THE: E:NGINE:E:R
 

WINTE:R 1978-1979
 

Soviet Combat Engineers 

page 6
 
UNITED STATES ARMY 

ENGINEER CENTER AND 

FORT BELVOIR 

Commander/Com mandant 

MG James L. Kelly 

Deputy Commander/ 

Assistant Commandant 

BG Charles J. Fiala 

Deputy Assistant Commandant 

COL Robert S. Kubby 

Command Sergeant Major 

CSM lucion L. Cowart 

DIRECTORATES 

Directorate of Combat Developments
 

COL Henry J. Hatch
 

Directorate 01 Training
 

COL Robert E. Conroy
 

Directorate of Training Developments
 

COL Francis J. Waiter
 

Directorate of Evaluation
 

LTC James L Spencer
 

Defense Mapping School
 

COL Edward K. Wintz
 

UNITS 

Engineer Center Brigade
 

COL George H. Hilt
 

Engineer Training Br.gade
 

COL Kerwood W. Barrand
 

THE COVER 

Soviet combat engineers perform 

many, but not all, of the same functions as their U.S. counterparts. Ma· 

jar Arthur J. Parr, Jr., examines the 

staff and organization 01 Soviet cornbat engineers beginning on page 6. 

Cover art by Staff Sergeant Mike Furr. 

EDITORIAL STAFF 

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER 

MAJ Sandor I. Ketzis 

EDITOR 

Jerome J. Hill 

ILLUSTRATOR 

SSG Mike Furr 

THE ENGINEER is an authorized quarterly publication of the 

U.S. Army Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir. It is published to 

provide factual and in-depth information of interest to all Ar· 

my engineers and engineer units. Articles , photographs and 

art work of general interest may be submitted for consideration to Editor, THE ENGINEER Magazine, U.S. Army Engineer 

Center and Fort Belvoir, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060. Views and 

opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the 

Department of the Army. Funds for printing THE ENGINEER 

were approved by HQ, Department of the Army, January 1, 

1974. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual paid subscriptions are no longer 

available due to a change in policy necessitated by constraints on personnel authorizations. The magazine is 

available through normal free distribution to active army units 

and reserve components, service schools and post libraries, 

education and training centers, and engineer staff sections 

world wide. Single complimentary copies are also available 

upon written request. 

TELEPHONE: Commercial 703-664-5001/3556; Autovon 

354-5001/3556. 

POSTMASTER: Controlled circulation postage paid at Merrifield, VA 22116. 

TH€ €NGIN€R 
THE: E:NGINE:E:R
 

\JOLUM€ 8	 WINTE:R NUMB€R4 1978-1979 

E: E: ARTICLE:S 

6	 SOVIET CO M BAT EN GINEERS: STAF F AND
 

ORGANIZATION
 

Major Arthur J. Parr, Jr. 

12 FASCAM IN DEFENSE OF CITIES 

Major George F. Smi th 

16 TH E TOPOGRAP HIC ELEMENT OF COMBAT POWER 

Major Craig R. Hutchinson 

19 TH E MEDIUM GIRDE R BRIDGE: PANACEA OR 

PROBLEM? 

Major Harvey G. Rams ey 

22 THE RODRIGUEZ TACTICAL TRAINING RANGE 

Lieu tenant Colonel John B. Wheeler 

26 THE INTERACTIVE MAPPING SYSTEM 

CW2 Herbert H. Kressler 

30 PSYCHOLOGY AND MILITARY LEADERSHIP 

C W4 Charles E. Dunn 

DE:PARTME:NTS 

2 NEWS & NOTES 34 OFF ICER CAREER INFO 

4 EaUIPMENT UPDATE 36 ENLIST ED CAREER INFO 

5 LETT ERS TO THE EDITOR 38 NCO CHANNELS 

29 COMMAN DER'S UPDATE 39 RESERVE COMP ONENTS 

33 TACTICAL PROBLEM 40 THE SCHOOL SOLUTION 

page 73 

page 79 

page 30 
News & Notes ___
 

FTX 

Troop s of the 5th Enginee r Bat t ali on (Co mbat), 

US Ar my T rain ing Center Engi neer and Fort 

Leonard Wood, pr ep are to attach the deck pl ate to 

the superstruct ure of a Class 60 float bridge during 

the ir Field T rain ing Exercise last fall. The FTX , 

con sidered th e most comprehe nsive ever for the 5th 

Battalion , covered 5.400 sq ua re miles with training 

sites at Fort Leonard Wood. Wappap ello National 

Guard T raining Area. Mark T wain Nati on al 

Fo rest . Weldon Spring, and Stock ton Lak e . Th c 

FTX cu lminated an eight-week train ing cycle during wh ich eac h company of th e batt alion rotat ed to 

ea ch tr aining a rea to practice differ ent combat 

e nginee r operatio ns. (U .S. Army photo by I LT 

David Faltot ) 

LAB OF THE YEAR 

The U.S . Army En gin eer Topographic Lab orat or ies 

(ETLJ. Fort Belvoir, VA, has won the U. S. Army 

Laboratory of th e Year award for scientifi c and technical 

ach ievem ent in mapping, military geography information, and geographic inte lligence systems. A total of 32 

laboratories competed for the 1978 awa rd. 

Spec ific ac hievements which help ed ETL win the 

pr estigi ou s award included: development of the Digital 

Inter active System for image interpretation and spec ia l 

product research and development; developm ent of a 

Print Head System to place map nam es a nd symbo ls; 

development of digit al input-output display eq uipment 

(D IO DE) which automa tes techniqu es for editing cartogr aphi c data; and developmen t of mathe ma tica l and 

computer techniqu es for sto ring mill ion s of terra in data 

points. 

MOS 12B SURVEY 

Milita ry Occupati on al Specialty 12B. Combat Engineer, was 

onc of six MOSs surveyed dur ing 

th e first quart er of FY 79 to pr ovide feed back on job skills a nd 

tr aining. Results of th e su rvey 

sh ould be r ead y for MOS 

management officials and tra ining centers early this year. ac ­

cordin g to MILPERCEN. The 

pur pose of MO S surveys is to ge t 

soldiers' opinions and cri tiq ues of 

job qua lifica tions . spe cific duti es 

performed a nd benefits of jo b 

tr aining. Resul ts are studied to 

arra nge fut ure trainin g a nd 

testi ng to correspond more closely 

with duties ra ther tha n jo b J 

descriptions. 

2 WI NTER 1978-79
 
NEW OCE DIR ECTORATE 

A new directorate has been established 

in the Offi ce of th e Chief of Engineers 

(OCE), replacing the Milita ry Const ruc ­

tion and Faci lities Engineering Dir ecto rates. T he new Directorate of Military 

Progr am s. headed by Major General 

Will iam R. Wray. is de sign ed to 

st re a m line milit ary progr ams a n d 

strength en support to the Army. 

