. Enginee
 

THE MAGAZINE FOR :ARMY ENGINEERS 

Summer 1981 

Where we are I
 

Where we're going . . .
 

page 18
 
UNITED STATES ARMY 

ENGINEER CENTER 

AND FORT BELVOIR, VA 

COMMANDER/COMMANDANT 

MG Max W. Noah 

DEPUTY COMMANDANT 

COL Alvin G. Rowe 

CHIEF OF STAFFIDEPUTY 

INSTAllATION COMMANDER 

COL David O. Cooksey 

COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR 

CSM Frederick J. Eisenbart 

DIRECTORATES 

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING 

COL Stanley R. John son 

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING 

DEVELOPMENTS 

COL John W. Devens 

DIRECTORATE OF COMBAT DEVELOPMENTS 

COL Philip R. Hoge 

DIRECTORATE OF EVALUATION 

AND STANDARDIZATION 

LTC Charles S. Nichols 

UNITS ' 

ENGINEER TRAINING BRIGADE 

COL Peter J. Groh 

ENGINEER CENTER BRIGADE 

COL Robert A. Dey 

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER 

MAJ James E. Kil ey, Jr. 

EDITOR 

SP4 N.P. Lang 

COVER ILLUSTRATION 

Ron Perkins 

Vol. 11 No. 2 

FEATURES 

10 New Road Design Criteria for Theatre 

by Capt. Ira Wagreich 

11 Fort Leo. Wood , Looking for a New Image 

by SFC Ron McCumber 

14 114th Annual Engineer Dinner Remarks 

by Lt. Gen. Joseph K. Bratton 

18 M-CM-S In the Airland Battle 

by Maj. n, Max W. Noa 

22 The 36th Engineer Group 

by Col. Frederick E. Bitt} 

24 New Counterm lne Capabilities for '80's 

by Maj. Marion MiUer 

SPECIAL IN· 

THIS ISSUE e 

Engineers at 

the Battle of York town page 27 

EPARTMENTS 

3 

4 

6 

Clear the Way 

Pipeline 

Advance Notice 

8 

17 

32 

Forum 

Engr. Problems 

Upward Mobility 

ENGINEER is an authorized publication of the US Army Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir, VA. 

Unless spec if ically stated , meterial appearing herein does not necessar ily reflect official pol icy , 

thinking, or endorsement by any agency of the US Army. All photographs contained herein are official US Army photographs unless otherw ise credited; Use of funds for printing this publication 

was approved by Headquarters, Department of the Army, on February 23, 1979. Material herein 

may be reprinted if credit is given to ENGINEER and the author. • ENGINEER OBJECTIVES are to 

provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, to informa nd motivate, and to promote the protesslona l development of all members of the Army engineer family.• DIRECT CORRESPONDENCE 

with ENGINEER is authorized and encouraged . Inquiries, letters to the editor, manuscripts, 

photographs, and general correspondence should be sent to: Editor, ENGINEER Magazine, US 

Army Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060. Telephone AUTOVON 354·5001 or Commercial 

703-664·308215001 . If a return of manuscripts or material is desired, a self-addressed stamped 

envelope is required . • SUBSCRIPTIONS to ENGINEER are available through the Superintendent of 

Documents. US Government Print ing Off ice, Washing, D.C. 20402. A cheek or money order, 

payable to Superintendent of Documents, must accompany all subscriptions requests . subscrtptions rates are $5.50 for domestic (including APO and FPO) addresses, and $6.90 for foreign addresses. Invidual copies are available at $3.25 per copy for domestic addresses and $4.10 for 

foreign addresses, • CONTROLLED CIRCULATION postage paid at Merrif ield, VA. 

2 SUMMER 1981 
by Maj. Gen. Max W. Noah 

M-CM-S, Systems Program
 

Review 

In this issue of Engineer, our lead 

article emphasizes the combat engineers' role in the Airland Battle. I 

urge you to read it, learn how and 

why we plan to fight this way and 

train for it . 

The name "Airland Battle" by itself describes the national dimen ­

sions of a conflict much larger in 

geographic size and means of waging 

war than we have thought about 

heretofore. The Airland Battle is 

extended" in depth, meaning that 

commanders at each level must " see 

deep", consider and take action on 

every echelon behind the one with 

which they are engaged. The action 

in this battle is integrated in that 

chemical and nuclear warfare must 

be anticipated and prepared for. The 

battle is one requiring the integration of air and normal forces to carry 

the battle to the enemy and win. 

Combat Engineers are key to the 

success of this battle in supporting 

the mobility countermobility, and 

survivability (M-CM-S) of the maneuver, fire support and logistic support forces engaged in the battle. 

The overall concepts and doctrine 

derived from this battle , drive the 

combat engineer concepts, doctrine, 

and, in turn , the organization, force 

structure, training and material. 

At our M-CM-S Systems Program 

Review (SPR) held in April here at 

Fort Belvoir the leadership of the 

Army took a close look at the way we 

plan to proceed in the areas described above . The results of the 

SPR are encapsulated in the article 

on the Airland Battle. However, it 

would serve well to highlight a few 

major areas of emphasis. 

Ensuring that our forces can move 

unhampered has always been a first 

priority mission for us. On the battlefield we face the problem of 

massive minefields and obstacles 

when we carry the fight to the 

enemy. Our method of clearing 

mines and obstacles is still in the 

WWIl mode-slow and unprotected. To take minefields and 

obstacles "in our stride" - at the 

pace of the Ml tank and M2-MJ 

fighting vehicle-will require much 

more in speed, survivability and 

capability. Training in speedy , precision combat drills for the combined 

arms and procurement of new equipment such as mine rollers, SLUFAE 

and line charges is essential. 

Our capability to cross rivers and 

dry gaps is probably in better shape 

than any other area of combat engineering. With the new ribbon 

bridge and MGB plus the current 

MAB and AVLB, we are not exactly 

lacking for good equipment. But we 

can stand for improvement, especially in our assult capability. But for 

the AVLB we are currently not very 

capable of crossing gaps under fire . 

The "Family of Scatterable 

Mines" concept is turning into reality with artillery delivered autotank 

(RAAM) and auto-personnel 

(ADACM) and air delivered mines 

(GATOR) leading the way. Our 

problem with these mines will be getting into the operations net to insure 

the mine placements are recorded . 

Also the preferred method of use of 

these mines is to compliment direct 

or indirect "killing" fire with a " fixing" munition dropped in on top of 

the enemy-not just to place minefields by remote means. 

Finally, we as engineers must look 

at our own capability to operate 

under fire and with speed. This is the 

primary reason for our efforts to procure the M9 Armored Combat 

Earthmover (ACE). We need to 

move dirt, to dig, and move obstacles. We are looking for a viable concept for a new counterobstacle vehicle (COV) to replace the Combat 

Engineer Vehicle (CEV). The need 

for a turret, a gun, a dozer blade, 

and A-frame on such a vehicle is being looked at. If you have any ideas, 

let me know. 

General Vessey, the Army Vice 

Chief of Staff, General Starry, Commanding General, TRADOC and 

Lt. Gen. Otis, the DCSOPS, were 

very complimentary on the results of 

the SPR. We have forwarded an Action Plan to DA to insure support as 

we build up and modernize muchneeded combat engineer capability. 

Next fall we will give General Vessey 

an update on where we stand. 

We are currently revising our doctrine to support the new FM 100-5. 

We will have the new Engineer FM 

5-100 out in draft later this year (or 

early next year). We in the combat 

engineers need to start working and 

training now to support the new doc ­

trine. Ml tanks will soon start arriving in the force. We as members of 

the Combined Arms Team will have 

to provide the best way we can to use 

their speed and agility . We have to 

be ready when they say, 

"Clear the Way". 

Noah 

Engineer 

ENGINEER 3 
PIPELINE
 

Illinois Guard 

shows how it's done 

D uring their two-week stint of duty 

last summer, members of Company 8 of 

the 682nd Engineer Battalion of the Illinois Army National G uard clea red 58 

rubble-filled. vermin-infested tracts th at 

had been eyesores in East St. Louis for 

more than two years. And in the process, 

they made a lot of friends. About 70 

members of th e unit , based in Lawr enceville, IL. demolished abandoned struc ­

tur es and cleare d moun ds of rubble in 

th e largest community service proje ct 

ever undertaken by the Illinois Gu ard-a 

result of innovative cooperation with city 

officials. A tot al of 96 men worked on the 

project. Mechanics, medics, and ad ­

ministrators were supplied by HHC, 3rd 

Battalion , 130th Infantry Division . Illinois Army National G uard . 

Th e project h as pa ved the way for a 

new face lift for the city of Eas t St . Louis , 

Mayor Ca rl Offi cer said . Th e cluttered 

lots had stood as a symbol of sca nd al of 

past years, when federal money was paid 

for dem olition work tha t was not com ­

pleted . 

Th ose resp onsib ile were convicted of 

fr au d and imprisoned, bu t with the 

money gone and the job unfinished , the 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Developm en t decided in 1978 to with old 

$700, 000 in add itional community development block grant money, pen din g 

completion of the work. 

East St. Louis lacked money to do the 

work and Mayor Officer , a former Guard 

member, came up with the idea of enlisting military aid. 

" With this project, th e Guard embark ed on a new era of community service and publi c comm itm ent," Mayor Officer sai d . "They showed not only East 

S1. Louis but Illin ois the positive dir ect 

side of the milit ary' s pot ential influ ence 

with a community ." 

" Without the Gu ard's assista nce, none 

of th is would have been possible," sa id 

mayoral assistant Art is Talley, who 

added that the city would try to have the 

G ua rd' s lab or accepted as part of the requi red local matching cont rib ution 

toward fed eral grants for a new fisheries 

and ga rdening program . 

Lt . Col. Carl John son , an aide to II· 

linois Adju ta nt General John R. Phipps, 

4 

I 

said the project is " probably th e largest 

community relat ions project the Illinois 

National G uard has ever been involved 

in . It will not only enhance the image of 

th e Guard and a id th e commu nity, but 

also imp rove our milita ry readiness." 

Reader wants info 

on Persh ing Rifles 

Kevin M. Born, an ROTC cadet from 

Lincoln , NE asks En gineer rea ders to 

help him compile a detailed history of the 

Na tiona l Society of Pershing Rifles. The 

organization was foun ded in 1894 in 

honor of then Professor of Milita ry 

Science and Tactics at Un iversity of 

Nebraska , 1st Lt. John J. Pershing. 

Cadet Born is interested in cont acting 

former members, and anyone with information on the organizat ion. He said all 

loane d materials will be returned, and 

you can contact him at 1826 "A " Street 

#S, Lincoln, NE 68502. 

World War I
 

trunk is donated
 

A World War I Army-issue trunk full 

of memorabilia , which belonged to an 

Army engineer who fought in France , 

was recently don ated to the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, through the Detr oit 

District Office. 

2nd Lt . Edwin E. Scott's trunk, donated by his son Robert of Bloomfield 

Hills, MI , contained ca nteens . insignias, 

helme ts, uniforms, eq uipment, photos, 

maps, a di ary , a compass, and even a 

pre-1911 AS-caliber pistol. All of the 

items were well pr eser ved , an official 

said . 

Th e ma ps in the trunk are th e same 

map s used du ring the Battle of th e 

Agonn e Forest, in France . Th e 15t Regimen t of engineers frequentl y relieved in ­

fa ntry uni ts on the fron t line. and in eight 

days of that engage ment , Scott's unit suffered more than 225 casualties. 

During his Army career, Scott speciali zed in desig ning buildings and 

vehicl es. He even modified a tr an sport 

plane's body to accom modate his uni t' s 

equ ipment. After th e war Scott worked 

for Ford Motor Company, in Dear born , 

MI, as a body design engineer. As a 

civilian, Scott designed the first B-24 

bomb er (t he Libe rator), the Willys Jee p, 

and th e 1927 Ford body. 

" Scott was a well-respected engineer," 

a senior Ford executive said . He was a 

member of the Society of Automo tive Engineers and served on its Body Activity 

Sta ndards Committee until his ret ire ­

ment in 1948. Scott died in 1957 at age 

62. 

The Detroit Distinct Office forw arded 

the objects to the Historical Offi ce of th e 

Chief of Engi neers, Washin gton , DC, as 

part of the Corps' histori cal collection . 

Reserve responsibility 

includes medical care 

If you were injured or became sick dur­


ing weekend drill or annua l tr aining,
 

what would you do? Failu re to under­


stand the health ca re policies contained
 

in Army regulations (AR 40-3 and AR
 

135-200) has alrea dy cost some U .S.
 

Army Reservists th ousands of dollars and
 

as many hours of perspira tion .
 

Ta ke the case of an Army Reser vist 

who fell off a tru ck and injured his knee 

during drill. Accepting the word of h is 

supervisor and his company comma nd er 

tha t all his med ical costs would be paid 

for , th e Reservist consulted a civilian orth oped ic spe cialist an d received $2.600 

worth of therap y. 

Unfortunately for the Reservist, th at 

$2.600 had to come out of his own pocket 

since he never received authorization 

from the nearest military medica l trea tment facility to receive non-emergency 

care from a civilian sour ce. Neither he 

nor his supervisor nor his com pan y com ­

man der under stood the pr ovisions of AR 

40-3: for the Reservist , it proved to be an 

unnecessarily expensive lesson . 

U.S. Army Reservists, who want to 

avoid a similar fate, should be aware of 

the procedu res to follow to ob tain th e 

medical bene fits they're entitled to. 

T hose benefits diffe r de pending upon the 

Reservist's duty status. 

Reservists who are inju red in the line 

of duty or become sick dur ing active or 

ina ctive d uty of tr aining should info rm 

their unit of the mishap and seek care in 

a military faciUty as soon as possible. 

Get DA Form 2173 (Sta tement of 

Medic al Exa mina tion and Du ty Status) 

SUMMER 1981 
- - ---- PIPELINEfilled out by your unit commander and by 

the attendi ng physician or hospital 

registra r. Failure to acco mp lish this ste p 

could severely hamper any future effort s 

to secure reimb ursemen t or medical attention. Once the form is completed , it's 

up to the individual's un it comman der to 

see to it that he is placed in the prop er 

pa y sta tus a nd receives disabil ity pay or 

whatever allowa nces may apply . 

AR 135-200 should be consulted for 

pa y and allowa nce entitlements as they 

vary depending upon th e Reservist's duty 

sta tus at th e time an injury or sickness 

occur s. 

Of course , an ounce of prevention is 

worth a pound of cure . But , should you 

need medical attent ion, seek military 

med ical treatment first , inform your unit 

commander, an d obtain written perm ission pri or to obta ining civilian care. 

Safety reminder 

for field sleeping 

Editor's note: This item appears 

courtesy of Countermeasure, published 

by the U. S. Army Safety Center, Fort 

Ru cker, AL. 

The Ar my Safety Center condu cted a 

hazard awa reness surv ey in 1979, prior to 

a major field training exe rcise. Soldiers' 

answe rs to questions abo ut sleep ing in 

the field revealed th at most of them don't 

recogn ize the dangers of sleep ing outside 

designated sleeping areas. T he following 

mishap briefs confirm this finding : 

- At 2\30 hours a soldier decide d to 

take a nap while wait ing for res upply 

during a squadro n ARTEP. He lay down 

on the grou nd behind a small bush be ­

tween two san d dunes and was soon 

asleep . A few minutes later an M1 13 

operating under blackout conditions 

drove between the dunes and over the 

soldier. He died instan tly. 

- Shortl y after midn igh t, th ree soldiers 

on an FT X climbed int o an M88 tracked 

recovery vehicle to get some sleep. They 

closed and lock ed all the do ors, tu rned 

on the heater, and went to sleep . 

Theydied of carbon monoxide poison ing . 

To prevent these types of accidents, 

sleep on ly in designated sleeping areas, 

or if your mission requ ires you stay near 

your vehicle , sleep where a tree or some 

other large na tural barrier will protect 

ENGINEER 

you from moving vehicles. If na tu ral barrier s are not available. sleep beside your 

vehicle- not in , not on, not unde r. not 

inside. not behind, not in fr ont of, but 

beside the vehicl e . Don't Jet your ne xt 

nap last forever. 

Mine detector 

performance improved 

The Army's AN/PRS· 7-ma n portable 

mine detector will soon be retrofitted 

with new electronics to improve its arid 

soil perfor mance . 

The Countermine Lab oratory, U.S. 

Army Mobil ity Eq uipment Research and 

Development Command , Fort Belvoir. 

\'A, has been working to improve the 

system since its poor performance in arid 

soils was first noticed in the mid 1970's. 

The AN/PRS-7 had performed well in 

the Far Ea st , Europe and the United 

States. However , dur ing a min e clearing 

operation in the Suez Canal region it was 

discovered to have a very poor response 

to nonmetallic mine s in desert soils. 

The heart of the improved mine det ector is a microcomp uter whic h digitally 

processes the received signal and cont rols 

wide ba nd RF transmitte r and receiver 

assemblies. 

Wh en fielded , the im prove d min e detector, design ated the AN/ PRS-8, will 

enha nce th e capability of the Rapi d 

Depl oyment Force, or any other un it th at 

may be called upon to operate in a Middle East type desert environment. 

Corps cleared 

in erosion suit 

Th e U.S. Court of Clai ms recen tly 

agre ed with Trial Judge Thomas J. Lydon 

of New York that the navigation dams on 

the Ohio River did not cau se bank erosion or cause the nat ura l occurrence of 

ba nk to be more severe . 

The court also dismissed all claims 

that landowners had brought in a law 

suit against the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, who built and ope rate the 

dams. 

The court rejected the la ndow ners 

claim that they were unfa irly compensated by the Federal Gove rn men t for 

land pu rchas ed as part of the const ruetion process for the dams on the Ohio 

River. 

In commenting on the dec ision, Col. 

Charles E. Eastburn, District Engineer 

for th e Corp s' Louisville District said , 

" Naturally we are pleased . It is a vindicatio n of the professional and person al integrity of th e people of the Corps of 

Engineers . We ar e awa re that bank erosian has ha d a negative impact on the 

people who live along the banks of the 

Oh io River . This is a real problem and 

should not be dismissed lightly. 

However. it is the resul t of a natural 

phenomenom and not the resul t of the 

navigation improvements that have 

meant so much to the lifestyle and 

economics of the Ohio River Valley." 

Philippine library
 

needs your help
 

A rece nt fire at the Philippine Military 

Academy, the Repu blic of the Philip. 

pines eq uivalent of the U.S . Milit ary 

Academy at West Point , destroyed more 

than 14,000 volumes, inclu din g English 

language books, magazines and other 

resource mat eri als. 

Du ring a recen t trip to the Philip pines 

Major Ge neral Herbert E. Wolff , commander of U.S. Army We stern Comma nd (WESTCOM) here, be cam e awa re 

of this severe loss to the Academy. 

In coord ination with the Chief of the 

Joint U, S. Military Advisory Grou p, Philippines (JU SMAG-Ph il), WESTCO M 

has offered to assist in efforts to restore 

the library's mate rials by ma king th e 

need kn own within the U.S. 

