...
 

I I
 

Summer, 1971 
the 

•

e glneer

Summer, 1971 

SUMMER 1971 VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2 

1 Engineer Interview/ LTG Frederick J. Clarke 

6 From South Of The Border/ CPT D ennis P, Pierman 

10 Gazing Through The Crystal Ball /COL Jack G. Becker 

14 A Salute To The Corps / Il". T. Sp riegel 

18 Mapping A Future/ M ichael J. T erc)' 

24 Lam Son 719/El1gilleer Staff 

28 A Managemenr Breakthrough/CPT P.W . Bockman 

32 Bridging The Gap /Persom lel N ot es 

34 Total Professionalism/ MAJ Paul L. Theuet· 

37 Bye Bye Blackbirds/CPT Guy "'o)'ner 

U.S. Ar y Engineer School 

Fort Be lvoir, Virginia 

MG Robert R. Ploger 

Comm andan t 

BG Ira A. Hunt 

A ssista nt Command ant 

COL Willia m F. Hart Jr. 

Deputy Assistant Commandant 

MAJ Tommy B. King 

Officer-in -Cha rge 

Robert G. McClintic 

Edit or 

Michael J. Tercy 

Associate Editor 

CPT Tom Trivan 

Circulation Mana ger 

John W. Sav age, Jr. 

Art Director 

The Engineer is an a Ulhorised quar­


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Enginoor School, It is pub lished 10
 

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 The Engineor, USA Engineer School.
 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060, Views
 and opini on. exp reued herein are
 not necenarily tho se of 'he Doparl­
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printing of Ihls publicalion has been
 

approved by Headqua rters. Depart­
 ment of the Army, July 11, 1969.
 

Subscription s to THE ENGINEER
 

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Governmen' Printing Office, Wash­


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ABOUT THE COVER 

Apollo 14 blasts off the
 

launching pa d a t Cape
 

Kennedy on a nothe r historic trip to the moon. Al­


though no Engineer was
 

a boa rd the spa ce craft, the
 

Corps ma de significant
 

contributions to the suc­


cess of th moon shot. It
 

was the Corps tha t pro­


vided the aps w hich
 

charted the a strona uts
 

path to the meen, It also
 

was the Corps tha t super­


vised the construction of
 

the Kennedy la unch base.
 
• engineer 

interview: 

with 

lieutenant general 

Frederick 

J. 

Clarke 

In fulfilli ng its never ending 

commitment to info rm the Engineer Officer, the engineer magazine went to the top of the 

Corps hierarchy to conduct a personal interv iew with the Army's 

Chief of Engineers, Lieute nant 

Ge neral Frederick J. Clarke . 

As Chief of Engine ers, General Clarke is the projec t manager 

for A rmy engineering suppo rt 

and as such is responsible to the 

Secretary of the Army and the 

Chief of S taff for managing of a 

wide variety of engineering acti vities. 

The Gen eral was appointed to 

the Corps highest position A ugust. 1, 1969, following a three 

ye ar assignment as Deputy of 

En gineers in Washingto n, D. C. 

Commissioned in the Corps of 

Engineers in 1937 follow ing 

graduation from We st Point, 

General Clarke's career has been 

one of dedi cation to the Corps. 

In World War II he serve d as a 

battalion com mander overseas 

and was later assigned to W ashington for du ty with A rmy Service Forces. In the post war period , the General had assignments in the field of atom ic energ)' and at the A rm ed Forces 

Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base in A lbuquerque, New 

Mexico. A s District En gineer of 

the Tra ns-East District of the 

Corps in the late 195 0's, General 

Clarke was responsible for military aid construction in Pakistan 

and Saudi Arabia and initiated 

transportation sur veys in East 

Pakistan and Burma. 

The General received his masters degree in civil engineering 

[rom Cornell University in 1940. 

He has also attended the Armed 

Forces Staff College, the National War College , and the A dva nced Management Program of the 

Gradu ate School of Business at 

Harvard Univers ity . 

In the early 1960's General 

Clarke served as the Engine er 

Commissioner for the District of 

Columbia, and from 1963 to 

1965 , as Director of M ilitary 

construction in the O ffice of the 

Chief of Engine ers. From 1965 

to 1966, he served as the Commanding General of the US A rm y En gineer Center and Commandant of the En gineer School 

at Fort Belvoir, Virginia . 

T11 carrying out his responsibilities as the Chief o f Engineers, 

General Clarke heads the wo rld's 

largest and most versatile construction agency . As manager of 

the Nation 's com prehe nsive Water Resources De velopm ent Program, the Army Ci vil Wo rks Program , the Chie f of E ngineers directs waterways planning, design , 

construction management and enginee ring service for the A rmy, 

and as assigned; designs and construc ts for the A ir Force, N ASA , 

the US Post Office, and othe r 

U.S. Governm ent agencies as well 

as governme nts from other countries. 

The Chi ef of Engineers and his 

staff are actively engaged in providing general and specialized 

engineering support to the Army , 

which includes assistance in organizing, equ ip ping , training , and 

force structuring of active and 

reserve En gineer units; the developme nt of new and im proved engineer techniques and materials; 

establishment of a wo rldw ide geodetic datum jar mapping through 

the use of satellites,' as well as 

special studies with logistical and 

engineering imp licatio ns for the 

joint and General Staffs. 

Tn sho rt, it can be said with 

great certainty that General 

Clarke , the Chief of En gineers. is 

a man with his finger on the pulse 

of the A rmy, as well as the Corps 

of En gineers. 

ENGR: GENERAL CLARKE, 

PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR ROlE AS 

CHIEF ADVISOR ON ENGINEER 

ACTIVITIES TO THE CHIEF OF 

STAFF. 

CL ARKE: This has been spelled out in Army Regulations in 

what I would call pretty formal 

language. H owever, T like th e 

desc ription th at came out in some 

of the supporting papers that 

said the Chief of Engineers in essence is the systems manager for 

all engineering matters in the 

Army . Our job in this office is to 

make sure that all E ngineer activities in the Army are mo ving 
together. Thi s encompasses the 

development of doctrine, which 

is prim arily the responsibility of 

CDC (Combat Developm ent 

Command ) , the training, which is 

CO NARC's (Continental Army 

Command) responsibility, development of equipment which is 

AMC's (Army Materi al Command ) responsibility, and the 

fi e'd operations, which are under 

the respective field commanders . 

We accomplish this task by 

looking into all aspects of Engineer operations in ord er to decide on areas which look as if 

they need spe cial atte ntion. 

Once this is done we can get 

those who are responsible to focus their attention to specific 

pro blem areas . 

My offi ce does this in many 

ways. Probably the best way is by 

discussion . By this mea ns we 

reach agreements, sometimes on 

an informal basis, putting accent 

into areas where we think we are 

having trouble. 

ENGR: WHAT IN YOUR 

WORDS IS THE REAL MISSION 

OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS? 

CLARKE: Condensed down 

to a very few words, the mission 

of the Corps of Engineers is to 

enha nce the capability of the 

Ar my to live and fight in the 

field. This, of cour se, includes the 

myriad activiti es involved in the 

host of comb at engineering and 

construction tasks which we perform. All of Our other missions , 

many of which are very significant and of great importanc e to 

the Nation, serve only to enhance 

the capability of the Corps of Engineers to provide this engineering suppor t to the Army. 

ENGR: WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 

THE CORPS IN VIETNAM? 

CLARKE: Th e war there has 

been called an engineer war and 

I would agree that we have been 

called upon to play a very importa nt role in Vietnam . On e of the 

biggest jobs the engineers were 

ca lled upon to perform in Vietnam was the construction between 1965 and 1969 of 26 

major base cantonments each 

housing from J,000 to 40,000 

men. Befor e 1965 the only major 

port in South Vietnam was in 

Saigon. We built or improved 

ports at DaNang, Qui Nhon, 

Vung Ro Bay, Cam Ranh Bay, 

Saigon and Vun g Tau to handle 

all deep dr aft shipping. The Lines 

of Communications Restoration 

Progr am, better kno wn as the 

LOC Program tasked Army engineers with the upgrad ing and 

hard surfaci ng of about 2,70 0 

kilometers of highway. To dat e 

nearly 2,000 kilometers of this 

highwa y have been completed. 

OUf engineers constru cted 22 

hospital s with more than a 6,000 

bed capacity and built more than 

15 million square feet of refrigerated, closed and open storage 

space to support the allied effort. Army engineers there have 

constructed 23 major airfields 

that can accommodate C-1 30 

type aircraft. Eight of these airfields can handle jet aircraft. 

These are in addition to numerous other support strips which 

were built by Army engineers. 

Engineer efforts in Vietn am have 

been monumental and I think 

that we all can be proud of the 

acco mplishments of the Corps in 

that country. 

As in any large und ert akin g, 

we learned a great deal during 

our operations in Vietn am. As 

we learned and were faced with 

new condit ions and requirements, 

We developed and introduced 

new equipment and concepts. 

During times of rapid buildup 

and deployment, there is always 

a tendency to reinvent the wheel. 

I believe we avoided that in 

Vietnam. One major inno vation 

in Vietn am was the use of land 

clearing on a large scale with specialized equipment. Our Rome 

Plows have cleared over 700 ,­

000 acres of land. This has d 

nied concealment and refuge { 

the enemy, improved security an 

opened land for agricultural development by Vietnamese farmers. In order to do the large scal e 

construction our battalions are 

engaged in with the LOC program, we purchased large commercial type construction equipment to augment our units' TOE 

equipment. 

Th e commercial equ ipment increased production significan Lly 

and has worked so well that 

we are giving serious consideration to including cert ain items 

of off-the-shelf civilian con ­

struction equipment in the TOE 

of all our engineer units. Road 

construction in the Delt a posed 

many problems due to the lack of 

aggregate in that area. Refinements in soil stabil ization methods using lime-clay mixtures 

largely solved this problem 

us. With the advent of large sc 

f 

use of helicopters in Vietnam, the 

cont rol of dust became a majo r 

2 
'problem. The introduction of 

dust palliatives, chiefly peneprime, proved to be the answer 

to this particular problem. 

We developed and introduced 

many new piece s of equ ipment in 

Vietnam to include: a light tactica l aluminum bridge mounted on 

armored personnel carriers for 

rapid crossing of short gaps ; sectionalized airmobile engineer 

equ ipment th at could be tran sported by helicopter; a new lightweight, heavy-duty aluminum runway matting; pre-engineered and 

prefabri cated DeLong Piers that 

were used to develop ports; and 

T-17 plastic membrane for airship and helipad surfacing . Of 

cours e this is just a partial listing, 

but I thin k that it is representative and can give you some idea 

of the magnitude of our work and 

developm ent efforts in support of 

ur role in Vietnam. 

The ma jor problem we have 

had in the pa st, and are still continuing to have, is trying to decide what areas rea lly need the 

most attention. We have ap ­

proached this problem in a variety of ways . Th e staff and I 

have been able to sense the most 

pertinent problem areas through 

our field visits. Through the visits 

we get reactions from people in 

the field and gain an insight into 

what areas need mor e attention 

and wha t should be done to make 

corrections. This method is probably the best in dealing with this 

problem. 

