I 

C LEAR THE WAY
 

By Maj or General Robert B. Flowers 

Commandant, U.S. Army Engineer School 

' m sure by now that most of you have read or heard 

about Ch ief of Staff of the Army (CSA) GEN Shinseki's 

desire to "transform the World's Best Army into 

a Full Spectrum Force ... Strategically Responsive and Dominant." The fir st step of his transformation is the creation of 

two Brigade Comba t Teams at Fort Lewis, Washington-a process that we want to achieve within the next 12-18 months. 

Th ese new highl y mobil e and lethal brigades are designed 

to be capable of deployin g anywhere in the world within 96 

hours. Th ey will have about 3,500 personnel and will feature 

"off- the-shel f ' techn ology that is more deployable and sustainable. All of the brigades' equipment will be air transportable by C- 130 airc raft. The brigades are optimized for smallsca le contingenc ies but will have the capability (when properly augmented) to perform stability and support operations 

and to particip ate in major theater war missions. They are designed to be co mbat capable upon arri val, 

Th e brigade s are infantry and information centric. Each will 

have three Motori zed Infantry Battali on s; a Reconn aissance, 

Surve illa nce, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) Squadron; an 

Ant itank Compa ny; a Hi gh-Mobility Artillery Rocket System 

(HIMARS) Battery; an Engineer Company (multifunctional and 

robust); and a Brigade Support Battalion. The infantry nature 

of the brigade provides superb strategic, operational, and tactical mobility to achieve decisi ve action throu gh dismounted 

infant ry assault. Th e RSTA Squadro n will be equipped with a 

pheno menal anay of data-colle ction equipment and will be responsible for providing the situational awareness necessary for 

the brigade to se t the time and co nditions for the fight. The 

brigades will be aug mented with add itional ca pability (armor, 

aviation, air defen se, en gin eer, military polic e, chemical, etc.) 

based on a mission , enemy, terr ain , troops, time available, and 

c ivilian conside ration (METT -TC) analy sis. 

A unique aspec t of the brig ade is that it will be designed 

aro und a common medium armored vehicle (MAV) platform. 

Th e ultimate goal is to reduce the logistical and sustainment 

requ irements. A com mon platform will translate to fewer spare 

parts, fewer maintainers, and a greatly reduced logisti cal footprint. Th e search for the optimal platform is ongoing. The Platform Perform ance Demonstration at Fort Kno x ran more than 

30 vehicles and their variants through a series of environments 

as we try to find the right balance between deployability, lethality, sustainability, and survivability. The Maneuver Support Center sent a team of officers and NCOs to Fort Knox to 

participate in the process to ensure that our engineer-unique 

needs are met. 

We have designed a strong engineer capability to suppo rt 

the brigad e' s mobility requirements. The brigade headqu arters 

includes a Maneu ver Support Cell with a four-p erson Bri gade 

Engineer Cell and Digital Topographic Support Ce ll. A senior 

engineer- a lieut enant co lonel or maj or-head s the Engineer 

Cell to deal with the full range of expec ted mission s and potential augmentation requirements such as USACE , con trac tor, 

host nation, and multination al assets. Th e Digital Topographi c 

Support Cell, working in conjunction with the RSTA Squadron, 

will playa criti cal role in managing the brigade 's topographic 

data in support of the intelligence preparation of the battlefield 

process and to ensure that the maneuver comma nder and his 

subordinate elements have a common topographic operating 

environment throughout the brig ade's battlespace. Th e Engineer Company is designed to support the mobility requirement s of the maneu ver batta lions. Its design incl udes three 

mobil ity platoons and a mobility support platoon. It is envisioned that this is a second command opportunity, Th e mobil ­

ity platoons will feature an engineer Valiant of the MAV that 

will include min e-detection , breachin g, rubbl e-clearing, and 

obstacle- creation capabilities. Th e mobility sup por t platoon 

will be equipped with assault bridging and earthmov ing equipment such as high-mobilit y engi neer exca vators (HMEEs) and 

deployable universal combat earthmovers (DEUCEs). The company will rel y on augmentation fro m division and eche lonsabove-division enginee r assets to provide addition al mobility 

and the maj ority of the counterrnobility and survivability support required for the Brigade Co mhat Team . 

Achieving the CSA's vision will require major paradigm 

shifts in the wa y we have traditionally do ne business ill the 

Army and at the Engi neer Schoo l. Th e successful transformation of these brigades will require un precedented teamwork 

from every member of the regim enl as we revoluti onize our 

DTLOMS processes to meet the CSA's timelines. Th ese will be 

intense, exc iting times as we shape the future of the Army and 

the engineer's role in it. The Maneu ver Support Battle Lab 

personnel are leadin g MANSCEN's efforts. The y have reac hed 

out across the schoo lhouse and the Army to brin g in the right 

people with the right skills to help us create a ca pable and 

responsive engineer force for the Brigade Combat Team. 

Our sleeves are rolled up and we are decisively engaged. 

Essayons! 
E · o/W1 nglneer
 

February 2000 Headquarters, Department of the Army	 Volume 30 PB 5-00-1 

UNITED STATES ARMY FEATURES ENGINEER SCHOOL 

COMMANDANT 

Major General Robert B. Flowers 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Lynne Sparks 

FEATURES EDITOR 

Shirley Bridges 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Jennifer Morgan 

By Order of the Secretary of the Army: 

ERIC K. SHINSEKI 

General, United States Army 

Chief of Staff 

Official : 

)w/t}~

JOEL B. HUDSON 

Administrative Assistant to the 

Secretary of the Army 

000101 5 

Front Cover: Soldiers from the 92d Engineer Battalion, 2d Platoon. Bravo Company, Fort Stewart, Georgia, use a jackhammer before laying security wire 

around 3d Army Headquarte rs. Mubarak Mili/ary City. 

They are participating in Exercise Bright Star 99100 in 

Egypt. (U.S. Army photo by SPC Jamarco Bowen, 55th 

Signa l Company.) 

Back Cover. View of the initial Panama Canal cons/rue/ion. 19 May 1910, Culebra Cut, Culebra, showing small stide-obs tructinq steam shovel. 

2 Engineer Support to Exercise Bright Star 

By Lieutenant Colonel David Yanik 

6 Engineers Keep the Peace in Kosovo 

By First Lieutenant Paul C. Stephenson 

11 U.S. Army Firefighters 

By Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Ward 

14	 Keeping the Mechanized Engineer Rolling 

By First Lieutenant Don A. Nestor 

22	 Sets, Kits, and Outfits: Bridging, Diving, Lighting, 

and Fire-Fighting 

By Alan Schlie 

26 Ohio Engineers Get "Stick Time" at Selfridge: 

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship Continues 

By Rae Higgins 

DEPARTMENTS 

Inside front cover: Clear the Way 

10 The Engineer Writer's Guide 

18 CTC Notes 

25 Engineer Safety 

28 Past in Review 

32 PERSCOM Notes 

33 Lead the Way 

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February 2000 

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Engin eer 1 
Planning support for an off-site exerci se is always a 

challen ge (or engineers . Anticipating Class IV supply needs, meldin g participant requirements with resources, learning and understanding local conditions, setting 

priorities, and flowing proper troop skills and equipment to 

meet the pha sed needs of the plan are all considerations facing a comm ander and his staff. Addit ionall y, any commander 

is challen ged to integrat e good mission- essent ial task list 

(METL) training into an operation without compromising the 

services the exercise director expects. These challenges are 

magnified when the exercise is held in the desert halfway 

across the world. Such was the task given to the 416th Engineer Command (ENC OM) and the 92d Engineer Battali on 

(Combat)(Heavy) in Bright Star 99/00. 

Exercise Bright Star 

United States Central Co mm and (CENT CO M) 

conducted Bright Star 99/00 in Egypt during October and November 1999. It took place in the north ­

ern desert region of the country as a joint/combined/co alition, computer-aided command-post and field-training exercise. It was the most significa nt coalition military training 

exercise ever conducted by CENTCOM and the largest-scale 

deployment and employment exercise in the CENTC OM area 

ofresponsibility outside of the Arabian Gulf. More than 17,000 

representatives from all U.S. service components, the Egyptian military, and nine other Europea n and Gulf States partners participated. 

As the subordinate engineer command of the U.S. Army 

Central Command (ARCENT)/Third U.S. Army, the 4 16th 

ENCOM wa s the command-and-control headquart ers for four 

enginee r units: 

• Th e 92 d Engi nee r Batt alion (Co mbat)( Heavy), Fort 

Stewart, Georgia, was the lead unit for general support. 

•	 Th e Ist Pl atoon, Company B, 249t h Engineer Battalion 

(Pri me Power), Fort Bragg , North Caro lina, set up a 110­

volt power gird to support U.S. standard equipment and 

minimize use of tactical generators. 

•	 The 100th Engineer Company (Topographic), Fort Bragg, 

provided terrain analysis and bulk map sheet production. 

•	 A detachment from th e 306 th En gin eer Com pany 

(Separate)(Combat Heavy), a U.S. Army Reserve unit from 

Fort Totten, New York, deployed earl y on during the 

buildup to assist with interior wirin g. 

Planning for Bright Star 99/00 began during the previous 

exercise. At that time, representati ves from ARCENT and the 

416th ENC OM identified the need for perm anent facilities 

for futur e exercises. The repre sentatives developed a plan for 

a command-and-control complex to be funded under the Exercise-Rel ated Construction (ERe) Program. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the funding in 1999. 

The origin al proposal included a series of K-span buildings 

to be built by Reserve Component soldiers beginning in May 

1999. When the evolving situation in the Balk ans cause d 

uncertainty as to fund ing for the project. a contracted designco nstruct project was coordinated with the Cairo Area Office 

of the Transatlantic Program Center, U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (TAC). The 4 J6th ENCOM (Forward Cell) in conj unction with TAC-Cairo completed a complex of three preengineere d (Butler-type) buildings. There were two 18,000­

square-foot main exercise command-and-control buildi ngs and 

a 4,000-square-foot Sen sitive Compartmented Information 

Facility (SCIF). 

416th Engineer Command Mission 

The 41 6th ENCOM, wi th headquart ers in Darien, 

Illinois, is a Reser ve Component echelons-abovecorps command-and-co ntrol headquarters that reports 

directly to the U.S. Army Reserve Command. A forward eell 

of 20 Active and Reserve Com ponent soldie rs, collocated 

2 Engineer	 February 2000 
with ARCENT at Fort McPherson, Georgia, directly supports 

the ENCOM's Middle EastJCENTCOM area of responsibil ­

ity planning mission. The forward cell was ENCOM's primary planner for exercise Bright Star 99/00 . 

The 416th ENCOM's primary objectives during this exercise were to­

•	 Provid e engin eering service s to exercise parti cipants 

throu gh the command and contr ol of assigned units. 

•	 Provide technical and planning assistance, via a liaison 

officer, to the 377th Theater Support Command (TSC) in 

testing and validating its new role as overall theat er logistics manager. 

II	 Perform these duties while testin g the structure 

and operating procedures of its early- entry module 

that deploys in support of ARCENT in case of a 

contingency. 

The unit phased three rotations of soldi ers into theater to 

man the command-and-control cell. Each rotation included 

regular Army officers and enlisted soldiers and reservists on 

21-day (or longer) orders. The rotations reflected the Total 

Army concept that embodies the ENCOM itself. Each rotation with its mix of Active and Reserve Component soldiers 

blended the experience of active soldiers with the technical 

skills of part-time unit members. Rotations were structured 

around anticipated missi ons and the skills required at important jun ctures of the exercise, while taking into consideration 

the tran sportation constraints of a deployment halfway across 

the world . 

At the exercise site, the ENCOM staff focused on what an 

engineer headqu arters does best: identifying engineer requirements, assigning work, monitorin g the progress, performing 

quality control, and solving problem s. Its main tasks were to 

provide assistance to the engineer units in the reception, 

Soldiers from the 249th 

Engineer Battalion, Fort 

Bragg, work continously 

to keep the lights running 

during Bright Star 99/00. 

staging, onward movement, and integration of personnel and 

equipment; coordinate and prioritize construction effort during the buildup and sustainment stages; and coordinate the 

orderl y closeout of engineer acti vities and the in stall ation 

before redeployment. The cell of three officers and two or 

three NCOs was constantly in the field inspecting progress, 

coordinating support, and preparin g for the next phase of infrastru cture development. Th e austere communications capabilities, especially during the startup and base-dev elopment 

stages, made direct contact with units necessary to meet the 

changing conditions and to rapidl y complete projects for arriving soldiers. 

To track and control the operation. a master list of requirement s and proj ects was dev eloped before departing from 

CONUS . This list was the baseline for all activiti es. At the 

exercise site, the ENCOM became the single point of contact 

for all new support requests. Units and deploying headquarters, including other services and coa lition partners, were instructed to submit work and support requ ests throu gh the 

ENCO lvl cell. The liaison officer stationed with the 377th 

TSC became the point of contact for most TSC reque sts, which 

were tracked throu gh an Access databa se. At dail y status 

meetin gs attended by representati ves from subordinate engineer units and the supported headquarters, priorities were 

assigned, pro gress tracked, and wo rk int egrated int o each 

unit' s schedule. This meeting gave staffs an opportunity to 

raise issues, disseminate important inform ation, and put out 

fire s. Additionally, each unit submitted daily situation reports, which were consolidated and forwarded appropriately. 

The ENCOM now had a valuable electronic record of Blight 

Star 99/00 activities. 

An added benefit of the exercise was recording and evaluating some of the field-e xpedient structur es fabricated and 

used by participating units. Valuable data was gathered on 

February 2000	 Engin eer 3 
desert theate r-of-ope ration structures that we re constructed 

under co nditio ns that might app ly in other situations. (The 

4 16th ENCOM. in conjunction with the Engineer School at 

Fort Le onard Woo d and the Huntsville Division of the Corp s 

of Engi neers, continuously upgrades its database of theaterspecific struc tures in the Theater Construction Man agement 

System program. ) 

92d Engineer Battalion Mission 

The battalion received noti ce to participa te in Bright 

Star 99/00 in February 1999. Dun ng a series of plannin g mee tings and site surveys, it bec ame apparent 

that Bright Star wou ld pro vid e an excellent opportunity to 

tra in and evaluate most of the ba ttalion 's METL tasks. Unlike typical exercises tba t almo st excl usively emphasize horizontal or vertica l ski lls, this deploy me nt provided a good 

balance of carpe ntry, electrical, and interi or finish work alo ng 

with ample dozer/bl ade, line haul, and other horizonta l tasks. 

Having time to train wa s importa nt to the battalion commander. Th e 92d was OPCON to the 41 6th ENCOM, but 

when the ENCOM 's base -develop me nt mission could not 

keep the entire uni t occ upied , the battalion staff was ready 

with plans to meet its own traini ng and readiness objectives. 