CITY BUILDERS 

When member s of the 34th En gineer Battalion 

of Fort Riley, KN , set their minds to a task . they 

seem to be able to accomplish wonder s. For exa mple, with th e assistance of the 203rd Engine er Battalion. a Missouri Nat ional Guard uni t, th ey constructe d an entire city in less than three months. A 

littl e ha rd to believe. bu t neverth eless true. Of 

course, th e city con sisted of ju st 13 woode n 

buildings, but it will do just fine for tr ain ing purposes. Th e single and two-story struct ures were 

designed an d built to pro vide a combat-in-cities 

tr aining environment for infan try . armo r and 

milita ry police uni ts at Fan Riley. The " city" is 

located abo ut four miles north of the installation's 

new troo p billets on a fou r-acre trainin g site . 

PEOPLE 

• Private First Class Andrew D. Leach, Co mpa ny 

A. 307th Eng inee r Batt alion (ABN). was selecte d 

as the 82nd Airbo rne Division " Trooper of the 

Month" for Octobe r 1978. Leach is a 20-year-old 

Combat Const ruction Specialist from EI Paso , TX. 

• Colonel LeeRoy Nunn, Jr., has been selected to 

suceed Colonel George R. Robertson as the Alas ka 

Distri ct Engineer. effective this June. Colonel 

Nunn is curre ntly att endi ng the Army War College. 

NEW INSIGNIA 

A new shoul der sleeve insignia for milita ry pe rsonnel 

assign ed to U.S. Army Corps of En gin eers division s and 

distri cts is now being distributed . T he new insigni a is a 

2 'l4-inch squ are with white border. placed poin t up . Th e 

background \s divided in half vert ically with white and 

sca rlet . It bears a castle tower divided in half with sca rlet 

and white . Opened dividers are centered abo ve a gridlined 

globe. both divided in half with white and sca rlet. The globe 

symbo lizes activities of Eng ineer divisions a nd distri cts. the 

dividers symbolize design and planning, and the tower is 

symbolic of the constr uction mission . 

THE ENGINEER 3 
Equipment Update _
 

MGB TEST ANALYSIS 

The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command's analysis of the test 

report on the Medium Girder Bridge 

has been forwarded to the Troop 

Support and Aviation Materiel Command in St. Louis for a final decision 

on the MGB. The test report, based 

on three years of testing and evaluation by the Materiel Testing Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, 

had been labeled "very favorable" by 

test director Wil1iam Deaver. 

MINE CLEARING ROLLER 

Pre-production tests on the first 

two Track Width Tank Mounted 

Mine Clearing Roller Systems are 

scheduled to begin in May at Aber­ the roller assemblies clears tilt rod field units by the first quarter of 

deen Proving Ground, MD. mines. It can survive blasts from two Fiscal Year 1981. 

The production contract was 22-pound high-explosive mines. FAMECE is the latest mobility 

awarded last August to Chrysler Cor­ Under battle conditions, the rollers concept for combat engineer secporation. It called for the production can be released in less than 30 tionalized construction equipment. 

of 15 mine clearing rollers at a cost seconds using a hydraulic disconnect It utilizes a common power module 

of $1.5 million . system. which is capable of rapid coupling 

The system consists of a retrofit (within 30 minutes) to any of eight FAMECE kit, mounting kit. roller kit and fix­ different work modules to form a 

ture kit. It weighs less than 10 tons Type classification of the Family highly mobile, combat support conand can be mounted in the field by a of Military Engineer Construction struction vehicle . 

tank crew in less than IS minutes for Equipment (FA MECE) is expected The vehicles consist of a heavy 

use day or night under all weather on or about 15 February. If the deci­ road grader, a 2'/2-yard loader, two 

conditions. sion is to buy. the Army will pur­ compactors (vibratory smooth 

The roller is about 90 percent ef­ chase approximately ISO complete drum /pneumatic and tamping 

fective against pressure fused mines vehicles at a cost of$18 million. Bar­ foot/pneumatic), a dumper with 

buried up to four inches when travel­ ring unforeseen delays in the produc­ 10-ton payload that is also used as a 

ing up to 10 miles per hour. A tion schedule , the first vehicles sq uad carrier, a dozer, a 

weighted chain suspended between should be in the hands of engineer 2,SOO-gallon water distributor, and a 

10-cubic-yard scraper, All modules 

will be liftable by mediu m lift 

helicopter, and complete vehicl es 

will be air droppable. 

Final testing of FAM ECE prototypes is being conducted in Alaska 

and at Fort Knox, KY, by the U,S. 

Army Armor-Engineer Board. The 

latter tests are being conducted to 

determine the relative differences in 

capabilities between FAMECE and 

commercial construction equipment. ) Operational testing of FAMECE was 

completed last year at Fort Bragg, 

N.C., and Fort Campbell, KY , 

4 WINTER 1978-79 
Letters to the Editor _
 

Sir: 

In response to M Al Kish' s art icle 

" Combat Engineers and the Heavy 

Division" in the Fall 1978 issue, I 

ha ve to reply for two reasons. 

Reason one is a moral obligation 

to the USAES. For a 21-month 

peri od between 1975 and 1977. he 

and I debated command and control 

in print. In the history of THE 

ENG INEE R Magazine this is the 

only subject to spark controversy and 

a con tinuing dialogue . 

The second and more pertinent 

re aso n is to pr ovide info rmation. I'm 

in complete agree me nt with the article! The USAES has been teac hing 

and the DA print copy of FM 5-100, 

Engineer Combat Operations (1979 

publishing date), clarifies the compositi on of Task Forces. Eit her the 

divisional or non -divisional engineer 

ba ttalion must furnis h a sma ll staff 

when th ey create a T F. Other lessons 

learned are now doctrine. The little 

red schoo lho use at Ft Belvoir mu st 

point out, however. tha t the task 

organizat ion has minor error s. The 

minus ( -) sign s ar e omitted from 

the 17th and 62nd battalions under 

divisional troop s three tim es. 

Th e command and control annex 

of FM 5-100 clearly states th e op ­

tions for task organization . These 

are not precise formulae. The commander mu st weigh these carefully 

as par t of the total combined arms 

operation. Hopefully he ha s active ly 

part icipated in the conc ept ional 

pl ann in g. F e ed b a c k f rom 

REFORG ER 78 confirms this is a 

fac t. Therefore, th e em phasis has 

changed and the Chief of Engineer's 

concern in his interview response on 

page 5 can also b e allayed. This 

brings me to th e answer for " wha t is 

th e role of the enginee r group headqu arters." Th e group mu st also be 

pr ep ared to dispatch part of its staff 

THE ENGINEER 

in the forma tion of TFs. It also may 

be a TF itself in an offensive operation tha t includes a river crossing, 

for exa mple. But , as pointed out, in 

the active defense, th e subordin ate 

un its are mostly depl eted. Its role? 

Simply its fut ure pla nni ng. In an 

FTX during peacetime this is hard to 

impossibl e to simulate. Both reconnaisan ce info rmat ion and higher 

level intelligence are meshed with 

engineer capabilities and anticipated 

situations. Its a full time job in wartim e. The payoff is in winning battles and saving lives. Don 't sell group 

and bri gade headquarters short. 