Accordingly, WESTCO M, with Army 

missions throu gthou t the Pacific theater, 

inclu di ng intera ctions with the Armed 

Forces of the Philippines , requests donations from interested parties of book s, 

magazines , corpo rate and institutiona l 

publications, or any English lan guage 

materials of interest to college-level professional military students. 

Materials should be sent directly to th e 

Chief, JUSMAG·Phil, ATTN: Ground 

Forc es Service Section , APO San Francisco 96528 . For more info rmation write 

LTC Karl Piotrowski, DCSOPS HQS 

WEST COM, Fo rt Shafte r, HI 96858; or 

r ph one him at (808) 438·1821/2905. 

5 
ADVANCE NOTICE
 

The latest Engineer Personnel Management Contacts in OPMD have been 

released. All phones listed below are in Area Code 202, or use Autovon 221. 

Colonels should contact DAPC-OPC-AE at 325-7870/1. LTC's through 2nd LT's 

should contact DAPC-OPF-E at 325-8392. Warrant Officers with Primary or 

Alternate Specialties 621A or 310A should contact DAPC-OPW-WU at 325-7839/40. 

Warrants with Primary or Alternate Specialties 811A/821A or 833A should contact DAPC-OPW-GA at 325-7837/8. 

Unofficial word has reached ENGINEER that possible fraud or misrepresentation rip-offs are occurring that involve enlisted assignment "swaps". 

Someone has been contacting individuals who send their names into service 

journals asking for a CONUS assignment swap listing. The potential "swapee" 

is asked by person or persons unknown to send in money for the listing. Be 

advised that service journals carry such listings free, as a convenience to 

their readers. The US Postal Service has been alerted that mail fraud could 

be involved. 

Between FY 74 and FY 80 the Army's Senior Enlisted Career Force, i.e. 

soldiers with 10 or more years service, declined by 10,488. During the same 

period, the average experience level for soldiers in grades E-5 through E-9 

declined from 11.1 to 10.3 years. What can YOU do to reverse this trend? 

Congratulations to the 1981 Itschner and Sturgis Award winners, whose 

names were announced at the recent 114th Annual Engineer Dinner. These 

awards are presented to outstanding Engineer companies and one outstanding 

Engineer enlisted each year. 1981 Itschner winners ar e : for the Nat'l Guard, 

Co. D, 1457th Engineer Bn (Combat) (Corps) , Utah Army Nat'l Guard, Mount 

Pleasant, UT; for the Reserves, Co . B, 479th Engineer Bn (Combat) (Corps), 98th 

Division (Training), Massena, NY; and the Active winner, Co. A 65th Combat En­ gineer Bn, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI. SSG Billy D. Miller. of Co. B, 62d Engineer Bn, 13th Support Command, Fort Hood, TX received t he 

coveted Sturgis Award. 

ENGINEER Magazine actively solicits manuscripts about Corps civil engineering projects. Civil engineers are a vital part of the Corps of Engineers, and ENGINEER strives to serve the needs of every Corps component. 

Other suggested topics include ideas for new or improved training methods, 

critiques of unit FTX's, unusual problem solving methods, and feature profiles 

of units or MOS's. 

The Army Apprenticeship Program has 74 trades representing 134 military 

occupational specialties registered with the Dept. of Labor. Since the programs inception 105 soldiers have received Journeyman certificates. This 

program gives soldiers an opportunity to obtain a marketable skill as a 

direct result of their Army training. Support of this program aids recruiting 

and retention efforts. Your education office has the details. 

6 SUMMER 1981 
Editorial 

Something to say?
 

Write it! 

by NP. Lang 

Soldie rs attending th e Engineer Or 

[ice r Advan ced Course are required to 

write a man uscrip t, suita ble (or p ub licatlon in ENGINEER magazine , as part o( 

their studies. Som e o( these students 

hav e ask ed (or gui delines an d suggestions 

(or the ir work . I propose the [allowing [or 

all who have di(Fculty (acing written 

assign m ents. 

If you list en to people around you for a 

moment, you'll reali ze many th ings people say don't tran sfer to th e printed page . 

People spe ak in incompl ete sentence s. 

They use facial expression, shrugs, nods , 

voice infl ection, etc., which can alter the 

meaning of words in a profoun d way. 

Therefor e, if you t ry to write like you 

spea k you may find your self in a bind. 

You can 't do it. You mu st develo p a 

writin g style ju st as lecturers must 

develop their speech . 

This acco unts for some of th e problems stude nts encounter when ca lled 

up on to produ ce a written argument. 

They cannot effectively writ e what they 

want to say, and freq uently end up in a 

pani c because of it. Th e problem is not 

limit ed to stu dent s, however. At one time 

or another, most people lin d themselves 

poised over a writing instrument search ­

ing for the right word. No one who writes 

can avoid this dilemma indefi nitely. 

Many people come to me and say " I 

would like to write for Enginee r, but just 

ca n't seem 10 get started ." They are 

awash in a sea of ideas, but ca n't turn 

their tho ughts into word s. 

Before any battl e a soldier must be 

p roperly armed, and writing is a battle 

for most , so fam iliar ize yourself with th e 

ava ilable wea ponry before writing a 

single word . You must also decide what 

you wan t to say; what you wan t your 

re ader to feel, and how will you make 

him feel it. Mak ing an out line before you 

start sho uld help, If possible, target your 

pa per, too. Instead of trying to write 

ab out the entire Civil War, pick one battle to dissect. Remember your audience . 

You wouldn' t use the same style for 

generals as for privat es. neith er would 

you compose a memora ndum for record 

as yo u wo u ld a n E NG INEE R 

manuscript. 

Arm for writing by acquiring a recent 

dictiona ry. Get into the habit of checking 

the spelling and definition of every article, lett er, or DF you write . Nothing will 

tu rn off your boss quicker th an a pr oposal riddl ed with spelling errors. They 

ca n cost you jobs or pr omotions; and too 

man y will make an editor toss your man ­

uscript int o the nearest waste can . 

You may want to shop for your dictionary as well. There arc wide differences in the number and types of 

word s diction ar ies ca rry, Most "pocket" 

ed itions aren't worth th e money, so you 

may want to invest in one that will last 

your entire career. Sometimes I check 

three or four editions before finding the 

word I want , so if you can't verify a word 

using your dictionary, check someone 

else's , Also keep a Thesaurus handy. It's 

an alpha betic listing of synonyms and antonyms which is most useful when 

searching for that "right" word. 

Onc e armed , your outline complete, 

begi n the "cha llenge " of writing. 

Remember, the more words in a given 

senten ce the longer it will take your audience to figure out what you're saying. 

Mak e one point at a time , and keep sentences to a reasonabl e length, A good test 

is to read aloud . If you can 't finish a 

sentence with out gasping for a ir, it's too 

long. 

Try to write act ively. ENGINEER 

guidelines ca ll for manuscripts written in 

th e " third person , active voice" . Very 

simply, this mean s writing " they run" instead of " I ran" or "you were running". 

(Editoria ls and FORUM articles excepted .) 

On ce you've writt en a first draft, following your outline , check your th ought 

constru ction to mak e sure ideas flow 

smoothly. If you "just can't seem to get 

started ," try ta king each note on your 

outline and writin g a paragr aph about it. 

On ce you have 30 or so par agraphs, then 

go ba ck and tr y to group them. Before 

you kn ow it you will have writt en your 

first magazine article. 

Wh en you th ink you're finished , go 

back over the whole pape r word by word. 

Check spelling, word usage , and for 

word s that do not add to your paper's 

mean ing or clarity. For instan ce, " The 

problem with the ca r was that th e steering was not opera ting properly." Of the 

14 word s in this sentence, 10 of them ar e 

unnecessary! (See how many you can 

eliminate) . The major the problem with 

the sentence is redundancy . If the steer ­

ing isn't operating, it's obviously not 

operating properly. "T ha t" can often be 

left out of a sentence with out changing its 

meaning, as can "both" . If the squad 

and squad leader are both present, you 

need only say the squad and squad leader 

are here. Don 't use a big word when a lit ­

tle one will do. And don't be afraid of 

contractions. Re-write the ab ove 

sentence as "The steering wasn't work ­

ing." 

Practice writing succinctly. Instead of 

prior to , use before. Due to, means 

because. Despite the fact that, mean s 

although. Check everything you write for 

redundancy and you will soon have your 

own list of condensed phrases. 

Armed with the se hints you should at 

lea st be able to face a blank page without 

breaking into a sweat, and you may even 

discover you like writing. In any event. 

you can't avoid this issue forever. Paperwork is as much a part of the Army these 

da ys as rifles, and you must communicate effecti vely to lead effectively. There 

is no way out, save to gird your loins and 

write what you have to say. 

___ _ _ _ _ _111
 

ENGINEER 7 
New Road Design Criteria 

for Theater Operations 

by Capt. Ir a Wagreich 

Th e US Army Engineer School is 

presently reviewing road design 

geometries for Theater of Op erations 

(T/ 0 ) construction. This is being accom plished as part of the revision 

and update of TM 5-330 "Planning 

and Design of Roads, Airb ases and 

Heliports in the Theater of Operations," and FM 5-34, "Engineer 

Field Dat a ." In an effort to provide 

greater flexibility, the design criteria 

contained in the Army Facility Component System (AFCS) ar e being incorporated into the new edition of 

the manuals. 

Th e AFCS contains road designs 

using two different traffic lane 

widths , 10 feet and 12 feet. This represents a major change from pa st 

design criteria . Traditionally, the 

minimum design width of a tra ffic 

lane ha s been 11.5 ft. Th is measurement has continuously been spe cified by the Standard NATO Agr eements (STANAG) as the normal requirem ent for the width of a tra ffic 

lane . Th e new est a gree me nt , 

STANAG 2174, dated 10 Aug 78, 

still specifies the 11.5 ft trafic lane 

for wheeled vehicles . However , the 

purpose of this STANA G is to standardi ze procedures used to determine the optimum traffic flow for a 

particular existing rout e. In this 

manner the movement of supplies 

over finished road can more easily be 

planned . STANAG 2174 describes 

several traffic flow possibilities, with 

the selection of th e tr affic flow pattern based on the width of the 

trav eled way. But, at the present 

tim e th ere is no STANAG pro viding 

design criteria for the constru ction of 

new roads. In th e absence of such a 

STANAG , AFCS is the only source 

Design 

Cont rol Class A Clas s B Class' C 

Eleme nts 2 lane 2 lane 1 lane 

T raffic La nes 

Mini mum Wid th (ft ) 12 10 10 

La te ral Clea ra nce 

f rom edge of tr aff ic la ne 

to obstruction (ft) 6 6 4 

No r ma l c ros s ­slope ( i n/ft ) I 

;; I 

;; I 

:; 

Shoulde rs 

Minim um Width (ft) 4 4 4 

Normal c ross -sl ope ( i II/ f t ) 3/4 3 / 4 3/ 4 

Typ e (pe rm road ) Stable Compacted Compacted 

Soil Soil 

NATO Cla s s ification fo r Doub le Single Lim ited 

the AFC Road F low F low Ac ces s 

AFCS Road Des ign Cr ite ria 

from T M 5- 302 Vol. 3 d rawing # 5130 3 Ma r 7 8 

of current design criteia for US 

Army Theat er of Op erati ons con ­

struction. 

The AFCS is an index to all th e 

Army facilities that ma y be required 

in the Theater of Op erations. It contains all the necessary construction 

drawings and specificati ons as well 

as a list of th e resources needed to 

build each i'acility. The constru ction 

drawings are pre sented int he TM 

5-302 series of publication s. Drawing number 85130 da ted 3 March 

1978, serves as a header sheet for the 

road design drawings. Found in 

Volume 3 of the series, it contains a 

full seet of design specifications for 

three classes of roads . These specifications include vertical and horizontal alignment criter ia , design 

spee ds and expected traffic compos ition . Also provided ar e road network requirement s for typical Arm y 

units. A summary of these design 

I specifications is pr esented in Table 

i 2. 

I It must be stres sed that, while the
 

I AFCS design specificaitons do not
 

match the ST ANAG criteria , th e two
 

I documents are not in confl ict with
 

8 SUMMER 1981 
each other. Each was written for a 

different purpose. The STANAG is 

to be used to determine road classification for planning movement over 

an existing road. The design criteria 

presented in the AFCS are for the 

construction of new road s. These 

AFCS design classifications are not 

to be used as road classification 

criteria for existing road nets. For 

example , the engineer constructs the 

AFCS Class "B" Road as a two lane 

road with a 20 ft travel way. The logistician, compl ying with STANAG 

2174, must reali ze that this is a 

"single flow" road permitting only 

occasional traffic in the oppo site 

direction. The traffic flow allowed by 

th e STANAG for each of the three 

AFCS roads is pre sented here . 

Th e Army Facility Comp onent 

System is a valuable management 

Fort Leonard Wood 

Looking for a new im.age
 

by SFC Ron McCumber 

FORT LEONARD WOOD , 

MO - " I' rn going to where! ? Fort 

Leonard Wood, Missouri? Isn 't that 

'Lost in the Woods?' Oh , Lord , what 

did I ever do to deserve this?" 

Th is has often been the first 

th ought of soldiers upon receiving 

assignment instructions to the U.S. 

Arm y Training Center Engineer, 

Fort Leonard Wood , Mo. Such mor ­

bid thoughts come TO mind because 

of hearing the World War II vintage 

horror stories and none of the up-todate facts about one of the Army's 

finest military inst allations and one 

of the best kept secrets in the Army 

for enlisted as well as officer personnel. 

What has changed since t 940? 

Everything. Everything except the 

phy sical location. Upon bein g 

designated a perm anent post in 

1956, the post began to cha nge and 

is continuing to do so. 

The first large, visible project was 

the demolition of World War II barracks and the erection of a threebrigade sized area of modern threestory, brick barracks and the erection of a three-bri gade sized are a of 

modern three-story, brick barracks 

complexes complete with chapels , 

ENGINEER 

Fort Leonard Wood has more than 

3,000 family quarters in 23 styles. 

(U.S. Army photo by RJ. Staples). 

theaters a n d po st ex ch a n ge 

branches. Each brigade also has a 

full size gym for the off-duty enjoyment of assigned soldi ers. Three 

brigades now have some 9,000 

soldiers residing in these barracks 

while in a training status. 

The permanent party barracks, 

Specker Barrack s complex, was 

compl eted last year at a cost of $45 

million. Permanent party personnel 

residing in thi s college dorm- style 

complex have either private or semiprivate, centrally heated and air conditioned rooms, complete with bath, 

som e with tub . 

Family housing at this mid-Miss<?uri post is a pleasure to occupy 

tool for the engineer. It can be used 

in both the planning and execution 

phases of any T / 0 construction project. Because of its flexibility, it has 

already been incorporated into the 

coordinating draft of FM 5-330 

which was circulated for comments 

in late 1979. It is also being incorpor ated into FM 5-34 which is currently under revision at the Engineer 

School. 

without the waiting lists and specific 

requirements oft en faced at many 

other posts. If a soldier and his wife 

sign in one day , they will probably 

move into one of the 23 styles of 

housing usually within 2 weeks. Government furniture, however, is in 

short supply. 

Bachelor NCO and officer housing 

is available in eith er the new Specker 

Barracks compl ex or in the Sturgis 

Heights area. Both include modern 

facilities with E6s authorized semiprivate rooms and E7s and officers 

authorized private rooms or suites. 

Suites usually have a waiting list. 

Geographical bachelor hou sing in 

these facilities depends upon the 

availability of rooms. 

Dependents attend the school 

closest to their quarters if they reside 

on post . Three elementary scho ols 

and one junior high serve dependents, with high school students being bused to nearby Waynesville, 

Mo., a seven-mile drive . Pre-school 

kindergarten is available on post ; the 

nearest parochial school is in Rolla, 

Mo., a 25-mil e bus ride . 

Fort Leonard Wood and the 

Show-Me State offer some of the best 

recr eation in the nation. Hunting, 

9 
fishing, trapping, spelunking, boating and swimming are just a few of 

the available attractions. 

The post golf is an 18-hole championship course over natural rolling 

terrain complete with sand and 

water traps, clubhouse and picnic 

area. The Roubidous Creek and Big 

Piney River flow through the reservation offering outstanding fishing as 

well as canoeing and boating. Th e 

run-off of a natural spring has been 

diverted to form a cold water stocked 

trout stream with the season opening 

March 1 annually. Other trout parks 

are readily accessible within a twohour drive, featuring lunkers up to 

10 pounds. 

The Lake of the Ozarks, 45 miles 

away, offers boating, fishing, skiing 

and night club style entertainment. 

This lake , one of the nation's largest, 

has approximately 1,000 miles of 

shoreline . Fort Leonard Wood has a 

recreation area on the lake to include 

a marine, PX and cabins for rent at 

nominal costs. Lake Taneycomo, 

Table Rock Lake and Branson Lake 

are also within easy driving range. 

Turkey and deer hunting are two 

of the favorite sports on the military 

reservation. Fort Leonard Wood is 

one of the few areas in the United 

States that has never lost its wild 

turkey population. Firearm, black 

powder and bow and arrow seasons 

are observed. Hunters took 356 deer 

on the installation during 1979. Deer 

season includes the taking of does 

during certain days. Firearms, black 

powder and bow and arrow hunts are 

licensed. 

If a soldier or his /her dependents 

are equestrian oriented, the Fort 

Leonard Wood Riding Academy offers stables and instruction. Mounts 

and gear are available at a nominal 

cost. Trail rides as well as rodeos are 

sponsored periodically. 

The relatively low cost of living in 

the Fort Leonard Wood area has 

proven attractive to many personnel. 

The post exchange with numerous 

branches and the post commissary 

are well stocked. Civilian shopping 

centers are available in St. Robert, 

Rolla, Springfield, St. Louis and 

Kansas City. Most are within a two 

or three hours drive. St. Robert is 

one mile away and Rolla, 25 miles. 

If an individual is an avid swimmer, the facilities are available at 

three outdoor pools. Tennis buffs 

can choose the area in which they 

desire to play on cement, welllighted courts that remain open 

throughout the year. Courts are located in the housing areas as well as 

in other recreational areas. Five 

gyms are available with most including squash and handball courts. 

A two-wheel and 4-wheel off the road 

area track for multi-terrain vehicles 

is open most of the year. 

Fort Leonard Wood offers a variety of assignments for the professional soldier. The 3d Basic Training 

Brigade, composed of four battalions. teaches basic training to 

both male and female soldiers. The 

2d Training Brigade (One Station 

Unit Training) teaches basic and 

combat engineer advanced individual training while the 4th Training 

Brigade teaches OST training and 15 

different military occupational skills 

to include two warrent officer 

courses. These 15 MOSs are taught 

The General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital is a modem 500 bed 

facility offering a variety of specialized clinics. (U.S, Army photo by RJ. 

Staples). 

to male and fem ale soldiers and also 

to U.S. Air Force , U.S. Marine 

Corps and to selected foreign 

soldiers. 