We have within our military 

engineering directorate here, a 

group of people who are Co nsta ntly ana lyzing all of the functions of the Army En gineers and 

evaluating on a subjective basis 

hat area s need more activity. 

dditi onally, we receive fi eld repo rts that come in from such 

areas as mine and countermine 

warfare where there is a definite 

need for more activity. These are 

just some of the ways in which 

we determ ine where the force of 

the office should be directed. 

ENGR: HYPOTHETICALLY, IF 

THE VIETNAM CONFLICT ENDED 

TOMORROW, WHAT WORTHWHILE TRAINING WOUlD THE 

CORPS HAVE TO OFFER THE RETURNING ENGINEER OFFICER? 

CLARKE: Tthink we are making some very definite progress in 

stateside training. The Army has 

wholehe artedly adop ted the concept that our Engineer units that 

are in training will be used to 

meet general constr uction requirements at various posts, 

camps, and stati ons. However , T 

want to stress that these units 

would not be performing construction in competition with industry on projects approved by 

Congress in the Military Construction Army appropriation. 

We are also in the process of 

sett ing up utility detachm ent s 

which will perform basically the 

same function as conventional 

construction units. These detachment s will be engaged in minor 

construction, and aid post Engineers in the State s. 

On the other hand, many Engineer units presently stationed in 

Europe have very heavy construction commitments which 

they ca rry out for the Air Force. 

These are often in addition to 

their "normal" commitments for 

the Army. 

Similarly, as Vietnam draws 

down , we are going back to the 

posture that we had before the 

Southeast Asia conflict of assigning many more officers to our 

En gineer Districts. We are authorized to put 600 officers into 

this pro gram and we are now 

utilizing about 400 of this number, many of which are lieutenant s on the "Volunteer Indefinite 

Program." Of cours e, they are 

going to be disapp ear ing soon 

and their places will be taken 

by ca ptains and major s. I would 

anticipa te that we are talkin g 

abo ut two to three hundred additional captain s and majors going into District assignments in 

both Civil Wor ks and Milit ary 

Engineering. 

We also still have troops in 

many overseas locations such as 

Alaska, Hawaii and Panama. 

Also we have our Mediterranean 

Division , which is presentl y engaged in Saud i Arabia. Programs 

of these types will most certainly 

be continued. Likewise, we still 

have the Reserve assignments and 

ROTC instructors program and 

1 am sure we will assign more 

officers in these area s in the future tha n we are currentl y. 

This brin gs me to the point 

that I have been stressing. As th e 

strength of the Regular Army 

goes down, we have got to make 

an all out effort to get the Reserves and National Gu ard up to 

the level to assume a readiness 

postur e to back up the Regular 

Army. 

ENGR: WHAT IS PRESENTLY 

BEING DONE TO REACH THIS 

3 
LEVEL OF READINESS TO WHICH 

YOU REFERRED? 

CLARKE : Many things, such 

as assigning more and better 

qualified officers to Reserve and 

National Guard units, increasing equipment priorities and developing more realistic summer 

training programs. 

The Army is also considering 

the "Sister Unit" approach, which 

I think is a good idea . Within this 

concept, a Reserve unit is allied 

with a unit in the Regular Army 

for training and administrative 

purposes. Some concepts would 

even make reserve battalions or 

brigades a formal part of a Regular Army unit. The only difference will be that the unit will not 

be on active duty. 

I think this will bring up the 

esprit and morale of the Reserve 

and National Guard units, and 

will enable the Army to utilize all 

Engineer units to their fullest potential , 

ENGR: WHAT IS BEING DONE 

TO IMPROVE THE MILITARY 

ABILITY OF THE CORPS? 

CLARKE : We are continually 

trying to improve the equipment 

and materials that our engineer 

soldiers work with in the field. 

We are well along in the development of new and improved 

floating and fixed bridges that 

will materially improve our bridging capabilities. A great deal of 

effort is going into mine and 

countermine warfare , Our research and development work 

had produced some very promising new concepts in this area that 

we hope will solve some of our 

present short-comings. We have 

studied new organizations for the 

construction and combat battalions and will be field testing a 

new functionally-organized construction battalion Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) 

next year . New and improved engineering design and rapid construction criteria for combat support facilities are being developed 

that are responsive to the needs 

of modern , highly mobile warfare . 

We are upgrading the instruction 

and training of our engineer soldiers and officers. In capsule 

form, we are attempting to train 

and organize our engineers to obtain the maximum results from 

the best equipment in the world. 

ENGR: WHAT MILITARY PERSONNEL SHORTAGES IS THE 

CORPS CURRENTlY FACING? 

CLARKE: At this time, and 

for the immediate future , the only 

officer shortage of real concern 

occurs in the grade of major, 

where only slightly more than 50 

percent of the authorized strength 

is available. Strengths of other 

commissioned grades are in relative balance. The major's situation should improve as future 

promotion boards meet and the 

Arm y approaches its lowered 

strength objectives . And we also 

have retention of our junior officers to help meet our needs. I 

have been very much impressed 

by many of our new junior officers in recent years. They are 

highly qualified and well motivated . The attractiveness of the 

Volunteer Indefinite program 

and continuing educational opportunities have provided significant incentives for many to stay 

in. I would encourage them to 

take advantage of the many opportunities available to them and 

consider a full service career. 

They are to be our majors of tomorrow who will contribute to 

the future successes of the Corps. 

Every field grade officer should 

keep this in mind, and counsel 

these young officers at every opportunity to insure they are aware 

of the future that is ahead. 

As with the rest of the Army, 

shortages of enlisted skills and 

qualifications are being experienced. The Skills Enlistment Option Program, designed to attract 

personnel qualified in man y of 

the construction skills, has contributed positively to gaining 

skilled enlisted personnel within 

the ranks, 

ENGR: GENERAL WESTMORELAND HAS SAID THAT THE 

ARMY NEEDS BETTER LEADERSHIP. HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO 

THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS? 

CLARKE: I think the demand 

for better leadership in all armies 

has been universal ever since the 

first army in history took to the 

field. Certainly, our Army today 

and the Corps need the very best 

leadership the country has available . Our troop leaders are faced 

with social problems that may 

not have been present in the pa st. 

Racial tensions , drug addiction 

and the public reactions to an unpopular war all create new problems for our leaders. There is a 

communications problem between some of our young enlisted 

men and some of the older officers and NCO's that needs to be 

solved and poses problems for 

our leaders . As we move toward a 

Volunteer Army and a major 

4 
reduction in strength as the war 

in Vietnam winds down, the challenges to leadership will be even 

greater because we must continue to provide the kind of an 

Army the Nation deserves and 

needs We see little in the future 

which would indicate that we 

should lower our Nation's 

guard. The challenge to leadership in the Corps will be to do 

more with less-in terms of both 

money and personnel. 

ENGR: HOW IS THE CORPS IN· 

VOLVED IN ENVIRONMENTAL 

CONTROL? 

CLARKE: The most visible 

part of our activity in the environmental protection field is our permit program. This program establishes a nationwide Federal 

Perm it Program to regulate discharges in the Nation's navigable 

waters and their tributaries. The 

Refuse Acr-e-Section 13 of the 

Rivers and Harb ors Act of 1899 

- prohibits discharges, except 

from public streets and sewers in 

liquid form , into any navigable 

waters of the United States or 

their tributaries without a permit issued by the Co rps. This particular piece of legislation was 

designed and written to pr ohibit 

obstructions to navigation, but 

the Corps tested its application 

in non-navigation related matters 

after several levels of appeal. All 

appli cations for permits und er 

the Refu se Act will be referred to 

the state water quality agency 

concern ed and to the federal Environmental Protection Agency to 

insure compli ance with both state 

and federal water quality standards before any permit will be 

approved. 

We also have initiated pilot 

tudies to develop regional waste 

water management systems for 

five major urban areas in the 

country; the Merrimack River 

Basin in New England, the greater Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago metropolitan areas on the 

Great Lakes and the San Francisco Bay area in California. With 

the inclusio n of waste trea tmen t 

and disposal plans in our studies 

of entire river basins, the Corps 

of Engineers experience in water 

resource management can now 

have an equally important role 

in cleanin g up the environment. 

This is a program th at I believe 

has great promise for measurably 

improving our streams and one 

in which I believe that the Corps 

is uniquely qualified to assist. 

Our efforts in the Civil Works 

Program are changing somewhat 

in emphasis to reflect the public's 

growing desire that the development of our natural resources for 

economic benefits no longer be 

the sale criteria for our work. 

Rather, peopl e seem willing to 

forego, or to pay more for, their 

immediate needs so that the quality of their enviro nment may be 

preserved and enh anced for the 

futu re. In that light, environmental values are now being given full 

consideration along with economic, technical, social and other factors when we study alternate 

means of meeting human demands. We arc attempting to 

keep resource options open for 

futur e generatio ns as far as it is 

possible to do so. 

Ou r construction contacts now 

require that contractors comply 

with the applicable federal, state 

and muni cipal regulations to minimize environmental degradation 

on all of our projects . We have 

issued guide specifications requiring that a separate section of the 

technical prov isions in our Civil 

Works and military construction 

contracts be devo ted to environmental pro tection. These provisions cover such things as land defacement by improper or unn ecessary bulldozing, erosion control 

and dust and smoke control. 

ENGR: HOW CAN THE YOUNG 

ENGINEER OFFICER BECOME IN ­

VOLVED IN THIS ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL ACTION WHILE HE 

IS ON ACTIVE DUTY? 

CLARKE : He can become involved with our environmental 

protection program most directly 

by assignment to one of our En ­

gineer District field offices where 

the work is actu ally performed. 

The great prepond erance of our 

responsibility for environmental 

consideratio ns is handled in the 

Districts. Certainly, post facilities 

engineers are going to be deeply 

involved with environmental con ­

siderations at their posts so assignments in the facilities engineering field will be another area 

where a young engineer officer 

could well become involved with 

all of the environmental protection activities. 

5 
I 

-

FROM . 'SOUTH. • a i. • • •

OF THE BORDER
 . ' . 

down .pan att;la wa . . 
Tucked away in the timeless jungles of tropical Central America is an unusual engineer 

unit affectionately called an ECAD (Engineer 

Control Advisor Detachment) by Department 

of the Army. One of two in existence, the 

146th Engineer Detachment (Control Advisor 

-Airborne) is attached to and provides specialized support for elements of the 8th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 1st Special 

Forces, the Special Force for Latin America. 

The base of operations for the 8th Special 

Forces Group and the 146th ECAD is remote 

Fort GUlick, wh ich, along with its nearby sister post of Fort William B. Davis, is nestled in 

the embrace of the Panama 

Canal on the Atlantic side of the isthmus. Both Gulick and 

Davis are on sites carved out of the steamy 

jungle during the construction of the Panama 

Canal and are surrounded wih mounds and 

debris of hundreds of abandoned bunkers 

constructed during World War II. Nearby is 

Coco Solo Naval Base , a World War II ghost 

town of empty hangers and windowless buildings which affo rds the Atlantic area installations the use of its airfield and storage space. 

All of these military installations are within 

the political confines of the Canal; one , a U.S. entity established within the Republic of 

Panama by treaty. 

In support of the 8th Special Forces Group 

and as part of the Special Action Force for 

Latin America, the 146th ECAD provides specialized engineer-related support to U.S. nation-building activities in that area of the 

world . Utilizing Fort Gulick as its base of 

operations, the detachment additionally provides engineer support to the part of the Special Forces mission that deals with the application of the principles of unconventional 

warfare and internal defense and development of the host countries . 