DOUGLAS K. LEHMANN 

Major , CE 

Dear Sir : 

The inside back cover of your 

FALL 1978 issue includes the state ­

ment "T HE ENGINEER maga zine 

is designed as a mediu m for 

d is s emin at in g i nfo r matio n 

th roughout the Army engineering 

commu nity. " 

On page 39 is your RESERVE 

COMPONENTS page. Whil e the 

word COMPONENTS is plu ral, you 

only present inform ation of interest 

to, or pertaining to. one component, 

th e U.S . Army Reserve , incl uding 

their logos to make it official. 

There are TWO reserve components, th e other be ing the Nation al Gu ard . It is both the oldest . 

and th e larg est, of the two . More 

per sonnel belong to it, in active 

training units, than in the USAR . 

And as En gineers, we perform the 

same tasks and find ourselves a real 

part of "the Army engineering community." 

Perh aps your Reserve page could 

include both logos, or rotate between 

th e two. so that all your readers 

know we are also a part of the On e 

Army Team. 

LEONARD L. LORGE 

CW4 , MI ARNG 

Assistant Adju tant 

We regret the omission of th e National Guard from our RES ER VE 

COM PONENTS section in th e last 

thr ee editions of THE ENGINEER 

Maga zine. but we are experiencing 

problem s in obtaining input on N G 

activities. It is not our int ent ion to 

exclude the Guard from these p ages. 

becau se. as yo u p oint out. it is th e 

largest and oldest of our two reserve 

components. However. if we are 

unable to obtain inf orm ation pe rtaining 10 Guard activities, we can 't 

print it. That 's where yo u. and 

others lik e yo u. can help. Let us 

know what 's happening out th ere. 

Tell yo ur unit p ublic aff airs officers 

to get with the program. We 

recognize that the A rmy engineering 

comm unity includes the National 

Guard. but witho ut your help. 

coverage of Guard activities in THE 

ENGINEER isn 't lik ely to improve a 

great deal.- Editor 

5 
Soviet
 

Combat
 

Engineers
 

staff andorganization 

6 WI NTER 1978-79 
"Soviet military-engineering art has proved its 

complete superiority over bourgeois military art in 

the years of the Civil War and the Intervention, and 

especially on the fields of combat of the Great 

Patriotic War . . . . Soviet military·engineering art, 

guided in its development by Soviet military 

science, will be the most advanced in the future as 

well. " 

IT IS DOUBTFUL that any Western military engineer 

would have ack nowledged the superiority claimed above 

by the Soviet autho r in 1954. Yet, in 1961 the Soviet 

Union fielded its ribb on bridge. a revolutionary new 

design of ta cti cal floa tin g bri dge. Nea rly a decad e and a 

half later, the U. S. Army paid the Soviets the supr eme 

compliment of fieldin g a new sta ndard ribbon -type 

floating bridge: a reverse-engineered copy of the Soviet 

bridge . Soviet engineers provide th eir tactical uni ts and 

form ations with pr ofessional , minutely-planned and 

dynamic support in all phas es of combat. whether in 

postulated nuclear or non-nuclear sit ua tions. The man ­

ner in which this support is organized, the uni ts outfitted 

and em ployed, is an appro priate topic for detailed study. 

In the Soviet Army's vocabulary the term, " military 

engin eer." is a br oadly-applied designation for a whole 

ran ge of military-technical specia lties embra cing all 

arms and services. A military engineer may be an artillery enginee r, radio-electronics engineer, or a command systems eng ineer as well as a con struction engi nee r 

or an engin eer in a combat unit. En gineer support . 

however , gen er ally refers only to comba t engineer tr ain ­

ing, preparati on, and measures in support of th e various 

aspects of combat operations, mobility and disposition of 

troops. It does not inclu de railroad constru ctio n and 

rep air, pipeline constructio n and maint enance, or ca rtogr aphical preparation and supply. 

IN OTHER WORDS, the Soviets und erstand 

" milit ary enginee r' in a br oader sense than it is usually 

applied in th e West, while their conc ept of "engineer 

I 

I Headqua r t e rs 9 

...•. I ·· ... ...
 I Enginee r He adquarters Reconnaissance 

Mot or i zed Rifle Di vi s i on 

30 Officers 

378 Enlisted 4 

IPonton 

I 

THE ENGINEER
 

ENGI;l EER BATTALION, NOTORIZ ED RIFLE OR TAN K DIVISION 

. 

-----, 

I 89 9 Engi neer 113-117 59 Road 

8

.. .,- . Engi neer Engi neer Engi neer Engi nee r Engi nee r Bri dge Position Serv Mi ne- Sappe r Road Cons t r uc­ (Field For­ l ayi ng tification) 

Tank Division 

tion 

31 Officers 401 Enlisted 82 39 ,54 

h Boat 

NOTE: Only s ubor di nat e pl at oons depicted 

7 
support" doe s not encompass some Western combat 

engineer function s. In this article the generic term 

" engineer" and the terms " combat engineer" and "sapper" will be used to describe those units (subunits) normally ascribed to engineer support of ground and rivercrossing mobility (less repair functions) in division-si zed 

units. 

Soviet combat engineers proudly trace their historical 

antecedents to Russian fortification specialists in the 

eighth and ninth centuries. Road construction and 

maintenance is claimed to date to Ivan the Terrible's 

assault on Kazan in 1552. Regular engineer units were 

first formed in the 18th centu ry, when Peter the Great affirmed the creation of a company of mine pr eparers 

(1702) and ponton teams (1704), and founded a regiment 

of military engineer s in 1712. 

Nearer to the pr esent, engineer regiments were formed 

in 1941 in all military districts and regions, consisting of 

about one thousand personnel comprising a staff, two 

engineer battalions, one technical battalion, and support 

and service subunits. During the Great Patriotic War 

(World War II) more th an 200 brigades, battalions and 

separate companies were awarded the honorary designation, "Guards." The expe rience of the war provides a 

history rich with examples of individual and unit bravery 

and self-sacrifice, constantly referred to in Soviet 

military journals as the source of object lessons for 

psychological pr eparation and inspiration of engineer 

troops in today's Soviet Army . 

- SOVIET engineer authors contend that" .. . . practice 

has shown that the greater the degre e of mobilization, 

the greater the dependency on the trafficability of terrain 

and the condition of roads, and the more complex the 

defense against modern means of destruction." Rivers, 

mountains and other natural obstacles now present a 

more serious hindrance to troop movement than they 

previously did. Overcoming these obstacles requires a 

high degree of engineer support measures by all tro ops , 

to include specialized support by engineer units. 

The basic goal of engineer support is "to create condi8 

Soviet T·62 tanks crossing PMP ribbon 

bridge 

••....,. w , _ • 

.........
 

-~

tions for more effectiv e appli cati on of the means of attack, unhindered movement of friendly troops in the 

vicinity of the enemy and th e effecting by them of 

maneuver on the battlefield; and also for their defense 

from the destructive means of the enemy . .. . The basic 

goals of engineer support to combined arms combat include: the creation of favorabl e conditions for the deployment of subunits and their swift tran sfer to the offensive ; 

th e effecting of maneuver and successful forcing of water 

obstacles at high speed ; and, with rega rd to modern 

weapons, increasing the sta bility and viability of subunits 

in the defense." 