The General Leonard Wood Army 

Community Hospital, a mod ern 500 

bed hospital, is rated as one of the 

finest in the military. This is one of 

the few hospitals that has never curtailed services to retirees, their 

dependents or any oth er category of 

authorized patients. The Fort 

Leonard Wood Dental Activity ineludes six dental clinics that continue to give service to dependents 

and retirees as well as active duty 

personnel. 

Fort Leonard Wood has all of the 

above. What doesn't it have? It 

doesn't have a large city immediately 

outside the gate , it doesn't have 

unreasonable costs of living, it 

doesn 't have a high crime rate , it 

doesn't have air pollution. What else 

is present? The opportunity for one 

of the best assignments in a professional career, for the soldier as well 

as his/her dependents. If any soldier 

or dependent desires fu rther information, he /she may call the Fort 

Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office 

at commercial (314) 368-8514 /7925 

or AUTOVON 581-8514 /7925. 

10 SUMMER 1981 
- - - - - -

Museum is first to be dedicated NCO Corps: solely to noncommissioned officer 

FO RT BLISS. TEXAS- The Army's 

only museum dedicated to the history of 

the NCO Corps opened at the U.S. Army 

Sergeants Major Academy here. June 24. 

1980. 

According to museum curator. Dr . 

Daniel Zimmerman, the museum hon ors 

the NCO's acco mplis hme nts and service 

to the nation. "There are other muse ums 

that have exhibits covering the same 

periods of histo ry." he said. "but this is 

the first museum dedi cated soley to the 

history of the NCO corps." 

The exhibits depict the history of the 

NCO corps by historical perio ds: The 

Revolutionary War period. 1775-1783; 

1784 to 1860, including the War of 1812 

and the Mexican War; The Civil War 

period. 1861-1865; Th e Indian War 

period. 1866-1891: 1891 to 1916, inclu ding the Spanish American Wa r and 

the Pershing Expedition; World War I: 

World War II and Korea , 1940-1952: 

And from 1952 to the present. to include 

th e Vietnam Era . 

Accord ing to Dr. Zimmerman. some 

reproductions were used in creating the 

exhibits. "Original artifacts." he said , 

"make up about 95 percent of the exhibit ed items. some of which (like a 

wooden canteen) da te back to the Revolutionary War," From the Civil War 

period the museum has three original 

un iforms (two Union Army and one Confederate ) as well as original documents, 

military equipment and phot os. Additionally the museum has several Regular 

Army knap sacks from the Civil War 

Era, which Dr. Zimmerman states are 

" exceedingly rare." 

Other original items on exhibit at the 

museum include: several weapons such 

as a NCO Light Artillery Sabre from the 

War of 1812 and a model 1842 percussion pistol from the Mexican War period: 

personal items from vario us periods of 

history like a Bible. musical instruments. 

letters. books and post cards; and tools 

and living essentials such as an oil lamp , 

wood burning stove and kitchen uten sils 

from the Indi an War period. 

"Reproductions," Dr. Zimmerman 

tells us, "were used where original items 

were unobtainable beca use of their extreme ra rity." Also. according to Dr. 

Zim merman. those reproductions which 

were used were created only after exte nsive research. " Before building any 

reproductions we researched each item," 

he said. 

"I n creating the 1890's barracks scene 

for instance," Dr. Zimmerman explains ," we first had to research and 

answer several questions in order to get 

an idea of what barracks life was like in 

the 1890·s. We wanted to know how the 

barracks were furnished and how they 

were heated. Where did the soldiers store 

their valuables and clothin g and where 

were their weapons kept. What kind of 

bed did the 1890's soldier sleep on? 

Once we learn ed all that we could 

about the soldiers life style during that 

period then we could begin to design the 

exhibit. We know for instance that the 

soldiers had very little free time. They 

spent most of their time cleaning the barracks, grooming their horses. or out on 

pat rol. And, up until the time that towns 

began to spring up around Army posts 

for prot ection. the soldiers assigned to 

these outposts had to be totally selfsufficie nt. They would arrive in the middle of nowhere and build their own barracks, mess hall , orderly room, and other 

buildings. They even grew their own 

food. 

When creating the barracks scene , " he 

continues." we were ab le to locate many 

original furn ishings such as a chair. 

lamp . footlocke r and stove. We even 

foun d some original playing cards an d 

dime novels from that perio d of history. 

But we couldn' t find a bed which. of 

course . was crucia l to the exhibit. So, 

based on an old photo and some original 

documents. we reconstructed a bed similar to the kind used du ring the 1890's. 

We also had to build a table and we laid 

down a hard -wood 110 0 1'. as would have 

been {he case back then. Add itionally. 

we used a special lighting arrangement to 

create a 'warm' glow around the 

exhibit." 

When asked just what a person would 

learn from visiting the museum, Dr. Zimmerman replied : " Hopefully. people who 

visit the museu1lI will leave with a better 

understanding of the history of the non ­

commissioned officer. They will know 

something abou t how the NCO lived and 

worked during each period of history . 

One little known fact, for example. is 

that it really wasn't until the Civil War 

that NCO's were officially put in charge 

of troops. Prior to that only officers had 

aut hor ity over soldiers. There may have 

been isolated incidents where NCO's 

took command during emergency situations, but officially NCO's were not in 

charge of troops unt il the Civil War. 

After visiting the Museum of the NCO. 

per ha ps peop le will have a greater appreciation for the NCO's accomplishments an d contributions to the nation." 

In addition to telling the history of the 

NCO Corps through artifacts. the museu m will initiate and maintain an ongoing oral history program. This will include a series of personal interviews with 

NCO·s. both retired and still on act ive 

duty. Th e purpose of the program will be 

to add to the current knowledge of NCO 

history. Accordi ng to Dr. Zim merman 

the prog ram will probably begin with interviews of past Sergeants Major of the 

Army and will include questions like: 

"What was your perception of the role 

and status of the nonco mmissioned officer whe n you entered the Army. Had it 

changed after you earned your first 

chevrons?" 

Accordi ng to Dr. Zimmerman. tr anscripts from the oral hist ory program will 

be maintained at the museum along with 

other historical documents and artifacts 

for research purposes and traveling exhibits. Visiting hours are 8 a .m. to 4 p.m. 

Mond ay through Friday. 

_ ... 

ENGINEER 11 
Forum
 

DOlllestic Action Projects: 

BOON OR BUST? 

DAP can build good will 

or destroy it-It's up to you! 

by Maj. Stephen Morse 

Editor's Note: A lthough this article 

spe'cijicully addresses Reserve DAP. A ctive' commanders can apply th ese guidelines. too. 

Dom esti c Action Project s (DAP) by 

Army Reserve En gineer s can ben efit both 

th e comm unity a nd Reserves. Th e com ­

munity ben efits by obtaining a need ed 

facility at nom inal cost, and the Reser ve's 

mobilization re adin ess and strength ca n 

benefit by training a t ta sks not usu ally 

available to th e un it. 

Satisfact ory DAP do not happen by 

chance . To be successful, a DAP requ ires 

exte nsive pl anning, coord inat ion. and 

supervision . This a rtic le briefly describes 

th e DAP process. a nd some lesso ns 

learn ed fro m a Reserve Eng ineer un it 

viewpoint. 

GETI'ING STARTED 

Lon g before any ex tensive plan s are 

made. both th e Reserve u nit an d the 

" customer" orga nization mu st kn ow the 

ru les , regul at ion s, and needs of the 

oth er . Army Reg ulation 28-1C) specifies 

the Army's requiem en ts, bu t local comman ders and the chai n -of-comm and may 

add their own requirem ents. A fac t sheet 

is helpful. The custome r mu st b e spec ific 

in its request but sho uld be flexibl e as to 

how the project may be accomplished, 

especially in terms of time . A clear representation of the need s of both parti es can 

eliminate an un for tu nate misu nderstanding later. 

The ideal scenario for det erm inin g an 

acce p ta ble DAP for the Rese rve Engi neer 

com mande r wouild come after he has assessed his training needs for the yea r 

(util izing FO RSCOM Reg. 350 -2. command guidan ce , int ern al and exte rna l 

Aln EP, AT eva luations , SQT requiremen ts) and ju st before he fi na lizes his 

Yearly Training Program Foreca st. 

While some Reser ve commande rs may 

have this ide al situa tion , mot commanders experience DAP requests th at 

are sporad ic , tend to fall int o several 

repetitive types of projects , and ma y 

often ha ve coge nt reasons other than 

training for their consideration (e.g. 

public exposure , com ma nd requ est . recr uiting. retention ). 

REGULATION, COORDINATION 

The usual situation for initi atin g a 

DAP is an organ ization with a project requ est co ntac ting a Reserve un it. If the 

custo mer meet s the eligib ility criteria of 

AR 28-1c) (and any local req uirem ents). 

and t he com ma nder finds th at a brief 

joint recorm aisan ce be mad e of the pro ­

ject sit e to en su re th at the type and sco pe 

of the projec t mat ch es th e cus tomer's 

pro posal. If the comm and er doe s not 

have the approva l au t ho rity for DAP , he 

should also inform his next high er head ­

qu ar ter s of th e contact and h is initial 

dispo siti on of th e DAP request. 

Once th e comman der an d the cus ­

tomer agree that the pr op osed DA P 

meets their need s (wit h high er headqu arters approvals as necessar y), the 

detailed planning a nd coo rdina tion ca n 

begin . Th e comman der sho uld re quire 

th e custo me r to furn ish : 

I . A rele a se from the local bu ild ing 

tra des council (i.e . un ions) that they will 

not op pose the Army Reserve's pa rt icipat ing in a spec ific DAP. 

2. A sta temen t releasing th e Ar my 

Re serve from liabilit y (i.e . a " hold 

harmless" clause). 

3 . A sta te me nt t hat the custome r will 

supply all materi als and un derwr ite all 

costs above normal training incurred by 

the project. 

4. A statement acknowledging the fact 

that due to changes in commitments , the 

Army Reserve may have to leave th e DAP 

imcomplete at any time . 

S_ Any building permits or approvals 

as may be necessary. 

6. A statement of own er ship as necessary. 

7. Plans and sp ecific ation s as agreed 

up on. 

8. Contact person /coordinator (wit h 

telepho ne number). 

It sho uld be made esp ecially clear to 

th e cus to mer that the project ca nnot 

commen ce until th e above acitoris are 

comp lete. a nd the command has give n all 

necessary app rovals. 

The Arm y Reserve Com pany Com ­

man der has an obligation to pr ovide the 

custo mer with: 

1. Any plans as agree d up on. 

2. A con struction managem ent sche me 

that includes: 

• schedule of tasks 

• bill of materials (BOM ) 

• surveys and construction control 

• qu ality control /inspe ct ion 

• equipment needs and sche duling, 

including rentals if necessary 

• supervision / ma nageme nt resp onsibilities 

• constructio n pr ogr ess rep or ts. 

3. Contac t person /project office r (wit h 

telephon e number ). 

4. Cost estimat es and mon ies necessary. 

S. Procedure for changes. 

To enha nce unit tr ain ing and p roject 

co nt rol, the comman de r sho uld addition ­

ally develop (a nd usu ally high er head ­

q ua rters requires) : 

I . A pr oject ord er with specifications 

for mission , respon sib ilities, and tim e 

sched ule . 

12 SUMMER 1981 
2. Tasks to be trained and evalua tion 

plan : 

• by Soldier's Manual 

• by ARTEP 

• by Yearly Training Pr ogram and 

Forecast. 

3. Unit logistic support, i.e . me ss , 

fuel, maintenance. transp ort. 

4. Integration and evaluation of other 

unit tr aining needs, i.e, tactical security , 

ta ctical feeding, and camouflage . 

5, Project, progress, and after-action 

reports. 

Experience has shown tim e and time 

again tha t thorough plann ing a nd coordin ati on prior to any actual con struction 

pays significant dividends that will result 

in an orde rly work and material flow, sa tisf actory training, identification and 

resolution of potential problem areas, 

and prop er assignment by task for the 

responsibility of supervison and implementation. 

LESSONS LEARNED 

[ have found that the "h ands on" experience of implementing numerous 

DAP with Reserve Engineers has provide d several insights for successful project s, I offer the following lessons 

learned: 

Keep a permanent sample request on 

hand , and/or a checklist of action s to be 

com pleted. This can help you and th e 

cus to me r by making applications ea sier, 

uniform. and complete . 

Don't string a pro spective customer 

along . One should be able to irnrnediately ascertain from his YTP and YTF 

wheather a proposed DAP can proceed 

past the initial customer contact. If the 

customer must b e turned down, do it in a 

gracious and timely manner. 

The be st DAP are those that are of 

short duration (e.g . less than three 

MUTA-4), are well org anized and coordinated , involve maximum manpower 

and minimum equipment, and ar e visible, lasting, and useful. 

If a proposed pr oject offers significant 

training benefits, but is too big to fit 

alloted training tim e, alte rn ate proposals 

to the cu stomer sho uld be considered, 

such as reducing scope, dividing the pr oject into sub -elements with Reserves onl y 

doing work for which they are be st 

suited, extending time for complet ion , 

renting additional eq uipment and /or using transit mixed concrete to shorten 

time. 

Delegate! DAP are valuable traming 

tool s for training and evaluating junior 

leaders. DAP offer one of the few opportunities during MUTA to exercise and 

evaluate the full spect ru m of command 

and leadership. Time-tested methods in ­

clude mission-type orders, required preENGINEER 

The 1249th Engineer Battalion recently completed a Domestic Action 

Project which earned them the Oregon Govenor's Unit Citation. 

work briefings, project planning docu­ active corn m unity relati ons e ffor t 

ments (i. e. CPM , BOM), and on -site in­ through contacts with newspapers, TV. 

spection. or radio, U tilize th e Public Affairs office 

Make sure the custo mer 's coo rdina tor of your command . An active DAP is ofrepresents th e orga nization a nd ca n ten cited as a rea son for retention of unit 

make resp on sibl e de cisions "on-the­ members a nd the first expos ure to new 

spo t" . members . 

The sche du led work sho uld be stages Pr oject re po rts , records, and aftersuc h that if it mu st be stopped or delayed action rep or ts are important. These 

some ben efits will be evid ent fo r both records provide good training documen ­

parties and no irrepairable harm will tation, br iefing background paper s , a nd 

result (e.g, erosion, materials storage, references for consideration of similar 

and security). DAP, 

Keep travel time to a min imum . A 

sho rt travel time will lessen logistic p rob­ BUILDING THE RESERVES 

lem s and put more producti ve time to use WITH DAP 

training , The Army Reserve as a p art of the 

Don't forget safety. De signate a safety community draws its stren gt h an d supNCO . A short daily pre-training " tail­ port from the commun ity . The Army 

gate" session oriented to the day's tasks Reserve Engineers can increase their 

works best. strength and com mu nity support by par· 

Avoid DAP th at are heavily equipmen t ticipating in DAP. However, the Reserve 

dependent. Maintenance, sec urity, a nd commander must assure himself that a 

logistics can be overwhelming. However, prop osed D AP will meet his missi on and 

y OIl should con sider the following when training goals . 

evaluating equipment dependen t DAP: Wh en a DAP is selected for implemen­

• equipment dependent pr ojects are tat ion , the com mander mu st gain the 

accep table if equipment operator train­ maximu m benefits from the DAP by acing, especially for non·MOS qualified complishing as many objectives as possipersonnel , is the primary goal. ble without sacrificing quality, With the 

• don't accept DAP th at will sig­ prop er select ion and tailoring of DAP, 

nificantly impact your fuel allocation and an imaginat ive implem en tation of 

unless the customer will pa y additional his training program, the comman der 

fu el costs; be especially co ncerned with can simulta neou sly meet his training 

hauling pr ojects. goal s and ben efit the community. 

• where a DAP could provide good 

equipment training benefits, consider Maj or Stephen Mor se serv ed 13 yea rs 

splitt ing training of the unit to different with th e 820th Engineer Batt ali on (Co rnMUTA's so that more hours are available ba t), San Pueblo, CA, (USAR), four 

for equipment useage an d training. years as the battalion's Operations Of­

• don 't forg et maintenance and equip­ fic er. M ajor Morse presently se rves as 

ment	 security each M UTA . Medical Regulating Offi cer for th e 2nd 

You should capitalize on DAP with an Hospital Center at Hamiliton Field , CA . 

13 
Corl2S celebrates 206th birthday114th Annual
 

Engineer Dinner
 

Remarks 

Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. 

Joseph K. Bratton, sums up 

Corps commitments 

around the globe 

You ha ve alre ady been welcomed. Let me extend to 

you now my own warm greeting. Th ese annual dinners 

ar e very special events- memories commingled with present cha llenges and anticipation; and all of us gathered 

togeth er out of respect and devotion to our pa rticular 

part of the u.s. Army-its Corp s of Engineers. 

I should like to add a personal special welcome to my 

men tors and pred ecessors here present : Generals Wilson , Cassi dy. and Clarke . I have received personal letters 

from Generals Itschn er and Morris, who are unabl e to 

join us this evening. but who wished to pass on their 

warm regards to us all. 

Ou r theme tonight is th e Engineers as Sold iers and 

Builders. and I have had a rem ark abl e opportunity to 

observe both over the past several months while traveling 

in the United States, Europe. and the Middle East . I 

have visited the oth er Army ma jor commands and all our 

principal Engineer offices save tho se in the Pacific area, 

where I am planning to go next month. As I expected. 

following a decade of wise leadership by Generals 

Clarke. Gribble , and Morris I find the Corps to be 

sup erbly professional and in vigorou s good health. There 

is consistently outsta nding work being done in our 

Engin eer Divisions, Districts, and labs, as well as by 

Engin eer troop un its and staff elements throughout the 

world . Had you tr aveled with me, you would have been as 

proud as I am . 

You would also have found-or rediscovered-the 

high regard in which the Corp s is held by the large majority of the Americ an public and by their elected officials, both in Washington and elsewhere throughout 

th e country. We should keep in mind (and not hesitate to 

remind others. in and out of un iform) that the Corp s is 

tha t part of the Army, and ind eed of the Defense establishment, which most contacted and observ ed by the 

people-usually at our construction sites and recreation 

ar eas. 

If we are properly to regard ourselves as Soldiers and 

Builders, we need to establish a common perspective. 

Th e Corps is so big, so divers e. and is doin g so much in 

so man y parts of the world that it is sometimes difficult 

to sort out our priorities. 

We must keep clearly in mind the nature of our root 

mission: to support the Army . We do this by doing our 

best to insure th at Engineer soldiers both Active and 

Reserve-remain an effecti ve part of th e combined arms 

team and provide engineer support on the battlefield and 

throughout the combat zone; by building for the Army 

and the Air Force; by ma intain ing to high standards our 

facilities and housing; and by being ready, using our active in-place milit ary construction and civil works 

orga nizations, for the very large construction demands 

we could expec t in event of mobilization. 