The mission of the 146th Eng ineer Detachment can be broken down into four discernible areas. The first requires that the detachment maintain the capability to deploy Mobile 

Training Teams to provide military instruction in eng ineer-related fields to personnel of the 

host country. Secondly, the 146th must be 

prepared to deploy Technical Assistance 

Teams capable of providing assistance to the 

military and paramil itary fo rces of Latin 

7 
America in the technical aspects of equipment maintenance and operation, log istics, 

construction projects and conduct of counterinsurgency operations. In the third area, the 

unit must be equipped to provide Civic Action Teams to assist the civilian population in 

nation building activities. Lastly, the 146th 

must provide physical support in setting up 

Special Forces Operational bases and furnish 

guidance to the 8th Special Forces Group 

command and staff. 

Tailored to the advisory concept, the 146th 

ECAD is organized on three levels, consisting 

of a 10-man headquarters , two, seven-man 

control teams and six , six-man advisory 

teams. The Headquarters Team (KA Team ) 

8 

provides supervision and staff planning for 

the operation of engineer elements assigned 

or attached to the Special Action Force. In 

addition, the KA Team provides an engineer 

staff to the Special Forces Group and furnishes administrative support for subordinate 

teams in the detachment. The Combat Teams 

(KB Teams) provide engineer staff personnel 

for the Special Forces command and control 

element subord inate to the Special Action 

Force. Also the team provides supervision and 

staff planning, coordination and administrative support for subordinate engineer advisory teams prior to and during deployment on 

nation-building missions. 

The Advisory Teams (KC Teams) are the 

points of contact who physically deploy to the 

host country as either Mobile Training or 

Technical Assistance Teams (MTT or TAT) . 

They are geared to support their own tactical 

elements of the Special Action Force in coun ­

terinsurgency roles and assist and adv ise 

U.S, military forces when committed in support of host country forces . The KC Team 

also advises host country engineer forces on 

Civic Action type projects in support of nation-buildlnq activities. As members of Special Forces, they are authorized to wear the 

distinctive Green Beret and must be qualified 

parachutists, Additionally, because of frequent adv isory assignments, at least one KC 

Team must have a Portuguese language-qual­

ified member. Also, there must be at least two 

Portuguese language-qualified individuals assigned to the KB Team . The remainder of the 
detachment must all be Spanish languagequal ified personne1. 

Since its inception in 1963, the 146th Engineer Detachment has been deployed on 147 

Mobile Training , Technical Assistance and 

Civic Act ion missions to Latin America. Host 

countries have included every Latin Ame rican 

nation except Mexico, Haiti , British Honduras , 

the Guianas, the Bri tish, Fren ch and Dutch 

protectorates in the Caribbean and of course 

Cuba. 

Individual mission requirements have covered a broad spectrum of engineer-related 

activities. They include: engineer construction; surveying ; maintenance of both wheeled 

and tracked equipment; equipment operation ; 

road and airfield construction , ferry operation , electrical power generation, sanitation 

and a host of other important endeavors. 

A Mobile Training Team (MTT) concerns itself with classroom and field instruction of 

selected members of the host country's military organizations. The program of instruction 

is oriented toward turning the students into 

instructors in the ir own right ; tried and tested 

in the real ity of their own local environment. 

A recent MTT to Venezuela exemplifies the 

kind of mission with which similar teams have 

had to contend . A sel ect three-man team was 

deployed to the Venezuelan Army Engineer 

School with the miss ion of train ing 25 host 

country counterparts in the operation of a 

new water purification units. These units were 

to be manned in conjunction with military 

units providing civic action and disaster relief. Actual training consisted of 200 hours of 

instruction and practical exercise conducted 

in Spanish. As a result of this training , the 25 

instructor-qualified Venezuelan engineers 

learned enough in 45 days of accelerated 

study to effe ctively train contemporaries in 

their own unit. 

These specialized teams are designed to 

provide on-the-spot assistance to host country personnel in the problems encountered in 

equipment maintenance and operation , logistics, construction projects and the conduct of 

counterinsurgency operations. Technical Assisance Teams aid imm ensely in furthering 

the present U.S. policy of helping developing 

nations to help themselves. It is perhaps one 

of the most effective means of providing economic assistance. 

In October 1969, the 146th deployed an 

eight-man team to Guatemala to provide. expert assistance in replacing hurri cane-devastated bridges on a key road network. Because 

the time element was critical and econom ic 

loss to the Guatemalans was close to $50,000 

per day, Baily Bridg ing was employed over 

the two, 200-foot spans involved. Aided by 

indigenous labor, the team replaced the demolished spans in three weeks. In addition to 

organizing and supervising the installation of 

the bridges, the team members trained a 200­

man force to help in construction and for use 

in future disaster work. 

The last of the three types of engineer missions to Latin America is best illustrated by 

a recent successful project in the town of 

Miguel de la Borda in the Republ ic of Panama. The project was ferry construction at a 

location selected by the local villagers. The 

problem was to make the villager's plan workable so the inhabitants of the area could gain 

access to the economy of the major port city 

of Colon, 50 kilometers to the north. When 

the project was completed, the 146th had 

made a sign ificant contribution to both the 

economic well-being of the villagers and their 

pride in themselves at having seen the ir ideas 

become reality . 

Through its many and varied activities, the 

146th Engineer Detachment performs an invaluable service to the United States and our 

Latin American neighbors. Its MTT's, TAT's 

and CiVIC Action endeavors have contributed 

sign ificantly to economic growth and political stabil ization , engendering the hard-to-get 

respect and friendship of peoples no rmally 

too nationalistic to welcome a "gringo." 

The 146th is prepared for its important role 

in a volatile Latin America and is justifiably 

proud of its accomplishments . Perhaps the 

future will find it elsewhere in the hemisphere, poised to deploy in support of the nation-building tasks of the Spe cial Action 

Force, 

Captain D. F. Pierman served with the 146th Engineer Detachment from November 1969 to April 1970 as a team leader 

and later as the adjutant. He i. now a5Signed to the Engineer 

School 05 the Spedal Assistant to the Information Officer. 

9 
t;~tM~

by Colo nel Jack G. Be cke r eUf4tat ~att Have you ever considered the advantages 

of having a longer bridging capability for the 

Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB)? 

Or, how about a skill-oriented, functionalized 

construction battalion? Or a mine detection 

capability from an helicopter? Or a controlled 

explosive device to increase earthmoving capability by 20 or 30 times? 

Although this type of thinking may go on in 

the mind of the engineer in the field, it usually 

is only a passing thought. However, for he 

Combat Development Command Engineer 

Agency (CDCEA), ideas such as these are all 

in a day's work. Located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as a subordinate element of the U.S. 

Army Combat Developments Command 

(CDC), the Engineer Agency is eternally strlv10 

'lng to meet the Engineer's present and future 

needs. 

Though the Agency's mission has many 

facets , it is basi cally twofold . First, the 

Agency is the spearhead in organizing, informing and equipping the Engineers for efficient and effective operations today. 

Secondly, the Engineer Agency functions 

as the prime catalyst in providing for Engineer organizations and equipment of tomorrow. This phase of activity is conducted in a 

two-step cycle. 

The first step is to undertake studies which 

define future Engineer roles and capabilities. 

To do this successfully a certain amount of 

"crystal ball gazing" must be performed. This 

"gazing" attempts to identify future Engineer 
Sections of the Ribbon Bridge heing used a s a power raft to expedite the river crossing 

of an Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB ). 

considerations and problem areas. Additional 

creative analysis must then be undertaken to 

devise various alternatives or solutions to the 

indentified prob lems . Evaluation of these alternatives is accomplished by considering 

cost, effectiveness and relationship to other 

Army Forces, to derive recommended solutions. Once this is accomplished, the studies 

are forwarded through command channels to 

the Department of the Army (DA) for final approval. 

A description of new engineer material required to accomplished future Engineer support is the second step of this cycle . It is 

initiated during the early stages of the stud ­

ies , and normally extends past their completion dates. The Agency pursues this task by 

drawing up the material requirements for new 

or improved eng ineer equipment and coordinates them with other elements of CDC, appropriate branch schools and material developers. After approval by DA, these requirements initiate the research and development 

cycle of new items. The Engineer Agency 

monitors the item 's progress through the research, development, test and evaluation 

phase to insure that it will meet the needs of 

the user in the field. 

Studies completed recently have dealt with 

tactical bridg ing requirements, mine/countermine operations, a Family of Military Construction Equipment (FAMECE) , and maps 

and related terrain data requirements. 

One of these studies, "Tactical Bridging for 

the Field Army in 1975," concentrated on 

three particular geographic areas where Iu11 
A section of the Ribbon Bridge during a launching operation.
 

After launching the hridge into the water, the section is unfolded....
 

ture military activity might be expected. The and the ability to tap the manufacturers' hot 

frequency and nature of the tactical gaps in production lines in the event of national ma 

these areas were established from aerial pho­ bilization. A significant saving was also vis 

tography and past terrain surveys . From this ualized in research and development costs 

data broad requirements for new or improved and in elimination of desirable, but unecesbridging mehods were derived. sary , military design characteristics. 

One of the recommendations of this study Impetus toward adoption of this plan was 

was that the armored vehicle launched generated by the Vietn am buildup. Civilian 

bridge (AVLB) be increased from the present contractors with their lates civilian equipment 

60 feet to a length of 90 feet. The study also and techniques worked side-by-side in the 

recommended a " ribbon" float bridge for Republic of Vietnam with Army construction 

crossing water obstacles. This new bridge units. On an item-by-item basis the contracprovides for a construction rate of 22 feet per tor's increased capabilities became very apminute, at least three to five times the present parent. 

construction rate. In response to the newly stated DA policy 

The ribbon bridge is also adaptable to a to adopt commercial construction equ ipment 

raft configuration and can be used to com­ for use where such action is advantageous to 

plement the mobile floating assault bridge for the Army, the Engineer Agency has identified 

ferrying operations. A prototype of this candidate items and prepared abbreviated 

bridge is now being tested on both still and performance characterisics for use in pro ­ " 

fast water in the state of Washington. curement of such equipment. The first pilot 

Many Engineers have believed for some item being processed is a 25-ton hydraulic 

time that the construction capability of En­ truck mounted crane as a replacement for the 

gineer units could be increased through the 20-ton truck mounted crane. Other items, inadoption of selected commercial construc­ cluding a 20-ton dump truck, are being 

tion equipment currently being used by civil­ worked on. 

ian contractors. Advantages foreseen includ­ The Mine/Countermine Study (MICMIC 

ed the use of the latest equipment, ready was conducted by the Engineer Agency i 

access to manufacturers' spare parts sources 1970 to examine the organization, doctrine, 

12 
Once fully extended in the water; the sections are linked together as required. 

Engineers preparing for retrieval of the Ribbon Bridge section. 

and training aspects of mine and countermine 

operations. Among other thi ngs, the study 

analyzed operations in Southeast Asia to consider the application of lessons learned there 

to other areas of the world and various levels 

of conflict. Primary recommendations of this 

study inc luded the provision of mine/countermine specialists in many units and staff sections. Also advocated was the adoption of an 

integrated countermine approach to include 

surveillance, inteligence, and area denial, as 

well as mine detection and neutralization. 