Engineer tasks common to all forms of combat operations include : reconnaissance of the enemy and the terrain , in close coordination with combat reconnaissance ; 

preparation and maintenance of routes of movement and 

maneuver; surmounting of natural and man-made 

obstacles and barriers; demolitions work and the construction of obstacles; fortification and camouflage of 

positions , areas, command posts and rear facilities; exploration for sources of water and its supply and 

puritication ; measures to camout1age troop movements 

and operations; and engineer action s to eliminate th e 

after-effects of nuclear attack . 

AS STATED ABOVE, engineer measures are not the 

function solely of engineer units. "With the sharp increase in the scale and scope of engineer measures, the 

role of the basic troop arms in the accomplishment of 

many tasks of engineer support has increased," In order 

to avoid excessive reliance on speci ali zed engineer 

ma chines, which may not be available in the required 

numbers in certain circumstances, tanks and other 

tracked vehicl es can be fitted with a number of special 

"stra p-on" items (dozer blades, mine-clearing plows, 

etc.). 

Further , eac h subunit should also contain severa l personnel competent to perform certain other engineer 

ta sks , such as min e and countermine warfare, the use of 

demolitions materials , and so forth . This not only lessens 

reliance on engineer troop units, but also insures that 

WI NTER 1978-79 
subunits will have a certain level of organic "engineer" 

support on hand to fulfill the necessary tasks and reduce 

the time requ ired to accomplish engineer support in 

general. 

Engineer units are organic in the Soviet ground forces 

units down to and including maneuver regiments. This 

pr ovides these units the opportunity independently to 

resolve the basic ta sks of engineer support. When 

necessity requires. at the option of the seni or commander, additional engineer units may be attached for 

general support or to accomplish specific tasks. General 

principles of employment, or guidelines for use of 

org anic and attached engineers, ma y be enumera ted as 

follows: 

1. Concentrate engineer efforts on th e main or critical 

ar ea. 

2. Use assets pr operly . Proper use refers not so mu ch 

to the application of the capabilities of a given ma chine , 

bu t to the centralized application of un its in accordance 

with tactical requirements, 

3. Consider the inh erent engineer capabilities of all 

organizations. When combat tr oops ar e detailed to perform engineer tasks, organic or attached units may also 

be in tegra ted. 

4. Attached eng ineers are most ofte n used with 

org anic en gineers, except when the senior commander 

specifies the mission (intent or use ) and the period of att achment. In such a case, he must als o stipul at e the 

det ails of the task, provide covering for ces and support, 

.. 

.: ;- ;" . ­

--

and the timely return of the unit to his control. When th e 

attachment is not thus limited, th e supported com ­

mander must clarify the details of the mission , provide 

security, etc . 

5. As a rule , organic engineer units are used only for 

tasks in support of the unit of which they are a part. Attached engineer units may not be diverted to other tasks; 

they must work only on assigned missions of engineer 

support of combat operations . 

6. Removal of even one man from the normal crew of 

an engineer machine substantially degrades the effectiveness of the machine and subu nit performance. The 

optimum working day for a man (10 hours) and a 

machine (IS hours) may be extended in extreme circumstances to demand more from the men and to stress 

machines to their technical limits, at the option of th e 

combi ned arms commander. 

7. Centralized control is preferred during the preparation of an offensive, during construction of fortifications 

and minefields , during river crossin g operations, and in 

other rapidly arising situ ati ons. Decentralized control, 

however. is preferred at the start of the offensive, or 

when swit ching to the defens e. 

8. Bridge or crossing sites and passages through 

minefields, etc. , are usually maintained and serviced by 

the un it which emplaced the bridge (established th e 

crossing) or cleared the passage. 

9. Always maintain an engineer reserve to meet new 

requirements or replace losses . 

Heavy sell-propelled tracked amphibious ferry (GSP) 

THE ENGINEER 9 
Truck·mounted multiple span bridge (TMM) 

IN ANY GIVEN tacti cal situa tion, with th e possibl e 

exception of a lesser degree of emphasis du ring th e 

preparation o f the defense, the bulk of enginee r pla nn ing 

and control authority rests with th e chief of eng ineer services (nachal'nik inzhenernoi sluzhby, or NIS) locat ed as 

a member of the commander's special staff at a ll levels 

down to maneuver regiment. "The regim ental chief of 

engineer services both in peace and in time of war is 

responsible for organization of engin eer support of the 

regiment; pr eparati on (t raining) of regimental personnel 

in enginee r matters; support of the regiment with 

engineer equipme nt, to include maintenan ce in working 

order of th at equipment; and combat and mobil ization 

readiness of th e engineer-sapper subunits of the reg iment." It must be assumed th at chiefs of engineer serv ­

ices a t higher levels perform ess entially the same broad 

duties. 

As noted above, the NIS is a "chief of service," a position which finds its closest U. S. equivalent in the com ­

mander's special staff. The NIS is th e direct chief (staff 

supervisor) of all organic and attached engineer 

subunits, and as such, his directives and th e de cisions of 

the commander comprise the basis for orga nization of 

engin eer support. In the orga nization and planning of 

engineer tasks. the NIS assures th at : 

a) Th e plan complies with the commander 's concept 

of the oper at ion and his decision , in accordance with the 

co ncrete realities of the tactical situation. 

b) Engineer ta sks are executed in a timely fa shion . 

c) Act ions by engineer un its are conducted with due 

concern for security, so as not to inadvertently divulge 

the nature of th e plan to the enemy. 

d) Eng ineer tasks are clea rly defin ed so as to conc en ­

trate efforts in the direction of th e main effort or on 

critical defense sectors. 

e) In ac cordance with the developing tacti cal situation, and in close coordination with combat forc es, 

engineer units maneuver correctly in res ponse to requirements. 

t) Camo uflage and deception measures are applied by 

all units. 

This N1 S, usu ally a major at maneu ver regime nt level. 

participates directly in the work ofthe staff, coordinating 

his actions with those of the other chiefs of services, but 

primarily cooperating with th e chief of staff and the 

assistant chief of staff for operation s (pomoshchnik 

nach al 'nika shtabo-L, or PNSh-l). He contributes to the 

reconnaissence plan, the comb at order, the rivercrossing graphic and the plan of CBR defense; he works 

out the details of the plan of engineer support, the com ­

bat disposition of the engineer subunits, and the dispo sition of comba t un its assigned to eng ineer tasks. 

Alth ough th e N1S's organization of engineer support of 

the unit is quite logically based on his com ma nder's deci ­

sion, he is als o responsive to the directives of th e NIS at 

the next higher level, so that there is a direct technical 

connecting line between engineer staff officers at all 

levels . 

THE GENERAL sequence of staff-planning procedures followed by the NIS ma y be briefly sum marized. 