In addition , because of our proven capabilities. the 

Corps through the years has been given a variety of 

nation-building tasks which we identify today as our Civil 

Works program. The Corps has proved itself an organizaton sensitive to evolving national objectives and 

responsive to changing national needs. We have given 

th e nation quality products , reliable financial manage14 SUMMER 1981 
ment , and sound environmental practices; and we have 

done so with a continuing awareness of public needs and 

desires and a careful stewardship over its investm ents. I 

doubt that any other single organization has contr ibuted 

to the strength of the Unite d Sta tes so well for so long , 

an d with such a high return on the taxpayer's investment. 

But let me reiterate: the fact that we do and build so 

many things so well should not mask our basic objective: 

co support the Army an d its soldiers. We contin ue to 

stress the priorities of Manning, Force Sturct ure, Training, Mod ernization , and Mobilization as spelled out in 

th e Chief of Staffs Wh ite Paper. Th at guideline remain s 

a charter for actions by the Corps, and indeed Corps 

involvement is an imp ortant facto r in achieving th e Army's object ives in each of these major areas of priori ty. 

The years ahead 

Four years ago, at th e beg inn ing of the pr evious ad ­

ministration, the Corps was forced to fight for sur ­

vival. at least as far as its civil program s were concerne d . 

We won that struggle becau se of the excellence of our 

work and our reputation ; our projects stoo d the test of 

hard scruti ny. 

We face no similar situation today, but I do suggest 

tha t we nevertheless ar e gonig to be direc tly challengedat a time when Mr. Stockman 's budget shea rs are sharp 

and when there are compelling pressures to reduce the 

federal work force -to prove our mettle and strea mli ne 

our operations . For examp le, the Corps has been directed to reduce its Civil Wor ks civilia n person nel spaces 

by 3,000 by October 1982-that' s mor e than a 10% 

redu ction in th e next 16'/1 months. A furt her redu ction 

of 10% is programmed for the subse quent four years . 

For this substantial reduction , we can no longer limit 

ourselves to the salami slice approac h; we must cut func ­

tions and examine organizatio nal realignments. 

On the other side of th e Reagan coin, the Army will 

benefit fr om the increased funding for national security. 

The Army budget requests for 1981 and 1982 have been 

incre ased by about $2.5 billion and $7.5 billion, respec ­

tively. Most of this incre ase of $10 billion plus is for 

modernization of equipment - unfort una tely, very little 

for engineer equ ipment-but the re is a sub stantial 

amount for construction and repair and maintenance of 

facilities. Moreover , becau se of the sizable increase s 

forecast in construction for the Army and Air Force, the 

Corp s is scheduled for significant increases in Army 

civilian strength for our milit ary program s in FY 1983 

and the out-years. We are now looking at a total Army 

budget for FY 1983 of almost $60 billion; that's more 

than any of us could have estimated even a short time 

ago. 

Overseas, in Saudi Arabia our work is litera lly nationbuild ing, with a progr am now amou nting to almost $20 

billion , stretching at least thro ugh this decade. It provides excellent experience for man y of our officers and 

civilians in larg e-scale construction man agem en t. 

In Israel, our effort is sma ller but more urgent. Th e 

mission is to complete two new airbases in th e Negev 

Desert for the Israeli Air Force by next April , to perm it 

Israeli withdrawal from th eir pre sen t bases in Sinai 

ENGINEER 

und er terms of the Camp David Accord. Th is job is a 

major cha llenge to all involved-fast track constru ction 

of two extremely sop histicated bases whic h mu st be done 

on time , within budget, and with first-class qua lity to 

suit a very discriminating customer. 

In Ma rch I was able to visit our U.S. Army in Europe . 

a force of over 200,000. The Eng ineer units there are in 

good shape and are receiving high praise from senior 

commanders. Th e soldiers are good -as capab le and 

confident as any I've worked with in CONUS, Europe, 

"If we are properly to regard 

ourselves as Soldiers and Builders, we need to establish a common perspective . . . .. 

Korea, or Vietn am . They reflect the excellent training 

program at Fort Leonard Wood . I saw little evidence of 

the qu ality problem about which we frequ entl y read ; only 

one commander, of man y I queried, had complaints. As 

always, the better the NCO and junior officer leadership. 

the better the troop pe rforma nce. 

Support your troops 

U nfortunately, I cannot report tha t we are sup po rting 

those soldiers as well as they deserve-in housing , 

facilities, or equ ipment. General Kroesen made the point 

strong ly to me when he told me that the number one 

peacetime problem in Europe is famil y housing-not 

training, not manning, not stationing . and not modern ­

ization. We are shor t over 7.000 family housing units in 

Germany, and th ose we do have need a higher sustained 

level of maintenance and repair. In a number of un its, 

we are still maintaini ng eq uipment in stables bu ilt for the 

Kaiser 's World War I army, with costly vehicles park ed 

in muddy motor pools-hardly the environment to motivate young soldiers to care properly for their equipment; 

and all this some 36 year s after V-E Day. 

Jn agreement with General Kroesen-and the other 

MACOM commanders-l consider it imperative that we 

make a major effort to do better. At present our Facilities Engineers and Dire ctors of Engineering and Housing, in CONUS and overseas, have a big job trying to 

make too few dollars go far eno ugh against a big 

maintenance backlog. If you believe a batt alion command er has a tough job in US AREUR today, consider 

the understaffed and overworked DEH in one of our 

larger communities there-Fran kfurt, for examp le, or 

Nurnberg. Fortunately, the Reagan budget is going to 

help us in Europe an d elsewhere; but we have a lot of 

hard work ahea d in this area, and we had better rea lize 

that a big part of the Army per ceives the engineers from 

the perspective of the facilities man agem ent , and great 

work in the field by engineer troops an d aro un d the nation in our engineer MACOM can be offset qu ickly when 

the Facilities Engineer does not have the tools to ta ke 

care of the soldi er and his family . 

Th ere is some hope for improvement in our garrison 

support of the soldier and his famil y. The 1982 budget as 

15 
"In a number of units we are still 

maintaining equipment in stables built 

for the Kaiser's World War I army" 

amended by the new Administration will. for the first 

time in some years, arrest and reverse the growth in the 

Backlog of Maintenance and Repair. We plan to give 

this area special emphasis, since it has for so long eluded 

an effective so lution. 

Two other major con struction programs which are 

already underway but not yet fully defined are those 

associated with th e RDF in Southwest Asia a nd the Missile-X program. The latter, in particular, could be the 

largest construction task we have ever undertaken . The 

full construction price tag for the system approved by the 

Carter administration exceed s $22 billion . We expect a 

major impact on the Corps. assuming continued M-X 

sup port by the Reagan Administration . Pending the 

report of Se cr etary Weinburger's Blu e Ribbon Panel and 

a fin al decision by the President. we ha ve begun to sta ff 

up a t Norton AFB , and will be sending an Engineer 

gener al officer there next mon th to assume Con struction 

Agent respon sib ility . 

The root of our mission 

L et me turn back now to what I said was our root missio n - sup port of the combat Army in the field . We 

need Engineer forces that can keep pace on the battlefield with the armor an d mechanized infantry and a rtillery units. Unfortunately, we don 't yet have such a 

force ; our Engineers are largely equipped with the 

technology of WW II and Korea. But there is hope ; last 

month . for the first time in several years , a full Engineer 

Syst em s Program Review was conducted here at Fort 

Belvoir and chaired by General Vessey. the Vice Chief of 

Staff. A first step in closing our equipment gap should be 

with th e fielding ofthe M-9 , or ACE (for Armored Combat Earthmover), formerl y called th e Universal Engineer 

Tractor. The first buy is supported in the 1982 budget 

and units should be receiving the first M-9's in 1983. 

With the M-9's and hopefully the other items needed to 

provide for modern Mobility-Cou ntermob il itySurvivability, Engineers will be able to keep up with th e 

new tanks, fighting vehicles, and self-prope lled artillery . 

Unfortunately. all of this won't be in the hands of th e 12 

billion until near the end of this dec ad e. We do have the 

ears and su pport of th e combined arms commanders; 

now we need to give our Engineer sold iers the tools to do 

the jobs those commanders are expecting . 

I would be remiss this evening if I did not mention a 

subject which I find incr easingly of concern , and th at is 

our perennial shortage of Engineer officers in all grades 

from captain th rough colonel. At a time when we must 

stru ggle to compete for go od people against strong private sector demands, we Engineers have too much to do 

with too few. Our problem is worsened by a disappointing retention record and th e necessity to turn on several 

tr acks- notably troop command , contract con struction. 

an d facilitie s engineering, wh ile still accepting our fair 

share of branch-immaterial assignments. Our offic ers-> 

more than any other branch of the Army . I believemust do all things well; they mu st be " officers for all 

seasons." We mu st all be vigilant recruiters for the 

Corps, do ing our best to counsel and retain you ng offleers and encourage their fu rther studies in engineering 

disciplines where academ ic cr ed entials so indicate . 

Looking to the future in thi s year of the Yorktown 

Bicentennial , we sho uld be imp ressed by the fact that-if 

we are really going to rearm and reindustriali ze America 

-the nation will need more than ever the disciplined 

precision , th e inquisitiveness, the professional excellen ce, and the personal integr ity of its engineer 

leaders. It will need the full measure of our capacity to 

plan . organize , and execute complex military engi neer ­

ing tasks. I believe the Corps, as the nation's premier 

engineering organization, is ready to provide that capacity. We are in for year s of tough going-but this is a 

decade of national op portu nities as well as vulner abiliti es, and there are many in this room who will be coping 

with our national security problems into the 21st century. 

General MacArthur called WW If in the Southwest 

Pacific an "Engineer's War"; perhaps he would perceive 

this present time as an "Engineer's Peace." 

Let me leave a final thought with you tonight. I ask 

you to look around this room, at the company you ar e in, 

and ask yourselves how many other Americans can take 

the pride and satisfaction we have in what we are doing . 

how we are doing it , and the organization which unites 

our inter ests and efforts. We are a fortunate few, 

measured am ong 230 million Americans. We count our 

servi ce in tangible ways. We leave a trail of professionalism and achievement for all to see and benefit 

from. We are proud to sign our work. Finally, we are not 

content to stand still and rest on successes of the past ; we 

are a proud and forward-looking part of the Army team, 

and we intend to sta y up front where we belong. 

And now , I wish you all continued professi onal 

achievement and personal satisfaction . I consider it a 

great hon or to be here tonight as a speaker and a 

member of the team, an d I thank you very much. 

16 SUMMER 1981 
C\~~
 

The A Engineer Problem Solutions page 31 

An airport requires 4,500 ,000 cubic yards of fill. Th e 

fill will be compacted to a void ration of 0.7. Three borrow pits ar e to be evalu ated to det ermine th e most economi cal fill operation. Th e void ra tio and estimated haul 

cost for each pit is: 

Pit Void Ratio Haul cost per bank 

cy 

A 1.2 $0. 24
 

B 0.9 $0.26
 

C 1.1 $0 .25
 

Which pit should be ut ilized , and what will be the 

Haul Cost for this proj ect ? 

\f\\x\\at'l 

The A Engineer Problem
 

The 52d Infantry Division (Me chanized) must defend 

a portion of the II Corps defensive sect or. Th e G·J ha s 

analyzed the threat and established Brigade secto rs. 

2d Brigade is given the narrowest sector, astrid e the 

enemy's probable main avenue of approach. A supporting attack IS expected in Jd Brigade's sector. 1st 

Brigade's area has restrictive terrain and a major attack 

there is unlikely. 

As the Assistant Division Engineer (ADE), you have 

completed estimate of the required engineer effor t. Th e 

divisional covering force requires four engineer cornpanies, 2d Brigade requires three companies, Jd Brigade 

requires two companies, and l st Brigade requires one 

company, as indicated bel ow. 

Since 12 comp an ies of engineer effort are required , th e 

division has requested and received the support of two 

corps combat battalions . 

Acting as Assistant Division Engineer, ta sk/organi ze 

the divisional engineer battalion (mechanized ) and the 

two corps combat battalion s within the division area. In 

developing your solution you should con sider: 

• The Command /Support (C/S) relationship of the 

Eng ineer Corps Combat Battalions to the S2d Division . 

• The CIS relationship of an y engineer compa nies sent 

forward to work in the Brigade areas. 

• The utili za tion of the mechani zed division al 

engineers in conjuncti on with the less mobile corps 

engineers. 

• Who is to be the Brigad e engineer for each brig ad e 

area and who will direct the engineer effort in the cover ­

ing force area? 

REQUIREMENTS 

1st Brigade 2d Brig ade 

1 company J compan ies 

Covering Forc e	 Division Control 

4 companies	 S2d Engr Bn 

500 Engr Cbt Bn 

502 Engr Cbt Bn 

Jd Brigade 

2 companies 

ENGINEER 17 
-M-CM-S-


Mobility, Counterrnobility, 

and Survivability 

in the Airland Battle 

by Maj. Gen. Max W. Noah 

Th e Airland battle com bines such conc epts as the integrated battlefield and th e ex ten de d battle. Th e conce pt stresses a deep attack o( 

the enemy's (allow -on echelons , toge the r with a quick decisive strike 

against th e assault echelons. The need for Mobility, Countermobility, 

and Survivability are th e requirem ent and th e bu sin ess ofth e com bined 

arms team , with th e com bat engineer providing the expertise and much 

of the capability . The recent M -CM-S Systems Program Review '81 at 

Fort Belvoir. foc use d on these tasks and provided dir ection (or th e 

future. 

More than ever before , our success in the first and suc ­

ceeding battles of the next war will hinge on the battle 

commander's use of time and terra in . Th ese are the 

critical two variables open to the commander as the battle begins. He will fight outnumbered. His resourcestr oops and equipment- are essent ially fixed at the onset 

of battle. His plans and tr ainin g must be perfected and 

he mu st use time and terrain to reduc e the odds against 

him. 

He uses tim e by seeing the ene my deep and determining where to apply all his assets at the precise time to win 

the battle. He uses terrain to enh anc e comb at power by 

blocking, delaying, and destroying the enemy while overcoming obstacles and moving his own fo rce . Wh eth er th e 

combined arms team with its comb at engineer can sufficiently achieve thes e effects is critical to winning. 

Th is is what Mobility-Countermobility-Survi vability 

(M-CM -S) is all about. It is essential to ba ttle success 

and ensuring its understanding and use is th e primary 

job of the combat engineer in the combined ar ms team. 

The bu siness of M-CM-S in the Airland Battle was th e 

topic of th e April 8-9 Systems Progr am Review held at 

Fort Belvoir . Abou t 150 particip an ts representing a 

broad cross section of th e Army's decision mak ers in the 

U .S. and abroad , bo th active and reserve components, 

and the Marines and Air Force, reviewed the current an d 

future status of M-CM-S . Only th ose M-CM -S tasks forward of the corps rear boundry were addresse d . Certa in 

engineer func tions such as water and power genera tion 

were excluded from review so th at the scope could be 

limited to comb at tasks. 

Three fund amental points emerged: First, M-CM-S is 

a total combined arms job-while the combat engineers 

are key to achi eving M-CM-5 , they cannot and sho uld 

not do it alone . Secon dly, the entire te am needs the integrated conce pts , doc trine, and training to achieve 

M-CM-S on the battlefield through well defined and 

rehearsed battle drills to br each or cross mines and 

obstacles in stride , crea te obstacles, and dig in for increased battle position survivability. Finally, the hardware to support the se tasks mu st be compatible with the 

systems being supported . It must be mobile, effic ient , 

survivable, and deployabl e. and it mu st be developed 

systemica lly based on conc ep ts and doctrine to solve th e 

M-CM-S task s. 

T he commander's skill in lighting the Airland Battle 

is the key to winning wherever th e enemy uses Sovietstyle tactics, Th ese tactics ar e based on three fundamental concepts: mass, momentum, and continuous combat. 

His ope rative notion is to br eak through quickly and collapse th e defender's system of defens e. Alternatively, he 

uses suprise, which he may substitute for mass , but 

eith er tactic dcpend s heavily up on maneuver. Those tactics coupl ed with a num er ically superior enemy demands 

that we see him early and attac k deep into his follow-on 

echel ons to wrest the initiat ive from him and ret ain it to 

win. 

18 SUMMER 1981 
As analyzed by Gen. Donn A. Starry's " Extending th e 

Battlefield" article in the March \98\ Military Review. 

this exten sion of the battlefield deep int o the enemy rear 

me ans th at we must simultaneously engage both the assault and the follow-on echelons. In doing so, we disrupt 

his timing, frustrate his plans, and complicate his command and control. 

The battlefield must also be extended in time-the 

commander develops his plans to ensure the close-in battle can be won decisively. 

Lastl y, the battle is extended to high er level resources 

which the commander uses to complement his own assets 

to win. These resources include all higher level army and 

other service acquisition and attack capabilities. 

All of this, then, means that the battle must be fought 

more deeply-in place , in tim e, and in resources-than 

now forseen by our current doctrine. Our doctrine mu st 

be detined to cope not only with depth but with the entire 

range of conventional. nucle ar , and chemical warfare . 

Certain requirements are fundame ntal to this battle. 

To delay. disrupt, and destroy th e enemy's follow-on 

echelons, we mu st see deep and maximize our interdiction effo rts through all avail abl e mean s. At th e sam e 

time, we mu st move fast aga inst the assault echelon s and 

strike them quickly-they cannot be permitted to achieve 

the ir objective. Lastly. the opening figh t against these 

assa ult and follow-on echelons must be finished rapidly. 

Mobility, coun termobility and survivability are clearly 

key to these Airland Battle requ irem ents. With out mobility on that b attlefield , we cannot move or maneuver 

our forc es with sufficient spe ed to destr oy the overwhelming numbers fac ing us. And we must block. disrupt. and 

slow th e enemy- hence the countermobility need . Lastly, 

to meet the tirst blow and survive to win , we need to dig 

in to protect our high value resources. Each of these 

hinges lipan altering th e terrain to our benefit, and so 

basic to all is th e need for continuous and accurate terrain an alysis. 

The M-CM-S battlefield tasks may be divided functionally as follows: mobility is composed of countermine. 

counterobstacle , and gap crossing; counterrnobility of 

mine warfare and obstacle development; and survivability the provisi on of fighting /protective positions through 

d igging and overhead cover. Each of th ese tasks needs to 

be accomplished by the appli cation of systems to do the 

job- systems which stem from the integration of concepts and doct rine with soldiers drilled in the ta sk and 

using hardware designed to the requ irement. 

Countermlnes. The threat use of mines to disrupt and 

delay our maneuver elements and logistic su pport will be 

wides pread and continuous. We ca n expect mines 

throughout our opera tional area -from forward of the 

fron t line of tr oops to all the way int o our rear areas. Additi onally, our own use of scatte rable mine s may well require the commander to move throu gh or near his own 

rninefi elds. With the critical importance of maintaining 

our mobility in the Airland Battle , it is abs olute ly essential th at we ha ve an effective countermine det ection and 

neutralization system . In countermine conc epts and doctrine, th e critical questions today are the ext ent to which 

the non-engineer members of th e combined arms team 

should be capable of breaching minefi elds, and what 

percentage of assur ed neutralizati on is needed. In th is as 

well as th e oth er M-CM-S tasks, we need combined a rms 

team battle drill techniques for br eaching minefields in 

stride . Or gani zati on and force stru cture, trainin g and 

materiel all hinge upon this requirement. 