The staff took adva ntage of every ava ilable training opportunity. Altho ugh significant effort was required during the initial setup stages of the exercise, once the exe rcise platform 

wa s in place , ther e were many opp ort unities for unit-directed 

training. This included honi ng both special staff skills and 

combat engineer skills throu gh the support of the 3d Infantry 

Divisian's field -tr aining-exerci sc ope rations. 

By the time the exercise was completed, the battalion had 

bu ill more than 25 mil es of force-pro tec tio n berm, reconstructed an old ammunition supply point (ASP), and developed a new ope n-storage ASP for coalition forces. It clea ned 

up and made functional the water system for the track ed ­

vehi cle wash rack, assembled more than 2 10 wooden fie ld 

latrines that had been prefabricated at home station, and wired 

and partitio ned more than 40,000 square feet of exercise area. 

It constructed countless guard shacks, gua rd towers, tables, 

Typical view of the interior 

partitions and finish of the 

exercise control building 

used by the major participants of Bright Star 99/00. 

Panels and electrical wire 

were completed by the 92d 

Engineer Battalion (C)(H). 

tent floors, and shelves; spread more than 4,000 cubic meters 

of gravel in parking lots and other vehicle storage areas; and 

dug more than 35 tracked -vehicle positions for the 3d Infantry Division. 

Th e 92d operated an efficient Class IV yard and. when the 

exercise was ove r, the battalion co llec ted, inventoried, and 

warehouse d the majority of these items for future lise. The 

projects required 191 .000 square feet of plywood , a ton of 

nails, and 7 1 miles of interior wire. Th e tasks we re accomplished with no major accidents or inj uries and an equipment 

availability rate well above 80 percent. 

249th Engineer Battalion Mission 

l SI Pla toon, Co mpany B, 249th En gin eer Battali on 

(Prime Power), is stationed at Fort Bragg, while the 

ba ttalion is headqu artered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Th e 

platoon wa s invo lved in the exerc ise planning from the beginnin g. Using site surveys and after-action reviews from 

past exerc ises, 249th personnel dec ided to deploy four 750 ­

kilowatt generators to suppo rt the mai n camp grid and two 

SOO-kilowatt generators as a dedicated power sou rce for lights 

and air conditioni ng for the main exe rcise buildings and the 

Sens itive Compartmented Information Fac ility . This tran slates into a capability of produ cing enough e lectricity to support a town of 10,000 people. 

A team of one warrant offi cer and lO sergea nts designed 

the grid s, laid ca ble, located transformers and breaker boxes. 

and prep ared the plants for operations. The team in stalled 

more than 44, 000 feet of high-voltage cab le and 14 tran sformers, which provi ded power from three generators serving more than 2,000 custome rs. Th e 249t h provided unin terrupted power Cor 45 days with no equipment-ind uced elec trica l outages to the 11 01208 grid while pulling all sc heduled 

services . Th ere were no work-related injuries. 

The prime power battalion is the only one of its type. Assigned directly to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is 

generally deployed [ 0 support disaster relief or in an advisor y role to operations in locations suc h as the Balka ns. Th ere, 

the unit ' s technical expert ise is used to maintain host-n ation 

February 2000 
asset s. Exercises of the magnitude and scope of Bright Star 

are rare and pose unique challenges for soldiers of the 249th. 

For example, the soldiers are seldom asked to incorporate 

different configurations of distribution system s as they were 

during Bright Star 99/00. And seldom do they have an opportunity to perform and train on so many individual and collective skills. By the deployment's end, the squad had trained 

and validated 95 percent of its METL squad. 

P

lOOth Engineer Company Mission 

ar t of th e 30th Engin eer Battalion (To po), Fort 

Bragg, the 100th Engineer Company (Topo) was 

the only engineer unit assigned to the 416th ENCOM 

that wa s not associated with the facilities support mission. A 

comba t topographic company, the lOath deployed to Bright 

Star 99/00 with a seven -person terrain-analysis squad and its 

heavy print-plant squad. 

Assign ed to the ENCOM for administrative and logist ics 

support, the 100th was directly tasked by the ARCENT G2. The 

terrain-analysis team set up operations near its customers within 

the ARCENT headquarters. Using digital data and satellite imagery supplied by the Nation al Imagery and Mapping Agency 

(NIMA), the team built and reproduced numerous map products and other tactical decision-making aides. Major projects 

completed during the exercise were maps showing the training 

areas and ranges, a special two-map set of navigational aids for 

the aviation units, special obstacle maps for the exercise, and 14 

other special maps. This effort translated into 1,400 man-hours 

of work that produced maps consuming more than 1,300 linear 

feet of map paper. 

The heavy print-plant sec tion included seven soldiers and 

a field bulk-production plant consisting of three vans and an 

associated support trailer. The crew, which received assignments through the ARCENT G2 , completed bulk runs of special maps produced for a specific phase of the exercise and 

stock maps from the NIMA inventory. In 105 operational 

hours. the prim plant produc ed 9,000 map sheets and distributed more than 5.000 of them to soldiers in the field . The 

project allowed evaluation of all of the team's major METL 

task s. 

Bright Star 99100 was an excellent training vehicle for the 

terrain-analysis team. Being a very specialized organization , 

the skiIls are hard to train and often overlooked at home station . This deployment allowed team leaders to instruct, evaluate. and reinforce the skills needed by their soldi ers. For the 

new and ine xperienced unit members. this was especially valuable because it was the first opportunity to apply perishable 

Sl-series military occupational specialty ski lis learn ed at advanced individual training. 

The efforts of these two squads proved that even in this 

age of digital technology, organi zation s like the 100th are 

still required. During depl oyments, soldi ers on the battlefield 

will alway s need paper map products, because nothing beats 

Febr uary 2000 

their derail and resolution. And nothing beats the capability 

of field topographic units to provide the broadest dissemination of terrain intelligence. 

E

Lessons Learned 

xercises a.re gre at opportunities to learn and train. 

Th ey require much of the same detai led planning 

effort as tactical deployments but are executed at a pace 

more conduci ve to trainin g, learning, experimentation , and 

trial and error. The engineer organizations participating in 

Bright Star 99/00 came away with a better understanding of 

their strengths and weakness, the status of their METL proficiency, and the direction needed for improvement. 

In austere environments like Egypt, if you don 't plan for it 

before deployment, you may have to do without it. In the Third 

World , westerners cannot count on having acce ss to supplies 

and services in the quantities an exercise like Blight Star may 

require. Predeployment site surveys and planning conferences 

help ensure that critical items of support are available to meet 

mis sion demands. 

Engineers must be given sufficient priority for available 

air- and sealift at the beginning of the exercise. Having engineer units on the ground as earl y as possible with the right 

equipment and soldier skills ensures that satisfact ory infrastructure is in place before the main body of the exercise arrives. 

Engineers must lead the way in anticipating, identifying. 

and pl anning support to othe r exe rcise parti cip ants. Many 

units were unable to adequately identify their supp ort requirements or were very late in submitting these requests. Developing a database of common support tasks at the Army and 

ENCOM levels saves countless hours of coordination and planning and provides better preparation for future exercises with 

similar force mixes. 

P

Conclusion 

articipation in Bright Star 99/00 was a success for 

all eng inee rs in v0 Ived . The exercise mi ssion, 

force structure, and austere desert conditions provided 

an excellent environment for all levels of command to train . 

test. and evaluate unit readin ess. Across the board. engineer 

participants were satisfi ed that their time was well spent and 

that the experiences and lessons taken from the exerci se will 

be drawn upon [or years to come. w 

Lieutenant Colon el Yanik is an Active Guard Reso w or 

ficer serving as a senior team leader; 4 I6th ENCOi'vl Forwa rd Cell. Fort McPh er,wn, Georgia . Previous assignments 

include serv ice with Third U.S. Ann.\'; FORSCOM; the U.S. 

Army Reserve Command; 4 I2th ENCOM Forward, 

Heidelberg, Germany; I04th Division (IT); 70lh Regional 

Support Command; and ClTli- Ku wa it. LTC Yanik holds a 

bach elor ofscience degree in civil eng ineeringfrom Lafayette 

Coll ege. Easton, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the Engin eer Officer Advanced Cou rse and Command and General 

Staff Colleg e. 

En gineer 5 
Engineen Keep the Peace in Kosovo
 

By First Lieutena nt Paul C. Stephenson 

I n July 1999, the Assault and Obstacle Platoon , Bravo 

Compan y, 9 th Eng ineer Batt alion (Combat), tran ­

sitioned fro m traditional eng ineer missions to peacekeeping operations in the city of Gnjil ane, the capital of Eastern 

Kosovo. Th e platoon initially occupied a schoolho use but later 

moved to the main post office and medical cli nic in downtown Gnjilane (sec Figure 1). The mission was to provide 

security and stability to the city's northern sector according 

to the Milit ary Technical Agreement (MTA). Signed in June 

1999 by both Serbi an and Kosovar Albanian leaders, the MTA 

outlined the withdrawal of Serbi an forces from Kosovo and 

the demilitari zation of the Kosovo Liberation Army (Kl.A), 

The platoon's duties in Gnjil ane included dismoun ted patrols, 

chec kpo int operations, and building searches. The platoon 

also ensured fre e access for both Ko sovar Alb anian s and 

Kosovar Serbs at the clinic and post office. This article descri bes how the platoon conducted its operations and discusses 

lessons the platoon learned during its stay in Gnjilane. 

Gnjilane 

The larg est city in Eastern Kosovo, Gnj ilane serves 

as the cultura l and eco no mic center of the region . 

The prewar estimated popul ation of the city was about 

50,000 . The ethnic breakdown among the popul ation hefore 

Gypsy, Turkish, Montenegrin , and Croatian communities that 

accounted for 6 percent of the population. The majorit y of the 

factories and businesses in Gnjilane catered to the region 's 

agricultural indu stry. 

The Threat 

I n June 1999, marines from the 26th Marine Ex peditionary Unit occupied Gnj ilane. During the first fe w 

weeks , dail y shoo tings between Kosovar Serbs and Albanians result ed in several cas ualties. On a few occasions, 

marines were caught in the crossfire . In addition, house fire s 

set by arsonists OCCUlTed on a daily basis. 

By the time Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, relieved the 26th in northern Gnjil ane, much of the shoo tings 

and fires had subsided. However, the most serious threa t to 

the Assault and Obstacle Platoon was still the possibility of 

being caught in the middle of aggressive actions between 

Kosovar Albanians and Koso var Serbs. who continued to attack each other in direct violation of the MTA.These groupswhich included curre nt and former KLA memb ers, KLA sympathizers, organized crime figures, disgruntled Kosovar Serbs, 

and former Serbian para military-were involved in shooti ngs, 

arson, home invasions, bomb ings, and kidnappings. In addition , local Kosovar Albanians com mitted simil ar crimes, such 

the war was about 71 percent Kosovar Albanians and 23 per­ as lootings and house burnings, agai nst Gnjilane.'s Gypsy cent Kosovar Serbs. In addition, Gnjil ane was home to small population in an attempt to force them from their homes. Loca l 

6 Engineer February 2000 
D Post Office 

(Platoon Command Post) 

KLA 

Logistics '" 

Headqua rters 100 m 
 

250 m
 

150 m
 

Military Police 

Detention Facility 

Market Place Camp Monteith 

TF 1-26 IN HQ 

Clinic 

(A&O Platoon) 

Figure 1. Downtown Gnjilane 

Albanians distrusted Gypsies, who were alleged ly members 

of Serbian paramilitary groups and police during the war. 

Dail y Operations 

To min imize the threat against the platoon and to 

provide stability to the area, we co nd ucted pres ­

ence operations thro ughout our sector of Gnjilane. 

These operations included dismounted patro ls, checkpoint operations, and building searches. 

Dismounted Patrols 

Dismounted patrols consisted of four to seven soldiers. The 

patrol schedule varied to cover periods of time when house 

fires and lootings occurred most frequently, which was during the late afternoo n and early evening. Manning requ irements increased for night patrols to provide more security. 

Many soldiers in the platoon had not conducted patrolling 

operations since basic training, so the patrols provided a good 

training opportunity. In addition, the platoon could interact 

with the populati on, which was the highlight of the deployment for some soldiers. On patrol they could see the results of 

the operations- people coming back to their homes, children 

playing in the streets, and the beginning of the slow rebuildmg process. 

Checkpoint Operations 

Nightly checkpoint operations were conducted at the squad 

level to enforce curfew. Loca tions varied among different intersections throughout the sector to avoid developing a pattern. At checkpoints, pedestrians and vehicles were stopped 

and searched thoroughly. Manning for check points varied 

from four to eight soldiers with one NCOIC. Search teams 

February 2000 

consisted of one or two soldiers to provide securi ty and twoman search teams. Each vehicle or individual without a curfew pass was systematically searched. 

Building Searches 

The most comp licated operation the platoon conducted was 

building searches. Several factors were taken into consideration to make the searches a success: 

•	 To ju stify our entry into buildings, probable cause must be 

established. 

•	 To determine entry/exit routes and security needs, a thorough reconnaissance of the buildings was requ ired. 

•	 Based on information collected during the reconnaissance, 

a search plan was created and briefed . The plan included 

the security team and buil ding-search team breakdown, 

searching methods, and where the entry would take place. 

Across the street from our command post at the post office 

were two unauthorized KLA buildin gs-a logistics headquarters and a civil administration center. Th e platoon was to 

search these buildin gs for illegal activity. Several days before 

the search, the platoon conducted detailed surveillance of the 

buildings. Sketches were made of the buildings, and persons 

entering and exiting were tracked to determine when the building was least occupied . During the surveillance, several uniformed KLA members regularly entered and exited the buildings. In addition, we noticed antennas on the roofs and communi cations wire between the two buildings. Both the uniformed KLA members and the communications equipment 

were indications that KLA comma nd-and-control activity may 

have been occurring inside. The platoon's surveillance of the 

buildings also included a thorough reconnaissance on each side 

of the buildings by two three-man teams. 

Engineer 7 
After the reconnaissance, search teams were formed to execute the mission. The platoon was divided into security elements, search elements. and a command-and-control element. 

The search elements acted as assault elements while security 

elements acted as support. Security elements. which consisted 

of two-man teams, were placed along likely escape routes. Security teams were to detain anyone who left the building. A 

roving search team in the street would provide fire support if 

required. Search teams were divided into two-man personnelsearch teams and two-man room-s earch teams. Although FM 

90-10-1, An Infantryman :\. Guide 10 Combat in Built-Up Areas. 

recommends three-man room-search teams, our teams were 

reduced by one person to increase the number of teams. The 

command-and-control element consisted of the platoon leader, 

a radio-telephone operator, and a translator. 

The KLA logistics headquarters was the first building the 

platoon searched (see Figure 2). With security in position, the 

search teams and the command-a nd-control element approa ched the building. When the command-and-control personnel reached the building, they were met by a security guard. 

Side Exit 1 

securi,0 

Team 

Personnel 

Holding Area 

Side Exit 2 

Back Yard 

KLA 0 

Logistics 

Headqu arters-+ 

O.-s earch 

Teams 

Main Entrance 

Personnel 

Search Team 

Security 

Team 

Post Office 

Figure 2. Building Search 

Through the translator, they explained to the guard the nature of their search and determined if there wa s anyone else 

in the building. Then they took the guard to a personnel holding area to be searched. 

