 

The attacks of May 19 and 22 having failed, Grant 

had his engineers initiate siege operations. Soon Union 

sapping trenches appeared, angling in a zig-zag manner to the points of the Confederate redans. As the deP ers watched Federal trenches inch nearer their pons, they prepared loaded shells with short timees to repel the Northern attackers. On June 25, 

Grant's engineers exploded their first mine in an effort 

to tear a hole in Confederate defenses large enough foiUnion troops to rush through. But the Confederates exploded countermines. After enduring isolation, hunger, 

constant bombardment and with morale running low, 

Pemberton finally surrendered Vicksburg. It was July 4, 

the day after the Battle of Gettysburg. The siege had 

lasted 47 days. 

The fall of Vicksburg cut the South in half. Seizure 

of the city also reopened the Mississippi, allowing resumption of trade between the Midwest and the outside world. Grant was now free to turn his forces loose 

for increased offensive operations. The two Union victories signaled the death knell of the Confederacy. 

The valiant attempt to bridge the ditch at the Stockade Redan resulted in award of Medals of IIonor to 81 

men. Their actions were heroic. Grant later wrote in 

his Memoirs that the attack of May 22 was one he regretted ever having ordered. He was the moving force 

behind their awards. Captain Wood's citation read: 

". . . led the 'volunteer storming party' which made n 

most gallant assault upon the enemy's works." All the 

other citations read simply, "Gallantry in the charge 

of the 'volunteer storming party'." 

The Honor Roster included men from the 30th, 37th 

47th, 54th and 57th Ohio Infantry; 83rd Indiana Infantry; 6th and 8th Missouri Infantry; 55th, 97th, 

113th, 116th and 127th Illinois Infantry; 4th Virginia 

Infantry; and the 4th West Virginia Infantry. e 

History, in its timeless, impartial way, has introduced into the story of the siege at Vicksburg an elcment of controversy about James McClellan, 30th Ohio 

Infantry, and his 80 gallant comrades. Engineers they 

were to the satisfaction of the task, but infantry troopers all, they were, on the battle roll. Perhaps the claim 

is valid with neither the engineers nor the infantry, but, 

in reality, with that brotherhood of heroes to which all 

Medal of Honor winners belong. 

Eugene V. McAlndrews, an authoritative source on 

the history of the Medal of Honor, is a histonan, Office of the Chief of Engineers, US Army, Baltimore, 

Md. Mr. McAndrews considers his collection of historical material, diaries and memorabilia of US Army winners 07 the Medal of Honor among the most complete 

in existence. Credited with a B.A. in history from Car- I 

roll College, Helena, Mont., and an M.A. from the 

University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore., he is presently 

preparing a Ph.D. dissertation for Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. 
USMA PREP SCHOOL 

PREPARES MANY MEN 

FOR WEST POINT 

MANY ENLISTED MEN do not know that the Army conducts a school which is designed to help 

them successfully compete for appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, 

N. Y. All inductees, Regular Army, Reserve and National Guard enlisted men on active duty may 

apply for admission directly to the U. S. Military Academy Preparatory School at Fort Belvoir, Va. 

The Prep School has an annual 10-month program (August through May) that prepares and trains 

selected individuals to successfully compete for appointment to West Point. For further information, 

applicants on active duty should write: Commandant, USMA Preparatory-School, Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia 22060. Civilians, Army Reservists, and National Guardsmen not on active duty may apply 

to The Adjutant General, Department of the Army, Washington, D. C. 20314, ATTEN: AGPB-M 

(Mr. Patton). Selected civilians will be issued instructions for joining the Army. Active duty applicants 

should submit their applications according to Junc 1 of the year entry to USMAPS is desired. 

IT TAKES MONTHS 

TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS 

FOR OVERSEAS TOURS 

SOLDIERS DESIRING OVERSEAS tours must start the paper work themselves by submitting 

applications at t'ieir unit personnel offices. From there, applications are forwarded for 

recommendations at each command level. Requests for Vietnam duty must be fonvarded to the 

Department of the Army regardless of approval or disapproval within the chain of command. For 

any other area, the request may be disapproved by the major headquarters. Disapproved applications 

are returned to the individals concerned. About a month after an application is submitted, DA 

receives it and sends a card with personnel data on the applicant through an initial processing 

machine. Then the request for overseas duty is matched against current requirements. If no 

requirement exists for that grade and MOS, the applicant is so advised. If such a position is 

available, the matched assignment information and requirement cards are processed in the next 

bi-monthly machine assignments. A roster of assignment instructions then goes out to each major 

losing command where new assignment instructions are forwarded to the losing installations. It 

usually takes about 60 days to process an overseas application-from the day the paper work was first 

submitted to the day when the new assignment orders are issued. 

ARMY WANTS QUALIFIED 

JUNIOR OFFICERS TO APPLY 

FOR RA APPOINTMENT 

THE ARMY STILL has a retention requirement for highly-motivated, well-qualified junior officers, 

even though recent strength reductions have made attaining career status more competitive. 