M9ACE 

The highly mobile , 

highly survivable, combat 

engineers ' Armored Combat Earthmover adv ances 

with the maneuver force, 

performing tasks across the 

entire M-CM-S spectrum. 

ENGINEER 19 
The counterrnine capability fielded today is essentially 

unchanged from World War II. It is too slow and vulnerable to fire. The only detection and breaching capability 

with reasonable speed close to being available now is the 

mine roller. which , while effective now on our M-60s, 

may prove extremely effective when mounted on the front 

of the far more powerful Abrams tank. While thi s item is 

helpful, no one device will do the entire job . Hardware 

must be designed as an integrated system based on the 

concepts and tactics of the drill. For stand off breaching, 

there are two explosive devices which have been 

developed-the surface launched fuel air explosive mine 

detonation system (SLUFAE) and the mine clearing line 

~We must move fast against 

the assault . 

They cannot be permitted 

to achieve their objective" 

charge (MICLIC). Complementary items which round 

out a countermine hardware system set are the plow and 

clear lane proofing systems for proofing, and the combat 

lane and hand emplaced marking devices. In development with significant promise of contributing to the light 

infantry needs is the POMINS-a man portable mine 

and light obstacle neutralizer. Still to be solved is the 

vexing problem of a remote minefield detection capability-one of the most important and difficult technological challenges facing our army today. 

Counterobstacles. Here , as in counterrnine, the critical 

need to move quickly and without delay on the extended 

battlefield demands an ability in the combined arms 

team to breach and clear obstacles in stride. While the 

offensively oriented threat forces are not expected to 

make a great deal of usc of prepared obstacles, the havoc 

of war on the integrated, conventional , nuclear and 

chemical battlefield will sever roads and render large 

areas of terrain all but impassable through contamination, tree blow down , and rubbling, Again , we need battle drills taught and practiced by the combined arms 

team to move rapidly through these obstacles. No delays 

can be permitted if we are to destroy the assault echelons 

quickly and penetrate to attack deep . 

Counterobstacle tasks are similar to counterminethey include reconnaissance , detection and neutralization. Time is key and obstacles must be reduced under 

fire. Currently we have the Combat Engineer Vehicle 

(CEV) for this. although only a very few in each division 

area . With the addition of the M9 Armored Combat 

Earthmover to the force. we will have a significantly 

more mobile and survivable capability. Looking to the 

future, an improved-more powerful-CEV will help in 

the near term . Further along, there is a need for a 

dedicated Counter Obstacle Vehicle (COV) which can 

move and survive with the maneuver elements and 

remove or clear battlefield obstacles. 

Gap Crossing. The tasks in gap crossing depend upon 

the nature of the gap-whether wet or dry-its width, the 

access and egress conditions. and the local battle condition . This last is critical , for a crossing under fire affects 

the speed of installation and dicates how survivable the 

crossing system and its installers mus t be. The nature of 

our combat materiel in the maneuver elements-its extremely limited fordability or swim capability-forces us 

to use crossing means to carry the heavy combat elements 

forward. 

Again, the task of gap crossing is one that lends itself 

to combined arms drills. These need to be fixed and 

taught. and the supporting materiel altered or designed 

to fit the requirement. While much of our rafting and 

bridging materiel is excellent, the greatest equipment 

problem facing us in the future is that of the assault 

crossing for both light and heavy forces. It is a problem 

without a quick fix. The light forces need a mobile and 

strategically deployable wet and dry gap crossing capability which is survivable under battle conditions. Additionally , a more survivable assault wet crossing capability 

(probab ly using ferries on broad frontages) is needed for 

the heavy forces . It may be that an improved Mobile 

Assault Bridge or a modified ribbon bridge can fill this 

role. Finally, for the future, there appears to be a need 

for improved bridge mobility, which can be obtained 

through upgrading our current AVLB fleet, eventually 

going to the M1 chassis for AVLBs, and research and development to provide a method for longer and quicker 

dry gap crossing. 

Through all th e gap crossing task areas we need to 

continuously analyze whether we have sufficient means 

based on the Airland concept. Our assests now tend ( 0 

keep our forces canalized in assault crossings rather than 

spread across a wide front at multiple crossing sites. We 

cannot afford the probable damage the enemy can inflict 

due to this "necking down" of maneuver elem ents at 

gaps to be crossed. Our entire range of combat equipment lacks an acceptable across-the-board swim capability. This forces us to have wet and dry gap crossing systems to supplement mobility. Additionally, the class load 

limit of our materiel is being pushed gradually upwards. 

which. ifit continues, will overload not only most civilian 

bridges but all the fixed bridges in the inventory. 

Mine Warfare. The interdiction , delay and disruption 

of the follow-on threat echelons is fundamental to success in the Airland Battle. One technology which makes 

this possible is the advent of the dynamic, remotely scatterable mine. Whether fused conventionally, magnetically, or in some other fashion, and whether preprogrammed to self destruct or not. this capability is key to 

the disruption of enemy mobility. Conceptually, the entire arena of these new mine s poses significant questions. 

Should they be marked, reported , or otherwise controlled? Who has plac ement authority? How do these 

questions apply to self-destruct versus conventional 

mines? What percentage should be placed by artillery? 

By air? By ground system? All of this is the subject of ongoing work to develop an approved mine warfare concept. Crucial to the use of mines is speed and proper site 

selection . 

20 SUMMER 1981 
Our currently fielded emplacement techniques are 

slow and labor-intensive. Conventional mines are heavy 

and logistically burdensome for transport and storage. 

Mar k ing and recording systems need to be fast and simple, and responsive to the man euver commander's need 

to kn ow. 

The new a rtillery and air delivered mine systems-the 

RAAMS , ADAM and GATOR-will be key tools in the 

Airl and Battl e. They make de ep interdiction possible 

and are fundament ally important to how we must fight. 

It is imp ortant, however, th at we do not overload the se 

valuable del ivery systems with close-in min e warefare 

mission s which can otherwise be accomplished . Other 

ground based mining mech anisms such as the Ground 

Emplaced Mine Scattering System (GEMSS) and the 

Modu lar Pack Mine System (MOP MS) need to be 

fielded . For the futu re, we need an improved convent iona l mining capability and a universal min e dispensing 

system which can be mo unted for emp loyment on air or 

land transport. La stly, and very significant to both ou r 

own mobility and countermobility functions is the control and integration system requirement for mines as well 

as other obstacles, which must emphasize " real time" 

reporting and mesh with command and control systems 

being fielded . 

Like mine warfare , the tasks of obstacle development 

include em placement , execution , and recording . Obstacles ca n be created in many ways usin g explosive or 

mech ani cal mean s. The development of obsta cles and 

use of mines to delay and disrupt the enemy's assault 

echelons so we can ab sorb h is first blow and hold him in 

the planned target areas- thus extending time-is fundan.ental to the Airland battle . Tod ay's obstacle execu ­

tion is also slow and lab or intensi ve. Expl osive cratering 

or excavation is ofte n diffic ult to control. Non-explosive 

excavation by earthmovin g equip ment is slow and mu st 

be done with eq uipment which today lacks battlefield 

mob ility an d survivability. Also avai lable are the agin g 

a to mic demolitio ns (AD M), subject to the entire array of 

political constraints, maintenance and training headac hes, and dep loymen t diffi culties. The enti re qu estion 

of the applicab ility of our cu rrent ADM is un der study . 

Conventional explosive tech nology offers th e best nearterm solution to the effective quick execution of obstacles. Th e combination of inert components into a power ­

fu l blasting slurry-blasting agent, XM268 - provides 

an exp losive with 1'/ 2 times the excavating energy of 

TNT . By pre emplacing underground pipes horizontal to 

the ground surface, large antitank ditches may be 

created qu ickly by filling the pipes with blasting agent 

and deton at ing . T his grea tly reduces manpower requirements and produces fast results. Other agen ts, such as 

nitro-methane , are also under study. For point obstacles, 

such as cra tering roads, the M180 cratering charge is a 

valuable tool. It is being fielded . 

Non-e xpl osive obstacle digging will be improved with 

the survivable M9 which can move with the maneuver 

elements. For the future, the M9 , as well as the ent ire 

ran ge of explosive technology, will greatly improve our 

abi lity for quic k obstacle emplaceme nt . 

Survivability. The mass, momentum and surprise of 

the opening th reat str ike must be absorbed. To ab sorb 

ENGINEER 

this first blow , our figh ting elements must be protected 

so that they can de str oy th e assault echelons, counterattack dec isively, and move to the offense. To a greater or 

lesser deg ree, almost every elem ent of our force in the 

Airlan d Battl e mu st be pr otected-decisive for this is the 

question of who digs in the force, and , admitting a 

limited digging capability , who will be dug in first ? Competing requirements for digging include our maneuver 

elemen ts prior to the first day of b attle , the fir e suppo rt 

elements, and com mand and control cen ters. To the 

rear, logistic support also has a critical need. Wheth er a 

digging capab ility should be organic to all or a part of the 

Sym bol of the 

1981 Systems Program 

Review 

combined arms team or centralized in the enginee r 

elements is a derivative question. The fact that emerges 

clearly, however , is that our digging capability must hav.e 

a compatible mobi lity with th e maneuver elements-s-it 

must be there when needed. There will be no time to 

wait . While the current 0 7 bulldozers and JD410 

backhoes are excellent digge rs, they have neither the 

mobi lity nor t he survivability to do the job in t he main 

battle ar ea or covering force area. Here we need a mobile 

and survivable digger-the M9 ACE . For sma ller 

emplace men ts, especially for our light force, the Small 

emplace ment Excavator is needed . 

The pr eeminent need whic h runs through all the 

M-CM -S tasks is that the exec uting force mu st have 

speed, survivability and dep loyment capability. T hese 

a re fun damental require ments for any combi ned arm s 

tea m member. Additionally, com bined a rms battl e drills 

must be written, taught, and dr illed on if we are to do the 

especially to ugh jobs of coun termine , counterobstacle , 

and gap crossing-under fire . T hese battl: tasks ~nnot

be viewed as solely the realm of the combat engineer, 

While the eng ineer member of th e combined arms team 

rema ins the commander's principal executor and advisor , he cannot do th e job alone. These are tasks for the 

entire team, and with out the team approach of pr acticing and training together we will not be able to move, 

block the enemy , nor survive to win on the battlefield . 

We mu st retain mobility to fight outnumbered and win . 

We mu st see deep and delay, disrupt, canalize, and 

block the follow-on echelons ea rly by all means available , 

and we must be capab le of absorbing and holding the assau lt and finishing the fight if we are to defeat the assault 

ech elons. This req uires a total integration of combat 

power and dema nds that we achieve mobility, counter ­

mobility and survivabi lity in the Airland Ba ttle. 

21 
THE 36TH ENGINEER GROUP
 

T he 36th Engi neer Grou p (Combat), 

now locat ed at Fort Benning, 

Georgia, was orga nized over forty-seven 

yea rs ago, and fough t with dist inct ion in 

World War II, and the Korean War. 

Con stitu ted on I October 1933 in th e 

Regul ar Arm y as th e 36th Engineers, it 

was act ivat ed at Plattsburg, New York on 

1 June 1941. It was red esign ated as the 

36t h Enginee r Combat Regim ent on I 

Augu st 1942, and after undergoin g 

several reorg aniza tions, was fin all y 

redesign at ed as Head quarter s and Head ­

quart ers Co mpa ny, 36th Engineer 

Gr oup, 

Member s of the 36th En gin eer Gr oup 

boa st of th eir unit being one or the first 

engine er units to train in amphibious t actic s. A seaho rse on a red and white shield 

cons titutes th e unit's d isti nctive insignia. 

and is worn proudly by the Group's 

members, proclaiming to th e world the 

pr owess dem on strated during the many 

amphibiou s assault landings made by 

members of the 36th Engineer Regim ent 

in Eu ropean Campaigns of World War 

II. The Group's colors ca rry nineteen 

battle streamers with five bronze arrowheads representing five amphibious 

assault landings. 

During World War II, the unit performed all types of combat engi nee ring 

and was committed as Infant ry on severa l 

occa sions. It helped take th e Army into 

North Afri ca in November 1942, and 

operated invasion ports. In July 1943, th e 

36th went int o Sicily wit h Ge ne ra l Pat ­

ton 's Seventh Arm y. With Sicily conquered. General Clar k wante d the 36th 

assigned as a corps combat regiment with 

the Fifth Arm y for th e Italian Campaign. 

At Salerno th ey were in the line figh ting 

off th e counter att ack, which the Ge rmans openly boas t ed would throw us 

back into the sea . They bridged the 

by Col. Frederick E. Bittl 

Volturno at a place th ey called th e 

Borexight Bend, as the Ge rmans in the 

hills were looking right down th eir rifle 

b arrels at th em, At Anz io, for fifty con ­

secutive days, th e 36th was comm itte d as 

Infantry, and held a 7-mile sector of 

fr ont lin e aro und the beach head . Th e 

German s started calling th em th c Little 

Seahorse Division, because through some 

oversight in the War Dep artment , this 

eng inee r unit was still wea ring a sea horse 

shoulde r patch which was adopte d during its amphibiou s trainin g peri od. 

Gener al Mark Clark's recommendati on 

for the award of Combat Infantry bad ges 

to the men of th e 36th was turned down 

becau se of the War Dep artment policy 

restri cting the awa rd solely to lnfantr ymen. However, General Clark wrote 

the 36th a farewell letter when it sailed 

for France . He wrote, "The record which 

you have established with it (th e Fift h 

Army) since D-Day at Salern o, is indeed 

an enviable one . During th e crucia l days 

on the beaches in September (1943). during the adva nce to Napl es, to th e Volturno, and to the enemy' s mountain ou s 

winter line, you comported yourselves in 

accordance with the very fin est traditi ons 

of the Cor ps of Enginee rs." 

It was th e 36th Enginee rs who helped 

pu t the Seve nt h Army int o Sout hern 

Fr an ce , an d whe n the Sevent h Army 

sped north from Marseille s, the 36th collected its arsena l and went a long . By the 

tim e the Seventh was moving thro ug h th e 

Rambervillers Sect or , th e 36th was in the 

line again . fighting as Infan tr y. a sight to 

behold . Not being officia lly Infantry. the 

36th was free to choos e its own weapons, 

American or capt ure d Ge rman . Its 

heavy-weap ons section ca rried every kind 

of " Shootin g Iron " exce pt field artillery. 

On New Year's Da y 1945, it assembled as 

Infantry on two -hour s notic e to meet th e 

German attack in Alsacc-L orrain e. 

Th e 36th never ma de it to th e Pacific 

during World War Il , but it did arrive in 

Pusan in Octob er 1950 a t the beg inning 

of th e Korean Cam paign. While assigned 

to th e IX Corps, the G roup fought th e 

tou gh est foe in its history-the Korean 

weather. Road constru ction and main ­

ten an ce in the corps are a were the 

primary mission , and th eir ac complishmen t was obstructed continuo usly by the 

elements. In the win ter of 1951-1952, 

new road s and brid ges were built throu gh 

rug ged mountainous terrain. Equipmen t 

and men were punished sever ely by th e 

sub- zero temperatures an d fr ozen 

ground . In Novembe r 1951, the u nits of 

the 36t h En gineer Gr oup carried assault 

troops across the Pu san River , built 

1,236 feet of tre adway bridge , punched 

6-miles th rough rou gh mount ainou s terrain , and tr an sported tons of supplies by 

water to ins ure th e success of the operation , 

The 36th Enginee rs served cont inu ­

ously in Kor ea from th eir arr ival in Pus an 

in October 1950, until May 1972 when 

the unit's colors were returned to th e 

United States. For its service in Korea . 

th e 36th Engineers received th e Republic 

22 SUMMER 1981 
608 

444EElMT 

Old ~~'l

DS GS 

'91ITfij ff 

- - 4J I rTl I I I eSI ~Y

,-LAI ITl I DS 

I , 

IIl1el [Il 

... -­ l [

" 

of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. and 

two awards of the Meritorious Unit Comme ndation . 

The 36t h Engineer Group (Combat) 

was reac tivated I July 1973 at Fort Benning . It is qu ite iron ic that th is engineer 

unit. which spent so man y days light ing 

as Infantry, should be assigned to Furt 

Benning-The Horne of the Infa ntry. 

The peace -time mission of the Gro up. 

briefly stated, is to support th e US Army 

Infan try Schoo l and Center , and to be 

pr epared to commit forces in sup port of 

the Unit' s contingency mission . On the 

surfa ce this seems to be a rather simp le, 

straight-forward mission until we look at 

the Group's extraor dina ry orga nization. 

Extr aordina ry, in that approxima tely 

only 50% of its assigned personnel are 

Engineer soldi ers and th at the G rou p has 

Engineer , Ordna nce, Transportation , 

Adjutan t Gene ra l, and Fina nce uni ts 

assigned . Sup port of th e Infantry School 

and Cente r involves all aspects , incl ud ing 

oper ating a repl acement detachmen t, 

finance ope rations. ammu nit ion han ­

dling and transporta tion, mainten an ce, 

construction, an d the 89th Ordn ance 

Deta chment even pro vides assistance to 

the Secret Service in protect ing the President of the United States. 

ENGINEER 

Th e 4Jrd Engineer Battalion , the only 

eng ineer battalion assigned to the 

Group, has provided conside rable construction efforts to the Cente r over the 

last year. Ma jor construction projects of 

the ba ttalion includ e the construction of 

a sub-caliber tan k range. a mechanized 

infantry assau lt tra ining cou rse, a milita ry operations in ur ban terra in (MOUT ) 

site , and a 4,000 foot assau lt landing 

strip . In addition to its organic organization, the 43rd ha s the 89th Ordn an ce 

Det achm en t , and th e S86th Engineer 

Company (ARB) attached . Th e 89th 

Ordna nce has th e responsib ility for providing Explosive Ordn an ce dispo sal in 

the southeastern portion of the United 

Sta tes. 11 has been called upon on 

nu merous occasions to assist th c Secret 

Service in providing security for visiting 

dignitaries. 

The S86th Engineer Compa ny, which 

is equipped with the Ribbon Bri dge, is 

very active in keeping itself Combat 

Ready and ready for dep loymen t. The 

586th is a shining examp le of a highly 

tr ained and motivated un it. It is not 

unu su al to find it "on the road" traveling 

tu Fort Bragg or to Fort Campbell to support trai ning or to participa te in FTX 's. 

The units of the 67th Maintenan ce 

J61 @. 

Battalion provide support not only to 

un its of the Gro up, but th e 598th 

Mainten ance Compa ny pr ovides vehicle , 

sma ll arms, an d electronic mainten an ce 

support to other uni ts and comma nds on 

Fort Benning. Th e 444th Light Truck 

Comp any perform s a ll of the ammunition 

hauling in support of the In fantry 

School. Th e 608th Or dn ance Compa ny 

(Amm uniti on) pro vides support to th e 

Directorate of Indu strial Op erations for 

operation of th e Fort Benn ing Ammunition Supp ly Installation. Th e 67th is also 

in th e fire fi gh ting bu siness in th at it has 

two attached Fir e Fighting Det achments 

who provide support for the Ranger 

Camp in Florid a . 