A major portion of the Agency effort is devoted to the preparation of new TOE's (Table 

of Organizations and Equipment) and the updating of existing TOE's. The Engineer 

Agency develops the TOE for the Engineer 

Battalions organic to various divisions. In a 

recent revision of the TOE for the Airmobile 

Div ision, the Agency succeeded in adding a 

fourth long needed combat company. 

In eleven field manuals, the Engineer 

Agency is listed as the address to submit 

changes or corrections. The Agency revises 

these manuals as required to include the latest doctrine on Engineer field operations. In 

addition , the Agency offers a service to answer any questions from the field on interpretation of such doctrine. 

The Engineer Agency is always on guard 

for new and unique ideas. To some Engineers, the idea of explosive earthmoving 

equipment is a "wild, new" idea. But the concept is feasible. Prototypes of the equipment 

are being tested and the Army may soon 

realize a tremendous improvement in capability through the application of this concept. 

Engineers of bygone days can probably 

remember the Blast Driven Earth Rod , the 

Combat Engineer Vehicle, the Mobile Assault 

Bridge/Ferry or the Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge. These items were also considered 

"wild, new" ideas, but they grew to be useful 

items of engineer equipment. 

CDCEA is tasked to review, evaluate and 

refine these types of "wild" and "new" ideas 

today in order to better prepare, organize and 

equip the Engineer of tomorrow. The Engineer Agency is proud of its past accomplishments and is constantly rededicating itself to 

the future of the Army and the Army Engineer. 

Colonel Jack G. Becker served as Commanding Officer of the Engineer Agency Combat Development Command, from 21 July 1968 to 7 June 1971. 

13 
'1 

J A ute 

14 

ot e 'J)

Corps 

by W. T. Spriegel 

Engineers have provided combat support 

in every war and campaign in which 

the U. S. Army has been enga ged. 

From the trenches of the Revolutionary 

War to the torrid jungles of Vietnam, 

Engineer soldiers have stood proudlyleading the way for others to follow. 
The history of this country's progress can be traced 

by th e phenomen al engineeri ng feats accomplished by 

the United States Arm y Corps of Eng ineers over the 

past 196 yea rs. Explorati on and surveyi ng of the West ; 

surveying of the Northern Railroad ; construction 01 the 

Panama Canal ; the flood con tro l prog rams ; the plan ­

ning and construction of ou r great dams and the Great 

Lakes Seaway are but a few of suc h major con tribut ions 

to the development of the United States. 

The Corps is one of our Natio n's olde st and most 

respec ted military or gan izations-its history spanning 

a time frame dat ing fro m today back to Ju ne 16, 1775 

and a resolution of the Continenlal Congress under 

wh ich General Geo rge Washing to n named Colonel 

Richard Gr idley as Chief Eng inee r of the Continental 

Army. Since that tim e, the hist o ry of the expans ion and 

developmen t of the Nation fro m the Atlantic Slates to 

the Pac itic Ocean and beyond has bee n marke d by engineer ac co mplishment. 

Alt hough Congress comm issioned seve ral eng ineers, 

Gridley alone retain ed the rank of Chief Engineer until 

the Cheval ier Lou is Ie Beque DuPo rtail from Franc e 

was made Chief of all engi neers in the Ar my, by resolution of Cong ress in JUly 1777 with the rank of colonel. He was comm issioned br igadier general the follow ing November. 

As Chief Engineer, and later as the first Comm andant 

of the " Corps of Engineers," which Cong ress formally 

establ ished in 1779, Cheval ier DuPortail of France became one of General Washingto n's most trusted militar y advi sors. He subsequently drew up the pl an for a 

new Engineer Department, which later gave rise to the 

Corp s of Engineers as we know it today , and the establishment of the US Mil itary Academy at West Point 

in 1802 . DuPoftail has been called the Father of the 

Corp s of Engineers. For 54 years. until it was pla ced 

under the Army -at-large in 1866, " West Poi nt ," the fi rst 

- and for near ly a qu arter of a century, th e only-engineering sc hool in the Nat ion was a Corps installation 

managed by the Chief of Engineers. 

Sin ce its ince pti on , the Cor ps of Engineer s' pr imary 

missi on has been to prov ide co mbat suppo rt to au; 

fi ghti ng Army. The Corp' s suc cess is read ily evident by 

the distingu ished batt le record wh ich engineer troop s 

have racked up over the years. Engin eer s have been at 

the for efront in every war and campaign in which the 

United States Army has been engaged. From Bunk er 

Hill . where Co lonel Gridley. the first " pick and sho vel" 

co mbat enginee r, was woun ded, after having ta ken 

spade in hand to help throw up the defenses which he 

himself had so painstaking ly plan ned by lantern light 

the night before- to the ste aming jungles of Vietnam, 

engineers have lent the we ight of the ir co nsiderable 

talents to speed the advance of friendly forces and to 

impede enemy movemen t. 

The period from 1802 to 1866 , which incl uded the 

War of 1812 and the Me xican War, d ramatized the impo rtan ce 01 the United States Army in the development 

of the Nation as it expa nded from the At lantic to the 

Pacific Ocean. Leading the way were Army Engineers 

mak ing earl y surveys for canals and railroads . extending the Nationa l Roa d, el im inating navigat ional hazard s 

in the Ohio. Missour i and Mississippi Rive rs, ope ni ng 

up har bors for steamships on the Great Lakes and 

bu ilding lig hthouses for safe nav iga tio n. Others fo ught 

indians while mapping their way across the co ntinent. 

Dur ing the Civil War w inter of 1861-6 2, the " Battalion 

of Engineers," as part of the Ar my of the Potomac, constructed the de fenses of Washington , D.C.. and perform ed the many du ties assig ned to engi neer troop s as 

ponton iers, sappers , and min ers. They pion eered co nstruc tion and road repairing and trestle or crib bridges . 

At the sie ges of Yorkto wn and Petersburg, the Battalion 

served as sapper s and miners, and ca rried out a vita l 

special assi gnmen t-responsib ility for the br idge trains 

which acc ompanied the Arm y of the Poto mac in all its 

movements from 1862 to 1865. 

Afte r the Civil War and up to the beg inning of World 

War I, Army eng ineer s were oc cupied mainly with 

peace-time work. They were man aging America's wate r 

resources under a Civil Works program whi ch had begun in 1824 w ith the pas sage of the firs t River and Harbors Act ; they we re directing surveys 01 the Nations 

riches in the vast underdeveloped terri to ry of the West; 

and they were strengthe ning the seacoast defenses of 

the United St ates. 

15 
The Corps has been the principal developer of the 

Nation's water resources. From its initial task assigned 

by Cong ress in 1824 of clearing some snags and sandbars from the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to fac ilitate 

navigation, unti I 1879 when the Mississippi River Commission was created, the Corps' activities in this aspect 

of civil works was limited 10 improvements for navigation . With the Commission 's formation . flood control became a responsibility-at first in the alluvial valley of 

the Mississippi as a function incidental to improving the 

river from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, 

to provide safe passage for increasing numbers of commercial vessels. A few years later the Corps was charged with regulating hydraulic mining in California's Sacramento and San Joaquin Basins. It was also called upon to construct debris basins, and to institute other 

measures designed to prevent the creation of hazards 

to navigation resulting from such mining. All inventive 

minds were active during the post Civil War period. Inventions important to modern engineering we re developed . Army Engineers bullt the great Panama Canala peacetime project considered the greatest engineering accomplishment of all time, and one which became vital to National Defense. It was a prologue to 

the extensive involvement of civilian and military engineers in World War I. 

History records that engineer troops were first in 

action and the first to suffer casualties during that "war 

to end all wars." At the outset, the Corps was faced 

with problems of the first magnitude. Engineer supplies 

of all kinds had to be procu red and transported. Timber 

had to be acqu ired through negotiations with the 

French, to construct training camps, supply depots, 

hospitals, barracks and housing. Engineer units built 

hundreds of bridges, repaired and constructed roadsand special engineer troops were designated to provide 

water supply. Searchlight units were tramed and sent 

to France for defense against night bombing. Engineer 

schools for officers and enlisted men were established 

both in the United States and France to meet the demands placed on the Corps of Engineers. When the firing ceased , engineer troops remained to assist in the 

rehabilitation of France. 

16 

At Normandy in World War II, the first soggy GI boot 

was that of an eng ineer who , with his fellow trooper 

technician s, stormed ashore to clear the beaches for 

the Infantry. Combat engineers carried out three-fourths 

of all major landing operations dur ing that global confli Gt. Following a long established pattern , engineers 

were in the advance element in every theater of operations, with newly developed eng ineer devices such as 

bulldozer blades mounted on medium tanks helping 

American armor slice through Brittany, across France 

and into Germany. In the Pacific, eng ineers created airfields in the jungles, built the Ledo and Burma Roads, 

and transformed wilderness into huge bases and ports. 

Immediately after Pearl Harbor, the Corps of Engineers 

was made respons ible for military construction in the 

United States , previously a responsibility of the Ouartermaster Corps. Army Engineers built more than 3,000 

command installations, 500 camps, 765 airfields, 300 

major industrial projects, 167 storage depots, and thousands of miscellaneous military facilities. They constructed the Alaska (Alcan) Highway reaching 1,523 

miles from "head of steel" at Dawson Creek, British 

Columbia, through the Yukon Territory to Fairbanks, 

Alaska-and carried out the epic assignment of helping to develop an atomic bomb. 

When, in June 1950 , United States forces were again 

mob ilized against communist aggression in Korea , engineers rallied to their motto of "Essayons" (Let Us 

Try) to pit their skills ag~inst engineering problems imposed by rugged country dominated by rocky, treeless 

mountains, narrow valleys, swift rivers swollen by summer rains, and wou ld-be roads-little more than trailswinding through mountainous terrain or along dry river 

beds. 

In the early stages of desperate, hard fighting in that 

land, engineers laid aside their tools and desire for 

enginering accomplishment , and as a necessity grabbed their weapons and assumed their secondary roles 

as infantry troops. The success with which they perfo rmed in that capacity is well documented. One of the 

most important accomplishments of Engineer tr oops 

during the Korean war, among many other combat situations which they faced, was the particularly brilliant 
rear-guard action they fough t to protect troop withdrawals from the Yalu River. For these men, no job was impossibl e in one of the most rugg ed areas of the world. 

And du rin g the Korean period, Army engineers bui lt 

strateg ic air bases at remote location s thr oughout the 

wo rld , incl uding Green land and No rth Africa; cons tr ucted a com plete lin e of supply and co mmunications facil it ies ac ross the breadth of France; and esta blished 

air raid warn ing systems in Labrad or and Greenland. 

Today the Corps of Engineers con tinues in its mil itary fun cti ons by provid ing eng ineer comb at and co n.. 

structio n sup port to all units of the Free World Forces 

now serving in the Repub lic of Vietnam. Courageous, 

energetic and resourcefu l, engineers face the steaming 

jungles, monsoon rains, dust, sand and mud to ove rco me th e probl ems which only they. wi th thei r co nsumate skilts, dare to attack . In Vietn am, Eng ineer bat ­

tal ion s have succeeded in co mpleting co nstruc tion 

proj ect s whi ch const itute some of the most startling 

ach ievement s of modern t imes, and a majo r boost to 

the program whi ch we comm onl y refer to as Vietn amizat ion . The three jet- cap abl e airbases ex isting in that 

co untry in 1965 were incr eased by fiftee n in four years. 