On receipt of the commander' s wa rning order, or his 

concept of the operation . the NIS quickly clarifies the 

mission and conducts an estimate of the situation from 

an eng ineer's point of view. He considers initial 

reconnaissan ce-intelligence data avail able (map studies, 

military-geographic studies, long -range reconnaissance 

information) and issues an alert to th e enginee r sub unit 

com mande rs in order to allow them max imum prepara ­

tion time. He next works out his pr oposal s and recommendations for the plan of engineer support of the opera ­

tion, to include: the sequence and timing of engineer 

task s; forces detailed to engineer tasks and reinfor cement of engineer subunits; location , dispo sition and 

maneuver of engineer subunits; and mutually supporting 

operations with units and subunits of other arms and 

services. 

Th e N1S then presents to the comma nder his analysis 

of the terrain and the situation , pointing out area of difficulty or threat , and indicating how his plan recom ­

mend s dealing with the anticipated problem s. The com ­

mander ma y require the NIS or his engine er subunit 

commander to report on other ma tt ers of int erest , such 

as the capabilities of assigned or att ached eng ineer 

subunits , along with additiona l recommendations for 

their employment. 

When th e plan is accepted and affirmed by the com ­

mander , it is signed by the NIS and co unter-signed by 

the chief of staff to become a part of the combat order for 

the oper ation . Specifics of tasks assigned to engin eer 

subunits are refined as preparation s move forward . Both 

the NIS and the enginee r subunit commander(s) closely 

monitor th e fulfillment of the assigned mission and 

pr epare to shift or reassign asset s to address problem 

ar ea s or meet newly-arisen task s during the course of th e 

opera tion. 

WINTER 1978-79 

- -.., , 

10 
TYPES OF ENGINEER units in the Soviet ground 

forces include reconnaissance, sapper, road, position 

(field-fortification), bridge construction , camouflage, 

crossing-assault, ponton, and special subunits for 

obst acles , countermine warfare, water supply and other 

functions. All these types of units and subunits have been 

discussed in recent issues of Soviet military journals, with 

two exceptions: the subject areas of camouflage and 

water supply continue to be of concern , but specific 

engineer units charged with carrying out these functions 

are not noted. 

The organizational data presented in the tables represent the findings and, in some cases, the opinions of the 

author. They are not official Department of Defense 

(DOD) or Department of the Army (DA) holdings. They 

are composites based to some degree on open-source 

Soviet, East German and Polish military publications. 

Probably no Soviet engineer company or battalion con ­

forms precisely to these organizational figures. Regional 

and other variations may create fairly wide deviations 

from these rough guides. They may, nevertheless, serve 

for a general analysis of the type of combat engineer support at division and maneuver regiment level. 

Within the maneuver elements of a regiment, tank 

dozers are available on the basis of one per tank battalion, and mine clearing plows on the basis of one per 

tank platoon (nine per battalion). both are normally 

transported on 7-ton or 5-ton trucks. 

THE ENGINEER company of the maneuver regiment 

has nine or more additional plow sets , and roller plow 

sets are available, probably on the basis of one per tank 

battalion in the regiment. Th e company also has road 

construction, position preparation, mine and countermine warfare, reconnaissance, and short gap bridging 

capabilities-in short, some capability for every type of 

engineer support available in the division except float 

bridging and amphibious transport. 

The division- level engineer battalion has five specialized companies. Tactical employment of engineer units, 

however, does not always follow strict organizational 

lines. The specialized equipment of ponton bridge and 

assault crossing units limits their application in general 

engineer support roles. Tactical employment of sapper, 

engineer-reconnaissance, road and road-bridge subunits 

generally involves the formation of one or more of the 

following functional groupings: engineer reconnaissance 

patrol, reconnaissance /obstacle-clearing detachment, 

mobile obstacle detachment, and movement support 

detachment. 

For example , the mobile obstacle detachment (podvishnoi otriad zagrazhdenii-« POZ), deployed to blunt 

enemy armored thrusts or seal off flanks or penetrations, 

may be based on a sapper platoon, but usually is formed 

around (or consists wholly of) a sapper minelayer platoon 

equipped with self-propelled minelayer vehicles or towed 

minelayer trailers, augmented by anti-tank guns or 

missiles. The movement support detachment totriad 

obespecheniia dvizheniia-OOD) may also be formed 

around any sapper unit, but this function is normally 

assigned to elements of the road- bridge platoon (at 

maneuver regiment level) or the road company of the 

divisional engineer battalion. 

Major Arthur 1. Parr. Jr.. is currently assigned to the 

Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a Presidential 

Translator on the Washington-Moscow hotline. He is a 

Russia-East Europe Foreign Area Officer who has served 

with the 1st Infantry Division and the 5th Special Forces 

Group (airborne) in Vietnam. and with the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Soviet Ground Forces Analyst. 

Engineer obstacle-clearinq vehicle (IMR) 

THE ENGINEER 11 
FASCAM
 

in defense of cities
 

Major George F. Smith 

Large scale city fighting in World War II, Korea, and 

Vietnam was a relatively rare occurrence primarily 

because doctrine stressed the notion that built-up areas 

were to be isolated and bypassed rather than risking costly, time consuming operations in a difficult environment. 

But urban sprawl in the highly industrialized countries of 

Western Europe has forced a departure from that doctrine. 

An examination of the traditional avenues of approach 

into and through West Germany quickly establishes the 

importance of urban sprawl to modern tactics. These 

historical avenues are no longer unobstructed routes 

suitable for fast moving armor operations but are frequently blocked or narrowed by a series of urban areas. 

Soviet doctrine stresses that offensive formations attacking across highly developed regions will encounter at 

least one large built-up area every 70 kilometers and 

numerous villages and clusters of structures that restrict 

and even block traditional avenues of approach. Since 

Soviet attack doctrine also stresses that Soviet forces will 

advance 60 kilometers per day, it is obvious that confrontations could occur in built-up areas. 

Retired British Major General J.F.C. Fuller has written that the defense "should command the roads leading 

toward and through the area being held. The knots in the 

road are villages , hamlets and small towns . These knots 

are also tank-proof. Therefore, small towns and villages 

are the first areas that must be considered ." These 

"knots in the web," as Fuller characterizes them, are 

ideal locations for antitank strongpoints. 

Built-up areas supplement or extend obstacle systems. 

Building complexes are in themselves obstacles to a 

mechanized force. Therefore. with minimal effort and 

materials, a built-up area can become a significant 

obstacle to advance. Passage can be blocked, canalizing 

enemy armor into open natural terrain interlaced with 

anti-armor fires and reinforced with mines and other 

obstacles. The built-up area can itself become one huge 

tank and soldier killing zone with an insatiable appetite. 

The skillful integration of built-up areas into the total 

defense scheme enhances and strengthens defensive combat power to attrit, delay and eventually defeat a 

numerically superior force . 

THE USE OF MINES IN THE CITY 

To maximize the defender's advantage within the city, 

defenses are organized in depth. Depth is achieved by 

selecting and preparing a series of mutually su pporting 

battle positions, strongpoints and obstacles throughout 

the built-up area. 