Meanwhile, the room-search teams entered the building 

and began to search each room methodically from the first 

floor to the attic. They checked for KLA documentati on in 

desks, filin g cabinets, closets, and safes. Wh en they found 

documentation, they took it to be translated . Any document 

that mentioned illegal KLA activity was turned over to the 

command-and- control e le ment. T he search teams also 

searched shed s in the rear courtyard for milit ary equipment, 

ammunition, and weapons. The secur ity guard was brou ght 

back into the building to open doors and answe r question s. 

The search of the logistics headquarters confirmed our initial suspicions. Although no weapons or ammunition were found, 

illegal activity was occurring in the building. Besides conducting unauthorized logistical activity, information found on a computer in the building revealed possible KLA criminal activity in 

the Gnjilane area. After informing higher headquarters of the 

Search
 

Team
 

resul ts of our initial search, a debri efin g 

team from the task-force intelligence section documented and collected our findings. 

While the intelligence section continued the 

search, the platoon remained on-site to secure the building. The debriefing team confiscated several documents as well as the 

computer. The KLA logistics director. who 

arrived after the search began, and the security guard were detained and transported 

to the military police detention facility. 

Lessons Learned 

The platoon learned the foll owing le ssons dunng these 

operations: 

Security, Security, Security 

A ll of our operations occurred in 

heavily populat ed areas. While the threat 

level was low after the first few wee ks, 

there was always the possibility of an attack. To protect against possible threats, 3 

security man or team overwatched during 

all operations. Whether stopping cars at 

checkpoints or searching buildings, security remained the top priority. 

Command and Control 

PM 90-10- 1 states that in milit ary operations in urb an terrain (MOUT), smallunit leaders must have the initiative, skill, 

and courage to accomplish missions while 

isolated from their units. Durin g our patrols and checkpoint op erations, squad 

8 Engineer February 2000 
leaders-and in some cases junior NCOs-wcrc 

the senior leaders on the gro und . To ensure that 

patrols an d checkpoint ope ra tio ns we re conduct ed to standard, a thorou gh mission brief and 

precornbat inspections and che cks we re esse ntial. We en sured that there was time set aside to 

go over every aspect of the patrol and to co nduc t 

back brie fs and rehearsa ls, Before every patro l, 

leaders bri efed the ir sq uads on mission objec ­

tives, con tingency plan s, etc . 

Essential Equipment 

The table below lists equipmen t that was useful 

during operations in Gnjilane. Premade plastic handcuff.s called Ilex cuffs, which are easy to handle and 

reusable, were invalua ble duri ng building sea rches 

and checkpoint operations. All soldiers had to do 

was place a detainee 's hands in the cuffs and ratchet 

the straps dow n. A release mec hanism in the cuffs 

allowed them to be reused. 

Night-visio n-goggle (NYG) helmet mo unts 

also were useful durin g night patrols. The moun ts 

freed soldiers' hands, allowi ng them to maintain 

better control of their wea po ns. Instead of having 

to raise and lower NyGs hanging around their necks, so ldiers 

flipp ed their NyGs dow n from Their helmets for quick use. 

One piece of equip ment the platoon wished for wa s AN/ 

PRC-127 radios, because they needed radios with goo d range 

and the ability to rech arge for internal communications. Th e 

German -made handheld radios we used had poor range and 

re quired eight AA batteries that lasted from 24 to 48 hours. 

AN/PRC -lns wo uld ha ve been a reliable secondary means 

of comm unica tio n in case o ur portabl e Sin gl e- Ch annel 

Logistics Building 

Ground-to- Air Radio Sy stem (S INCGARS) manpack s 

malfunct ioned . 

Systematic Approach to Searches 

Before a search, discu ss how it will be conducted and then 

rehearse to impro ve efficie ncy. For example, discu ss wh ich 

en d of a vehicle or which floor of a building will be searched 

first. With perso nnel searches, practice search techniqu es so 

no pan of the person is left unsearchcd. Finall y, use the same 

soldiers to conduct searches to improve efficiency. Once teams 

Mission-Essential Equipment 

I NVG Helmet Mount 

,- - - - - - - -

I 

! AN/PRC-127 

irCa me l Back

- - _ .__._-­-

Flashlight 

-

IChem Ug:, 

Di ta lC ___ 

-- -

_ 

- -_. j 

J 

Fehruary 2000 Engineer 9 
The Engineer Writer,'s Guide 

We think engineers take a special pride in their pro quotations not referenced in the story should carry 

fession, and Engineerrs always looking for articlestrom " appropriate endnotes. 

readers who want to share their expertise.experlence. ,,', Contributors are encouraged .to include black-andand ideas. ' ' , ,white or color photos, artwork.and/or line diagrams that 

If you are a potential contributing writer, here are a illustrate information in the article. lnclude.captions for 

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a routine field exercise. But if you think you have a 

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. ., If you have questions about an article you re working on-or considering writing-eall Shirley Bridges 

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Note: Due to the limited space per issue, we will 

not print articles that have been accepted for publication by other Army professional buJJetins. 

are trained, rotate otber soldiers to gain experience. During the 

first week in Gnjilane, we learned that the situation on the street 

can be very fluid , Using systematic approa ches and practices 

allows soldiers to concentrate on a search while remaining aware 

of the changing situation around them. 

Winning With Civilians 

Develop a positive rela tionship with local civilians during 

the initial occupation phase. When 'We arrived at the post office and clinic, we established a stro ng prese nce in the neighborhood s. The intent was to let the people know we were there 

to provide stability and security to the area. To accomplish 

this, we held meetings with local leaders and the people. As a 

resu lt, they became our eyes and ears and often came to us to 

report fires and suspected lootings. 

Maps 

The normal sca le of 1:25,000 and I :50,000 on military 

map s will not suffice in a MO UT environment. Military map s 

of Gnjilane only showed the main routes, so the platoon used 

"tourist maps " of the city, The large-scale maps, which were 

obtained tbrough the help of civil affairs, showed every street 

10 Engineer 

in our sec tor. Since patrols were unab le to give grid locations 

using the city maps, the squad took a plugger along in case a 

gri d was required on their location , 

A

Conclusion 

s the platoon became more proficient with peacekeeping operations, we began to fine-tune our techniques. Conducting presence ope rations gave NCOs 

and soldiers an opportunity to learn and practice sea rch technique s on personnel, vehicles, and buildings . In the pro cess , 

squad leaders and j unior leaders learned valuable lessons that 

they will carry with them throughout their careers, w: 

First Lieutenant Stephenson is the Assault and Obstacle 

Platoon leader f or Bravo Compan y, 9th Engineer Battalion 

(CBT), in Schweinfurt, Germany. Previous assignments include combat engineer line platoon leader and tusk-fo rce 

engineer f or Task Force / -/ 8 lnfan try, Camp Able Sentry, 

Macedonia, 1LT Stephenson holds a degree in environmental poli cy analysis and planning [rom the University of 

California, Davis. 

February 2000 
By Se rgeant First Class Leroy A. Ward 

U.s. Army firefighters make up only a small section 

of the Corps of En gin eers. About 242 active 

duty military firefighters and 573 in the Reserve Components represent both table of organization and equipment (TOE) 

and table of distribution and allowance ef DA) assignments. 

In toda y's Army, there are seven active duty TOE fire-fighting det achm ent s, consisting of two to six soldiers, and 25 

Army Reserve and Na tional Guard TOE fire-fi ghtin g units, 

consis ting of six to 30 soldiers. Many soldiers and leaders are 

unaware of the existence of these detachments and the services they provide. This article give s a brief overview of the 

organiz ation, train ing, and role of Army military occup ational 

specialty (MOS) 51M firefighters and fire-fighting units. 

Missions 

Army fir efi ght ers provide fire- fighting services, in 

eluding fire protection and fire preventi on , to theaters o r operation. DUling deployments , firefighters 

are task organized-usually as general support (GS)- to the 

joint task force , who in turn makes them GS to the supported 

unit. Although they are GS due to their uniqueness, these 

fire-fighting teams require mess, maintenance, logistical , and 

administrative assistance from the supported unit. Firefighters 

have three primary missions: 

Aircraft Crash/Rescue Fire Fighting 

This is fireli ghters ' most demanding mission and invol ves 

aircraft or ground vehicles that are burning or have crashed. 

Firefighters must be familiar with basic sa fety procedures of 

all U.S. aircraft. Although the emphasis is ge ared toward 

rotary-wing aviation assets. firefighters mu st also be ramiliar 

with fixed -wing aircraft. 

Structural Fire Fighting 

This mission encompasses burning of static objects, such 

as tents, hou ses, barns, and other buildin gs. Fire -fi ght ing 

teams require skilled techni cal trainin g so they can quickly 

execute fire-fighting "battle drills." Th ese inclu de connecting fire trucks to hydrants, venting build ings, and searching 

for victims in smoke-filled buildings. 

Fire Prevention 

This task includes taking active and passive measures to 

prevent fires from occurring. Active measures. which include 

FehrUQI} ' 2000 

building inspections, generally are left to sergeants and above. 

Passive mea sures are encouraged by all firefi ghters through 

publ ic relati ons and safety program s. 

Responsibilities 

Firefighters u~p o rt two general types. of units or customers. The first IS U.S. Army or All' Force aviation 

assets. Most aircraft use a more flammabl e fuel than 

ground vehicles and require additi onal attention during fueling and defuelin g operations. Attack aircraft are twice as dangero us. since onboard fuel ha s the capability of detonatin g 

ord nance on the aircraft. 

The second type of customer is units that live in a large 

collection of tents or base camps. The tendency to erect tents 

close together and the propensity of canvas and woo d to burn 

creates a risk to occupy ing soldiers. Army firefighters work 

with unit or insta llation safety offices to provide and enforce 

fire-preventi on guidelines for these temporary shelters. 

Army firefi ghters are not limi ted to these customers 

during combat ope rations. Other tasks may include providing aid to host-nation fire departments and protectin g 

U.S. Army firefighters enter a smoke-filled building. 

Enginee r II 
ammunition storage point s; petroleum, oil and Iubricant (packaged and bulk) storage points; motor pools; and internment/dislocated -civilian camps. 

Types of Units 

Army firefighters are organized into two types of detachm ents: headqu arters (LA) and fire-fighting (LB). 

These detachments may be task organized based on 

the size of the area to be covered, the number of vehicles or 

aircraft that require protection, and the availability of other 

military firefighters (Air Force or Navy ). 

LA Detachment 

This detachment serves as the comm and-and-control function for three to five other detachments. The four-soldier team 

consists of an MOS 2lB fire marshall (a first lieutenant), an 

MOS 51M40 fire chief (a sergeant first class), an MOS 51M30 

fire inspector (a staff sergeant), and an MOS 63B 10 mechanic. 

Eq uipment for the LA detachment includes two HMMWVs 

and assorted radios for establishing a base station. Missions 

are to­

•	 Plan fire-fighting programs and area fire protection. 

•	 Exercise command and control durin g rescue and firefighting operation s.
 

Cond uct fire-prevention operations, to inclu de determin­


ing building classification and conducting installation-level
 

inspections .
 

•	 Deve lop pl an s for handling ha zard ou s-material 

emerg enc ie s. 

•	 Conduct initial fire-ground inve stigation s. 

•	 Conduct fire department unit maintenance operations for 

technical fire-fighting equi pment not provid ed during deploym ent from local support maintenance activities. 

Firefighters extinquish a burning fuel spill. 

J2 Engineer 

Firefighters inspect their self-contained breathing 

apparatus gear. 

LB Detachment 

The core of the fire -fightin g team . the se detachments consist of an MOS 5 \M30 team chief (a staff sergeant), an MOS 

51M20 crash rescue sergeant, two MaS 5 IM I0 cra sh rescue 

specialists, and thre e MOS 51M I0 dri ver/operators. LB detachments operate the fire-fighting equipment, which includes 

a fire truck, a water truck, self-c ontained breathing apparatus, a hydr auli c jaws set, and crash kits. They provide 24­

hour fire prote ction and personnel rescue support, administer 

timely and adequate first aid, and impl ement a fire prevention program(s) for­

•	 Life-supp ort areas. 

•	 Intermediate staging bases. 

•	 Forward-operating bases. 

•	 Petroleum , oil, and lubricant tank farms and distribution 

sites; open and closed warehouse faciliti es: or general 

depots. 

•	 Enemy prisoner of war and civilian internment camps. 

MOS Training 

Army fir efi ght ers begin their milit ary careers with
 

basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. Missouri. When
 

they graduate, they are transferred to Louis F. Gar­


land fire Academy, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, which
 

is the home of fire-protection trainin g for the entire Depart­


ment of Defense. Here, firefighters attend advan ced individual
 

trainin g (AIT) for the 51M MOS . Operated by the Air Force,
 

this joint service school has 125 mu ltiservi ce and civilian in­


structors. Training provided by the academy complies with
 

the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
 

Soldiers, airmen, marines. and sailors train together for 13
 

weeks on individual and crew drills. Trainees must maintain
 

the TRADOC academi c standard of 70 percent but also must
 

February' 2000 

..--------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ­
pass several physically demandin g tasks, as well as standardized written and performance evaluations, to graduate. After 

completing AlT, soldi ers are NFPA certified at the Firefi ghter 

11, Airport Firefigh ter, and Hazardous Materials operational 

levels. 

Ca reer progressio n for firefighters is un ique. Th ey are 

trained and na tionally certified as firefighters in MOS 51M 

through the grade of E7 . When they are promoted to master 

sergean tJE8, they leave this MOS and change to MOS 51Z 

general engineerin g supervisor, where they are invol ved with 

other engineer speci alties not norm ally assoc iated with fire 

fig hti ng . 

Certifications 

Department of Defense manual 6055 .6-M, Fire an d 

Emergency Services Ce rtification Program, is a como ponent of a nati on al certifica tio n sys tem for 

firefighters and othe rs in the fire-p rotection career field (tire 

fighti ng and resc ue, fire-department management, trainin g, 

inspections, etc.). Th e Firefighter Certification System is accredited by the International Fire Service Acc reditation Congress (lFSAC) . Th e certification program is mandatory for 

all Departm ent of Defense firefighters-military, civilian, and 

co ntractors. Ce rtifica tion requ irements are governed by the 

applicable NFPA standards. These standards prescrib e precisely what mu st be done for certifica tion at each leve l. 

Certificat ion may be obtained by completing correspo ndenc e cour ses (called career-development cour ses) com bined 

with performance tests, resident training schools (such as 

state and local fire academies and the Louis F. Garl and Fire 

Acad emy) accredited by lFSAC or the Nati onal Profession al 

Qualifications Board, and other trainin g that is proven to be 

equivalent to that required by the NFPA. The Air Force Civil 

En gineer Support Age ncy, Continge ncy Sup port Directorate, 

Tyndall Air Fo rce Base , Florida, man ages and adminis ­

ters this program. 