The y increased by ni ne-f old the num ber of airs tri ps 

capab le of accom modating the relatively large C-'1 30 

tr anspor t aircraft. wh ile the two deep-water port s were 

increase d to seven. In one yea r alone . tr oop co nstruction forces built port struc tures w ith a capac ity of more 

than 9,000 tons a day, sto rage fac ilit ies for more th an 

a half mil lion ba rre ls of liquid fuels, hosp ital fac ililies 

totaling ove r 1,400 beds . , . a million squ are feel of 

closed storage . one half milli on cubic feet of refrige rate d sto rage space . . . and hous ing for over 150,­

000 men . These were constr uct ion support projects. 

Meanwh ile. com bat sup port .. . road building, brid ging, 

dem ol iti ons, airstrip and landing zone construct ion was 

on -go ing at the same time. Eng inee rs have app lied 

their skilts to further the slow , tediou s proc ess of Vietnam izati on . . . rural de velopm ent, repa iring sch ool s, 

provid ing pota ble water source s, dril ling wells , improving sanitatio n systems, rehabilitating public institu li ons 

and erecnnq housing. Throughout this Nation 's histo ry 

the Corps of Engi neers has bo\h fought in the front 

lines and cons truc ted the field mi lit ary instal latio ns. 

roads, bri dges and fortifications the Army has needed 

to do its job. 

During the past 145 ye ars, the Co rps of Engineers 

has co mpleted over 3,200 Civ il Works project s. It has 

bu ilt over 19,000 miles of inland and intracoast al wa terways now in co mmerc ial use, and 500 co astal Grea t 

Lakes, and wate rway harb o rs, includ ing almos t all those 

th roug h which the United State s carries on Its vital domestic and foreign trade and 250 small boat harbors, 

and harbors of refuge. It has co nst ruc ted some 350 

reservoirs and local !Iood co ntrol projects incorp orati ng 

over 9,000 miles of levees and flood walls , and 7,500 

mil es of imp rove d chann els. Flood co ntrol projects 

burtt by the Corps have so far prevent ed more th an $16 

billion In flood losses, ove- th ree times the amount invested In flood prot ection. Corps hydropower plant s in 

50 projects have a total gener ating capac ity of ne arly 

12 mill ion ki lowatts. Recr eational atte ndance at Corps 

rese rvoirs during 1969 was in excess of 254 mill ion. 

One hundred and fift y fish and wildl ife manag ement 

areas bave been establi shed around these lakes, as 

well as 400 state, county and muni cipal parks. In tim e 

of fl ood or hurricane, the Corps provides assistan ce in 

damage control, rescue work. and reh abilitation both 

unde r its own auth oriti es and as enginee ring age nt of 

the Office of Emergency Prep aredn.ess. Since 1863, it 

has bee n invol ved in mor e than 100 disaster operations, incl uding more than 90 flo ods and hu rri canes. 

We pay tri bute to the Corps and its mem bers who 

cel eb rated yet anolher anniversary in June by para" 

ph rasing a line from a song whi ch is sung wi th gus to 

at one of our lea ding civilian engineering instttut ions-eIT'S A HELUVA, HELUVA, HEL UVA CORP S OF ENGINEERS! 

W. T. Sp riegel joine d 'h" st aff of th e US Army Engineer Sch ool 

in September 1962 fJS Info rm"tion Omt"" and wrrenfly is assig ne d as Deputy Informatio n Offiter of the U.S. A rmy Engin er 

Cenrer and Fort Belvoir. 

Ma •

png 

the by M . J. Terey 

F ture 

Since the dawn of time, men have gazed into 

the heavens and observed the celestial wonders 

stretched endlessly before them . However, few 

men ever dreamed that the future would provide 

them with the means to reach out and explore 

these mysterious bodies of light. 

It wasn't until almost four centuries ago , that 

Galileo first scanned the stars through his telescope. This new invented apparatus, although 

crude in design , gave him the tool to study in det tail the mysteries which had puzzled men for so • 

long. Through the use of his telescope, Galileo 

directed his attention to the moon, making ske tches while he observed. In doing this, Galileo produced the first lunar maps. 

With the efforts of Galileo, mankind embarked 

on a new adventure-the study of the moon. In 

our own time , we have witnessed astronauts leave 

the confines of our planet to actually land upon 

and explore the lunar surface. But the success of 

their mission has been the product of research by 

the successors of Galileo, who have stepped across 

the void of space to map the moon . 

Early Moon Mapping 

Without the use of modern techniques or 

equipment, the early moon mappers produced 

remarkable results. Perhaps one of the greatest 

obstacles to these observers, was the poor resolution power of the telescope or the inability to obtain a sharp clear image. This was compounded by 

the chromatic aberration or color distortion caused 

by the refraction of light through a lens. 

Galileo had predicated that by simply increasing the focal length of a telescope, it would only 

serve to magnify the subject, but not clearify its 

image. As telescopes became larger, this theory

• was proven. The detail of the image became no 

greater due to the poor resolving power of the 

simple lens system. Because of this the accuracy 

of the early lunar maps relied heavily upon artistic interpretation . Even the best lunar representations of that period, although noteworthy in 

achievement, lacked accuracy in the positioning 

of det ail. 

In the latter half of the 17th Century, a French 

astronomer, Cassini, stretched the limit of lens 

resolution by producing a lunar map 21 inches in 

diameter. This was perhaps the best lunar map of 

that era. But it wasn't until a century later that 

the problem of lens resolution was to be solved. 

In 1758, John Dolland, an English optics maker, 

invented a system of correcting for refractory 

color distortion . He used different types of glass 

in composite system of lenses. Adapted to the 

telescope, it gave rise to a new er a in astronomy 

and opened the way for precise plotting of lunar 

detail. 

The first system of coordinates of the moon 

was developed in 1748, by Tobias Mayer, a Ge rman mathematician. His system enabled observers 

to determine actu al position of lunar detail such 

as craters, mountain ranges, and "seas. " Mayer 

led the way for new interest in lunar maps. 

The 1800's produced dramatic studies in lunar 

map making. The reproductions made were larger 

and more precisely det ailed than ever before . Positions on the lunar surface were defined by measuring the bearing and distance of craters. For 

greater accuracy, these measurements were made 

at various phases of the moon and took into consideration the swaying effect of the moon on its 

axis called "librations." 

An example of an early moon map. This map 

done by Cassirri in 1680, represents the best 

mapping efforts of that period. 

19 
A technician sketching the initial terrain relief with 

the use of a multiplexer. This instrument allows 

stereoscopic viewing of a given map a rea . 

A technician tracing map relief with a ll o ~

router" ... The information r -eceived is transformed 

into 3 dimensional figures. 

Obs ervers could now create a basic geodetic 

control. A series of points could be measured and 

plott ed, and a network of control points established . By establishing this series of interrelated 

points, secondary points of detail could be mea sured and plotted, then by simply linking and relating one point to another the entire visible surface of the moon could be accura tely mapped. 

The maps compiled through use of thes e methods 

came close to the idea of a modern map . Refinement of the systems employed in their production , actu ally gave us the basis for present day 

techniques in lunar mapping. 

Photographic Mapping 

The ide a 01' producing lunar map s from ph otograph s was first conceived as Ear back as 1859 . 

The factor which limited these efforts was the inability to measu re the scale of photograph ic plates. 

As the state of the art advanced, methods of measurement were developed. Finally, in 1865 L. M. 

Ru therford made the first photographic maps 01' 

value to astronomers. 

Further developments occurred du ring the turn 

of the century, as Julius Franz and S. A . Saunder 

set out to develop a new system of lunar coordinates. From the measurement of photographic 

plates, the y established coordinates of longitude 

and height. Th ey worked from a central point on 

the lunar surface, nearest the intersection of the 

moon's equator and the 0° degree meridian , calculating a network of 3500 control points. The degree of accuracy was so great, the "Franz-Saunder" system as it is called today, is the current 

reference for control and navigation on the lunar 

sur face. 

Compil ation of modern moon maps , relies completel y on photograph s. The sources var y from advanced telescop ic observations to pictures taken 

on the lunar surface by the astronauts. Methods 

ar e now so precise, that features as small as three 

feet in .diameter can be accurately described and 

plotted. But with all the technical advances in 

pre sent day moon mapping, one limitation still exists. Only 59 percent of the moon's surface is 

visible to the earthbound observer, and the techniques employed to record it are difficult and time 

consuming. Forty-one percent of the surface is 

always visible , but the remaining 18 percent 

can be viewed only at certain time s during the 

moon's eighteen year orbital cycle. 

One technique employed in gathering these 
photographs is "time lapse" photography. This 

enables a larger number of photographs to be 

taken at short intervals, adding to the amount of 

different perspectives photographed. By viewing 

a given area at different angles, it then becomes 

possible to determine the height of the terrain and 

then plot the relief. The only drawback to this 

method is the inability to make direct measurement from the photographic plates. Mathematical 

computation must be used and the results at best 

are estimates, not actual linear measurements. To 

o btain these direct measurements the photographs 

must first be rectified to compensate for the curvature of the sphere. 

To achieve this effect, the pictures taken were 

projected onto a curved screen with the use of 

specially designed projectors. This method removed the perspective view and displayed a flat 

image from which dire ct measurements could be 

taken . However, with the current demands for 

precise accuracy and short production time, COIllputers took over the func tion of rectification 

through the use of electronic scanning devices. A 

further refinement of lunar photography, made 

use of stellar positions in the field of the picture. 

By relating these known points to positions on 

the lunar surface, a higher degree of accuracy of 

lunar coordinates was assured. 

Mapping hy Satellite 

With plans to land a man on the moon, it was 

necessary to develop both new and more accurate 

sources of photographs and new techniques in 

map production. The material required was provided by satellite photography, utilizing the same 

basic principles used in aerial photography of the 

Earth . 

The first series of satellites launched, were the 

Ranger and Surveyor. These were designed to 

transmit back information of the nature of the 

surface terrain. Ranger was the first to be used. 

The plan was to take photos in sequence while 

the craft was descending to the surface. Even 

though the data received was limited to one area 

and one perspective of view, the photographs 

showed detail 1,000 times more accurate than the 

most powerful telescopes used on Earth . The second craft, Surveyor, "soft-landed", sending back 

photographs taken from the lunar surface. These 

pictures assisted the map makers in interpreting 

relief features from a horizontal or plane perspective . Although the Ranger and Surveyor satellites 

The 'pantograph router' carving 3 dimensional terrain relief on a map. 

A model of the LEM on a three dimensional lunar 

terrain map. 
A model of the Ranger III satellite. Its 

predeces sor was the first satellite to 

transmit photographs of the moon 

back to ea r th. 

22 

pro vided interpretation of ter rain features, they 

were not used for producing actual maps. 

The next series of satellites to be launched 

were designed for mapping only. Appropriately, 

the name of the mission was Orbiter. The first 

thr ee mission s were sent up to ph otograph the 

equ atorial belt of the moon, in order to map 

areas of possible landing sites for lunar exploration . The missions which followed gave further 

detailed information. Wh ile photograph ing the 

sur face, the y also relayed back flight dat a and recorded the positions of stars as refer ence points. 