The proper selection and location of obstacles immediately increases or multiplies our available combat 

power. Properly employed, obstacles (in particular. 

mines) greatly increase the killing capability of our antitank weapons by increasing the amount of time that a 

target is in the "target window ." While obstacles are 

discussed in most of the literature concerning combat in 

12 WINTER 1978-79 
built-up ar eas, details concerning the proper use of 

mines is sorely lacking. In fact, the new famil y of scatterable mines (FASCAM) is rarely mentioned. 

The Combat inCities Report, published by the Infantry School, concluded paradoxically that standard pattern minefield construction time pr ecludes its use in 

many cases, but that mines can be used effectively along 

str eets and at intersections within the city and at critical 

choke points along likely avenues of approach into the 

built-up area . One must hastily add that the built-up 

ar ea, itself, is a choke point. 

Supporting the Report's conclusion concern ing conventional mines is an extract from a KETRON, Inc., 

Technical Report, which states, "The current inven tory 

of mines is not suitable for use in the city. Both off-route 

and scatterable mine s would assist in controlling specific 

areas by canalizing movement of enemy forces and slowing the rate of enemy advance." Before isolating on 

the employment of FASCAM in cities, it is first necessary 

to discuss current U.S. doctrine regarding the defense of 

a built-up ar ea so that FASCAM can be logicall y introduced . 

DEFENSE OF A BUILT·UP AREA 

The defense begins well forward of the city on terrain 

suitable for a balanced combined arms covering force 

designed to wear down the att acker and cause him to 

reveal his int entions before rea ching the bu ilt-up area. 

As the attacker approaches th e periphery of th e city, he 

THE ENGINEER 

comes within range of anti-tank guided missil es and tank 

and artille ry fire from strong, mutually support ing battle 

positions and strongpoints of the main battle area arranged in depth throughout the built-up area . 

Success is achieved by an int egrated defensive scheme 

between forces in the city and forces defending adjacent terrain. The key to defense within the city is the 

strongpoint, where squad and platoon leaders will often 

be required to fight independent battl es without detailed 

orders. The skillful use of min es and obstacles will greatly enhance the defensive capability of the se mutually supporting strongpoints. 

THE USE OF FASCAM 

The use of scatterable mines in the covering forc e area 

forward of the built-up are a is essent ially no different 

than in the normal defense. Prior to the battle, maximum 

use mu st be made of the Ground Emplaced Mine Scattering System (GEMSS) and MS6 to rapidly emplace 

minefields along likely avenu es of approach to enhance 

the effectiveness of covering anti-tank weapons. 

Particula r attention must be given to obstacles on the 

flanks of the city since it would be the defend er' s intention to force th e attacker into the city. As th e covering 

force withdraws, Artillery Delivered Anti-vehicle, Antitank and Anti-personn el Min es (ADAT M an d ADAPM) 

can be effect ively employed in front of enemy form ati ons 

to assist in breaking contact- and further attriting the 

enemy. As the enemy come s within range of the Main 

13 
RESPONSIVE DELIVERY MODES FOR SCATTERABl E MIN ES 

r, · 

MIN £ OISP£NSING 

SU BS YSTEM- llIl.5 6 

G ATO A MIN E SY Sn.M 

GUN DISP ERSAL SYSTEMS -

Battle Area (MBA) , the Surface Launched Unit-Mine 

System (SLUMINE) can rapidly seed the obvious 

avenues of enemy approach and close breaches in existing minefields. The range of the SLUMINE prohibits 

its use forward of the MBA. 

Within the city itself, the various types of scatterable 

mines must be emplaced to support each b attle position 

and strongpoint. The uses for FASCAM inside the builtup area are limited only by the imagination of the 

defender. Because employment of these mines within the 

city is the heart of the issue , each mine system will be 

considered separately in an examination of several possible applications. 

ARTILLERY DELIVERED MINES 

(ADAPM AND ADATM) 

Since the effectivenes s of artillery may be degraded 

due to restricted observation, proximity of friendly forces 

to enemy troops, the corresponding requirement for pinpoint accuracy, and frequent attachment of art illery sections to infantry platoons and squads, the ADAPM and 

ADATM should rarely be used within the city. Furthermore, the weight of the ADA TM mine, coupled with its 

rate of descent, would virtually insure its penetration of 

roof tops and cause the int erior of many buildings to be 

mined. The effecti veness of an anti-tank mine in a basement is limited. 

The ADAPM, however, could be used since it is not 

heavy enough to penetrate roof tops . In fact, antipersonn el mines emplaced on roofs would be effect ive in 

blocking that traditi onal avenue of approach by infantrymen in the city . 

GEMSS 

The GEMSS is ideally suited for the rapid emplacement of mines throughout the city. Streets and 

boulevards can be mined as easily as parks and 

cemetaries. However , mined ar ea s mu st be marked to 

preclude friendly casualties. In most cases the defender's 

routes of withdrawal and lat eral movement will be above 

or below gro und, thus reducing th e con cern for mines in 

th e street. Th e defender will use the street far less than 

the attacker. However , counterattack rout es mu st be 

kept open . The limiting characteristic of the GEMSS is 

its long self-destruct time. Areas mined with it are essentially denied to defender use. 

14 WINTER 1978-79 
SEQUEN C E F O PERA T IO N S fOR 

M O DU LA R PAC K MINI N G SYSTEM (MOPMS ) 

l 

-

.-- ",, 

, - ,o; 

, 

-; 

...
 

'"
 

1\1-56 HEUCOPTER DISPENSED SYSTEM 

Th is system co uld not b e used once the battle in the 

streets begins due to its high vul ne rabi lity. However, 

before the battle begins . it could be used to mine large. 

open a re as su ch as parks. ;11 tobah ns, and the like, 

SL UMINE 

SLU M lN E is capabl e of covering large a reas rapidl y. 

The refore. like th e MS6. it h as limit ed effectiveness 

within t he city. a lth ough it is n ot vulnerab le to ai r 

defense fir e like the MS6. Its p rincipal lise wit hin the 

bu ilt-u p ar ea m igh t be to con ta in a penetra tion in an 

ope n a.rea or to re-seed a br ea ch in a G EMSS field, a lso 

in an ope n a rea . The low angle of tire of th e SLUMINE 

rocket severel y lim its its application in areas contain ing 

.all bu ildings. The SL Jh1I NE la u ncher would be more 

effect ively employed firin g SLL FA E a l soft targets . 

MODULAR PACK MINE SYSTEM (MOPMS) 

T h is system has th e greatest utility of an y F ASCAM 

system for co mbat in cities. It is ea sily transport ed an d 

do es not rUl'.l:rc a la u nch system . It call be placed easily 

in sup port of sq uad ar.d platoon strongpoin ts, activated 

when re q uired . "mel recovered if LOt em ployed, Not only 

would it be effec t ive in th e streets against tanks a nd 

:,'lk1 ",rs, but it coul d be devasta ting if emp loyed in side a 

b uilding following wit rdrawal by defenders an d j ust 

prior to enemy se izure . T he expend iture of t he M O Prv,iS 

could be ex tr emely effective if the b uild ing is a critica l 

str ong point . 