As difficult as the day-to-day missions 

ar e in suppo rt of th e Center, planning 

an d conduc ting training in preparat ion 

to meet the wartime missions are cer ­

ta inly more difficult du e to the varied 

units assigned . Imagine, th e Grou p 

mu st . on its own , plan and cond uct eight 

separa te and different compa ny ART EPs 

and assist in two battalion ARTEPs. As 

FO RSCOM un its, quarterly FTXs arc required of eac h unit , wea pons qu alificatio n , ED REs, and NBC tr ainin g must be 

conducted witho ut interfer ing with the 

vita l support to the Infa ntry Center. 

23 
New Countermine 

Capabilities 

Emerging in 1980's 

by Maj Marion C. Miller 

Editor's Not e: The entire countermine function-from doc trine th rough hardware 

and tactics-has been un dergoing an intensive review by the whole com bined arm s 

team . Launched by the recent Mobility-Counterm obility·Survivability Syst em s Program Review at Fort Belvoir. we eng ine ers along with th e armo r and infantry are 

system ically examini ng what cou nterm ine task s need to he done on th e battlefield. 

This article addresses a num ber of hardware items each tailored to some specific 

tasks. La cking is the overa ll systemic gro up ing- perhaps. ex tending one's mind- one 

machine, robotically controlled. whic h can de tect. neutralize. clear. proojund mark a 

minefield- all ill one! In A ugust of this yea r. th e Engineer Schoo l laun ched a 

telescoped two to th ree year effort tofield suc h a counterm inefirst generation syst em. 

Progress will. be reported in de tail in subseq uent issues. 

The radi o cracked as the message cam e ac ross. "Two one . 

we've hit a min efield enr oute to Che ckp oint Delt a . Estim ated 

depth -SO me te rs . Lost on e track. No cas ua lties . Request fur ­

ther instructi on s." 

The comman der reali zes the un it has no ot her alternative but 

to brea ch th e min efield . Bypassing it in that ar ea woul d delay 

him still furth er. Lucki ly the minefield is not under direct 

enemy fire . He gives the orde r to br each . 

At Chec kpo in t Delt a , th e platoon leader pu ts his APC' s and 

support tanks in defil ad e positions to pr ovide covering tire if 

necessary. He th en organizes his men to breach a lan e in th e 

minefield . Ou t comes th e tools of the trade : the ANP SS-l lI 

ANP RS-7 h andh eld det ect ors, ba yonets and hand pr ob es , and 

TNT/ C-4 to det on ate t he min es in place. Only two hours lat er 

does t he call come , " Two on e , lan e cleared and mark ed . 

Pr epared to move out." 

The Korean W ar , 19S2? . . . Min efi eld breaching opera tions 

characterized by slow . dangerous, lab or -intensi ve work ? No , 

th is is th e year nin et een -hundred and eighty -one] This bri ef 

sit ua tion ch aracterizes th e current field ed state -of-the-art in 

min efi eld detection /breaching in the US Army today . (T he 

Arm y does have some ex plosive lin e charges bu t th ey a re very 

limited in nu mbe r, rem ain in stat eside sto rage . and units are 

not tra ining with t he m . These include a pproximate ly 550 serviceable MI S7 (Diamo nd Lil) rigid , tank-pu shed , lin e cha rges 

and 360 rocke t-propelled, sled-mounted M1 73 line cha rges.) 

It is a well -recognized fact that th e Arm y's counterrnine 

capability in th e field h as be en relatively unchan ged since the 

Second World War. However , as t h is article will poin t out . we 

are not in as b ad a sha pe as one ma y believe. A number of new 

items will 'gra dua te ' fro m t he development schoo l R&D over 

th e next few yea rs, whic h witl significantly up gr ad e our 

ca pab ilities. The real qu esti on , th ough . is whether t he Arm y 

will fund full -scale produ cti on of these co unte rmi ne item s , as 

they compete wit h everything from the M I ta nk to nigh t vision 

goggles for limited procu rem en t dollar s. 

Th is artic le will look at th ose new countermine systems 

cap able of being in the field in th e 19S0' s whi ch would support 

the new Army 86 force structure , whi ch by the way was very 

aptly described in th e June 1981 issu e of ARM Y Magazine. 

Afte r discu ssin g th e cha rac te ris tics of ea ch syste m , we will look 

at th e same min efield obs tacle problem to see how the 1986 

commander might th en handle it. 

Figure I tabul at es th e hardware by acronym as to ca pab ility 

(detect/ neutra lize) and development status. "Advanced " is 

merely a special ca tegory to indicate that certain syste ms are far 

enough along in developm en t th at they could be fi eld ed in an 

expedite d manner sho uld a nationa l emergen cy or a decl aration 

of war occ ur. A system "splitting th e line" exhibits bo th a 

detect and a ne utralization ca pa b ility . 

A maj or sho rt term improvem ent in detection has been in 

up gr ading th e capa bilities of the AN/ PRS· 7, hand mine detector, however. th e AN/ PR S-7 was de signed as both a met allic 

and non -met allic mi ne detector. However , a p roduct imp rovement was initiated to correct an op er ation al de ficiency in iden tify ing non -met all ic mines in a rid soil condition s. The improved 

PRS- 7 (designated the AN/PRS-8) has increased non -me tallic 

det ector rates in tests from 8% to gre ater th an 83% in dry soils. 

Other human en gineer ing system improvemen ts include th e addition of a me tron om e pacing signal to set th e op timu m swee p 

rate, a chest strap for dist ributing th e weight to redu ce ope rator 

fati gu e , and more d istinctive audio "Clicks" to assist in mine 

identificat ion . Over a 31 month peri od beginning lat er this 

year, a recall will be initiated to ret rofit the AN/PRS-7 in th e 

field and ren ame it t he AN/ P RS-8. 

The only new item in mine det ecti on scheduled fo r fielding in 

t he 1980's is th e ANV RS·S, vehic le- mounted road mine detector. It is design ed to fit on the fro nt of a ny sta ndard a rm y veh icle from a II , ton jeep up to an M11 3 . 

Th e device is pr incipally design ed for use over roa ds, b ut ca n 

also be used over flat , spa rse ly veget ated te rrain . The dev ice ca n 

be used at speeds of 5-8 mph. (cons iderab ly faster th an the 

24 SUMMER 1981 
Figure 1. 

1981 Countermine 

Program Status 

DETECT NEUTRALIZE 

Fielded 

AN PRS-7I8 

AN PSS-ll 

Bangalore 

M157 

M 1 73 

ADVANCED 

DEVELOPMENT 

ANVRS-S 

SLUFAE 

MICLIC 

POMlNS 

ROLLER 

VEMASID 

EXPLORATORY 

DEVELOPMENT 

CLEWP 

TW-PLOW 

FW-PLOW 

DOZER 

I 

hand- held detector s), over a width of 6-11 feet. On ce amine is 

detected , the syste m gives off both an audio alarm as well as 

prov ide s a visual indication on a video -screen of th e mine's exact location under the antennae search heads. Th e vehicle 

operator must sto p when he hears the audio alarm. Once detected, the min e then must be neutralized or bypassed . The 

system uses th e latest microwave and microprocessor technology. It also repre sents a major technological breakthrough 

in that it can detect both metalli c and pla stic mines with a low 

false alarm rate. Th e ANVRS·5 will be issued to engineer, armor , infantry and field artillery units on the basis of 2 per battalion , one per separate company. It should reach the field by 

1985 . 

Mine Neutralization 

By the spring of 1982, th e first Tra ck-Width Mine Rollers 

will be arriving in Europe to upgrade the mine neutralization 

capability of armor units. An additional 80 are scheduled to be 

pr ocured in 1983 also for Europe. The Mine Roller will give 

tank units, for the first time , an organic capability to breach a 

minefield. The Roller, mated to all M60 , is designed to surviv e 

the blast effects of the lea st two cons ecutive anti-tank mines, 

each containing up to 25 pounds of high explosives. 

Under battle conditions it can be mounted on the tank in less 

th an 15 minutes and released rem otely from within the tank in 

less than 30 seconds. At a br ea ching speed of 10 mph. it is 90 % 

effective in neutralizing single impulse pre ssure type mines. 

The Mine Roller will be issued 3 to a tank battalion. 

Fielding the Surface Launched Unit Fuel-Air Explosive 

(SLU FAE ) in 1986 will provide th e Arm y with a significant new 

countermine option. Field units will have the capability to 

create a brea ch of a known mine field from a stand off distance 

of more than one-half mile. Intended primarily for assault 

breaching of defended enemy min efield s. it is the only minefield 

breaching system in the world with such a standoff capability. 

With SLUFAE. the minefield can be breached while the combined arms task force is moving rapidly forward to exploit th e 

breach . 

SLUFAE consists of a 3D-tube launch er , mounted on an 

M548 full-tracked cargo carrier. A Resupply Vehicle (RV) with 

on-board crane is, used to load the rockets and supports the 

ENGINEER 

system. The fuel air rock ets can be fired individually or in ripples from concealed positions in all types of weather during 

daylight or darkness. 

All Operational and Development testing on SLUFAE was 

completed in 1980. However, the Army has delayed product ion 

funding for the system until 1984 . SLUFAE launchers will be 

issued two per enginee r company in armor, and mech ani zed 

divisions . 

By 1985 the Army will have a trailer-mounted, Mine Clearing 

Line Charge (MICLIC), which will be used to complement the 

SLUFAE system in breaching rninefields where standoff 

distances are not required . Once a minefield is encountered, 

th e MICLIC is pulled forward behind a tank or armored personnel carrier to within abou it SO meters of the edge of the 

minefield . The line charge is then fired over the combat vehicle, 

creating a breach 100 meters long by 8 meters wide , while the 

crew remains buttoned up within the vehicle . If a longer breach 

is required, a second MICLIC is pulled forward and fired from ' 

within the breached lane. The trailer can be released on the 

spot or dropped at a preselected position for recovery and 

reloading . 

The current line charge under evaluation to meet the Army's 

MJCLlC requirement is the Marine Corps M58Al trailermounted line charge. The MICLIC will be issued two trailers 

per engineer company in division s, separate brigades. armored 

cavalry regiments and corps. 

In order to counter the potential threat posed by magnetic 

impulse fuzed mines, the Army will field th e Vehicle Magnetic 

Signa tu re Duplicator (VEMASID) in . The VEMASID is an 

easily attacha ble/ detach able coil device which can be mounted 

on selected combat tracked vehicles such as the M113, M60 , 

CEV, IFV, CFV and the MI. The system is designed to project 

a magn etic field forward of the vehicle. This magnetic field 

resembles a tank-like signature . thereby harmlessly exploding 

any magnetic mines before being encountered by the vehicle . 

The VEMASID system can be used with other mine 

countermeasures, such as the mine roller and track width mine 

plows, to provide the capability to defeat all type mines. Even 

though the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries have no 

known magnetic mines, the technology for development is 

25 
readily available. At least three foreign countries are se lling 

magnetic mines on the international arms market. Furthe rmore , US scatterable mines are also magnetic. The p ro po sed 

basis of issue for VEMASID is one per CEV plus one per platoon engineer, armor, and mech infantry units. 

A final system in advanced de vel opment is the Portable Min e 

Neutralization System (POMINS) . It is used to neutralize an tip erson ne l (A P) mines, b ooby traps , a nd wir e ob stacles for the 

dismoun ted combat soldier . The syste m, weigh ing S8 pounds. 

is back-packed by a sing le man an d is primarily designed for 

gro u n d attack of bunkers an d stron g po ints by light fo rces. It 

ca n be set up and fired in less than a minute a nd cle ars a path 

0 .6 meters wid e by 2S met ers lon g . Sold iers can then quickly 

move th rough the breach an d continue forward to attack po sitions on th e far side of th e obstac le . 

Additional syst ems in ex p loratory development shou ld a lso 

be mentioned . These syste ms are all geared to providing ar ­

mored units with a d d it iona l orga n ic minefield breaching capa ­

bilities. This is important on the ext ended battlefield. esp ecially 

in cases where e ng inee r su p po rt may not be readi ly ava ilab le in 

a tluid e nco u nte r. 

Several specific items are b ein g de ve lope d for pot en tial use 

and adopti on to th e Ml ma in b attl e t ank . These inclu d e a 

T rack -Wi dt h (T W) Mine Plow an d a Full-Width (FW ) Dozer 

Blade. A special " u n iversal" ad a pto r s als o b ein g deve lope d so 

that a ll th ese hardware items ca n be attac hed to th e M 1 at th e 

sa m e exist ing h ard points on th e Ml glacis. 

The T rac k -W id th Mine Plow is a relatively light weight 

system de signed to be ca rr ied o n th e tank a t a ll times . It is 

capable of ph ysic all y extract ing , n eutral izin g and removin g 

land mines or b ooby traps located on the su rfac e or buried in 4 

to 6 in ch es of soil. The easily iden tifiable cleared path ca n th en 

be followed by othe r follow- on assa ult vehicles . A " dog b on e" 

a n d ch ain assem b ly activates any tilt rod mines located b etween 

the tracks. The Plow ca n be raised or lowered from wit hin the 

tank . 

There are currently no plans to field the Track- Width Plow 

for a ny combat vehicle other than the MI and the CEV. Use of 

the Mine Plow will g ive maneu ver units the organic cap a bility to 

breach known minefieJds a s well as ch a nc e -en cou n tere d scatte r able surface-laid mines with out significant difficulty of loss 

of momentum. Th e Plow will be used in attacks on ene my positions which are kn own su spected to b e protect ed by minefields , 

in a rm or thrusts or pursuit d eep into ene my areas where minefields are kn own or expected to exist , and when scatterable 

mines are a probable threat. The TW Plow coul d be in th e fie ld 

by 1986 on the basis of one per armor pl atoon. 

The Full-W idth Pl ow is a rel atively new developmental item. 

It s principle design requirements are t o be light in weigh t. not 

ob st ruct th e operator's vision in a carry or operational mode, 

and b e capable of principally pushing aside ligh t/surface rubbl e an d surface-laid or scatterable surface mine s. Any di gging 

capability will be minimal. 

The Full- Width Dozer Blade is being modeled a fter a foreign 

developmental item an d could a lso re a ch th e field by 1988 . It 

will p rovide a digging and leveling capability to allow th e M 1 to 

go pl ace s it ca n not not go , or to take better a dvan tage of the tel" 

rain . It is envisioned that the d ozer bl ade would be attach ed to 

an Ml on a mission b asi s onl y an d issued one per armor comp any. The d ozer bl ade can be us ed to breach tank d itch es, 

natural terrain obstacles, b attlefield rubble. a nd minefields, 

With its digging capability , it can a lso co nst r uct defil ad e or 

defen sive positions . 

All four of these MI hardware attachmen ts are being 

dev eloped as a on e- of-a-kind ite m to determin e th eir compatibility with the M I . Ba sed upon test re sults durin g 1982 , 

d ecisions will be ma d e as to wh at furth er design modificat ion s 

need to be made an d whic h h ard ware item s sho ul d be furth er 

devel oped for th e MI . 

A final neutralization syste m which cou ld be fielded by 1986 

is the Clea red Lane Explosive W iden in g a nd Proofing 

(C LE W P) cha rge . The system be ing co nsidered wa s dev elop ed 

by a foreign government and uses an exp losive line cha rge . 

mounted on the rear of th e breaching a rmo re d vehicle . It is 

d esigned to be used with th e Track-Width M in e Plow or Mine 

Roller. As th e breach ing vehi cle appro aches th e near ed ge of 

th e minefi eld , the lid of the ex p losive con taine r b eje cte d . T he 

ex plos ive lin e cha rge is attached to th e lid . whi ch se rves as an 

a nc hor. and is unraveled as th e vehicle p ro cee ds throu ght the 

minefield. When fully extended , the ch ar ge is th en deton a ted . 

th er eb y wid en ing th e initial breach and p roo fi ng it. 

The CLE W P system is a n important new ca pa bi lity that th e US 

d oe s not currently p ossess . The advantage of this syste m over 

ro cket propelled line charges is that it ca n be accurat ely 

em placed in th e exact breach lane of the initi al ass a ult veh icle 

in a co ntin uo us forw ard m ovemen t mod e . CLEW P will be a 

Cl ass V ammunition item to b e used by eng inee r . a rmo r. a n d 

armor ed cav alry units. 

T ha t concl udes the possible gra d uating systems which co u ld 

r ea ch the fi eld in the 1980 's . So. let's now see how o ur pl at oon 

lead er now tackle s th e minefi eld at Checkpo int Delta . 

T he yea r is 1986. As he is not und er tire , the pla toon leader 

elects to breach on e la ne with a MI CLlC whil e ot her lanes are 

made by ass au lt vehicles mounted wit h Rollers/Plows / 

VEMASID a nd CLEW P att ached to wide n and p roof th e 

breach es. Ten minu tes later com es th e call, "Two o ne, la nes 

cle ared and marke d . Prepared to move ou t." 

If th e pl atoon had b een under fir e. th e pl at oon leader wou ld 

first ca ll for smok e a nd counterbattery fir es to d eceive the 

thre a t and decrease t he thre at 's ability to use remot ely d eli vered 

scatterabl e mines to reinforce th e mined area . Then he would 

proceed with th e breaching operat ion as be fore . 

Let 's look at on e more situatio n to em p has ize ou r new flexibility a nd syst em capabilities. The unit h as so far been able to 

bypass all known minefi elds. But now a t Checkpo int Charlie. 

scatte rable min es, previou sly undetect ed or rec ently d elivered . 

are suddenly e ncou ntered . 

If this were 198\, the leaders op tions would again be to 

bypass, bull throu gh , or methodicall y cle ar lanes by h a nd . Bu t 

sin ce this is 1986 , he has his lead clem en ts o rga ni zed and o u tfitted with organic, close range minefield breaching syst ems 

such as Rollers , Plows, CLEWP a nd VEMASID, jus t in ca se 

such unexpected or undetected m ines we re encoun te re d . 

Counterbattery fire is immediately initiated so suppre ss delivery 

of additional mines , and smoke is employed to both decei ve the 

threat and defeat his target acquisition systems . An ass ault 

breach is ini tiated by quickly clearing lanes with T rack -W id t h 

Plows a nd Tank s with Rollers and CLEWP a ttached . The re ­

maining combat veh icles follow rapidly th ro ug h th e breached 

lan es. The chance-encounter minefield thus no longer crea tes ,l sign ific ant obst acle to force momentum . 

This brief su m m ary has hi ghlighted th e Army's em erg ing 

counterm ine systems in the 1980's. Fieldi ng th ese ad d ed capab ilities will allow our force structu re to move, fig ht , an d win 0 11 

the extended battlefield . 

There are man y ot he r exciting developmental items and ideas 

in R&D , with such "ca tchy" titles a nd WA ND , AM IDS . 