Military firefighters depend on federal and state training 

facilities to provide instruction on various ski lis. The two major 

traini ng resources to test fire-fighting skills are a smoke house 

and a bum pit, A smokeh ouse is a building vented with ducts 

to produce a blanket of smoke within the building. Soldiers 

are requ ired to enter the building and rescue any personnel 

foun d inside . A burn pit is a concre te bowl with a special 

drain system in which obje cts can be set afire . Firefighters 

use a combination of water and foam to extinguish burn ing 

vehicles and aircraft. The speci al drain system in the bottom 

of the pit separates the water and foam so each can be recycled. Performing these two training events is equi valent to 

a combat arms unit live-fir e exercise . 

Army fire-fighting units maximi ze the use of these training fac ilities for their soldier s, who rar ely attend specialty 

traini ng such as Airborne or Air Assault School. Some 

February 2000 

Wearing protective gear, firefighters inspect a burnedout helicopter. 

colleges offer an associate degree in fire science, which is an 

excellent resource for build ing a competent fire-fighting unit. 

Alth ough this training is expensive, soldiers bene fit from being trained by subj ect-matter experts and receiving hands-on 

trainin g with live-fire burnings. 

Summary 

Soldiers and leaders face several challenges concernin g 

firefighters in TO&E units. Leaders must bal ance military requirements and tire-fighting certi fication requirements. It is difficult to sched ule qualification ranges or mandatory classes whiIe soldiers are working day-on/day-off ro ­

tations. Career soldiers must mai ntain all required engineering skills. Staff sergeants must work hard to reta in their 

engineer-specific skills. such as construction and bridging , to 

complete the Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer 

Courses. 

The presence of military fire-fi ghtin g detachments in theaters of operat ion is not commonly kn own or understood. but 

firefighters playa critical role there. In additi on to their primary missions, firefighte rs provide benefits to all so ldiers, 

since they also receive lifesa ving training. Commanders must 

take active steps to includ e these detachments in their companie s and battalions and help make the theater sa fer for 311 

per sonn el. .w 

Sergeant First Class Ward is a seniorfirefi ghter observercontrolle r/traine r with the Engineer Training Supp ort Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington. Previous assignments include 

the 89th Engineer Detachment (F F) Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Wainwright Fire an d Em ergency Se rvices, For t 

Wainwright, Alaska; and Directorate ofCombat Developme nts 

and Directorate ofTraining, U.S. Army Enginee r Sch ool, Fort 

Leonard vVr)()d, Missou ri. 

Engin eer 13 
By First Lieutenant Don A. Nesto r 

The short-notice deployment of 

Bravo Company, 9th Engineer 

Battali on (Combat) , to the 

Balk ans in June 1999 presented numerous maintenance challenges for mechanized comb at engineers. This article describes how a company executive officer 

addresses, manages, and attacks the mission of keeping me chanized engineers 

rolling . It also identifies some ofthe problems encountered when deploying a company and its equipment to a new area of 

operation before a forward support battalion (FSB) arrives. 

.Missions 

W ith only fiv e day 's notice, 

Bravo Company transiti oned 

from a lO-day, high-intensity 

rotation at the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, to a 

six-month pe aceke eping deployment to 

Kosovo. As one of the first enginee r units 

from the 1st Infantry Division to naive in 

Kosovo , its work began immediatel y as 

the company helped lay the groundwork 

for the U.S. area of responsibility. Missions included road marches, mounted 

and dismounted patrols, berm co nstruction, force-protection construction , and 

civilian convoy escorts. 

During the first six weeks of depl oyment , the company compiled more than a 

year 's worth of miles (600) on its vehicles 

and equipment. The high operating 

tempo (OPTEMPO) and constant vehicle 

use cost more than $300,000 for Class IX 

rep air parts in less than two months. 

Key to Success 

Department of the Army Pamphlet 

710-2-1, Using Unit Supply Systems. defines the prescribed load 

list (PLL) and describes procedu res for 

man aging it. Th e pamphl et states that 

I a PLL is kept to support a unit's daily 

organizational maint enance operatio ns . 

Norm ally this is for a pre scribed number 

of days of supply, whi ch depend s on the 

average customer wait time. 

The imp ortan ce of a PLL is not truly 

reali zed until a unit mu st rely solely on 

its PLL parts to maintain vehicles and 

equipment. Th is became clear to Bravo 

Company during its first 30 to 45 days of 

deployment. With no full forwa rd support battalion in Kosovo, parts flow was 

slowed to a trickle. Parts availability was 

limited to the company 's PLL-which 

provided parts for about 25 days- and 

the prestocked major assemblies at Camp 

Able Sentry in Macedoni a. PLL management is an important function becau se, 

duri ng short-notice deployments, the 

PLL often must maintain the company for 

an cx~ndedperi od ftim

A unit's ground PLL is a combination 

of demand-supported (OS) and commandsupported (CS) parts. not to exceed 150 

14 Engineer February 2000 
lines. To be stocked as a DS line, a part 

must be requested at least nine times in a 

ISO-day period.If a part meet'> this demand 

requi rement, it is automatically added to 

the PLL. Then, to be retained, it must be 

requested six times in a 180-day period. 

To combat the lack of parts acquired as 

DS lines, units are allowed to stock up to 

15 CS lines. Battalion commanders must 

approve these lines in writing before they 

can be added to the PLL. This provides a 

means of stocking a part that is mission 

essential even though it does not meet the 

demand-supported criteria. Units should 

select CS lines carefully to ensure that 

necessary wartime stock is on hand for 

deployments. 

Having a maximized PLL before deployme nt wo uld have benefited Bravo 

Company tremendously. Due to the nature of its ope ratio ns. the company 's 

M 113A3 armored personnel carriers, 

M 998 hi gh-mobility multipur p ose 

wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs), and 5-ton 

trucks accrued the most mileage and required the most maint enance. Maintenance personnel observed that the vehicles' trac ks an d/or suspe nsion sustained a great deal of wear and tear from 

constant use. However, the OPTEMPO 

durin g garrison operations was less than 

600 miles over the course of a ISO-day 

period, which did not build the demand 

history required to maintain a PLL capable of supporting the deployment. 

Before deployment, the PLL was limited to 39 lines (24 DS and 15 CS). As a 

result, many of the track and suspension 

parts required to repair vehicles were not 

on hand. This operatio nal constraint 

made it difficult to maintain vehicles accordin g to -1 0120 standards . An increased PLL that included but was not 

limited to the items in Table I would have 

been a combat multipJier during the initial stages of deployment. 

A
 

Parts Flow
 

lth ou th Bravo Co mpany de­


ployed with its Unit-Level Logis­


tics System-Ground computer,
 

the company did not have its original De­


partment of Defense Activity Addres s
 

Table 1. Minimum Recommended Deployment PLL 

a . .. NOUN NIIN Vehicle Type --,

Shoc ! k 01-028-8573 

: 

Generator i

; 01-238-9710 

M113A3 

Track Pads 01-130 -3366 

Track Adjusters 

Regulator I 

Fan Tower 

Cooling Pump 01-320-0530 i 

\

-- -· .-.-.--­ -: 

Starter 01-188 U-Joints 01-356-9189

Tire, Pneumatic 01-171-4746

f--- - - - - - - - -+--------- -- -- - - - --,­

Parts Kit 01-382-8874 M998 

t-- - - - - - J . ..--.....-.. . --.-....---.....-.-----....- -­-- I 

Wheel Spindle : 01-203- 5764 

Generator , - . 00-909-2483 ___- _..__.. ___...__-----_.-_+-- --~-+-- -----'- '----.---j

Track Shoe !

; 01-234-1917 

- - - -------- --- - --t--- - -- - .-- -- --,---- - ---i 

-~~~-~~==~~ ..-.-.. -- l--- i 01-361-1 764 

Generator Belt 01-291-5838 I
 - ----­--­----------t--­ I -----­-··-­--1

Track Pads 01-156-8105 M9 ACE 

t-­ - - - - - - - --+-­ - - - ­ ...--... -­ -­-,-1 

Generator i 

! 

01-264-6 542 i

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Pump, Axial ---­ ---r 01-158-4069 . . I . . ._..._.-.-...-- .. .._ .._- ­ -­ -~-·

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Starter 

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Generator 00-830-6660 AVLB 

NIIN := National item identification number 

February 2000 Engineer / 5 
Table 2. Weekly Maintenance Schedule 

Sunday Monday Tuesday l Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

0800- 1900 0800-1600 0900-UTC 

HQ's Maintenance A&O Platoon Bridge 

Maintenance	 Maintenance 

Every Other 

B1 

Maintenance 

1300-1600 ­ I 

C& E /S&R Turn-In I 

I 

UTe =until complete CE =communications and electronics SR = small-arms repair 

Code (DODAAC) from Schweinfurt, Therefore all orders that were not received before de ployment were no longer valid and 

consequently had to be reordered under a 

new DO DAAC in Kosovo, This further 

prolon ged the time it took for the company 

to receive rep lace ment parts. The 299th 

FSB deployed to Kosovo about 30 days 

after the initial units, and the part s flow 

follo wed- but not instan taneously. 

The grea t distances between the company, the fo rwa rd support battalio n, the 

ini tial staging base (ISB), and the directsuppo rt unit in Germany drastically increas ed the travel tim e in the parts now. 

Wh en the company ordered a part, the 

request went to the 299th FSB at the main 

American base camp. The se requests 

we re forwarded to the lSB , which then 

sent them to the direct-support unit in 

Germa ny. Instead of ha vin g a direct link 

bet ween the direct-support unit and the 

FSB, asin garrison operations in Germany, 

a thir d party was establishe d at the ISB . 

This increased the amount of time be ­

tween ordering and receiving parts. 

Services 

Without a depl oyable battalion 

service section, the resp onsibility for conducting vehicle 

serv ices belonged to the company 's rnainterran ce sectio n . The short-no tice deploym ent to Ko sov o create d a backlog 

16 Engineer 

of fiv e vehicle se rvices originally SChe d- 1 

uled for the sec ond and th ird weeks of 

June. O verdue services fro m the home , 

station in Schweinfurt and the OPTEMPO 

in Kosovo caused vehicles to break the 

Army 's low-u sage program. This created 

additional hours of wo rk for the mec hanics. The company developed a se rvice 

scheduIe to contin ue tro ubleshooting 

and repairing its vehicles and servicing 

its equipment. Unfortunately, time could 

not be allowed for scheduling an entire 

two-week-block se rvice for platoon vehicles, we apo n systems, communications 

I	 systems, and eq uipme nt. In st ead, the 

service schedule permitted one vehicle 

and its respective equipme nt to be serviced according to -1 0120 standards in a 

span of one week . Th e balance between 

serv ices and troubl eshooting vehicles 

became a major focu s and an essen tial 

aspect of main taining the company's 

lleet. 

Split-Base Maintenance 

Bravo Company's high OPTEMPO, 

geograp hic dist an ce from th e 

299th FSB , and expanding area 

of responsibility res ulted in split-base 

operations . With thr ee plat oons (two 

orga nic and a ile attached) operating in 

Br av o Com pa ny 's sec tor an d the 

compan y' s fo urt h pl atoon attache d to 

anot her unit, maintenance at the I 

compan y level took on a new and diffi ­

cult form . Initially. I st Platoon wa s attach ed to a light infantry company team. 

Accordin g to the command and support 

relationship, this company team wa s supposed to provide 1st Pl atoon with mechanic support . However, the light infa ntry mech ani cs had little or no experience 

working on tracked vehicles, so the responsibility for tro ubles hooting and re ­

pairing the platoon 's vehicles rested on 

the company' s contact team. D uring the 

first few we eks of split-base opera tions, 

a three-man contact team enco untere d 

numerou s problems while trying to maintain vehicles in three location s. Th e com ­

plication s included the wear and tear sustain ed by the company's wea po n and 

communica tions systems. 

To overcome problems c aused by 

split-base operations and satisfy operatio nal requirements of indi vidual pl atoon s, a reg ula ted maintenance sc hedule was de veloped that prov ided a balance between maintenance and missions. 

Tabl e 2 shows a weekly sch edul e that 

allow ed days for the co ntact team to 

travel in sector to the remo te company 

site s and troubles hoot vehic les, we apons, and co mmunicatio ns sy stems. The 

company also incorporat ed th e 299th 

FSB's sma ll arms and communications 

and eq uipment sho ps int o its we ekly 

mai ntenanc e schedule . The schedu le 

February 2000 
( 

Soldiers from Bravo Company replace the track on an M577 command post vehicle. 

provided mechanics with a clear focus of 

their work and allowed the platoons to 

address dis patch ing, small arms. and 

communications equipment problems. 

Lessons Learned 

A valu abl e le sson learned during Bravo Company's deplo yment to Kosovo was the importance of staying on top of its PLL and 

e nsuri ng that a11 1ines were either on 

hand or on order at all times. A robu st 

PLL at the company level would have 

improved the unit's ability to maintain 

its flee t to -10120 standards. Reducing 

the dem and criteria needed to stock a 

DS line on the PLL would have enhanced 

th e company's op erational readin ess 

rate. An enlarged PLL would have provi ded pa r ts to rep air many o f th e 

company's vehicles. Furtherm ore . having more parts stocked on PLL would 

have grea tly redu ced or even eliminated 

the time required to rece ive parts during the first 4S days of depl oyment. 

Summary 

No one knows when he may receive a mission to deploy a company and its vehicles and equipment with less than a week' s notice. Always plan for contingencies. Keeping 

the mechanized soldier rolling requires 

that an executive office r be constantly 

involved in establishing priorities. balancing and managing maintenance assets, and preventing overwo rk and consequent burnout of mechanics. Dutyfirst, 

maintenance always. w 

First Lieutenant Nestor is the execu ­

tive officer/or Bra vo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion (Combat). Previous assignments include combat engineer line 

platoon leader, battalion shop offi ceI; 

and battalion motor officer. A graduate 

of the Enginee r Officer Basic Course, 

1LT Nestor holds a bachelor of science 

degr ee in mechanical engineering from 

the University of Notre Dame. 

February 2000 Engineer 17 
Battle Command Training Program 

(BCTP) 

Synchronizing Engineers: Weighting the Main 

Effort in the Defense 

By Lieutenant Colonel Ron Light 

"The nature of water is that it avoids heights and hastens 

to the lowlands. When a dam is broken. the water cascades 

with irresistible f orce. Now the shape of an army resembles 

water. Take advantage ofthe enemy's unpreparedness; attack 

him when he does not expec t it; avoid his strength and strike 

his emptiness, and like water; none can oppose you. " 

Sun Tzu, The Art af War 

In the offense, doctrine tells us that "commanders attack to 

avoid the enemy' s main strength ." It should come as no surprise that the enemy seeks to do the same thin g. As Sun Tzu 

noted, "the enemy flow s like water, seeking the path of least 

resistance." However, sometimes engineers miss this point as 

they shape the battl efield durin g the defense.This article briefly 

reviews what it means to weight engineers in support of the 

defens e. 