MANUALLY EMPLACED MINE SYSTEM (MEMS) 

This system is not curren tly in de velopment , but could 

p rove very useful in urban combat . The MEMS is essentially an ADAPM which is activated by pulling a pin a nd 

throwi ng the mine int o pl ace , Consider th e effec t of leaving one of th ese in each room of a building as the 

defen der withdraws. Simi lar employment could be effective on nat ro oft op s, in a lleys and doorways. and particula rly in traffi cabl e sewers. Extrem e contro l of su ch a 

syste m would be ne cessa ry to prevent friendly cas ualties 

re sulting from over-enth us ias tic employment. 

CONCLUS IO N 

The family of scatterable mines has trul y added a new 

dimen sion to mine warfare an d th e mechanized battlefield . No lon ger is mine warfare limited to open terrain 

on the traditiona l battlefield. FA SCAM will ena ble th e 

defe nd ers of cit ies to more effecti vely and efficiently 

empl oy the ir a nti-tank weapo ns to kill the enemy a nd win 

the first battle . 

...
 

Major George F. Smith is current ly assign ed as th e Ex ­

ecutive Offi cer oJ the 565th Enginee r Battalio n, 

USAREUR . In his p reviou s assignm ent as Proj ect Officer at the A rmor and Engineer Board. Fort K l1OX . K Y, 

he desig ned tests f or th e A rt ill ery Deli vered 

A ntitank M ine. 

THE EN INEER 15 
The 

Topographic 

Element 

of 

Combat 

Power 

Major Craig R . Hutchinson 

SEVERAL new " How to Fight" manuals have been 

publis hed and a detailed knowledge of FM 100-5 (Operations), FM 101-5 (Command and Cont rol of Comba t 

Operations), and TC ]01-5 (Control and Coordination of 

Division Operations) is nec essary to keep ab reast of the 

situ ation. However , if you search th ese manu als for the 

topographic element of combat 

power , you will not find 

it in bold print. In f

act you have to read between th e lines 

to find it at all. You ma y find clues to

the topographic elementof com ­

bat power in FM 5-100 (Engineer Combat Operations) , 

FM 100-10 (Combat Service Support), and FM 10] -10-1 

(Staff Officers Field Manual ; Organizati on, Technical, 

and Logistical data). However . two new field manuals (FM 21-32 Topographic Support an d FM 5-146 Engineer Top ographic Units) discu ss th e topographic elem ent of 

combat power in det ail. Since the new manuals won 't be 

published until later this yea r, let's examine the top ogr aphic elements of comba t power today. 

First, what is the topographic elem ent? To find 

out, 

let'sgo to the new FM 101 -5 which presents a systems appr oach to ope rations and defines functi onal systems for 

corps down thru battalions. Specificall y. it includes the 

following corps functional system s: Command, Control. 

and Communication s (C3); Man eu ver; Engineer; Intelligence; Fire Support ; Air/Ground Op erati ons; Electronic Warfare; Air Defense Artillery ; and Comb at Service Support. 

THE TOPOGRAPHIC elementisnot expl icitly st ate d 

her e. but one can pick up its tracks in th e engineer 

system , which equates to mobility/ countermobil ity and 

survivability and is composed of divisional and cor ps 

engineer un its. According to FM 5-100, in corp s engin eer 

16 WINTER 1978-79 
I 

units you will find a cartographic company of the 

engineer topographic battalion, theater army. It is in this 

cartographic company that the topographic element can 

be found. Topographic elements and their functions are 

defined by FM 5-100 as follows: 

MAP DISTRIBUTION-Operating the corps map 

supply and distribu tion system down to division level. 

MAP UP-DATING-Planning and supervising 

local map revision to meet the needs of the corps. 

PRINTING-Producing revised maps, map supplements, overprints, sketches, drawings, and terrain intelligence material to meet the needs of the corps. 

ANALYSIS-Provide terrain intelligence, prediction, and analysis of the effects of terrain factors on 

military operations to corps and divisions. 

SURVEYS-Provide survey information required 

by the combat elements in support of their modern 

weapons systems. 

But, what is combat power? It is not explicitly defined 

in the new FM 100-5. The Command and Gen eral Staff 

College defines combat power as leadership and the 

functions of land combat under the influence of environment and tactics. Specifically, "A unit's ability to 

develop and apply combat power is directly dependent on 

the unit's capabilities for performing the functions of 

land combat, i.e ., firepower; intelligence ; mobility; command, control, and communications (C3); and combat 

service support." If firepower and mobility are equated 

with fire support and maneuver in the corps functional 

systems previously presented, one can see that the fu nctions of land combat are a subset of the corps functional 

systems. Thus, performing land combat can equate to 

managing the corps functional systems and we have a 

working definition for combat power: it is the command, 

leadership, and management of a unit's functional 

systems within the influence of environment and tactics. 

THE QUESTION remains as to how the functional 

systems are managed in order to obtain combat power 

from the topographic element? According to FM 101-5, 

each functional system within a unit interfaces with every 

other system in the unit. Thus, the engineer system interfacing with all other systems provides the topographic 

element in some form to the other systems. FM 21-32 

(Topographic Support) and FM 5-146 (Engineer 

Topographic Units) provide the details of this interface 

and thus the answer to our question. However, let's examine the topographic element interface between the 

engineer system and C3 system. 

The C3 system consists of: The Commander and Staff; 

Communications; Staff Organization ; Staff Procedures; 

and Decision Making. The topographic element interface between the engineer system and the C3 system includes assisting the commander and staff in communications. staff procedures. and decision making. Examples 

1 and 2 illustrate how the topographic element interfaces 

in staff procedures and decision making in the C3 

system. 

THE ENGINEER 

SEQUENCE OF COM MAND 

AN D STAF F ACTIONS" 

1. Mission received. 

2. Information to CO and 

stall sections. 

3. Miss ion analysis and 

CO's planning guidance. 

4. Staft estimates. 

5. CO ' s e s ti m a t e In ­

eluding dec ision and CO's 

concept. 

6. Preparation at plan s or 

orders. 

7. Approval of plans or 

ord ers. 

8. Issue of plans or 

orders. 

9. 5taft/Command supervision. 

10 . Mission Accompli sh . 

ed. 

" From Superseded FM 101·5 

MILITARY ESTIMATE 

1. Mi ssion Analysis 

a. What must be done 

and whe n? 

b. Restate for clarit y. 

2. Situation and Courses 

of Action 

a. What is the situation? 

(1) What enemy lo rces 

are oppo s ing us an d 

where? 

(2) How can the terr ain 

be used to gain an advantage? 

(3) What is the eff ect 01 

the wealher? 

(4) What frie ndl y forces 

ara available? 

b. Whal are fe asible 

courses of action to accomplish the mission? 

3. Ana/ysis {Wargam aj and 

Comparison 01 Courses 01 

Ac tion 

a. Wargame courses of
 

action .
 

b. Wh at i s lhe best 

co urse of action and why? 