All this information rel ating to the photographs 

gave highly accurate detail as well as pr ecise 

measurements of positions. By the late 1960's the 

Orbiter mission had completely photographed almost the entire lunar surface. The maps produced 

from the Orbiter photography exemplifi ed the 

most accurate and most advanced state of map 

production. The practical application and success 

of Orbiter missions is undisputed as the lunar 

landings have proven their value and accuracy. 

Maps for the Astronauts 

As the National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA) was preparing to launch its 

first manned lunar mission, Apollo, it required a 

great number of det ailed maps for training, navigation, and exploration. The need was fulfilled by 

the Ar my' s Topogr aphic Command (TOPOCOM) . 

Prob ably the most important ph ase of preparation for the lunar expedition is the training. A 

Lunar Module Simul ator (LMS) was produ ced 

to provide realistic tr aining on the ground fo r the 

Astro nauts. This device simulated every ph ase of 

lunar flight from the approach to the lift-off from 

the lunar surface. An important part of the 

"LMS" is a thr ee dimension al relief map of enormous proportions . TOPOCOM produced this 

model meeting the most demanding req uire ments. 

To date, TOPOCOM has produ ced five lunar 

models for use in the LMS. T he most recent of 

these , and the one now in use is a mo del of " Hadley's Rille," the proposed landing site for Apollo 

15. Th e actu al size of the model is 16/ by 25' 

and is scale to 1/2000 of an inch, representing approximately 40 squa re miles of lunar surf ace. The 

featur es ar e so exact th at objec ts five meters actual size are detailed on the model. There are 

over 10,00 0 such features in all represented on the 

model of "Ha dley's Rill e." 
Th e time spent in construc tion of this map was 

approximately ] 8 weeks. This showed rema rkable 

improvements in production time, since the first 

models too k as long as nine months to build. Th e 

factor which accounted for the cha nge was use 

of a ureth ane material ( a type of styrofoam ) as 

opposed to the use of sta ndard plaster casts. 

T he fi rst step in produ ction is to cut topog raphic relief into block s of urethane with the use of a 

pant ograph ro uter, This device ena bles the technician to trace the relief from a lunar map and have 

it directly transcribed th ree dimensionally on the 

ureth ane blocks. This form s a "nega tive" model. 

The sections, which are 24" by 24 " by 4", are 

then finished by hand carving and sanding, progressively stacking the pieces and joining them 

into larger sections. This is continued until there 

are three maj or sections. These are then shipped 

from TOPOCOM to the John F . Kennedy Space 

Center where a final po sitive mod el is cast using 

an expoxy -resin materi al. 

Onc e installed in the LMS, the astron auts view 

the luna r surface from their modul e th rough the 

use of a computerized mobile TV camera. The 

model area is magnified 2,000 times to produce 

an image which app ears like the real thing. The 

astro nauts confirmed its liken ess by exclaiming 

from a descend ing lunar vehicle 'T here it is, right 

where it's suppose to be ," 

In addition to the LMS model TOPOCOM also 

provided NASA with additional techn ical data for 

navigation and exploration . The Apollo Landmark 

Maps, are used onboard the spacecrafts, mapping 

easily ide ntifiable landmarks on the lunar surface. 

This combined with the use of star charts allows 

the astronauts to pinpoint positions and evaluate 

the accuracy of the ground data. Once on the 

ground, the astronauts make use of gridded terrain 

maps to establi sh their general location and to 

carry out their lunar walks. The planni ng for this 

is done at the Houston Space Center using smaller 

plastic models scaled to I: 12,500 of an inch . 

TOPOCOM is already in the planning stages 

of their next production for the Apollo 16 mission. The proposed landing zone is near the crater 

Descartes, and photograph s from the Orbiter 

satellites are again being comp iled into maps. 

Once NASA finalizes the touchdown site, TOPOCOM will link past studies with mod em technology to provide its invaluable assistance as 

mappers of the moon. 

The end product of man''s effort 10 map and 

explore th e Lunar surface. 

23 
719
 

This moving account of U. S. Ar. 

my Engineer activities in support of 

Army Republic of 

Vietnam o p e r ations during the 

Laos incursion 

points up the magnitude of the 

Corps" diversified 

role in a combat 

situation. 

The support nnssion carried out by the 

U. S. Army's Corps of Engineers has proven 

time and again to be diverse and always a 

challenge. One such ch all en ge was met by 

the Engineers during th e incursion into Laos. 

The events that occurred during the incursion 

which was called LAM SON 719, displayed 

what could he done under stress from an unseen enemy and in a short period of time. 

Corp!I personnel carved roads out of mountainous jungle terrain and air fiel d s were constructed to clear the way for th e combat 

forces. The success or failure of th e operation depended entirely on the ingenuity and 

flexibility of the officers and men of the Corps 

and once again they contributed invaluable 

aid. The following information constitutes 

the untold story of LAM SON 719. 

In December of 1970, the premier of 

Nor th Vietnam, Phan Van Dong, said "Our 

military, political and diplomatic strategy is 

a protracted war-a peop le 's war"! Perhaps 

this statement best reflects the enemy effort 

in Southeast Asia throughout 1970. His cornmitment to a long-term war was char acter ­

ized by mass popu la tion mohilization in the 

north. This action on the part of th e en em y 

could he interpreted in many ways, but the 

most ohvious was the in cr ea sed n eed f or men 

and materials in the sou th . 

The need for logistics su p port has alw ays 

been a prob lem wh ich h a s confron ted the 

enemy. In the p a st, th r ee major lines of communications h ave been used. Each one bas 

been systmatically cut to suffocate enemy activity and hopefully bring it to a gr in ding 

halt. Sampans and junks operated alon g th e 

coastal areas feed ing sup p li es to the interior 

regions. Also the port of K ompon g Son (formerly Shihanoukville) in Cam bodia was a 

major supply route su p p or tin g en em y com bat 

activities in Cambodia and the sou th er n portion of the Rep u b li c of Vietnam ( RVN). The 

last of the three m a jor logistical r outes is the 

Ho Chi Minh Tra il in Laos. This r oad n etwor k 

has more than 1,500 miles of m otor ah le 

roads which encompass the en tire pan h an dle 

area. 

Allied operations have effectively cu t the 

coastal supply traffic, an d the, disposition of 

Prince Shihanouk en d ed the enemy's access 

to the port of K om p on g Son . Also last year's 

Cambodian sweep, denied the enemy the use 

\ 

) 

24 
/

\. 

of his sanctuaries along the Cambodian-RVN
 

border. The consolidated result of this series
 

of even ts seriously dampened enemy combat
 

effectiveness. Because of this, the enemy was
 

forced to expand his area of operation in
 

Laos.
 

Traditionally, the major enemy logistics
 

effort occurs during the dry season which ex­


tends from November thr ou gh April. The
 

buildup starts in North Vietnam's sector of
 

the panhandle in late September and early
 

October. And sin ce the Amer iea n bom b ings
 

h a ve en ded in the north , the enemy has had
 

little difficulty in m oving m en and materiel
 

throu gh this a r ea fr om the north.
 

The supplies are brough t to sta gin g areas
 

such as Vin h, Don g Hoi, a n d Qu a n K h e. T h ey
 

are then introduced into the Lao Panhandle
 

where they eventually find ther way south.
 

The supplies reach the. areas in Laos from
 

late Octoher to early November. Then, as road
 

conditions improve into the dry season, the
 

infiltration increases achieving its highest
 

levels during the months of February through
 

April.
 

The supplies which move through this sys·
 

tern arc varied. They include food, weapons,
 

ammunition, fu el, medical supplies, commu­


nications equipment and administrative sup­


plies. The transportatio n of the se supplies is
 

as varied as the su p p li es them selves. Move­


ment is carried out b y p or ter s, animals, bi­


cycles, tr u ck s and even boa ts. Even thou gh
 

the methods are known, the dcstlnations of
 

these goods are exceptionally difficult to esti­


mate due to the thick jungle terrain of the
 

area.
 

Cu tting off this principle means of supply
 

is equally difficult to accomplish. Not only is
 

there difficulty in locating targets for destruc­


tion but the buildup of enemy anti-aircraft
 

defenses h as increased th e threat to air as­


saults. T h e enemy has taken great measures
 

in protecting his supply corridor in Laos. T h e
 

use of the H o Chi Minh Trail is now the only
 

route of effective su p port left to the enemy.
 

The increased level of activity along the
 

Ho Chi Minh Trail and the buildup in the
 

panhandle area posed a definite threat to the
 

security of Allied Forces in the northern part
 

of RVN. To counter this activity and effective25 

An aerial view of the Khe Sanh air str ip . 

An a erial vie w of the " Red Devil " road. 
Engineers begin cutting a road through the thick jungle. 

The "Red Devil" Road to Khe Sanh, 

T he main airstrip at Khe Sanh overlayed with MX-19 

matting. 

26 

Iy stop it, a major operation was planned and 

carried out on January 30 of this year and 

lasted through April 8. The operations were 

designed to strike at supply and storage areas 

and to block infiltration routes leading into 

the western part of the region. 

The American responsibility was limited to 

the "initial phase of the operation. This involved the movement of the Army, Republic 

of Vietnam (ARVN) Airborne Division and 

a brigade of South Vietnamese Marines from 

Saigon to staging areas in the north around 

Dong Ha. Upon arrival of the troops, a massive enginering effort was launched by U.S. Engineering Units supported by U.S. Combat 

Troops. There were three major engineer elements involved in the operation, whose overall mission was to open road networks 

through the operational area. An additional 

responsibility was to open and repair the existing airstrip at Khe Sanh to accommodate 

large scale traffic. 

The engineering phase of the operation 

was initiated by the 45th Engineer Group, 

which was given the specific mission of opening Route 9 to Khe Sanh and then on to the 

Laotian border. Additionally, they were to repair the Khe Sanh airstrip with the assistance 

of TF 326, an engineering element organic to 

the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). At 

the same time Company A of the 7th Engineer Battalion was to construct a new road 

from Route 9 to Khe Sanh, This would provide an alternate route to Khe Sauh for the 

upcoming ground forces. 

The entire unpaved length of Route 9 extended a total of 39 kilometers. This operation required a major engineering effort 

which included the repair, replacement or hypassing of 33 br-idges, The greatest obstacle 

occurred at Bridge 9 /36, whieh crossed a major tributary of the Quang Tri River. The 

abutments of the original hridge which was 

bombed out, extended 184 feet above the 

river bed. This ohstacle was breeched by the 

use of the Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge 

(AVLB). 

The 45th Engineer Group opened Route 9 

to Khe Sanh for wheeled vehicles the day 

after the operation began. It was then opened 

to the Laotian border for tracked vehicles on 
,

(

the third day of operation, and upgraded to 

handle wheeled vehicle traffic on the fourth 

day. Throughout the entire operation, Route 

9 was continually upgraded and by the completion time, it was opened to two-way traffic 

for virtually its entire length. 

The alternate road from Route 9 to Khe 

Sanh was begun on January 30. The total 

length of the road was 23 and a half ktlometers. Within 10 days after the operation 

began, a rough pioneer road was completed. 

The road became known as the Red Devil 

Road and was subsequently upgraded to handle wheeled vehicl e traffic. In all, Company A 

of the 7th Engineer Battalion completed a 

total of 80 kilometers of road network 

throughout the.operational area. 