Before exploring this concept , we must understand an important condition of the battl efield: the enemy is observing our 

defen sive prepar ations. Wherever we have fought in the past 

18 Engineer 

and wherever we will fight in the futur e, the enemy is watching. During Warfighter exercises conducted by the Battle Command Training Program, the World Class Opposing Force 

(WCOPFOR) is adept at inserting special-purpose forces (SPF) 

throughout friendly forces' areas of operation. The WCOPFOR 

bases much of its plan on the inform ation these SPF teams 

report. 

What do the SPF teams report during our preparations for 

the defense? Just as at the "dirt" comb at trainin g centers, the 

teams look for and report on the activ ities of friendly engineers. As an eng ineer once observed during a training rotation at the National Training Center, "Find his bulld ozers, and 

you've found his defen se." SPF teams are trained to look for 

engineers, armored comb at earthmov er s, and Volc ano 

countennobility systems. With this information. the battlefield calculus to predict where our main defense effort is becomes relatively simple for the WCOPFOR. Simpl y stated, engineer activity is usually an accurate gauge to predict our 

main effort. 

More often than not, friendly engineers make it far too 

easy for the WC OPFOR to identify the main effort. In the 

defen se, engineer staffs weight the division 's or corps's main 

effort (the force which will do most of the killing on the battlefield ) with engin eers. The main effort ends up in a strongpoint 

defense, and supporting efforts are relatively much weaker. 

As noted above , two things happen when this occurs. First, 

WCOPFOR SPF teams see this asse t allocation, and they report accordingly. Second, the commander of the WCOPFOR 

uses this information to plan his attack against our weakn ess. 

More often than not, the WCOPFOR correctly reads where 

the friendly main effort is by identifying where the preponderance of friendly engineers are arrayed on the battlefield-and 

he attacks elsewh ere. The enemy flows like water. 

The figure on page 19 illustrates this point. The enemy wa s 

known to be attacking from the east. The divisi on designated 

that Ist Brigade (in the center) wa s the main effort. This is 

where the divisi on commander wanted the enemy to go and 

where he wanted to kill the enemy. In the north, 2d Brig ade 

was a supporting effort, as was the 3d Brigade in the south. 

Noti ce, however, where engineers were arrayed on the battlefield. The bar chart in the figure shows that Ist Brig ade 

recei ved most of the engineer assets available: 20 engineer 

platoons. Moreover, 1st Brigade also recei ved the largest allocation of Class IVN (obstacle) barrier material: 174 short tons. 

Recalling that the enemy is adept at reporting on our defense preparations, where do you supp ose he attacked? Seeking to avoid friendly strength (easily read as l st Brigade ), and 

noting a relati ve weakness between the two supporting efforts, the enem y attacked into 2d Brigade in the north . The 

ensuing fight was quick and brut al. 

By now it is probably obvious that weightin g engineers in 

the def ense does not usually mean weighting the main effort 

with engineers. The enem y will avoid our strength. One of the 

February 2000 
EN PLT Allocations Pits 

22.6 ­ 20
 

15
 

7 .5 

o 2BDE 

I, 17 

- III 

8 

- w. 

1BDE 3BDE

CL IV/V Allocations 

Tons 

225 

prim ary ways he gauges our strength is by observing where 

we array engineer forces. We can deceive or mislead the ene my 

as to where our main effort is by weightin g enginee rs to our 

supporting efforts . 

Of course, we must allocate some countermobility assets to 

the main effort. Rememb er, however, that doctrine urges commanders to mass eff ects. not necessarily assets. We can allocate close air support and air Volcano mission s to the main 

effort . These assets allow us to mass count errnobil ity effects 

in a very short time. Moreover, with planning we can use these 

assets relatively late during our defensive prep arations, when 

the enemy has less time to react. This technique was used 

effectivel y by a unit during a recent Warfighter exercise. 

So what does it mean to "weight engineers in support of the 

defen se?" Us ually it does not mean makin g the main effort an 

impregnable force with all of the division 's alloca tion of min es, 

wire, and picke ts. Wh at it does mean is crea ting a co ndition on 

the battlefield that confu ses the enemy and causes him to commit his forces not against what he perceive s to be our weakness but against our strength. 

Lieutenant Colonel Light is the senior enginee r observer! 

controllerfor the Battle Command Training Program at Fort 

Leavenworth, Kansas. He is scheduled to command the Honolulu District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in July 2000. 

February 2000 

(1l !:= :::J 1,). k n'" rii C'fl·j {) ...J 

a, ...J 

c, 

Engineer Effort 

Joint Readiness Training Center
 

(JRTC)
 

The Engineer Survivability Execution Matrix
 

By Sergeant First Class Isaac N. Horton and Sergeant First 

ChI'S Thomas V Murray 

We have observed a trend at the Joi nt Read iness Trainin g 

Center concerning the en gineer survivability execution matri x 

and how it imp acts force -protection operations here and ultimately on the modem battlefield. The tren d is that uni ts employ the age-old blocked-time survivability exec ution matrix, 

Th is means that rather than conducting a detailed mission analysis. each unit with an established priority is allocated the same 

amount of time and engineer asse ts. The result is that the 

final product we observe routinely fails to adequately address 

Engi neer 19 
force-protection requirements, link time and the resources available , and command and control engineer resources that execute force protection in support of the brigade. 

The unit encounters many unnecessary chall eng es in executing these types of matrices and in protecting the force 

according to the commander's intent. Force-protection levels 

are not linked to enemy attack probabilities through the engineer battlefield assessment (EBA), and the unit's critical system s do not get the required level of protection. Ultimately, 

units suffer irrepl aceable losses of mission- critical equipment 

and resources from enemy dir ect action that could have been 

prevented. 

To be successful on the current lethal battlefield, units must 

protect critical systems, equipment, and supplies from enemy 

observation and attack. Units rotating through the JRTC 

struggle with planning and executing force -protection and survivability operations. This is due to incomplete EBAs and a 

lack of clearly defined doctrinal procedures for planning these 

types of operations at brigade level. Engineer company commanders and brigade engineers are doctrinally required to prepare detailed plans for survivability operations and include 

these plans in the brigade operations order (OPORD). 

Technique 

A brigade-level technique that engineer units can use to 

help improve their current system for calculating survivability 

requirements and preparing a survivability execution matrix consists of the following three steps: 

Step 1: Identify key assets within the brigade. 

Although time consuming, this is a simple process that must 

take place at home station. List battalion-level organizations 

and major company assets in matrix form . Figure I dep icts a 

random selection of command- and-control node s, weapon systems, and equipment in a typical light infantry brigade against 

the current task organization or the unit. Th e requirement matrix is a sample product that units must develop and implement 

at battalion level and use as the primary tool in calculating 

survivability requirements. 

The construction times shown are not standard acro ss the 

Army. The time required to construct protecti ve positions varies from unit to unit. This is primarily due to the mission and 

the type of assets organic to that unit (such as D7 do zer s, D5 

dozers, deployable universal combat earthmovers [DEUCEs], 

loaders, small emplacement excavators [SEEs], or armored combat earthmovers IACEsj) as well as the soil composition. The 

times should be established by timing-from start to finish, 

day and night-actual construction of the positions by two or 

more operators to get an average-time-required planning factor. We suggest that the time s be established by using a single 

blade or single bucket rather than a blade team. Our example 

uses 15-blade work hours per day as a planning factor. 

I 1 Q S M F V A A M M! M A F' 1 A 3 51 A 

M 

~I F 

s D D A P M M 

d n 0 9 T T E n 0 3 i T A 0 T T 1 3 B V I 5 V 0 K v 1 i I t r M T I i i 

e t 9 I I M f 5 6 9 R R L L P A A B L S 5 E v 1 d, S i a I D B s S 

CCBTSM m I S P C S 1 3 M T m N T, n 3 I T n 9 T e c c 

C 2 2 PET P m Q C ! A V m G a A S I 9 0 0 r 

2 U R T I 3 2 N ! E G n H 3 t F e n W , m

t H 7 0 : H R e k E a 0 r , 

0 0 n' e L 

w w r 0 

: 1 1 6 4 6 6 9 1 9 9 1 4 l' 9 6 1 1 9 9 9 4 1 3 1 1 9 3 3 1 1 1 4 6 7 

Ti me in 5 2 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 5 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 5 5 0 5 2 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 0 0 

Minutes 0 0 0 0 0 0 O· 0 I 0 M M 

Bde .- .,- ." -­ f-. , +--­ -- 

. ..

_-'_0 J::L _.._-

2-351nf 

---'-1 

4-41nf 

1-821nf I 

1-21 Cay , ; , 

A 1-4 FA I 

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42CSH 

214 MI I : I 

Total i : 

D7 

SEE I 

Figure 1 

20 Engineer February 2000 
~I-.- - . - ­ - -

Light Data 

Time 

--­ _ ._--­ --­ - - .--­ - ­

Blade Team 1 A/1-34 Armor (Pn 1) 

(MR 334592) 2 X 07
 

2 X SEE
 

Contact Truck
 

-

Blade Team 2
 

List Task
 

FRQ 394 .CS Apa che . LRP 

3. 10 x M1. FISTY 3 x M2 

Orqanizauo n of 

Blade Team 

Blade Team 3 

Local Security 

Operations with TM 

Apache 

Legend for "Blocks" 

Unit supported (Priority of support)
 

(MGRS Location)
 

NET ID or frequency call sign, planned
 

resources requinng suppo rt
 

D13· 7 Infantry (Pri 2)
 

(MR 442577)
 

FRO 442, CS Baler Dog. CP 71.
 

14 x M2. FISIV, 30 dismounts
 

- - -- - 1 

! 

MS 1\ 

Required information in execution matrix is the unit, 

priority. location, frequen cy, call sign and linkup 

location, and major systems to be dug in. 

_______ _. .__... _ .. 

This document is a critical part of 

the Engineer Annex. 

. __ _ _ 

.. .. .... __ I .__J 

Figure 2 

Step 2: Prepare an engineer work estimate. 

Reco rd the time availabl e, the number of dozers or SEEs 

ava ilable, and the brigade commander's priority for survivability effo rt. PM 5-103, Surv ivability, states that maneu ver commanders should set survivability pri ori ties based on the 

enginee r's input and recommendation (which is based on an 

updat ed and accurate EBA ) and mission analysis with the brigade staff. It is at this point that the blocked-time matrix is 

normally devel oped. This ca n be avoided if units have a system for accomplishin g the detailed planning necessary for preparing a brigade-level survivability timeline. 

Step 3:Prepare the survi vability execution timeline. 

Th is timeline (better known as the "missing link") must be a 

co llective effort of the engineer comm ander, the assistant brigade engineer, and the equ ipment platoon leader. The document, which is paramount to the engineer annex in the brigade 

OPORD, is often omitted. This may cause the brigade 's forceprotection levels tu be substandard. Figure 2 depict s the 80 

percent solution for a deta iled survivability execution timeline. 

At a minimum . the information in the matrix should include the 

suppo rted unit, priority, location, frequ ency and call sign, and 

work estimate. As stated earlier, the timeline must be included 

in the maneu ver brigade and battalion base orders. When properly planned and included in the base orde r, conflicts ca n 

be avo ided durin g exe cution of the eng ineer's survivability 

timeline. 

February 2000 

Conclusion 

By conducting a comprehensive EBA and implementing this 

three-step technique, engineer survivability planners communicate the critical path for exec uting the commander's priorities 

of force protection. The execution timeline prov ides the means 

to comm and and control survivability operations through time 

and space based on identification of key assets and the engincer work estimate process. The end result is that blade utilization is maximized in a prioriti zed and efficient manner. By protecting critical weapon and sustainment systems, the abilit y to 

deliver comhat power and achieve mission success is dramatica lly increased. No idle blades. 

SFC Horton and SFC Murray are observer/controllers at 

the Joint Readin ess Training Center; Fort Polk, Louisiana, 

whe re their [o cus is to teach, coach, an d me ntor eng ine er 

leaders at all levels concerning fo rce-protection and survivability ope rations on the my~\' battlefi elds. 

Engineer 21 
Sets, Kits, and Outfits:
 

Bridging, Diving, Lighting, and Fire-Fighting 

By Alan Schli e 

In the third of four articles on sets, kits. and outfits (SKO), 

the foc us is on bridging, diving, lightin g, and fire-fighting 

too ls. The first article discu ssed tool sets for constructio n 

trades. The second article concentrated on pioneering, mine 

warfare, and demo lition tools. The fo urth article willfeature 

tools fo r the techni cal trades and topog raphy. 

•
 

I
 

Bridging
 

f yo u've been around long enough to rem ember light
 

tactical raft s and the dry span with univ ersal trestles,
 

then you' ll be glad to know they've been placed in de­


pot stocks and are used only in the most extreme emergen­


cies. In add ition to providing a means for crossing wet and
 

dry gaps, these older brid ging sets provided a perfe ct oppor­


tunity for building unit cohes ion, team work , and esprit de
 

corps.
 

Engineers have always been expected to bridge gaps without rest rictin g the speed of the maneu vering element, and the 

bridges are expected to handl e increasingl y hea vier loads, yet 

involve fewer soldiers in the construct ion effort. To realize 

these ex pectations. the interde pendent spheres of mission, 

enemy, terrain , troops. and time ava ilable (METI-T) must be 

handled with a delicate touch . The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Bridge Engineering Di vision has been ju ggling those glass balls for a long 

time, pushin g the development of light weight metal s and lami ­

nates by commercial suppliers and ove rcoming the dwindling 

manu facturing base to ensure that Army needs are met and 

that every promising candidate is fully explored. The research 

and development work begun by the Fo rt Belvoir Research 

and Development Center conti nues at TACO M's Research 

and Development Engi neer Center in Warren, Michigan. 

The assault float brid ge, or ribbon brid ge (not an SKO), 

was fielded in the 1970s and eventu ally replaced all float bridging asse ts in table of organi zation and equipment (TOE) units. 

It is now being upgr aded to increase buoyancy and military 

load class (MLC) in faster stream velocities. The assa ult float 

bridge ca n be assembled at the rate of 2 10 feet per hour by the 

same soldiers who deliver it to the bridge site. It carries MLC 

70 in curre nt veloc ities of 7 feet per min ute. Multiro le bridge 

companies retain the Supplemental Bridge Set for constructing ove rhead anchorage systems. 

Th e Float Bridge Sets that have been replaced include 

various lengths of M4T6 and MLC 60 floating brid ges, their 

corresponding bridge- er ect ion se ts, 

ferry conversion and dry -spa n se ts, 

light tactic al raft sets, and aluminum 

floating foot bridge sets. All the older 

bridges will be stored in set configuration and available for humanitarian as 

well as milit ary needs. 

Th e M ed ium G ir d er Bri d ge 

(M G B) (bridge, erection, and reinforcing sets) was developed to repl ace the 

M2 Ba iley bridge (bridge, erecti on , 

cable reinforcing, and pier conversion 

sets) in 1972. The MOB is available in 

sufficient quantities for all 20 mul tirole 

bridge companies- only at a reduced 

authori zati on. Abo ut ] 50 Bailey sets 

Soldiers launch a 70-foot doubledouble Bailey br idge by hand. 