Commanders and supervisors should continue to encourage best-qualified junior officers to maintain 

Voluntary Indefinite (VI) status or to apply for Regular Army appointment. Officers not now in career 

status who want to remain in the Army past their release dates should contact the Engineer Branch 

immediately for advise on how to proceed. 
EM ARE URGED 

TO KEEP 

AOR CARDS CURRENT 

ENLISTED PERSONNEL through grade E6 returning from an overseas tour should take advantage of 

the Advanced Overseas Returnee (AOR) card. Approximately six months prior to an individual's 

date of expected return from overseas (DEROS), he should contact his unit personnel officer to 

correct information that is outdated or in error. The AOR card is punched with information provided 

by the losing command that will help the Department of the Army issue assignment instructions. 

The Army has this information on each individual in the AOR card-name, social security account 

number, rank, PMOS, number of dependents, estimated termination of service (ETA) date, and the 

area that was indicated as the preference for his next assignment. The area of preference for AOR 

purposes must be current if an individual is to receive the new duty station he wants. 

OPO MOVES 

TO AUTOMATE 

PERSONNEL RECORDS 

THE CURRENT PROGRAMS to more fully automate personnel records should reach fruition by 

the end of 1972. The Department of the A&I~ Form 66 hill be replaced by the computer-generated 

"Officer Record Brief." The Manual Report of Change, DA Form 2876, will be replaced by Mark 

Sense forms if tests now underway prove successful. This means that all officers should pay particular 

attention to the accuracy of their own personnel records during the coming months. Engineer Branch 

has the capability of correcting the Officer Master Tape Record through its new ADP equipment. 

Officers discovering errors in their records should have their personnel officers notify the Engineer 

Branch without delay so the Master Tape Record may be corrected. 

ADPRID OFFERS 

DUAL PROGRAM 

FOR APPLICANTS 

THE ENGINEER BRANCH has announced that openings are available for officers desiring to obtain 

a master's degree preceding assignment to the same school as an ROTC instructor. Applications 

for the Advanced Degree Program for ROTC Instructor Duty (ADPRID) may be submitted at any 

time in accordance with Department of the Army Circular 621-7. ROTC positions are open for 1972 

through 1974, especially in the Midwest. 

WANTED ! COMMISSIONED 

OFFICERS TO TRAIN 

AS ROTARY WING AVIATORS 

A DECREASE IN WARRANT officer candidate flight training has created a need for commissioned 

officers to be trained as rotary wing aviators. To be eligible, officers must have less than 48 months 

commissioned service at time of entry and should have an above average performance record. Interested 

officers should consult AR 61 1-1 10 for information or contact the Engineer Branch. 
ENGINEER STAFF 

hree new academic departments have been established at the Engineer School, partially as 

a result of the introduction of the two Engineer NCO 

courses. 

The Department of Engineering and Military Science (D/E&MS) has been divided into the Department of Military Science, the Departmellt of Engineering Science and the Department of Applied Engineering. 

The primary reason for the reorganization was that 

D/E&MS had become too large to operate efficiently 

with the addition of the new courses. Also, the changc 

was made in an effort to establish a closer directorinstructor-student relationship, which is expected to 

provide a more efficient teaching program and better 

learning on the part of the student. 

44 

An organizational study group considered 16 alternatives for the reorganization before recommending 

that the three new departments be organized. The plan 

was approved and put into operation last August. 

Under the reorganization two divisions of D/E&MS, 

Combined Arms and General Support became the 

Department of Military Science and assumed responsibility for the NCO courses. The subjects of i instruction include combined arms organization, nu- I 

clear weapons and weapons systems, chemical weapons, 

international relations, leadership, command and staff 1 

functions and procedures, enlisted personnel management, staff writing, military justice, drill and ceremonies, and Civil Affairs and Army Aviation. 

Combat Service Support subjects being taught include Army Supply procedures and functions, Ord- ( 

nance, Transportation, Quartermaster, Adjutant General, and Medical Service Support functions. 

The Combat Engineering Division became the Department of Applied Engineering and is teaching the 

Engineer Officer Basic Course. Subjects coverebh 

the course include bridging, field engineering, A~OF.' 

Demolition Munitions (ADM), demolitions and mine 

warfare. 

The Construction Engineering Division became the 

Department of Engineering Science and is responsible 

for the Engineer Officer Advanced Course. The department teaches professional engineering subjects including construction, military engineering, functions of 

the Corps of Engineers, operations research/systems 

analysis, automatic data processing systems, geology, 

Army Command Management, environmental sciences 

and pollution control. 

Activities of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical 

Division were distributed among all three of the new 

departments. No changes were made in the other two 

departments of the School: the Department of Mechanical and Technical Equipment and the Department of 

Topography. 

One of the projected improvements as a result of 

the reorganization is that the new departments will be 

more responsive in implementing changes, particularly 

in curriculum. With smaller organizations and clos r 

relationships between staff, faculty and studt) 

changes in what and how to teach can be made eaai .' 

and more effectively. e 
1 sWr, gets every \ w 

I issue of this muguzine. 

He says any Rctive 

or Reserve Engineer 
A 5Gton U S Army rank mlls across an engineerconstructed pontoon bridge spanning a river in Bavaria 

during Refovger 111-the annul NATO field training 

mrcise in "mock warfare" that points up Allied Foras 

s 

combat reddim~s on the continent. 8' 

bS ,f &,A 

?. r*** 

a#-+