Another phase of the Engineer activities 

was the repair of the airstrip at Khe Sanh. It 

took four weeks to repair due to extensive 

bomb damage. TF 326, whieh was to assist 

45th Engineer Group in repairing the airstrip, was airlifted directly into Khe Sanh to 

b egin work. They constructed a 3 ,200-foot by 

60-foot assault airstrip parallel to the main 

runway. The first C-130 to land on the airstrip arrived on February 5th, but the Air 

Force had determined that the packed earth 

strip was unsatisfactory for prolonged 

use due to weather conditions. The runway 

was upgraded hy the use of MX·19 Matting, 

and became an operational strip on Fehruary 

15th. 

According to all indications, Operation 

LAM SON 719 and Operation Toan Thang 

01/71 which followed it, proved to be an 

overwhelming success. The ARVN ground 

forces effectively disrupted vital portions of 

the enemy's logistics sys tem . They captured 

or destroyed significant quantities of enemy 

supphes, and inflicted considerable damage 

to e n em y combat forces in the operational 

area. 

Both operations have placed the enemy on 

the defenaive, forcin g him to divert his troop 

commitment to large defensive operations. 

In all, LAM SON 719 was more than just another successful operation. It was another 

challenge met, and job well done with a hig 

assist through the eupport of the Corps of 

Engineers. 

An Air Force C·130 lan d s on the co m p leted Khe San h 

airstrip. 

The abutment in the right foregroun d was all that remained of the hridge across the. Quan Tri River. 

Engineers "Clearing the Way". 

27 
THE HENRY LARCOM ABBOT AWARD
 

A Management Breakthrough
 

by Captain F. W. Bockman 

WITH AN INCREASING NEED 

FOR FLEXIBILITY AND CONTROL 

IN CONSTRUCTION PLAN NING, 

THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD 

HAS GIVEN r-rHE ENGINEER A 

NECESSARY TOOL FOR MODERN 

EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT. 

Until a few years ago, project managers 

and job superintendents had no formal procedure to aid them in the management of 

construction projects. Managers relied primarily on technical requirements, past experience and information derived from a bar 

chart. 

Personal judgement and reliance on a bar 

chart had several disadvantages. The principal difficulty is demonstrating and explaining 

the interrelationships of work activities. The 

level of detail on a bar chart is also restrictive. Due to these restraints, if a manager became ill or had to be replaced, his replacement had great difficulty in continuing the job 

plan . Overhead cost and probability of mistakes on the job site were increased. Another 

restraint was the lack of a common plane of 

reference in progress reporting. These and 

other management problems caused the construction industry to try several approaches , 

none of which was quite successful, until the 

latter part of the 1950 's. 

In 1958 and 1959 a team of people at DuPont developed a networking system which 

overcame the disadvantages of the bar chart. 

They used this system, which they called the 

" Critical Path Method" (CPM), on maintenance and construction projects : At approximately the same time , a research team developed a similar system to be used on the 

Polaris missile project. This system was 

called the " Program Evaluation and Review 

Technique" (PERT) . 

The primary difference between the two 

systems is that CPM uses one time value for 

the activity durations and PERT uses , by statistical methods three time values. PERT is 

used principally on research or design projects where time values are very difficult to 

judqe CPM is used on construction projects 

in which time can be estimated with a higher 

assurance of accuracy. 

28 
CPM CHA RT 

Showing in it ial portion of work activity 

ACTIVITY 

MOBILIZE 

START 

CLEARIN G & 

GRU BBING 

COMPLETE 

CLEARING & 

GRUBBING 

1 3 ••••• 5 •••• 7 

START COMPLETE 

ROUGH GRADING ROUGH GRADING 

9 11 

D U R A T IO N (DAYS) 

F igu r e I 

The basis of both the CPM and PERT systems is the network diagram. With the network diagram two important additions have 

been added to the existing systems. They 

have added a visual relationship or interdependency of various activities, and a more detailed listing of activities. In figure 1, the example given shows three different activities. 

Even though the example displays a small 

portion of the overall operation, one can 

readily see how the CPM network allows the 

manager to graphically display how one activity affects the other. 

The network not only shows proper relationships, but if a series of math computations are made, the results will give the expected start and finish dates of each activity 

as shown in Figure III. 

Day one should be taken as the start of a 

job. By use of a calendar the various start and 

finish dates could be converted to calendar 

dates. 

The main disadvantage to CPM and PERT 

has been the long and tedious hand calculations necessary in these systems. 

With the growth and acceptance of CPM 

and PERT came a corresponding increase in 

Automatic Data Processing Systems (ADPS) 

to support these techniques. The newer computer programs that have been developed 

now allow the managers to process networks 

of thousands of activities in a matter of minutes. 

These new programs have taken the basic 

CPM network of work activity and time and 

allowed the manager to add activity, cost, 

manpower, equipment, and skill codes. By use 

of these new programs a manager can incorporate this additional information in his CPM 

schedule and obtain the basic activity time 

schedule as well as the cumulative dollars, 

cumulative labor, manpower, cost outlook 

and equipment schedule reports. This information has made the rewards of using CPM 

29 
BAR GRAPH 

ACTIVIT Y 

Mobil ize 

C lea r ing & Grubbing 

Ro ug h grading . , 

DURAT ION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-- 9 10------15 

Figure II 

and PERT much more beneficial to the man ­

ager who must perform the job. 

The ab ove mentioned print-outs are but a 

few of th e options avail abl e when CPM and 

ADPS are combined as they are in the ci vilian wo rld . But wh at about the good old Corps 

of Engineers ? 

In the majo rit y of Eng ineer Districts in the 

United States there is a requirement that any 

job above a certain doll ar size incorporate 

CPM , Th ese requirements specify information 

that allow s the district to better mon itor 

the construction progress and job plan . An 

additiona l benefit of this schedule is that it 

permits the local rep resent atives of the district and th e contractor to have a plane of 

referen ce for further discussion of job progress and monthly job payments. 

The development and use of CPM at the 

district level has giv en the contractor the 

freedom of building his own construction 

schedule. The district representative of the 

Corps and the contractor arri ve at a true representation of progress, in respect to time remain ing and monthly payments versus progress, by adding the construcion cost for each 

activity. 

The use of ADPS and CPM has mechanized 

a large amount of paper work involving 

monthly payments and job progress . Th is 

me chan ization frees the resident engineer 

from his off ice and allows him to add many 

hours to his primary job of guaranteeing the 

proper construction of Corps of Engineer 

projects. 

On the mil itary side of the Corps of Engineers, how mu ch is known and used of CPM 

techniques ? What capabil ities ex ist at battalion and company level to make use of this 

superb man agement tool? 

Every offi cer who attends the Engineer Advanced Course receives a basi c understanding of CPM procedure and an intro duction to 

PERT. He is familiarized with such terms as 

crash cost, equipment scheduling and other 

procedures developed in CPM, Facilities are 

30 
JOURNA L OF ACTIVITIES 

Early Start Early Finish 

. Activity Description Duration Day Day 

1-3 mobilize 2 

3-5 start clearing & grubbing 3 

5-7 dummy 0 

5 -9 start rough grading 5 

7-9 complete clearing & 3 

grubbing 

9-11 complete rough grading 5 

Figure III 

1 

3 

5 

6 

6 

2 

5 

5 

10 

8 

11 15 

made available to him to use a small computer program. There he can see the difference in the time required to hand calculate a 

CPM network and the computer cal culation 

time in initialization of a network and updating of th is network , The Advance Course Officer will leave with a sufficient background of 

knowledge that can be eas ily expanded by 

extra reading. 

Once this officer returns to a company 

command or a battalion job he can develop 

an excellent CPM network wi th equ ipment 

and manpower estimates inco rporated , However, if the network is of such size that it can 

not be hand calculated, his work is in vain. 

The battalion or group level has no data processing capability that will assist this man in 

his work. Regardless of his desires , the network must be developed so that it can be 

hand calculated , requiring many hours and 

allowing a much greater chance for error. 

The civilian managers realized the profits 

of combining CPM and PERT networks with 

Automatic Data Processing Systems many 

years ago. Even the district level of the Corps 

of Engineers has combined the two processes 

to lighten the resident engineer's paper work 

load and allow him to spend this time more 

beneficially. 

The military side of the Corps of Engineers 

pays lip service to this principle. It is imperative th at proper sc heduling techniques be 

used at battalion and company levels to insure that correct manpower and equipment is 

used to reach a realistic completion date. Until the Corps of Engineers mak es available 

adequate CPM programs and Data Processing equipment to the people who must supervise the work at battalion and company level, 

it wil l never reali ze the full benefits of th e 

Critical Path Method and Program Evaluation 

and Review Technique. 

Captain F. W. Bcekmen is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degr ee in Civil Eng ineering . He is <urr ently a 

student attend ing the Engineer School' s Officer Advanc ed Course, 

31 
Bridging
 

Efficiency Reports 

Can Make or Break 

An Officer's Career 

"For want of an efficiency report, a promotion was lost, for want of a promotion a career wos lost." 

This modern day adage aptly d escribes the significance which the Army places on the efficiency report. 

The report is the sing le most im po rta nt document rendered by or about any officer. It is used in moking 

virtual ly every dec ision regard ing an officer's career. Promotions, schooling, assignments, appointments 

in th e Regular Army all la rgely depend on the efficiency report. However, despite their importance, many 

reports orri ve at Depa rtment of the Army long after the 45 day deadline required by AR 623-106. A 

punctual report could be the factor that tips the scales in favor of the officer concerned. If you have 

an efficiency report to write , start and complete it within the allocated time period. Remember someone's 

career is in your hands and maybe even your own. 

Army To Name 

Next CGSC Selections 

Late This Fall 

The Command and General Staff College selection process for the course beginning in August 1972 will 

take place this summer and early fall. Selection lists are normally published in late November or early 

December. The zone of consideration includ es all officers w ith se ven through 15 years of commissioned 

service as of August 31, 1971 . Due to quota restrictions, onl y 46.6 percent of the Corps' lieutenant 

colonels and p romotable majors have attended the CGSC resident course . Office rs beyond their final year 

of consideration for the course are strongly encouraged to obtain credit through completion of the 

nonresident e xtension course. It w ill assist in assignment opportunities and promotion considerations. 

Application for nonresident train ing may be made in accordance with AR 350-60. 

Earn Master's
 

Degree Through
 

ROTC Program
 

The Advanced Degree Program for ROTC Instructors Duty (ADPRID) is a relatively new program that offers 

Engineer officers an exce llent opportunity to enhance their education . The first pa rt of the two-part 

prog ram gives the officer a maximum of two years of study under the Degree Completion Program to 

obta in a master's degree in a field related to Army requ irements, excluding law. Upon receiving the 

degree, the officer remains at the same school as an ROTC instructor for a minimum two-year stabilized 

tour. Applicants who already possess a master's degree w ill be assigned a three-year stabilized tour 

as an ROTC instructor. Letter applications are accepted at any time. To learn more about the program read 

DA Circular 621-7 dated February 23, 1971 . 

32 
the Gap
 

Advanced Courses 

Open to Qualified 

Engineer Officers 

Th is year a limited number of Engineer Officers w ill be selected to attend Advanced Courses at the 

Infantry School (Fort Benning); Armor School (Fort Knox); and the Amphibious Warfa re School (Q ua ntico). 