22 Engineer February 2000 
A diver cuts concrete with the hydraulic chain saw, a component of the Underwater 

Construction Set. 

will remain in depot stock with another 100 bridges erected 

or stoc kpiled in numerous countries around the world. Current stocks of MOB sets are bein g overhauled at the rate of 10 

sets per year. The depot work includes inspection, structural 

repair, and repainting. Twenty-eight soldiers can construct 

46 meters of MLC 60 MOB in 3 hours. 

The Heavy Dry Support Bridge (HD SB) is being developed to replace the MO B and in a limited role as a line of 

commun ications (LOC) bridge until a final design is determined for the LOC. The HDSB is a marked improveme nt 

ove r other prefabri cated fixed bridging systems because it can 

be constructed at the rate of 40 meters in 90 minutes by 14 

soldiers and can ca rry MLC 96W170T. The HDSB is programmed for fieldin g in 2002. 

Diving 

roponency for U.S. Army divers resides with the Enginee r Sch ool. All diver s are trained at the Nav al 

Diving and Salv age Training Center, a jo int ser vice 

trainin g command locate d in Panama City, Florida. And while 

diving equipment for engineers and Special Forces is similar, the two group s have different mission requirements for 

tool sets. Army divers' underwater missions involve reconnaissance , dem olition , hydrographi c surveying , obstac le 

emplaceme nt, inspection, repair, light and heavy salvage, and 

recover y. They also co nduct dam, levee, and lock inspec ­

tions for the Corps of Engineers. 

To accomplish those tasks, there is a myriad of diving sets, 

supporting sets, tool sets, and ancillary equipme nt. Diver 

equipme nt sets allow surface-supplied divin g to depths of 

250 feet or self-co ntained (scuba) diving to depths of 190 

feet, thermal and physical protection, depth monitoring, reg ulating gauges, communications equipment, lights, and video 

recorders. Surface-Supplied Lightweight Diving Sets are 

February 2000 

scheduled for procurement in 2000 and 200 1. Scuba Diving 

Sets are tent atively scheduled for procurement in 2008. 

Supporting equipment sets consist of specialized high and 

low air compresso rs for tank and flask filling or supplying 

surface air, gas-analysis kits, and hyperbaric recompression 

chambers.The Sp ecial Divers Air Support System (SDASS) 

is the first of engineer diving equipment in the Force XXI 

modernization plan that supports a modularizati on concep t. 

The SDASS supports extended diving operations by acce pting air from any of three sources and properl y distributing it 

to one, two, or three divers at depth s of 250 feet. It provides 

constant depth monitoring of the divers by topside support 

personnel. The SDASS also supports the recompression chamber and is scheduled for procurement in 2004. 

Th e Underwater Construction Set co nta ins four 

subpackages, Each can be used independently, allow ing diving teams to tailor equipm ent loads based on mission requirement s. The first is a hydrauli c tool package used for constructing; removing debris; and cutting concrete, wood, and 

metal. The second is a cutting and welding package for both 

surface and under water operations. Th e third is a salvage 

package for lifting heavy debris and recovering objects weighing up to 80,000 tons. The fourth cont ains hand tools, hardware, and equipm ent used to locat e and mark under water 

obstacles. All components can be used in freshwater or saltwater to a depth of 250 feel. Procurem ent of the Underwater 

Construction Set began in 1999. 

Ancillary equipment includ es 3-man reconnaissance boats 

and 7- and IS-man inflatable assault boats. All are fabricated 

from neoprene-coat ed nylon fabri c ; have a rigid stern for 

mounti ng an outboard motor; and are issued with paddles, 

air pumps, and a repair kit. Procurement for the 15-man 

boat is underw ay with additional purchases for all three 

beginning in 2002 . A replacement 3S-horsepower outboard 

Engineer 23 
motor is a lso sche d uled for fielding in 2002. The motor is 

hand-start abie , uses a gas/oil-mix fuel, is ca pable of being 

sound suppressed , and c an be re started within 10 minutes 

after being submerge d. An Und erwater Photogr aphy Su pport Sc t , bas ed on digital tec hno logy, will enha nce the di vers 

reconnaissance, inspec tion, and damage-assessment capabilities in the futu re . 

A sen ior enlisted diver in the Materie l Bran ch of the Maneuver Suppo rt Ce nter' s Directorate of Comba t Developme nts 

works closely with the civilia n divin g co mmunity, the Naval 

Di vin g and Sa lva ge Train ing Center, and the item managers 

at TACOM Arma ment and Chemical Acquisiti on and Lo gistics Activity, Rock Island Arsena l, Illi nois, to modernize div ­

ing equipment. Th e ov era ll number of diving se ts needed is 

sma ll compared to other systems, but providing breath able 

air to-and com pleting vital underwater missions by-Army 

di vers req uires the best equipme nt that technology has to offer and an aggressive moderni zation plan. 

Lighting 

The Engineer Sc hool is the pro ponent for temporary 

and porta ble illumination fo r airfi eld s and heliport s; 

tents, camps, and other fac ilities; and co nstruction 

projects. Item managers at the Co mmunica tio ns-Elec tro nics 

Command , Fort Mon mouth, New Jersey, ov ersee the developme nt. procurement, and fielding of mo re than 23,500 

port abl e/temp or ary lighting sets that are found in all types of 

units. 

Li ghting se ts pro vide temporary illumin ati on for tents, 

camps, buildings, co mmand posts, tactical operation centers, 

hospitals, and o the r struc tures and facilities. El ectrical power 

is provid ed directl y by generators and/or local power grids or 

by rech arge able batteries. Safe ty (e lectrical-shock pr otection 

and circui t-overload prevention ) is a primary concern alon g 

with the capability to red uce the light signa ture. Electri cal 

power distribution in biv ou ac areas is normally provided by 

the Distributed III umination Sy stem-E lectrical compon ents 

authori zed to the unit. 

Special-purpose lighting se ts wi th uniq uel y designed lighting unit s are availabl e for emergency lighting of small tacti ­

ca l air strips and landing sites and temporary lighting of 2,000 

lin ear feet of run wa y or a 200-sq uar e-foot he lipad for opera ­

tions under combat conditions. Th ese lights are ligh tweight, 

po rtabl e , and battery-powered; flash with high- inten sity horizo ntal and ve rtic al beams; have multicolored. in terch angeab le domes; and are anchorable. 

Floodlight Sets pro vide li ghting for perime ters; gua rd 

to wers; se cur ity ; prisoner of war ca m ps ; logi stic sites: and 

nighttime co nstru c tion wo rk on airfie lds , roads, pipelines , 

ports. or logi stics-ov e r-the- shore sites, quarries, and batch 

plants. The Floodlight Set is plann ed fo r proc uremen t be ­

g inni ng in 2000 . 

24 Engineer 

As the light sets are rev iewed, changes will be impl em ented 

to make the sy stems safer and eli minate lead-acid batteries, 

increa se the opera ting life of the batteri es by cha ngi ng the 

rec harging charac teristics, and develop more options for recharg ing/operating sources. As develop ment funds bec ome 

available , the sets will be updated ba sed o n the military adaptation of some co mmercial products. 

Fire-Fighting 

The multipurp ose fire -fig hting vehicle wa s procured 

for use by the armed force s to pro vid e fire-fighting 

capability for protect ion of military install ation s and 

aircraft, whether at hom e base or the for ward tactical opera ­

tion s area. The mi litary-adapted comme rcial item (MACI) 

fire -fighting ve hicl e fu nc tio ns equa lly we ll whe n fig hting 

struc tur al fires, combating fue l fire s, or suppressi ng bru sh ­

fires. The MAC! rep laced all configurations of the 530­

series fire trucks- cr ash -rescue, bru shfire , and struc turalfire -currently in the field . The M ACI was fie lded in 1988­

89 and has an on- board, 750-gallon wa ter-storage capa bility; 

seating for a four-soldier crew; and a foam prop ortion er. The 

MACI set is currently managed by TACOM. 

A repl acem ent for the MACI is programmed for 2003 , assuming testing and final selection are completed by (hen . The 

requirement is to have an increased water- tank size ( 1/ )00­

gallon), seating for a crew of six soldiers, a foam proportio ner, 

blackout lights, M \6 rille holders, and four-wheel drive ; and he 

able to ford to depth s of 0.75 meters. It will carry a 3-cubic-feetper-minute air compressor for refi lling air tanks and for use 

with infl atable jacks. In addition, it wiJJ contai n a full set of 

hoses, ladders, tools, and cras h-rescue/survival equipment. 

Summary 

As stated in the first article of this se ries (Engineer, 

Aug ust 1999), each soldier uses one or more sets, 

kits, or outfits containing either the tools of the trade 

or to su ppo rt nume rous other tasks from field feed ing to main ­

tenance to communica tion. Th e next time you disco ver that 

you don' t have the right tool or eno ugh too ls-or if the tool 

doesn 't wo rk- tell your supervisor and then ca ll the M aneuver Suppo rt Ce nter Direct or ate of Co mbat Developments. 

Make your too l se ts work for you . Send co mments to the Organization Branch (Tom Kno lls or Alan Schlie), 320 Engineer Loop, Suite 141 , Fo rt Leon ard Wood , Misso uri 65473 ­

8929. Telephon e numbers are co mmercial (573) 563-6191 , 

DSN 676-6 I91, and fax (573) 563-5056. Th e e-mail address 

is schliea tib wood.anny.mil. 

Mr. Schli e is a fo rce development ana lyst with the Directorate of Combat Developments, U.S. Army Engineer School. A 

retired command sergeant major, he has se rved ill various 

cap aciti es in Europe, Korea . and CONUS throughout his 

career. 

February 2000 

III 
Engineer Safety
 

Halcing the Difference in Todays Hission
 

Anny Safety •

• 

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Bill Ramer and Fred Fanning 

·

rmy Safety Augmentation Detachment (ASAD) per­ Asonnel are an essential piece of the Tot al Army safety 

and can be a pri celess add ition to any deployment 

mission-whether for war, peacekeeping, or training. The key 

is to know whom they are and how to get them on your team. 

The information in this article will help engineer unit conunanders and staff offi cers prep are and execute missions by identifying a so urce for safe ty support. 

In the fall of 1995, the Dayton Peace Agreement on Bosni aHerzegovina was moving toward approval. A NATOcommanded multinational military Implem entation Force (IFOR) 

would mon itor and help ensure compliance with the agreement 

on military aspect" and fulfill certain supporting rol es. 

In Bos nia- Herzegovina, an Ame rican Army general commanded both the Multina tional Division No rth and Task Fo rce 

Eag le. Included in the div ision we re a Nordic-Po lish Brigade, a 

Russi an Brigade, a Turki sh Brigade, and an American Brigade 

and Aviation Regiment. This multinational mission had unique 

requirements, and civilian safety personn el played an important role in helping commanders and leaders implement a safety 

program th at supported the requirements. However, there we re 

not enough of the se personnel to cove r all areas and to stay on 

the job for the hours, days, and month s that they were needed. 

Most en gineer units do not have their own organic civilian 

safety personnel, and it maybe difficult to obt ain support from 

the civilian safety personnel assigned at div ision and corps 

level s. Th e solution for Task Force Eagle was Army reservists 

from the Arm y Safety Augmentation Det aclunent. 

ASAD personnel are individual mobilization augmentees with 

the U.S. Army Reserve. They are officers and warrant officers 

assigned to the U.S . Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Safety 

Office . Th ese personnel recei ve basic training and education in 

ta ctical and ope rational safety. 

ASADs bring to an operation the experience of the ir military 

ba ckground from active duty, reserv es, and Na tional Guard. 

Since they arc still active soldiers, their perspective is focused 

on the needs of their fello w soldie rs as well as the need to 

support the mission. Th eir training helps to focus. this effort 

and join with the ci vilian safety personnel (when available) and 

the ongoi ng safe ty program of the deployed unit. This tie-in is 

critical and will allow the ASAD to join an already-formed team 

and contrib ute to the effort to improve hazard identification and 

cont rol-measure implement ation. 

ASAD s have served during Operation s Joint Endeavor, Joint 

Guard , and Desert Storm, as we ll as operatio ns in Haiti and 

Somalia. ASA D personn el in Bosnia-Herzegovina , Croatia, and 

Hu nga ry pro vided continuous -operati onal safety support to 

U.S . forces traveling to and from and operating in BosniaFebruary 2000 

Herzegovina. Using these personnel was a critical element from 

the time they began training until they reported for duty. Since 

eac h unit makes a choice about where its safety program is 

established in the command structure, ASAD training stresses 

the need for adapting operat ional safety to the command structure and the constantly chan ging operational environment. They 

work for the unit or task-force commander, and their bottom line 

is protecting the soldier and thereby protecting the force. 

The utility of AS AD s is seen best in their ability to provide 

a comma nd with operational military safety personn el with field 

experience. Th ey do not imp le ment the un it sa fety programthey enhance and sustain it. They provide safe ty staff officers 

at the brigade , division , and corps levels. Statistics indi cate 

that soldiers in Operation Joint Guard were actually safer in 

thea ter than in their res pective garri sons in German y and 

CONUS. Seventy -five percent of the Army 's casualtie s are "selfinflicted " through accidents. ASAD personn el are the only staff 

office rs whose sole focus is reducing these incident s and sustaining the ground combat power available to the ground commander. They are proud to have been there. The Task Fo rce 

Eagle motto says it all: Protect the soldier, protect theforce! 

If commanders arc interested in ASAD suppo rt for their next 

mission, operation, or training event , it is essential that they 

understand the program and the support tha t can be provid ed. 

An official requ est must be sent through the chain of comma nd 

to the FORSCOM Safety Offi ce . It is also ess ential that the unit 

Reserve Liaison Officer be involved.Th ere are specific requi rements for which ASAD support can be used , and in some instances a presidential call-up mu st occur before support ca n be 

provided. In addition , in som e cas es there may be costs incurred by the un it for this suppo rt. Th e best approach is to 

outl ine the specific requ irements of the unit and make a form al 

request to the FORSCOM Safet y Office to provide the costs 

and availability of ASAD personn el. For Operation s Joint Ende avor and Joint Guard , th e time and effort spe nt ge tting 

ASADs approved and on the ground were well worth it. 

E-mail comments or questions tofanningf@wood.anny.mil. 

or call him at (573) 596-0116. 

•
 

Lieutenant Colonel Ramer was a member ofthe A,my Safety 

Augmentation Detachment in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He served 

as a safety officer with the 1Sf Armored Division and the 1st 

Inf antry Division. 