MIDURA and Super Serpent. As ideas and te chnolog y combine to take a mor e definitive shape in th e future, yo u will h ear 

more of t he m . 

Person s or orga niza tions inter es ted in o bta in ing a dd itional 

information on th e Army counterrnine systems , sho u ld contact 

th e Directora te of Combat Developments , USAES Ft Bel voir, 

VA 22 060 . 

26 SUMMER 1981 
Engineers 

at Yorktown 

The last great battle 

for American independence 

Reprinted with permission 

from The Military Engineer 

by James N. Hasket 

Though crude by today's standards, the warfare of 

the Americ an Revolution relied as heavily upon the 

milit ary engineer's expert ise as does cont emp orary combat. The campaign leading up to the seige of York town, 

Virginia , in 1781 offered the grea test challenge to the 

engineers of all the armies. Th ey were called up on to su pport extensive and complex tro op movemen ts and the n to 

direct both defensive and siege operat ions. Wh eth er they 

were French, British , or American, their energies and 

skills would be taxed to th e fullest before the hostilities 

ended . 

The burden of responsibility was disproportionate to 

the number of individuals upon whom it was placed . For 

in the 18th Century th e titl e of Engineer was not casually 

bestowed. Of the 25,000 men engaged at Yorktown, less 

than two dozen were so designated. Th ey truly represented an elite group. 

Opening the campaign 

In th e late summer of 1781, Lord Cornwallis' British 

Army seized the ports of York and Gloucester on the 

York River in Virginia. These were locat ed at a narrow 

point in th e river where a British t1eet could anchor ships 

well protected by shore batter ies. Fortifications were 

quickly begun at Gloucester and somewhat more leisurely at Yorktown. Cornw allis had ab andoned his position in th e Carolina s and moved to Virginia in the spring. 

Here he assumed command of a forc e already ra iding in 

Virginia and consolidated it with his own. Throughout 

late spring and early summer, his force destroyed 

military supplies and installations throughout eastern 

Virginia. His raids were hampered somewha t by a small 

force under th Marquis de Lafayette, who was sent to 

Virginia by Washington. 

Wa sh ington , though cherishing the hope of recapturing New York , th e site of some of his worst defeats, 

moved qu ickly when he learned that a large fleet under 

Admiral de Grasse was en route to the Chesapeake Bay 

with a sizable infant ry reinforcement and badly needed 

funds. In co-opera tion with General Roch ambeau commanding the Fr ench Expeditionary force, he work ed out 

a plan of action. The combined armies feinted against 

the British strongho ld in New York City and then moved 

rapidly southwar d to conc entrate against Cornwallis. 

Admiral de Grasse arrived in the Chesapeake Bay and 

disembarked some 3,200 troops under General St. 

Simon . When a British fleet under Admiral Graves ar· 

rived off the mouth of th e bay, the French fleet moved 

out to engage them. Though the battle which followed 

was not decisive from a naval point of view, the French 

re-establishment of the blockade of the bay would prove 

to be. While the fleets moved southward after the battle 

observing each other , another Fr ench fleet under Admiral de Barras slipped int o the bay. It brought from 

Newport , Rhode Island, the vital heavy artillery of 

General Rochambeau. 

The blockade secure with th e return of th e British fleet 

to New York, De Grasse disp atched vessels to assist the 

fleet of American coastal vessels bringing Washington 's 

and Roch arnbeau 's armies from Head of Elk , Baltimore , 

and Ann ap olis. These forc es soon began to arrive, reinforc ing the troops of St. Simon and Lafayett e already 

assembling at Williamsburg. 

Since the arrival of the French fleet , Cornwallis had 

been working to prepare the defen se of Yorktown and 

Gloucester. Th e burden of thi s activity fell heavily upon 

th e Brit ish engineers. Since making the recommendations th at led to th e sites' selection , they had carried out 

a variety of assignments. This stretched thin th e very 

small engineer unit with Cornwallis' army, which consisted of First Lieutenant Alexander Sutherland, Princip al Engineer, and Second Lieut en ant James Stra tton , 

ENGINEER 27 
Maj. Gen. Louis LeBegue DuPortail 

Chief of Engineers 1777-1783 

Practioner Engineer. As th e danger increased, the 

detachment was augmented. On September 3, Lieutenant Chapman of the 23rd Regiment was appointed to 

act as an Assistant Engineer. Seventeen days later 

Lieutenand Dunn of the 63rd Regiment received a 

similar assisgnment. Dunn would later die of wounds 

received in the fighting , the only casualty in this group . 

Sutherland had arrived at Yorktown to survey the area 

and prepare a plan for fortifying the posts of Yorktown 

and Gloucester. Stratton stayed at Portsmouth to oversee 

its evacuation and leveling . 

Spades, shovels, and pickaxes 

The tools available to the approximately 8.000 troops 

of the British and perhaps 2,000 slave laborers represent 

a striking contrast to the equipment available to the 

modern combat engineer. An inventory taken in August 

of 1781 showed 400 spades and shovels, 190 pickaxes, 

160 hand hatchets, 200 felling axes and 32 wheelbarrows 

on hand for fortification construction. The engineers 

would not only be faced with an area not selected with a 

land defense in mind and troops unaccustomed to the 

southern climate and diseases, but also a shortage of 

necessary tools . 

The organization of the French and American Corps 

of Engineers was more unusual for its similarities than 

for any differences. This is due primarily to the enlistment of virtually all Corps members from the French 

Royal Engineers. Throughout the entire war there would 

be only one American serving in the American Corps of 

Engineer's which was commanded by Brigadier General 

Louis Le Begue du Portail , on leave from the French 

Royal Corps of Engineers. During the Seige of Yorktown 

there would be present three American Engineers including the commander. The French engineers would be 

under the over-all command of Colonel Desandrouins. 

However, he fell ill and had to remain at Williamsburg 

during the entire operation . 

Upon arrival before Yorktown, the engineers of the 

two armies were consolidated into three divisions. 

Though the divisional structure was not fully adhered to 

in the initial stages of the action from the 9th of October 

forward, it was utilized with the members of the division 

being assigned in unit groups only . 

Because the engineers were few in number, they needed 

support. particularly during the complex siege operations. Each army approached this problem in a different 

manner, though all had specialized units which could do 

much of the siege warfare routine. 

With the exception of the pioneers and carpenters who 

supported the operations of the line units, the British 

had developed no units throughout their army capable of 

supporting siege operations. However, there were exceptions. While at Portsmouth, Cornwallis wrote his commanding officer that the variety of fatiguing services 

demanded of the pioneers obliged him to augment the 

detachment to a company of SO men commanded by 

Captain Ebenezer Brown. Even this is confused by the 

orderly book entries and surrender returns. At the 

capitulation the pioneers listed two Captains, three 

Lieutenants, four Sergeants, and only 33 rank and file. 

Shortly before this, it was ordered that a portion of the 

recently enlisted pioneers were to be discharged. 

Whether this accounts for the high ratio of officers to 

men remains for more research to reveal. However, there 

are frequent references to the Black Pioneers. The 

genealogy of the British Army notes that the 33 rank and 

file pioneers surrendered at Yorktown were negroes and 

were used to form the nucleus of the First West Indian 

Regiment. 

The French incorporated their specialized troops into 

their artillery regiments which consisted of two battalions 

composed of ten companies. One of these companies was 

the Sappers, used for the specialized siege activities and 

similar duties. 

In the American Army , regulations had established 

several companies of Sappers and Miners composed of 

experienced troops trained in both the basic military 

skills and in the conduct of the siege . Their company 

grade officers were selected for their experience and 

background in the rediments of engineering. 

The greatest difference in the various units seems to 

have been in their place in the organizational structure. 

While the British and French units were incorporated 

into the line organization, the Sappers and Miners of the 

American Army were under the direct command of the 

engineers. In addition to the skilled support of the 

specialized units, all armies used their rank and file in 

routine construction and siege activities. At Yorktown, 

the British would also use large numbers of slaves captured throughout the community on their works. 

28 SUMMER 1981 
The investment of Yorktown 

When th eir concentration at Williamsburg was complete , the Allied American and French forces marched 

towards Yorktown on September 28th . By evenin g they 

had swept aside any limited resistan ce and loosely encircled Yorktown. The next day the invest ment was further perfected . It was discovered on the morning of 

Sept ember 30th that Cornwallis had abandoned his outer 

work s during the night and retained only the actual 

defenses of Yorktown, the Royal Welch Fusiliers 

Redoubt up stream, and Redoubts 9 and 10 downstream. 

To ensure that Cornwallis would not suddenly 

debouch from Yorktown, the Allies reverse captured 

works and constructed oth ers in a line of conta inment. 

The y also located their camps in a loose circle to provide 

forces at any point of the perimeter if it were attacked . 

F rom the early stages of th e concentration , Washington feared that the British would cross the York River 

and move northward . He ord ered a concentra tion of the 

Virginia Militia at this point. This force was rein forced 

first by the French Legion of Lauzun and th en by a detachment of infantry from the fleet. Led by French 

General de Choisy, it then tightened its investment of the 

British defense s of Gloucester Point . Whil e this sector 

would see minor skirmishes from this point on, it would 

not experience formal siege activity. 

Preparation for the Siege of Yorktown 

Through Cornwallis had eliminated th e danger of a 

Fr ench fleet-supported waterborne flank assault and 

reduced the am ount of work needed on his defenses , his 

withdrawal gave the Allies a great advantage . Th ey could 

begin their assault upon his main defense line without 

first reducing the outer works and could also concentrate 

the bulk of their men and firepower in a relatively small 

segment of the perimeter. 

The upriver section of the Allied front rested on a 

plateau which ext ended from the York River to the 

Yorktown Creek Marsh . The tip of this triangular high 

ground was controlled by the Royal Welch Fusili ers ' 

Redoubt. The wide marsh encircled the north and west 

of Yorktown. From the Yorktown Creek drainage there 

stretched a relatively wide flat area to the York River . 

The latter area was accessible from a series of ravin es 

caused by th e Wormley Creek or Yorktown Creek. 

Though the engineers had responsibilities for mapping 

the access routes int o the area, laying out temporary fortifications, forwarding entrenching tools, and countless 

other duties, the most demanding period of their craft 

was ahead . This involved the planning and execution of a 

formal siege. 

During the next few days th ey reconnoitered every inch 

of the access to Yorktown until they decided upon the 

best approach. This involved not only the best utili zation 

of topography, but also the careful anal ysis of the British 

ability and desire to resist. Th ey also defined the amount 

of siege materials necessary to erect fortifications and 

where they should be sto red to best support the forthcoming operations. Their work was impatiently watched 

ENGINEER 

_-'1 l- i · 

.... C, "')Ii : . J , i' , . . , ., . ' . J~ -:' "' . -. 

by Wa shington . He and General du Portail advanced to 

within 300 yards of the British works to obtain an estimate of the situation. Washington knew what the British 

were assembling a relief force in New York and that time 

was of the essence. While he hoped to open trenches on 

October 1, it would be several days later before this was 

possible. 

It was decided that the siege lines would be opened 

simultaneously across the neck before the Royal Welch 

Fusiliers' Redoubt and from Yorktown Creek across to 

the York River. By the evening of October 6th , all was in 

readiness. The lines laid out by the engineers were 

marked by strips of pinewood laid end to end . the British 

patrols had been driven off by vigorous Allied patrols 

and outposts. Fifteen hundred workers with tools and 

trenching materials were assembled with 2,800 men 

under arms to be stationed nearby to protect them from a 

British sortie. Two engineers were assigned to the upriver 

sector and four to the larger downstream sector. The 

workers went to work with a will. The soil was soft and 

sandy, th e night dark with a gentle rain. All seemed to 

favor th e Allies, but the troops had to be under cover by 

dawn . 

The British did not detect this activity to their south. 

However, in the upstream sector they had been warned 

by a French deserter. Here they kept up a heavy fire. The 

few casualties of this evening would occur here . 

By dawn the British learned the extent of the works 

erected against them and opened an angry fire. However, 

the working parties were now under cover and protected. 

29 
From thi s point forward, the Allied effort would grind 

inexorably forward. Work party would follow work party 

into the trenches night and day . Th ose tro ops not work ­

ing would be producing more entrenching materials or 

resting . Now within 800 yards of Yorktown , the Allies 

worked to perfect this line . Redoubts were added to 

house infantry supports and batteries constructed for the 

siege art illery. All the Allied activities were carried on 

with a careful eye to the nearby British. Cornwallis was 

known as an aggressive commander. His large force of 

experienced troops represented a threat at any time that 

he decided to atta ck . 

Th e Allies had encountered difficulties in forwarding 

their siege artillery and Washington was not going to 

commit it until he could achieve fire superiority. The 

French completed their first battery on th e afternoon of 

October 9th . To reward their diligence, Washington ordered the battery which was located in front of the Royal 

Welch Fusiliers' Redoubt to open tire at three in the 

afternoon. Later that afternoon , Washington fired the 

first round from the Grand American Batt ery. During 

the next two days the remaining batt eries on the first line 

were opened . The Allied superiority in quality of artillery 

soon became obvious. The British guns fell silent as their 

embrasures were closed or their crews decimated. Th e 

parapets of their fortifications began to crumble; the 

obstructions before them were frequently breached. 

Resistance weakened 

With the weakening of British resistance and th e ur ­

gency of capturing Cornwallis before assistance could arrive , the Allies decid ed to open an even closer , or second , 

siege line. Early on the night of October l l th , the troops 

began construction of the second line approximately half 

th e distance between the first works and the British. Th e 

second line could only be erected before the French sector ofthe main Allied siege line because British Redoubts 

Nine and Ten still held out. Though in the area of French 

responsibility, the troops of both armies were used to expedite the action. Because of the proximity of the British , 

the troops were carefully selected for this duty. 

The morning presented the British with a line extending from Yorktown Creek to the upper drainage of 

Wormley Creek in the center of the line. Becau se the 

British downstream redoubts were contiguous to the new 

line, an epaulement or shoulder had to be erected to at 

right angles to the line to protect the workers from the 

tire from the redoubts. The erection of the works was difficult because the British, using light mortars, reopened 

a very heavy fire. The French found it hard to silence the 

British fire due to the difficulties of tiring over their own 

working parties. Despite short rounds, they found it necessary to keep up a continual fire to suppress the opposition's shelling. Because of the threat of British sorties, 

the line was quickly strengthened by redoubts. Then batteries were begun to house the guns now tiring from the 

first line. 

The continued possession of Redoubts Nine and Ten 

by the Briti sh thwarting their efforts, the Allies decided 

to reduce them by night assault. On the night of October 

14th, after being assured by the engin eers that the British works had been sufficiently damaged by artillery 

fire, the French took Redoubt Nine and the Americans 

captured Redoubt Ten. By morning the se were incorporated into the second line now stretching from the river 

to the marsh. 

During the next few days the troops worked to perfect 

the new positions. The redoubts were reversed, new batteries erected , and communications completed . There 

was difficulty in moving the guns forward from the first 

line while keeping British fire to a minimum, but it proceeded acc ording to schedule. 

Despairing of relief, Cornwallis first carried out a sortie on the early morning of the 16th. This failing to retard 

th e Allies, he then decided to extricate his elite troops by 

crossing to Gloucester, overwhelming the smaller garrison there, and escaping to the north. A shortage of 

transport and a sudden violent storm prevented th is attempt. 

On the morning of October 17th , facing Allied works 

recently completed, with mor e batteries joing the bombardment, Cornwallis decided to end the useless waste of 

his men 's lives. He requested a parley. Th ere was an exchange of letters, and the next day commissioners met to 

complete the terms of surrender. The following day the 

British tro ops marched out and laid down their arms. 

Thi s event, marking the surrender of one-third of the 

British Army in North America commanded by 

England's best general, was to set in motion event s leading to the nation's ind ependence . 

During the siege, the demands on th e engineers of all 

armies were monumental. The professionals of two ar ­

mies trying to capture an objective; the professionals of 

the third army seeking to prevent this through a skilled 

defense. That the strain was great is illustrated by 

General du Portail's illness at th e end of the battle which 

prevented him from being present during the surrender 

to personally receive the credit due him. 

Though there are some data on the contributions of all 

military engin eers at Yorktown , the story is far from 

complete. This is unfortunate because of the importance 

of their role there . Many intriguing clues are available. 

This is an encouragement to the researcher but generally 

answers less questions than it ra ises. Perhaps one of the 

long-reaching benefits of the Bicentenial will be the uncovering of information leading to the full story of the 

contributions of these men to their nations. Certainly no 

one can deny that this tiny handful of men , whatever the 

color of their uniforms, played a major role in this trul y 

significant American campaign. 

[he cart oon on pa ge 2CJ rs copyn gm ed by Bill Ma u kh u and tv releas ed by I RAU OC News 

Service v..,lth perm ission oj Bill Mau ldm and the Natrona! Par k Service It I~ trorn the book :'-Iud 

m it} Guts , :.L (Oopy of which va n be ob ta ined by wrlltn g tu the Sup erin tend ent of Docum en ts. 

U S Government Prmung Office. w ashmgton. D.c. 20402. stock numb er 024·00S-0{)10J -2, 

pri ce 52.20 . rhi') marcn alrs for m e by .~ Army pubhca uons onlv An rcp rtn t mu", ca rry 

th i') vtatcm cut 

EII J:mt' ('f) li t y o,.k-,m..,, · t) <:f,Jp-..'" rR/,f t·J bv 'I II,' .C;oCtt'h' 01 A"h'r tCU \1J/lIa ,, EII1:wl'en /1' \'U,) 

1IT1J:It HlIl\ ' 11I1t'il °;\111ou,, · r . tr!?Wl'I'/,j lJt York w wn. } 78 1 /11 thl' S t'p l 11)74 H~ Ilt' (j I }If' M dHIln. 

_ll ~;II l'4 'r.

30 SUMMER 1981 
The Engineer Solutions
 

Military 

There ar e many possibl e solutions to this problem, dependin g on the tac tical situation . In th is solut ion, Corps enginee r 

uni ts arc att ached to th e Division, and fur the r attac hed to the 

Brigades a nd Covering Force. Th e mech ani zed di visional 

engin eers are also attached out to the maneuver forces. This 

gives maneuver commande rs the flexibility to further att ach, or 

direct support (DS), eng ineers to subordinate com ma nders as 

deemed necessary . Th e habitual asso ciat ion of divisiona l 

engi nee r com pan ies to maneuver elements was followed, except 

in the case of 1st Brigade . A / S2d was attached to the Cover ing 

Force, based on a well defin ed need in the CF A. It can be 

assumed th at on ce the Covering Forc e battle is completed , 

A /S 2d will return to 1st Brigad e sup port. 

This solution also provides for a mix of t he mech ani zed divisiona l enginee rs and th e less mobi le Corps enginee rs . It gives 

man euver commanders the hau l ca pability of Corps enginee rs 

(56 5-ton dump tru cks per batt alion ) and th e mob ility and sur ­

vivability of the Division 's mechanized engineers. In the case of 

3d Brigad e, D/ S02d is OPCO N to C/5 2d to ens ure coordinated 

eng inee r effort in the 3d Brigad e area . 