Selection for attendance is on a competitive basis. Qualifying Officers must have a good Engineer 

background, which should include Company Command time, and have an outstanding performance 

record. Interested Officers shou Id indicate thei r course preferences in the Remarks Section of DA Form 

483 (Officer Assignment Preference Statement), or call the Capta in's Assignment Officer in Washington, 

D.C. (OX3-0 8 22) . Volunteers for the Program are encouraged. 

33 Engineers Win 

CGSC Credit 

For Vietnam Duty 

A total of 33 Engineer officers, who served in gualifying positions in Vietnam, have been awarded 

constructive credit for the Command and General Staff College course under the provisions of Department 

of the Army Circular 351-16. All lieutenant colonels and majors on a promotion list serving in Vietnam are 

automatically considered for constructive credit by Branch. The basis for consideration is position held, 

efficiency ratings received while serving in that position, and one's total performance record. Final 

determination on award of constructive credit is mode by a DA Boa rd . 

Plan Ahead 

For That Future 

Assignment 

One of the most frustrat ing things for on Engineer soldier is to ask for a specific assignment and to be 

told that "the Engineer Branch presently has no requ irements in this areal/-then to learn that someone 

else received the same assignment a few weeks later. Unfortunately, this does happen. However, it is 

not that the assignment officer is trying to frustrate the soldier, but rather the nature of the personnel 

requisitioning system . The Engineer Branch receives requisitions to fill overseas slots approximately seven 

months prior to the desired reporting dote, while continental United States requests are received five 

months prior to the report date. These requirements must be filled or canceled with in a short period after 

the Branch receives them. An Engineer can best influence his next assignment by contacting his a ssignment officer early and filing a preference statement with him. Also, make sure to make an allowance 

for leave and travel time when computing the availabil ity date. To receive the assignment of your choice, 

you should get your request in at least seven months before you a re due to return from overseas and 

at least nine months ahead of time if you are leaving for o verseas duty. 

33 
Total 

Professionalism 

by Major Paul L. Theuer 

has been the Engineer's 

standard for Inany years because 

his role demands it. Now, to 

meet the increasing challenges 

of the Iuture, he must strive 

for an even greater degree 

of qualified competence in 

his exacting field. 

The concept and value of " profes­ ma exist today? Why are technical 

sionalism" is constantly before all of personnel in many parts of the United 

us both in mil itary and civilian life. States " out of employment," while 

The normal interpretation includes some areas of engineering are activeperforming the assigned task in the ly seeking technical and engineering "Professionalism infinest manner possible. No one will personnel to fill valid position vacan­ volves more than just 

question that. It is a most creditable cies? doing a job, or mainresponse, but is it "total professional­ Regardless of what we are now do­ taining one's status 

ism"? ing, it is considerably less than what quo . . . ." 

" Total professionalism" involves we are trained to do, and what we are 

more than just doing a job, or main­ potentially capable of doing. It takes 

taining one's status quo. Perhaps the add itional effort and at times a diffibest example of the absence of "total cult effort, to keep ourselves primed 

professional ism" is found in the di­ to work outside of our present area of 

lemma facing space industry eng i­ application when the need arises. 

neers and scientists. No one can dis­ This article will attempt to analyze 

pute what they have accomplished the current dilemma, by developing 

since the days of Sputni k I (Septem­ the concept of " total professionalism" 

ber 1957). They placed th is country and by showing that preventive measfirst in space. But Why does the dilem- ures are possible to preclude large 

34 
"The military engineer 

must never forget his 

responsibility to the engineering profession 

. . . it is not suspended 

while in uniform . . . ." 

kill maintenance? 

. both the employer 

and the employee must 

assume appropriate 

responsibility. . . ." 

scale recurrence of the problem. 

The traditional dual role of the 

Corps of Eng ineers and other technically-oriented branches of the Army 

di ctates that a level of qualified competence be attained that is compa rable to its civilian counterparts. This 

evidence of individual competence by 

professional registration is as vital an 

ingredient for acceptance and qualification among engineers and technical 

personnel as acceptance by state examination is for bona fide lawyers and 

physicians. 

The National Society of Profession al Engineers (NSPE) points out 

that registration provides the engineer with the authority to practice 

engineering before the public and establishes his professional standing on 

the basis of legal requ irements. From 

a military view, the full development 

of the "total professionalism" concept 

will likewise have a tremendous public relations impact on the publicity of 

the " volunteer" Army. The young officer must be imbued early in his career with the importance of certification through successful completion of 

the Engineer in Training (E.I.T.) examinati on and on through the registration process. The corollary is that 

quality performance of a professional 

engineer is more easily achieved in a 

military environment if the personnel 

in charge at all levels are in fact " engineer-eng ineers." 

The Chiefs of Engineers and Civ il 

Engineering of the three services have 

viewed the importance of professional 

registration as one of standard policy 

for many years , Their roles demand it. 

The part each service shares in the 

total U.S. engineering effort, both at 

home and abroad, demands that the 

military component of each project be 

adm inistered by personnel displaying 

competence and " total professionalism." 

Regardless of the trade or profession that one enjoys, his expected 

useful life is a function of the main ­

tenance effort expended to keep his 

knowledge current. How does one do 

this? Is formal refresher train ing necessary every few years? Can it be 

done at home? Let's exam ine the 

question. 

Skill maintainance includes any 

action, which yields new and current 

knowledge in a particular field and 

an awareness of the present stateof-the-art in terms of technology, 

hardware , and application. Skill maintenance can be accomplished through 

a form al education process, nonresident instruction through government or private sources, reading of 

techni cal and trade journals, membership and participation in pertinent 

technical societies, and the study 

and review of applicable manufacturers ' literature. The maintenance 

process must be broad-based rather 

than concentrated in a narrow area of 

current employment or practice. Continuous "saleability" checks must be 

made by the tradesman or professional to insure that he is negotiable in 

mor e than his present area of activity. 

The very question of "saleability" was 

brought to the forefront with the recent space and aeronautical industry 

layoffs. A subsequent problem arose 

of finding employment for professional personnel who were determined to 

be poorly maintained tradesmen and 

professionals. 

Here lies the problem. What can be 

done now to preclude another dilem35 
ma, or an extension of the current 

problem. Both the employer (military 

and civilian) and the employee must 

assume appropriate responsibilities. 

The employer must provide the facilities and the incentives for his employees to continue their education and 

to seek new knowledge. By doing so, 

he makes employment with his firm 

more attractive from the view of professional recruitment, while building 

a degree of flexibility into his internal 

personnel structure. Similarly, the employee must commit himself to the 

sacrifice of time and effort to restore 

and retain his "saleability," making 

him a more viable part of his organization. 

One might ask, how does professional registration and skill maintenance contribute toward "total professionalism"? The answer is stated simply that to be more than ordinary, we 

must do more than the minimum required. We may be in the Army or the 

Navy or with a civilian consulting firm , 

but more important, we are part of a 

larger group-our profession. For our 

profession to make its rightful contribution to mankind (engineers have 

contributed a large share during the 

past century), we must keep ourselves 

current or "saleable". We must be 

willing to sacrifice our time and our 

labors. If we have a new idea we must 

be willing to share it with our fellows 

through contribution to technical 

journals. We are like trees in the forest, and one is not able to exist without the mutual support of the rest of 

the forest. 

Many options are available for personnel in uniform to obtain information and preparation for certification 

(E.I.T.) and registration (P.E.), or to 

merely provide for their continued 

education and development. A large 

selection of correspondence courses 

are available through the non-resident 

instruction departments of Service 

Schools, or directly from national professional societies. The state and national professional societies are becoming more aware of the requirement for continuing education in their 

respective fields. At an increasing 

rate, they are expanding their offerings in the form of book-reviews, 

short courses and seminars, and editorial comment on the value and importance of professional registration / 

licensing and skill maintenance. 

The military engineer must never 

forget that his responsibility to the engineering profession and to mankind is 

not suspended while he is in uniform. 

Instead, his military career can be enriched through professional development. His involvement in military engineering is neither accomplished 

alone nor in a manner which is different from his civilian counterpart. Many 

times, he finds himself in remote parts 

of the world working side-by-side with 

a civilian contractor engaged in the 

same project, and faced with the same 

problems which demand the same 

competence. To meet the challenge 

of the task, he must know all the aspects of his assignment, both military 

and engineering, and by doing this he 

will reflect "total professionalism " in 

his person and performance as a military engineer. 

Major Paul J. Theu er is the Comm andant of 

Cadets , Army ROTC, at Pennsylvania State 

Uni versity. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia, and is currently a candidate for a Master of Science degree in engineering. 

"Quality performance 

of a professional engineer is more easily 

achieved if personnel 

in charge are in fact 

engineer-engineers" . . . 

36 
The birds are coming! The birds are coming! 

This eerie warning of a well-known motion picture 

aptly describes the spark that ignited a conflict between 

elements of an engineer light equipment company and 

a host of obstinate blackbirds. 

The setting of this epic struggle was the sleepy town 

of Paris, Texas, in late September 1969. Alon g with the 

community's 25,000 human inhabitants, thousands of 

blackbirds resided in Paris. Nesting in a large wooded 

area within the city, the feathered invaders were a nuisance and posed a health hazard due to the various 

diseases they carried. 

City firemen and police , armed with shotgun s, were 

assigned the task of eradicating the feathered pests. The 

tenacious bird s, however, met the armed assault with 

"' aloof indifferenc e and after a week of shooting they 

, pre as entrenched as ever. Experts then decided the t ily solution was to destroy the bird s nesting environment. Underbrush would have to be cleared, and most 

of the trees would have to be removed. 

The decision to destro y the bird's lair was reached 

while they were migrating and the clear ing had to be 

completed prior to their return. However, to its dismay , 

the city had neith er the equipment nor the finances to 

undertake such a project. The stage was now set for 

the entrance of the local Anny Reserve unit into the 

conflict against the feathered intruders. 

Located in Paris, the 952nd Engineer Company 

(light equipment) had troubles of its own. Recently 

reorgani zed as engineers, the company's men had received only limited training as engineers since its change 

from an ordnance unit. This problem of inexperience 

was magnified by the fact that the reserve unit's propetty provided barely enough space to park the vehicles, let alone sufficient area to ope rate them. 

When approached by city officials, the 952nd immediately saw not only a chance to serve the community 

of which it was a part, but also a chance to provide its 

men with useful and much needed training. 

Working with city officials, the company provided 

bulldozers, dump trucks and a bucket loader to accomplish the clearing operation. Debris was piled where the 

local fire department later burned it. 

After four months and as many two-day training sessions, the 20 odd acres were cleared. When the blackbirds returned, they found that they had been evicted . 

Only charred stumps and a few larger trees remained 

in their once highly-wooded home. 

The effort had tremendous results. The morale of the 

men of the 952nd soared to a new high, while they received worthwhile training. Resid ents of Pari s who had 

been plagued with the pesty birds had only the highest 

praise for the effort expended by the unit. The city itself received a solution to what had appeared to be an 

unsolvable problem. And lastly, the blackbirds reluctantl y found a new home . 
The Corps of Engineers celebrated its 196th birthday 0 

16 June 1775. It has been the Engineer's creed through "'e 

years to do its job with available resources. Here they use 

an elephant and abull dozer to wo.rk on the famed Burma 

Road during World War II. See the anniversary article beginning on page 14. I • 

I