Fred Fanning, a certified safety prof essional, is safety director ofthe Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, 

Missouri. He served as safety director f or the U.S Alm y V 

Corps during the first two and one-halfyears ofthe Stabilization Force operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

Eng ineer 25 
Ohio Engilleers Get IIStick TInle"
 

at Selfridge:
 

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship Continues 

By Rae Higgins 

Sports fans have long known about 

the famous Michigan-Ohi o State 

foo tball rivaJry. But there's no rivalry between units at Michigan 's 

Selfridge Air National Guard Base and 

the Ohio Army National Guard 's 216th 

Engineer Comba t Battalion (Heavy). In 

fac t, there 's reason to chee r bec ause 

military units he adqu artered in both 

states joined forces in 1998 to begin a 

comprehensive , ongoing quality-of-life 

project that continues to be mutu ally 

beneficial. For the seco nd year, soldiers 

from the 2 J6th reported for two weeks 

of annual training at Selfridge beginning 

in late July. 

The U.S. Army Garrison-Selfridge, 

which is a business clement of the Tank ­

automo tive and Armaments Command 

(TACO M)-Warren, is one of the active 

duty units at Selfrid ge. Despite the fact 

that Selfridge is an Air National Guard 

base, it is home to soldiers, sailors, airmen,marines, coastguardsmen, and their 

families. The Army garris on is charged 

26 Enginee r 

with infrastructure maintenance, which 

includes housing, morale, welfare, and 

recreational activities. 

Mission 

The 2 16th's mission is to provide 

general engineering with limited 

mobility, co unte rmobility, and survivabi lity tasks. Its soldiers must construct, repair, and maintain supply routes, 

landin g strips, buildings, structures, and 

utilities. As an organization of citizen-soldiers, the unit provides these services both 

to the people of Ohio and to the nation. 

According to TACOM 's National 

Guard adviser, hosting the unit's annual 

train ing is a major mutual endeavor. Not 

only does Selfridge gain new facilities at 

a minimal cost, but the Ohio Army National Guard receives valuable trainin g as 

well. 

Units from the 216th that reported to 

the U.S. Army Garrison-Selfridge for Annual Training ' 99 included Alpha Compa ny, he ad qu artered in Chillicothe : 

Charlie Company, based in Youngstown, 

and its Detachment l out of Camp Perry; 

and Ba tta lion Headquarter s Support 

Company, from Hamilton, and its Detachment I from Felicity. 

This past year's stint at Selfridge was 

especially challenging for the 216th to 

pl a n because the maj ority of the 

battalion's personnel were called up to 

assist with hurricane relief opera tions in 

Nicaragua. In addition, 50 soldiers from 

Alpha Company were deployed to Korea . Hence, the annu al trainin g team 

could not be identified (from the aforementioned units) until the first day of 

trainin g. The battalion held daily training meetings to ascertain how to overcome the obstacles that cropped up and 

forge d ahead with the work at hand. 

Annual Training '99 

Annual Training '99 built upon 

the eng ineers' 199 8 project , 

which centered chiefly on 

Feb ruary 2000 
"vert ical work"-building five picnic pavilio ns in a park along one of Selfridge' s 

shoreline areas. 

The project in 1999 was more compreh ensive, however. as the units got to 

really roll up their sleeves and focus on 

" horizontal" work . Th eir goal was to 

build a recreational vehicle campsite in 

the park. 

In all, the 216th 's soldiers racked up 

some good stick time, indeed. Their major accomplishments included installing 

nearly 1.500 feel of 6-inch water main to 

deliver water to 30 recreational vehicle 

campsites; emplacing two fire hydrants 

to satisfy fire codes; placing base-course 

materials in the main road to the sites 

and a vehicle turnaround; and grading 

the campsite area. 

According to the Garrison - Selfridge 

comm ander, the garrison provided the 

battalion with $37.000 worth of materials 

and received $110,000 worth of construction work this year. 

When completed, the recreational vehicle park will be open to active duty service members,retirees,National Guard and 

Reserve members, Department of Defense 

civilians,and eligiblefamily members.The 

park will be managed by the Directorate 

of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, and 

officials hope it will become a moneymaking operation. 1f the park is successful, Selfridge officials will consider building more recreational vehicle campsites. 

A rustic campground project might even 

be in the works. 

The measurement of an exercise such 

as this is the kind of training soldiers 

get. The exercise increased the overall 

readiness of the battalion by giving soldiers an opportunity to hone their military occ upatio nal specialty skills. Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances 

at the outset, in the end it all paid off. 

Heavy equipment operators received a 

lot ofstick time, and the troops were not 

only able to pull vehicle maintenance but 

also to cross train and increase the skill 

proficiency of junior enlisted soldiers. 

Cross training is an essen tial element of 

the battalion's work. It became especially 

important because the annual trainin g 

team was "piecemealed" together due 

to th e Nica ragua missi on. For thi s 

February 2000 

When complete, this shoreline area will be home to a recreational vehicle campsite complete with electrical and water hookups. 

project, the plumbing teams con sisted of 

about 20 carpenters who cross trained 

as plumbers. 

The 64 soldiers who participated in the 

Selfridge Annual Training '99 came from 

all walks of civilian life-among them students, plumbers, correc tions officers, and 

business owners. Whatever their civilian 

profession, they were all motivated for annual training and eager to work and leam . 

On e sergea nt who had previously 

spent seven years on active duty logged 

her first annual training with the National 

Guard at Selfridge. The veterinary tech ­

nician said she learned a lot while in 

Michi gan, such as survey ing, drivin g 

trucks, and laying pipe. As one of the 

few women participating in the annual 

training, she said that today's Army offers more opportunities for women than 

when she was on active duty. The Boston native said she and the other women 

in the battalion were doing the same kind 

of work and received the same kind of 

treatment as their male counterpa rts. 

A loader operator from the Headquarters SUPP0l1Company, a private residential construc tion worker in civilian life, 

was able to spend all-important time using his loader to fill c-ton truck s with dirt 

that the dozer operators had dug, moved, 

or cleared. He emp hasized that it is always good trainin g for the unit whenever you can get on your equipment. The 

site noncommissioned officer in charge 

agreed.The 16-year Guard veteran, who 

had j ust retu rned from Nicaragua, said 

that annual training rota tions provide 

opportunities for soldiers to gain crucial experience. These types of projects 

provide realistic traini ng for tasks the 

unit might encounter on the battLefield . 

The Benefits 

The Selfrid ge-Ohio Na tional 

Gu ard partnership proved to 

be a win -w in situa tio n an y 

way you look at it. The battalion worked 

projects that have real-world application 

on the battlefiel d, so it maintains readiness by sharpening soldiers' skills. The 

garrison and the Selfridge community 

as a whole not only get new or impro ved 

facilities and a significant qualit y-of-life 

upgrad e, but they also get them for a 

bargain. It was great training for the Ohio 

Guard engin eers and great savings for 

the gove rnment and it gave folks great 

facilities to enjoy. 

Bo Schembec hler, the University of 

Michigan's fabled former gridiron skipper, and legend ary ex-Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes wouldn 't even 

argue with that. III 

Rae Higgins is Q civilian public
 

affairs specialist assigned to Head­

quarters, U.S. Army Tank- automotive
 

and Armaments Comma nd, Warren,
 

Michigan.
 

Engineer 27 
Past in Review
 

The 

By DJ: James W Dunn 

he U.S. Army Co rps of En gineers did not build the Panama 

Canal. It was built by the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), which 

was authorized by the Spooner Act and 

appointed by the President of the United 

St ates. How ev er, Army eng inee rs became involved in the U.S. interest in 

building a ca nal in 1870 when President 

Ulysses S. Grant, stimulated by the open ­

ing of the Suez Canal in 1867, ordered 

the U.S. Navy to conduct surveys of possible canal routes in Ce ntra l America . 

The Na vy reported to an Interoceanic 

Can al Commission whose membership 

inclu ded Chief of Engineers Bri gadier 

General Andrew A. Hum phreys. 

Th e United States was followi ng the 

path of earlier Sp ani sh interest in the 

possibil ity of a canal trade route some ­

where in Ce ntra l America. Spanish explorer Vasc o de Balboa walked across 

the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific 

Ocea n in 1513, and in the midd le of the 

16th century a Spanish Ca tholic priest, 

Fath er Francisco de Gornara. wrote a 

book about a canal in either Nicaragua 

or Panama. However, it was not until the 

18th century that the Spanish conducted 

surveys of potential routes. In 1787 Thomas Je ffer son , th e U .S. minist er to 

France, made an un successful attempt 

[ 0 obtain those sur vey reports. 

From the middle of the 19th century, 

the United States mad e increasing use 

of the Panam a isthmus as settlers moved 

to the new lands gained in the Me xican 

War, and gold seeke rs rushed to the Californi a mining sites. In 1850 a U.S . compan y obtained the right to build a railroad ac ross Pan am a an d com pleted a 

one -track lin e in 1855. Amo ng those 

who crossed from the Atlantic to the 

Pacifi c in those mid-1 9th century years 

wa s Captain Sam Grant, whe n he moved 

28 Engineer 

and
 

The spillway. looking north from the west wall. Foundations fo r valve and 

cofferdam piers are in the foreground. 

his family in 1852 to his assignment with 

the 4th Infantr y Regim ent in Oregon. 

After studying the Navy sur vey reports in the earl y 1870 s, Pr e sident 

Grant's Interoceanic Canal Commission 

concluded that the Nicaragu a route was 

better than Panama becau se of the high 

cost of a lock canal thro ugh the Isthmus 

of Panama and the threat of yellow fever and malaria there. However, before 

the Unite d States co uld ge t start ed. 

Ferdi nand de Lesseps, builder of the 

Suez Canal, formed a French company 

to build a sea-level canal in Panama. The 

Universal Interoce anic Canal Company 

began work in Februa ry 1881. and by 

midsummer the first yell ow feve r and 

malaria cases we re reported. There were 

125 deaths in 1882 and 420 in 1883. By 

1889 de Lesseps' co mpany was bankrupt, and work on the canal came to a 

halt ; the cost of a sea-level canal was 

too high, and the yellow fever and malaria threat Vi as too grea t. 

Wh ile th e Fren ch str uggled in 

Panama, the United St ate s M ar iti me 

Canal Company-whic h included retired Gene ral George B. McClellan, who 

had entered the Corps of Engineers upon 

his gra d ua tio n from We st Point in 

1846-obtained a concession to build a 

can al in Nicaragua. Several attempts in 

the 1880s and 1890s resulted in fa ilure 

due to high costs and the inability to hire 

a re liable wo rk for ce . Th e U.S. and 

Frenc h failures indicated th at private 

industry could not succeed alon e; an inte rocean ic ca na l in Centra l Am eri ca 

needed government support. 

In 1895 President Gro ver Cleveland 

appointed a thr ee-m ember Nicaragua 

Canal Board to study and compare the 

two rout es- Panama and Nicaragua. 

. The Ludl o w Commission . name d for 

Army engineer member Lieutena nt 

Colonel William Ludlow. recommended 

continued study of the Nica ragua route . 

To do so . in 1897 Presid ent Willi am 

Februarv 2000 
McKinley appointed a Nicara gua Canal 

Commission, It included Professor Lewis 

M. Haupt of the University of Pennsylvania. who graduated from West Point in 

1867 and entered the Corps of Engineers. 

and Army engineer Colonel Pet er C. 

Hains. That commission also rec ommended Nicaragua. 

The U.S . interest in Nicaragua conce rned the French company, which still 

held the de Lessep s' concessi on to build 

a canal in Panama and was interested in 

selling it to the United States. In ] 896 

the French hired a New York lawyer, 

Willi am Nelson Cromwell, as a lobbyist 

for their renamed New Pan ama Canal 

Company. He , in turn , hired retired 

Army engineer Brigadier General Henry 

L. Abbot as a technical expert. Abbot 

wrote a report citing the advantages of a 

lock canal in Panama over a sea-level 

canal in Nicaragua. 

Th e Spanish-American War illustrated to the American publi c the need 

for so me type of c anal in Central 

America when it to ok th e battle ship 

Oregon more th an 60 days to go from 

San Francisco [ 0 the Caribbean by way 

of Cap e Horn . In December 1898 , the 

French mad e an official appr oach to the 

United States ahout buying the concession rights of the New Panama Canal 

Company. 

To sort this all out, Congress appro ­

priated $1 million to fund an Isthmian 

Canal Commission [0 recomm end either 

Panama or Nicar agua as the route for an 

interoceanic canal. Th e ICC included 

Haupt and Hains from the previous commission and Army engineer Lieutenant 

Colonel Oswald H. Ernst. When the November 1901 report recomm ended Nicaragua because it was cheaper than Panama 

(the New Panama Canal Compan y valued its assets at $lOOmillion ), the French 

hired Philippe Bunau-Varil1a to support 

Cromwell's lobb ying efforts in the United 

States. Bunau-Varil1a was a French engineer who had worked for de Lesseps in 

Panama and was a shareholder in the New 

Panama Canal Company. While Bunau ­

Varilla talked about the advantages of 

Panama over Nicaragua- such as better 

February 2000 

harbors, a shorter route, and an operating 

railroad-he also got the New Panama 

Can al Company to revalue its assets at 

$40 million. That made Panama cheaper 

than Nicaragua, and an amended TCC report in Janua ry ]902 recommended the 

Panama route. 

With that rep ort Senator John C. 

Sp ooner success fully sp on sored an 

amendment to turn a Nicaragua bill into 

a Panama bill. The Spooner Act, signed 

into la w by President Th e od ore 

Roosevelt on 28 June 1902, auth orized 

OF 

REPUBLIC 

OF 

PANAMA 

Map of the Panama Canal Zone 

purchase of the New Panama Canal 

Company for $40 milli on, purchase of a 

zon e in Panama for construction of a 

canal, and set up a seve n-member presidential-appointed Isthmian Canal Com ­

mission to build the canal. In the March 

190 3 Hay-Herran Treaty , the United 

States and Co lomb ia (w hich owned 

Panama) agreed on the purchase price 

for (he French company and payment of 

$10 milli on by the Unit ed States to Colombi a for the right to build a canal in 

Pan ama . By Aug ust that treaty was a 

Eng ineer 29 
dead issue, as Colombia wanted more 

than $10 million from the United State s 

and some of the $40 million going to 

the French comp any. 

Fearful that the United States would 

go to Nicaragua, Panamanians interested 

in having the ca nal built across the isthmus approac hed Bunau-Varilla. Ac ting 

as their represen tativ e, Bunau-Varilla 

talked with officials in Washington and 

then promised the Panaman ian s U.S. 

support in the eve nt of a revolt and break 

with Colombia. After an almost bloodless revolt on 3 November, Panama declared itself a republic on 4 November. 

In the early morning of 6 No vember, 

Army engineer Major Willi am M. Black, 

at the requ est of the Panamanians, raised 

the nag of the new republic over the city 

of Co lon. 

Major Bl ack and Army en gineer 

Lieutenant M ar k Brook e we re in 

Panama as representatives of the ICC to 

study and rep ort on the New Panama 

Canal Company in anticipation that Colombia woul d agree to the Hay-H enan 

Treaty. Both engineer officers remained 

in Panam a into] 904, with Black as acting chief engineer and Brooke signing I 

for transfer of the New Panama Canal ! 