The Brigade Engineer in Ist Brigade is th e commander of 

C/ SOOth Engineer Combat Battalion . In 2d Brigad e it would be 

the commander of th e S02d Engi nee r Com bat Battalion , a nd in 

3d Brigade, it would be the commander of C/ S2d Engineer Battalion, the habitually a ssociated com pa ny commander. Th e 

commander of En gin eer Tas k Force Red would be the engineer 

responsible for the Cover ing Force engineer effort. The SOOth 

Engineer Comb at Battalion provides th e headq ua rters element 

for TF Red . Thi s headquarters would prob ably con sist of the 

Battalion XO and representatives fro m th e various staff section s. The rem aind er of th e SOOth En gineer Battalion' s headquarters would rem ain under Division control and plan for 

future operat ions. 

This solution diverts from th e " norm " of Corp s engineer 

units bein g DS to a Division. If the Corps En gineer Com bat 

Battalions wer e DS to th e Division. they would ha ve to be 

employed (according to FM S-lOO, Engineer Operations) in a 

General Support (GS) role, since a unit that is in DS cann ot be 

further subdivided . The problem with GS (and th e cen tr alized 

control th at it entai ls) is that Brigade commanders are not 

assured of a tim ely respon se from Corp s engineers in their sectors, even th ough they may ha ve a recogni zed need for responsive engi nee r effo rt in their area . 

Anoth er probl em which arises from the DS situation abo ve is 

tha t of logist ically supporti ng the Corps enginee rs as the y move 

forward into the division area . Since th ese un its are still under 

the comm and of the ir parent Corps unit, thcy mu st obtai n th eir 

logistics thro ug h Corps channels. On paper , this is no problem . 

On the gro und , however, Corps en gineer unit s emp loyed in the 

Division a rea ofte n work great distances from thei r parent units 

so logisti cs support becomes more difficult as the distance increases. 

Attaching Corps units to the Division elimina tes the logistics 

probl em since the Corps engineer un its can receive support 

fro m the Division Su pport Command (DISCO M). T he Corps 

Support Comma nd , in turn , ca n se nd a slice of its assets to the 

DISCOM to acco unt for the attached units. 

On e could argue that once the Corps engineers are attac hed 

to the Division they shou ld be placed in DS to the Brigad es (not 

th e Covering Force ), rather th an attached . This option prov ides 

more centralized co ntrol of th e enginee r effort with in the Divisian are a and could be an acce ptab le alt ern at ive, de pending on 

th e tactica l situation. 

Civil 

If we assume Volume of Solids eq ua ls 1.0, then Volume of 

Voids equals Void Ratio. Using this meth od , Pit B is most 

economical. 

Void Ratio =	 Volume of Void s
 

Volume of Solids
 

Initial Tot al Volume = 0.9 + 1.0 1.9 

Final Total Volume = 1.7
 

L9
 

Total Cost =	 1.7 X 4,500,000 = $1 ,30 7,64 7 

Pit A would cost $1,397,647, and Pit C would cost 

$1, 389 ,706. 

Sla \ abreast 

IIf (:hang ing E ngi nee r 

Doctrin e 

Combat Deoelopments 

T(/ fli ~s

Weapo"., & Equipm ent 

Cal"l'cr Manaacmcnt 

Th e Pr of es'Sional Journal Siqnitlcnnt E vents of A.rmy Engin ~ers
- - - - -~-- - - - -~ --- ­

Special Weekend Courses 

for Engineers 

The U.S. Army Engineer School. in 

cooperation with the Defense Mapping 

Scho ol here, conducts Special Weekend 

Courses fur Engineer on Saturdays and 

Sundays. The courses an: 12 hours long, 

and students planning to att end should 

have a job assignment or MOS that re ­

quires them to plan, cond uct. or su per ­

vise unit training in the subject stud ied. 

Course and course dates for fiscal yea r 

1982 are : 3-4 Oct 81 , Nuclea r, Biological . 

an d Chemical Warfare; 17· 18 Oct, Medium Girder Bridge or U.S. Mine Hard ­

ware: 14-15 Nov Engineer Man agemen t 

or Engineers in the Offense ; 9· 10 Jan 82 

Roads and Airfield in the T 10 or 

Engineers in River Crussing Op erat ions; 

30-31 Jan Pra ctica l Appli cations of Te rrain Evalua tion or Camo ufl age and Field 

Fortifications: 27·28 Feb Demolition 

Pr actices and Target Folde rs; an d 27-28 

Mar Military Exp losives or Practic al Applicat ions or Terrai n Eva luat ion. 

For further inform at ion contact the 

U. S. Arm y Engi neer School, Unit Training Secti on at Commercial 703-664-30081 

592 1, or 800-336-3095 , Exte nsion 3008; 

or use Aut ovon 354·3008 /5921. 

College degrees 

made easy 

Enl isted servicemembers and warra nt 

officers can now ea rn job-related associate degrees with fewer pr oblems th an 

ever, through the Army' s new Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Associat e 

Degr ee pr ogram , or " SOCAD ". 

SOCAD is th e first progr am of its kind 

in civilian and military adult educa tion. 

U .S. colleges and uni versities join a 

SOCAD network in specific occupa tiona leducation fields and are linke d to major 

Army installations. Soldiers then contract with these insti tutions for associa te 

degree produ cing prog ra ms. 

On ce a study program is worked out, 

the college makes a contract with the 

soldier to award an associate degree when 

the program is successfully completed . 

That college then becomes the soldiers 

" home" scho ol. This way soldiers can 

transfer anywhere in the world or even 

separate from active duty and still contin ue the pro gram at other colleges. 

Ea rned credits are transferred back to 

th e " home" school. 

Wh en they join the SOCA D network, 

the institutions agree to provide professional counselors to advise soldier s on 

enro llment, academic matters , and fi ­

nancial aid . They also help soldiers get 

college credit for the skills, expe rience , 

and knowl edge alrea dy acquired in their 

career specialties. 

For further information contact your 

local Education Cente r or write: Serviceme mbers Oppe rt un ity Colleges, Su ite 

700, One Dupo nt Circle, Washington, 

D .C. 20036 . 

12B Basic NCO has 

math prerequisite 

The 128 track uf the Basic NCOI 

Combat Arms trains engine ers to be effective squad leaders. It is tau ght at nine 

CONUS location s, plus Hawaii and 

USAR EUR. Th e new AR 351-1, effective 

April 1981, ope ns the course to a1l 128, 

12E , an d l2F E-4's an d E-5's in a leadership position (E -4's must be graduates of 

PNCOC). 

Du e to the technical nature of the 

course , especially in the area of demolitions, it is considered ma th intensive. 

Althoug h many stude nts have a significant pro blem with math , these problems 

can be solved prior to the attending th e 

course . Batt alion S-3's have been provided copi es of the 12B BNCOC Prerequisite Program , which should be ad ­

ministered to the student as soon as 

possible after he has been selected to attend . 

This will help identify wea k areas 

which ca n then be improved through use 

of TEC lessons and Progr ammed Texts. 

If you are to attend th e 12B tra ck of 

BNCOC soon, an d have not been given 

this pr erequi site test, cont act your 5·3 as 

soon as possible. He will make arrangement s for you to take th is test . (NOT E: 

Unit S-3's: If you cannot locate cop ies of 

the 128 Pre requisite Test, con tact th e 

E ngineer Scho ol a t A ut ovo n 

354-3632/ 5363. ) 

Take home training 

for 12E's 

An Exportable Training Package 

(ET P) ha s been develo ped for MO S 12E. 

ETP is an exce llent refresher for 12E's of 

all ranks. The ETP should reach units at 

Fort Hood and thro ughout Europe du ring the month of September. All 12E's 

prep aring to attend the BNCOC Course 

shou ld study up on squad defensive tactics. engineer and bri dge reconnaissance , 

demolitio ns, and mine warfare . Good 

luck ! 

PW AR
 

OBILIT
 

_~~i'~~~~----~ -.-- . .-------(-- ~.~

1'~-.--, ..-,.J-,c., ~'IP~"_ . -.~, .-, '- " . J..-IJlDR,lil;Ji]{:X:Ju ;~-.

1Y!~::~}Yf~~.j:~~\ -,:". . ' .. '. ". '.. .... '.' ::?"::"
 
- • -' ... : •• " -;- -: _ _ _ ,__ • ,'_. _:- _ -: _~ .::~:. • 

,Dj::, _c_. . __ __ . ~.. ...:_. " < '. ~.; ••~.; .:.i.;·~c/:~'tio4f 12F SQT 

starts soon 

As of Septem be r 1979, AVLB crew 

members, CEV cr ew members . an d eng ineer AP e drivers in the Ac tive Army, Army Nation al Gu a rd , and Reserve Components come under MOS 12F (En gin eer 

Track ed Vehicle Crewman ). The 

Soldier 's Manuals were published in 

Se ptember 1980 and are avai lable at the 

AG Publications Center in Baltimore, 

Maryland . 

FM 5·12F/ CM is the Commander's 

Manual (Trainer's G uide), FM S-12F1/2 

cove rs EI through E5 , and FM S-12FJ/ 4 

covers E 6 and E7. The initi al distribution 

has been completed . [I' you do not ha ve 

yo ur manu als, you will have to ord er 

th em fr om th e AG Publications Ce nter in 

Baltimore usin g your unit pinpoint 

distribu tion syste m . 

Administration of th e 12F SQT for the 

Activ e Army will b egin in Janua ry 1982, 

with the Reserv es and Nation al Guard 

b eing tested sta rt ing January 1983 . Now 

is the tim e to order your Soldi er's 

Manuals. You will need th em for tra ining 

a nd preparing for the SQT. 

Questions conc ern ing any Engineer 

SQT ca n be directed to th e Engineer 

Sch ool SQT Bran ch a t Au to von 

354-6051. 

Officer Corps 

needs enlisted help 

More than 30 Army officers are 

reported missing and a sea rch is underway to locate th em. 

Officials are certain the rmssing officer s a re hi dd en within th e enlisted 

ranks, appea ring to th e casual observer 

as or din ary sold iers. However , certain 

tell-tale traits distinguish th em from th eir 

pee rs: th ey have ob vious lea dership 

qualities and above- average academic 

skills. 

T he disappearan ce of these office rs 

was noticed wh en, at the end of fis cal 

yea r 1980. 20 percent of th e classroom 

slots at th e Officer Ca ndidate Sc hool re ­

mained vacant. The schoo l regula rly 

re serves 160 spaces for activ e du ty 

soldier s, and thi s dropoff in enrollment 

means a loss of more th an 30 ju ni or officers with th e benefit of previou s unit experience . 

What accounts for the sh ortfall ? It' s 

definitely not a lack of qualified soldiers, 

sa ys the Army Military Personnel Center. 

More th an 13,000 active duty soldiers 

meet th e age and ed uca tion requirem ent 

for OCS attendance . 

To qualify for OCS a soldier mu st: 

Be an enlisted pe rso n or warrant officer on active duty; 

Be at least 19'/2 ye ars old but no more 

than 29 at the time of enrollment ; 

Have completed at least two yea rs of a 

four-year college deg ree program; 

Ha ve a minimum GT score of 110 

(m ales), 115 or h igher on the Officer 

Candidate Test (OC T ), and a minimum 

composite score of 200 on th e OCT and 

Officer Qualificati on Inventory (O Q I) . 

OCT a nd OQI are not required for 

fem al es ; howe ver , th ey mu st have a 

minimum GT scor e of lIS; 

• Meet medical fitness sta ndards pr escrib ed in AR 40-501 a nd weigh t sta ndards prescribed in AR 600- 9 . An applica nt mu st also score a minimum of 300 

poi nts o n the Ph ysical Fitness Test ; 

• Acc ept a three-year service obli gati on upon grad uation. 

Enlisted personn el ca n a pply for OCS 

as soon as th ey have complet ed advan ced 

individ ua l tr aining, whil warrant offi cer s 

ca n apply a t an y tim e. Any one who 

would have 10 or more years of service by 

th e d ate of comm issioning is not eligib le . 

Acceptance to OCS opens t he door to 

train ing that will move to sold ier from 

enlisted to offic er statu s. But th at move 

ca n 't be mad e un til e legib le soldiers 

rec ognize th emselves as being among th e 

Army's "missing offi cers" . 

Enlisted Reserve 

retirement changes 

Army Re serve enlisted members who 

have com pleted a full 20 ye ars of act ive 

fed er al servi ce arc now eligible to re tire 

with the same benefits as Regular Army 

enliste es, according to DA officia ls. 

Pr eviously, o nly Reserve officers were 

elig ible for retirement after 20 yea rs of 

active duty. Enlisted Reservist s had to 

wai t until age 60 to collec t th ei r retire ­

ment cheek s. The broadened e ligib ility is 

th e result of recent legislation enacted by 

Congress. 

The change will immediat ely affect a n 

estimated 500 soldiers who have accumulated 20 yea rs of acti ve fed eral se rvice 

throu gh a comb ination of long tours, ac ­

tive d uty for training and a nnual train ­

ing. Acti ve duty does not include inactiv e 

du ty t ra ining such as monthly asse mb lies 

or an y du ty performed as a member of 

th e Army or Air Na tional Guard under 

sta te con tro l. 

Alt hough Army spokespersons ha ve no 

estim ate of the number of soldiers who 

will be affected annually . th ey believe 

th at the recently impl em en ted Long To ur 

Management Pr ogram for Reservist s will 

increase the number of men and women 

eligible for immediate retirement benefits 

in th e future. 

For more information and retirement 

a pplica tio ns, in terested Re servist s curren tly on active duty should contact th e 

Milit ary Personnel Office to which th ey 

are a tt ache d . Troop Program U nit member s may ob tain informat ion from th e 

Military Personnel Office a t th e nearest 

Army in st allation or by writing to The 

Com m ander. Reserve Compon ents Perso n ne l a nd Administr ati on Ce nt e r 

(ATT N: AG UZ-RAD) 9700 Pa ge Blvd . , 

5 1. Lou is. MO 63132 . 

Promising careers 

stopped short 

A belo w-the-zon e 0-4 sele ctee had 

been receiving married rat e BAQ for a 

number of yea rs since his di vorce . His 

protests of " I for got to stop it" a nd 

"honest mistake" were undercu t by his 

annual rec ertification s of dependency in 

th e yea rs following his divor ce . In addition to his Arti cle 1S, he must reimburse 

th e gove rnme nt the a mount of overpayment-and he will do it as an 0 -3. 

An NCO. desc ribe d as a s ure b et for 

E-8, packaged concrete bl ocks and 

shipped them as hou sehold good s in his 

do -it-yourself PCS move. The inflated 

we ig ht brought him se vera l extr a 

" bonus" dollars, but he got a n Article 

15 , suspen ded bust, a nd a sizea ble forfeiture-sever al tim es the am ount of his 

" bon us" . 

An E·3, se lecte d for special career 

tr ain ing, reported t he theft of his st ereo 

fr om the barracks. He filed a clai m and 

was reimbu rsed , but investigation reo 

vea led he had sold th e ste reo to a friend 

and faked the th eft in a sc heme to finance a costly new system . His false 

claim resulted in an Article 15 a n d 

an other th an hon or able dis charg e. 

The Federal government is gea ring up 

for war again st fraud, wa st e, a nd abuse . 

Please , don't be th e next casualty . 

_ _____.--.IAI ---------- --­ . - - - ­ - --- ­ . - . ­ .. - , . •. ~.' .~ ··I·~··. ~:. "'-. 

JRl~lrl~I~n] . .. . - I ~-m. .- ..~-, • • .:' • '>.<::.. \..:.-~ : . 

' . .: , . . .~. . . ::', .. '.' • • ......' • '. • • ..' j c __ • _ .: _. • • - 'i." 
"ENGINEER MAGAZIN E" 

Information for Contributors 

ENGI NEER MAGAZIN E is an official 

Department of the Army publ ication 

which provides timely and authoritative 

information on Army engineering concepts. plans. policies. doctrine. procedures . operations. and dev elopments. 

Acting as a medium for disseminating 

information. ENGINEER seeks to increase general understanding o f the 

ro le and importan ce of Army engin eering, and promote professional development of all officers. enlisted personnel. 

and civilians engaged in Army engineering activities. 

W RITERS; the primary requisite for being published is your message, not your 

writing ability. If you have something of 

value to offer. whether it be in the form 

of a feature article. announcement. 

photograph. or illustration. we want to 

hear from you. 

SUBJECTS of articles printed by 

ENGINE ER Magazine cover nearly every 

phase of Army engineering . inc luding 

systems development or disposal. Unit 

and MOS profiles. field reports of 

technical or tactical interest. and more. 

We are interested in engineer functions 

at all levels. from the Department of the 

Army down to the smallest field unit. 

ST YLE should be clean . concise. and 

written in the third person active voice. 

Strive for simplicity in word selection 

and sentence construction . The editor 

reserves the rig ht to ed it all 

manuscripts to conform to the 

ENGINEER magazine style, but 

substantial technical changes will only 

be made with the author's consent. 

MANUSCR IPTS of feature length articles are generally 1,000 to 3.000 

words, but may be longer or shorter in 

length. News items may be one 

sentence or several hundred words 

long, depending on your subject. A 

single copy of your manuscript should 

be submitted, typed double spaced . 

Send whatever art or pictorial support 

you can. You may want to contact your 

Public Affairs Office or Post Photo 

facil ity to request photographic 

coverage for your story. Manuscripts 

shou ld NOT be under editorial consideration elsewhere at the t ime of submission to ENGINEER Magazine. 

Manuscripts should NOT contain 

classified material. 

PHOTOGRA PHS help to clarify and explain your manuscript. Black and white 

5"XT' prints are preferred, but do not 

limit yourself to this criteria. Submit all 

drawings or photographs that go with 

your story. Captions should be typed on 

a separate piece of paper and taped to 

the back of the art work. Don't forget to 

identify people in photographs by rank . 

first name. middle initial. and last name. 

CO RRESPO ND EN CE between authors 

and editorial staff is made easier by the 

inclus ion of a complete return address 

and duty phone number. Contact the 

ENGINEER Magazine at Autovon 

354-3082 . and mail manuscripts or other 

correspondence to: Editor. ENGINEER 

Magazine. Public Affairs Office, Stop 

12. U.S. Army Engineer Center. Fort 

Belvoir, VA 22060. 

CRE DITS or by-lines should be included 

with all feature articles and photographs. Feature story by-lines might include your present title or duty assignment, previous assignments, any education or experience that lends credibility 

to your story. and of course. your full 

name. middle initial, and rank. 

Remember, ENGINEER is your 

magazine, with your help we can make 

it a top-flight professional journal. 

I LOOK FORWARD TO HEAR ING FROM 

YOU! 

Sincerely, 

SP4 Nancy P. Lang 

Editor, 

ENGINEER MAGAZINE 

34 SUMMER 1981 
GENE~AL GeOROE W"'~INOTON
Enlisted pipefitters train at Camp A.A. Humphreys, now Fort Belvoir, circa 1921.