Company property to the United States 

on 4 May ] 904. 

Bunau- Varilla, as Panamanian envoy 

to the United States, signed the HayBunau-Varilla Treaty on 18 November 

]903. The United States purchased from 

Panama a 10-mile zone across the isthmus for $ 10 million and S250,00 0 annually, guaranteed Panama's independence 

from Colombi a, and paid the French $40 

million for the New Panama Canal Company. After Panama ratified the treaty in 

December 1903 and the U.S. Senate did 

so in February 1904, Pr e sid ent 

Roosevelt-as required by the Spooner 

Act- named a seve n-member ICC to 

build the canal. The ICC included Co lonel Hains and Lieutenant Colonel Ernst. 

The first ICC chief engin eer wasJohn
 

F Wallace. who was a railroad engi neer
 

and general manager of the Illinois Rail­


road when he took the job to build the
 , 

canal. He arrived in Panama to take over i 

30 Engineer 

from acting chief engineer Major Black 

in July 1904, but he resigned a year later. 

He was fearful of the yellow fever threat 

and attracted by a better-paying job in 

the United St ates. Railroad en gin eer 

John Stevens- an executive with the 

Chicago, Rock Island , and Pacific Rail ­

road- replaced Wallace and arrived in 

Pan am a in Jul y 1905 . He remain ed 

longer than Wallace and was successful 

in building a solid infrastructure that 

included worker and family quarters. His 

railroad exc avatio n system functioned 

like a conveyor belt with the trains carryin g the dirt from the steam sho vels 

directly to the dump sites. 

Stevens was ready to dig in 1906, but 

the type of cana l- sea -Ievel or lockremained a question. Walla ce had recommended a sea-level canal, but Stevens 

favored a lock canal. A 13-member board 

of co nsulting engineers recommended , 

by an 8-5 margin, a sea-level canal, but 

the ICC accepted the minority report for 

a lock canal writt en by retired Army engineer Brigadier General Hen ry L. Abbot. The plan President Roosevelt signed i 

into law in June 1906 called for a ca nal' 

with thr ee locks on the Atlantic side, 

three on the Pac ific side, and a lake in 

the middle created by dammin g the 

Chagres River at Gatlin. 

Stevens never gal very far with this 

plan bec ause he resigned in February 

]907. His stren gth was as a railro ad construction engineer, and by 1907 the 

conveyor-belt-type railroad system was 

in place. What awaited Stevens was hydraulic engineering: the design of dams 

and locks and the large-scale use of concrete. Th at was not his strength, but it 

certainly was the strength of Army engineers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Thu s, it was to the Corps that 

President Roo sevelt looked to get someone who could not quit. 

On 18 Febru ar y, Roose velt summoned Army engineer Major George 

W. Goe thals to the White House for 

an interview and . on 26 February, he 

announced that Goe thals was going to 

Pan ama as chairma n of the ICC and 

chief engineer to complete construction 

of the Panama Canal. As a member of 

the Army General Staff, Major Goethals 

had accompanied Sec retary of War William Howard Taft to the Canal Zone in 

1905 to recommend sites for coa st defense fortifications. 

In 1907 Goeth als was 47 years old 

and had almost 30 years experience as 

an officer in the Corps of Engineers. 

Up on graduation from West Point in 

1880, he entered the Corps and began a 

career of river-and-harbor and lock-anddam construction work on the Ohio and 

Tennessee Rivers, canal work at Muscle 

Shoals, and coast defen se con struction 

work in New England. 

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 

March 1907. Goeth als took with him to 

Pan am a as members of the ICC two 

oth er Army engineers. Majors David 

Gaill ard and William Sibert. Both were 

members ofthe West Point class of 1884. 

Gailiard was serving on the General Staff 

with Goethals and had experience in 

river-and-harbor work, while Sibert had 

a river- and-canal work background. 

Goethals placed Army engineer Maj or Harry F.Hodges in charge of the ICC 

offi ce in Washington, D.C., where he 

could use Corps personnel throughout 

the United State s to help select and inspect equipment to be sent to the Canal 

Zone . Goethals initially organized the 

canal work by type, putting Gaill ard in 

charge of exca vation and dredging 

and assigning Siber t to lock- and -dam 

co nstruction. 

After several months of observation, 

Go eth al s was re ad y to make so me 

changes. In late 1907, he moved the two 

Sosa Hill locks on the Pacific side inland to Miraflores because of the threat 

of naval bombardmen t. He brought 

Hodges to Panama as assistant engineer 

in cha rge of lock design and repl aced 

him in Washin gton with Army engineer 

Maj or Frank C. Boggs. He widened the 

bottom width of the CuJebra Cut, a 

channel through the Culebra Mountain 

in the Continental Divide, from 200 to 

300 feet ; and, on the recommendation 

of the Navy, increased the lock widths 

from 100 to ]]0 feet. 

February 2000 
Goethals reorganized construction res po nsibility on a geographic 

basi s. Maj or Sibert got the Atl antic 

Division fro m the ocea n throu gh the 

Gatun Lock s to the Gatun Dam, and 

Major Gaill ard got the Centra l Division of Gatu n L ake and th e 

Cul ebra Cut. Syd ney Williamso n, a 

Corp s c ivi lian e ngineer who had 

worked with Goethal s in Tenn essee 

and New England, go t the Pacific 

Divisi on fro m the Pedr o Miguel 

Lock throu gh the Mira tlores Locks 

to the ocean. Goe thals divided each 

di vision into districts, with a sup erintendent of con stru ction in charge, 

and he orga nized his headquarters 

into sections responsible for design, 

buil din gs and eq uipment, and survey and person nel. Sim ilar to the 

Co rps system , design and ge neral 

pl anni ng came fro m the headquarters while the detail s were left to the 

di visions. 

Construction of the Gatun Dam be ­

gan in 1907. Th e l.5-mile earthen dam , 

with a con crete spillway in the middle, 

crossed the Chagres Ri ver to create a 

164-square-mil e lake as part of the canal. Lock constr uction be gan in 1909, 

with Army eng ineer Maj or Ja mes P. 

Jervey supervising mason ry work of the 

triple locks. In 191 2 Army engineer 

Lieutenant Frede rick Mears co mpleted 

relocation of the Panama r ailroad re ­

quired by the creation of Gatun Lake. 

The ca nal was near completion in 1913, 

when ste am shovels wo rking from both 

ends of the Culebra Cut met in May and 

Gatun Lake began to fill in Jun e. In September a trial lockage at the Gatun Loc ks 

resulted in th e tug Gatun rising from the 

lowest chamber to the lake in 1 hour and 

51 mi nutes. Th e c ana l wo u ld h ave 

ope ne d in 191 3 but [or slide s in the 

Culebra Cut. 

Fortification of the Canal Zone was 

only partially completed by 19 13. Th e 

Hay-Buan a-Varilla Treat y gave the 

Unite d States the rig ht to fortify the 

zone, but it was not until I9 11 that 

Congress appropriated the fun ds to begin fo rt ific atio n con struction. Wi th 

February 2000 

The 55 Panama in Culebra Cut, near Empire. on a trip southward through the 

canal. 

Sydn ey Williamson as co nstruc tion supervi sor and Army engineer Major Eben 

E. Wilson the design engi neer, construction began that year on three forts on 

the Atlantic side and two on the Pa cific. 

In 1912 the Ch ief of Engin eer s organi ze d a sec tio n in hi s o ffice under 

Goethal's son , Army engineer Lieutenant George R. Goe thals, to oversee for ­

tification co nstruction in the Canal Zone . 

Th e first Atlantic fort wa s opera tional 

in 1914 and the first on the Pacific side 

in 1916. By the tim e the United States 

entered World War I, the re we re nin e operational forts at each end of the cana l. 

With the cana l read y to open, an April 

1914 exe cutive order abolished the ICC 

and established the Panam a Ca nal with 

George W. Goethals as the first governor of the Cana l Zone. Although the start 

of the war in Euro pe overshadowe d it, 

the ca nal officially open ed on 15 August 

when the liner Ancon passed fro m the 

A tlantic [0 the Pac ific side. While most 

of the Army engi neers who had worked 

on the canal were there in 1914, one wa s 

missin g . Li euten an t Col onel Da vid 

DuBose Ga illard left Panama in 1913 

to seek medical attention in the United 

States. He died in Baltimore on 5 

December 1913 of a brain tumor, and in 

April 1915 President Woodrow Wilson 

ren amed Culebra Cut as Gaillard Cut in 

his hon or. 

Th ere wer e rewards and hon ors for 

all for co mpleting the canal. highlighted 

by the March 1915 promotion s of George 

W. Goe th als and Harry F. Hodges to 

major ge neral and Willi am Siber t to 

brigad ier genera l. However, for the Army 

engineers, the greatest reward over the 

years pro ved to be not only that they had 

completed co nstruc tion of the ca nal bu t 

that they had built a ca nal for the centuries . At the end of the 20th century, the 

Pan am a Cana l was still operating as a 

vital link in world co mme rce . 

D r. Dunn is a historian in the Office 

of History, U.S. Army Corps of En gineers, Alexan dria , Virginia. 

Su ggested Reading 

Ger stl e M ack, The Land Divided; 

David Mc Cullough, The Path Between 

the Seas. 

Engineer 31 
PERSCOM ··Not es
 

By Sergeant Major Theressa Fillmore 

.. . 

When Can I Retire? " .	 . " .> particular IniliiMy occupational speci~tyd'vlOS) or skill and exThere are several misconceptions'in the field' about peds them to fulfill their commitment by serving in that MOS or 

.'	 the ability to retire , at will, w.h~n first .eligible (20 .'. skill.for a sp<":Citlc amount of time. Unexpected requests for re­

'. years);'Many senior nO;lc lilJni 'si~~~ officer's belie·ve;:·. ··ti re ou l~.: result ill the Army trying to get another soldier 

and unde~stand ~IY so: th ~t 'th ': ~hi 9 1' .•. arl ~r :~.ancxpected in order tocarry on the mission. 

service, they should have no problem'gettin:g a. e~ .r ~, . Ti ht·d~a·de. Solilie'rspromoted'to sergeantf~t class,masquest approved.::. .'~.' .:.' ' ~.: ".' -,: ter sergeant;',and sergeant major incur ea service obligaAccording 'to Army Reg:ui ation "635 ~2bo En ii ~d ·j)e ;soit- -v> i()!1 ..Th·is.obligationis from.the effeCii~e date of thepromotion 

nel, paragraph.J ~4 of th~ ~Regul<u- "A l1 h 6 h~ ..''.:before voltlntaiy'nondisabilityretirement.unl ess soldiers are elicompleted 20 but less than"30 years of ACtive Fedeni.!·Service'.'. ' gible for retirement'by completing 30~or more years AFS; al­

(AFS) l11aY t.t~e isc;eti ~n {the Secretary of the Army, ~' "ready" eligibie through'prior service fo a higher gradeattime of 

.retiredat his \:'rher reques Th oldle must have ~orriplet~d

all requi red service ·oblii"ations -ilt the tim f.the retireinent:'; 

'. ~)f cour .e 'th Secr t~i cifth r:ri ri 't per ;1Cll iy ap­

.pr0.ve the request, The .approviii authoritY·for 1Li )' retiremerit requests is delegated to'other inciiyiduals referred to as a 

"retirement approvalilUthority." . ....,... . 

Sergeants first class and above have mandatory retirement 

dates (MRD) that extend past20 years. For sergeants first class, 

the MRD is 22 years; for master sergeants/first sergeants, the 

MRD is26 years; and for sergeants major/commandsergeants 

major, the MRD is 30 years. Any request for retirement earlier 

than shown is a voluntary request and inay be disapproved . 

": retirement;.age 55 or older; or exercises expiration of term of 

.service: A promoted soldier may not, at his or her request, be 

reduced to terminate the required service obligation. 

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) . Soldiers who are 

moved fr0I11 CONUScto-CONUS or OCONUS-to-CONUS 10­

.cations are required to serVe 12 months from the time of arrival. 

th~ ~rmy expends funds to move them, and in n:any cases 

their families, and expect" them to serve the allotted time. 

Retirement in Lieu of PCS. This is our biggest challenge 

regarding voluntary retirement requests. Soldiers who receive 

notification for PCS may request retirement in lieu of PCS 

subject to the following conditions: 

The kcy phrase is "must have completed allrequired obli- ... .. Soldiers whohave 19 years 6 months or more of AFS when 

gations at the time of retirement." The following obligations ' 

usually require an exception to policy for approval. These requests also are more likely to be disapproved. 

Tour Completion. Soldiers stationed overseas are obligated 

to complete their tours as follows: 

. . 

•	 Soldiers accompamed by dependent s who t~a~eled government expense must complete the prescnbed "with de-. 

pendent " tour or at least 12 months from the date of arrival 

of dependents, whichever is longer, 

" . ' . . " 

•	 Unacc,~mpamed soldiers must complete the prescnbed all 

others tour. 

•	 Soldiers who have no dependents must complete the tour ' 

prescribed for the country ill which they are serving, . 

notified of PCS. The .retirement 'application must be submitted within 30 days of receiving PCS.notification. The 

retirement date will not be later.than 6 months from the 

date of not~ficati?n .or the first day.of:the .month rollo~ing the month III which 20 years of AFS 1S completed, which ­

ever is later. All service obligations must be fulfilled no 

later than-the approved retirement date-, 

. . . . , . .. 

•	 . So~dlCrs who woul.dhave less th~n. 20year~ of.AFS upon 

arrival at a new assignment may sign a Decimation of Continued Service Statement (DC~S). They are required to retire immediately upon attaining retirementeligibility, and 

the DCSS must" be submitted andapproved within 30 days 

of receiving officialPCS.notification .' 

As you can see, there areseveral roadblocks in the path of 

Soldiers who have requested and been granted an in-place . -, voluntaryretirement. The needs of the' Army usually prevail. 

consecutive ov'erseas tour (IPCQT) ora consecutiv e overseas Soldiers should not make' concreteplans, such as civilian emtour (COT) wouldfind a retirement approval especially diffi- .ployment or'school enroilinent, untiltheir retirement has been 

cult if they have taken advantage of the benefits (family trav ~I/ approved .Transitionie and permissive temporary duty imleave) of the IPCOT or COT. These requestsare .also-patticu- pacts, because those dates'are considered in all exception-tolarly difficult toapprove.because th soldier ieques d~gthe ·e .' policy re·qu sts We \v ri to.workwith soldiers and their 

tirement causes an uhprogrfunmed loss' that usually-requires a -, ' families; however, the' Army expects'soldiers' to-fulfill their 

replacement in ashort amount of time: .' cOinmitmeritstothe best of their abilities. 

upon graduation

. Sd~ools Many . The Army expends fundo~.!s :r.e~

. 

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training <::rv ce'sijIdieis

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gain'. 

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. Major .. Fill

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eant ;'.. '.' . major of the Engi­ 32 Engineer	 February 2000 
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