4. Decision Of Recom ­

mendafion {Concepfl 

a. Re fine t h e b e s l 

course of action into a 

clear d eci sion /r e co m · 

mendation. 

b. Announce th e de ­

cisionfrecommendation. 

c. Commander issue s 

co nce pt. 

d. Issue plans/orders. 

"F rom new FM 101·5 

EXAM PLE 1 

TOPOGRAPHIC 

ELEMENT 

1. Update maps and 

graphic portion 01 the 

Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefi eld 

(IPB) dat a base. 

2. Provide updated 

maps. 

3. Ga l her te rr aln 

analysis materials. 

Provide terrain analysis inpul for the 

IPS. 

Printing of IPS reo 

po rts and OPLA Ns or 

OPORDs on overlays. 

Di stribution 01 topographic products. 

Prinling o f Frag 

Orders on topograph ic 

prod ucts. 

EXAMPLE 2 

TOPOGRA PHIC 

ELEMENT 

1. Update maps and 

graphic portion of IPB 

dala base. 

2. Provide updated 

maps. 

3 . G ather te rrain 

analysis materials. 

Provide terrain snalysis Input for the IPS. 

Provide terrain analysi s and printed grap h· 

lcs as required. 

1. Printi ng of IPB Re· 

ports and OPLANI 

OPORDs overl ays. 

2. Issu e 01 maps and 

rel ated topog raph ic 

products. 

STAFF INTERFACE 

G2/G3/G4 

G2 /G3 

G3/G4 

G2 /G3JG4 

G3JG4 

STAF F INT ERFAC E 

G2JG3/G4 

G2/G3/G4 

G21G 31G4 

G2/G3/G4 

17
 
PART OF the command and staffs combat power in 

the C3 system lies in the accuracy and timeliness of their 

actions interfacing with the military estimate and decision process. As illustrated above, the topographic element contributes to that accuracy and timeliness. In 

making staff estimates, the topographic element supports the Intelligence Preparation of the Battl efield (l PB) 

by providing: 

a. Up-to-date maps (changes in roads, vegetation , 

and obstacles); 

b. Terrain Analysis (cross-country movement maps, 

underground complexes, possible enemy drop zones, 

utility complexes); 

c. Rapid printing. 

The functional systems of a unit interface within the 

unit and with the functional systems in th e units above 

and below. Through such interface, the use of the 

topographic element for communicating OPLANs and 

OPORDs with graphic overlays and overprints further 

achieves its combat power. 

Thus. the topographic element provides combat power 

in the C3 system by assisting in providing more accurate 

and timely staff procedures, decision making and communications. 

IT IS EASY to see combat power in the barrel of a 

loaded gun pointing at you. It is not so easy to see combat power in a combination of a sequence of command 

and staff actions and a military estimate and decision 

process which resulted in pointing the loaded gun at you . 

However, the sequence of command and staff actions 

and the military estimate and decision process are key 

tools in the C3 system for commanders and their staffs. 

and the topographic element is an integral part of its 

employment. 

Who has the staff action for coordinating the 

topographic element of combat power in the corps ? FM 

101-5 indicates the responsibility remains with the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence (G2). Actually, the G2 

recommends engineer topographic troop assignments in 

coordination with the corps engineer. Therefore, if you 

are looking for topographic support to meet your C3 

needs, check with your G2 section. 

The 649th Engineer Battalion in Europe is currently 

providing a tactical topographic task force (T3F) in 

direct support to the US corps in Europe in order to keep 

the corps in tune with the topographic element of combat 

power. In addition, the battalion is providing a T3F to 

support the divisions as required . This is a change to 

previous and current doctrine, where direct topographic 

support was no lower than the corps headquarters. The 

649th is exercising its tactical top ographic task force on 

corps and division FTXs and CPXs as requested. This 

provides terrain analysis for th e exerci se areas and )

results in the production and distribution of necessary -' 

products to meet corps and division needs. 

THE TASK FORCE consists of a terrain analysis ele ­

ment and a Tactical Information Printing (TIP) element. 

The two elements work together in order to satisfy required response times for a timely sequence of command 

staff actions at corps and division level. For example, the 

task force maintains up-to-date map changes in a format 

ready for tactical information printing on standard products, including changes in roads, autobahns, quarries, 

and vegetation, as well as other up-to-date IPB information the corps or division G2 requires. 

To meet the needs of the modern battlefield, TI P can 

overprint and provide 500 copies of any single-color map 

in the area of operations within one hour. One objective 

is for the corps and divisions to provide hard copies of 

topographic products used and devel oped in the sequence of command and staff actions and military 

estimate and decision process as far down as company 

level if time permits. This eliminates some of the time 

wasted in "gathering" around th e situation map and 

provides for more rapid dissemination of IPB reports. 

OPLANs and OPORDs. 

The T3F is augmented with a map distribution element to assist in bulk map distribution at corps level and 

also with a survey elem ent to assist the corps in bringing 

control forward. 

Is the topographic element of combat power a requirement of the peacetime force structure? In order to 

maneuver forces , you must be able to direct them as 

rapidly and accurately as possible. This requires terrain 

analysis and survey as well as distribution of the graphics 

and data necessary for weapons systems, estimates, 

OPLANs, and OPORDs to combat commanders prior to 

the first battle. Only combat commanders can decide if it 

is required for our peacetime force structure, for they 

must be pr epared for the first battle on very short noti ce . 

Major Craig R. Hutchinson is currently assigned as
 

the Com mal/del'. 517th Engineer Detachment (Terrain},
 

attach ed to the 649th Engineer Battalion. U5AREUR .
 

He served as the 5 -3/or the 649th/or 19 months prior to
 

his current assignment.
 

18 WINTER 1978-79 
· ..r- . 

---- . -

THEMEDIUM GIRDERBRIDGE
 

panacea 

or 

problem? 

M ajor Harvey G. Ramsey 

The Medium Girder Bridge is here; we mu st now 

pr epare to cope with it. The int roduction of the MGB 

into our units in Europe will pr ovide an additional 

dimension to th e engineer ca pa bi lity on the b attlefield. 

Its impact will be felt most signifi ca ntly in two crit ical 

resources a reas-time and manpower. 

T he positive qualities of th e MGB have been 

demonstrated in both field test s and actual opera tions. It 

can be con structed faster and with less manpower than 

THE ENGINEER 

th e Bail ey bridge which it compliments! 

J have used the word "complimen t" because it is included in the bri ef doctrinal statement concerni ng the 

employment of MGB which follows: 

a . The Med ium Girder Bridge and Bail ey bridge will 

be used as complimentary system s pending fielding of a 

mech anically launched system. 

b . MGB should be used forw ard in the Main Battle 

Are a (MBA). 

19 
c. Bailey bridge should be used in Lines of Communication (LaC). 

d. TOE units should be pure MGB or Bailey bridge 

rather than composite. 

e. Maximize availability of the MGB on the battlefield 

by replacing emplaced MGB with Bailey bridge when 

possible. 

f. Recommended basis of allocation for the MGB is 

two sets per division. 

The purpose of this article is not to tout the obvious 

advantages of the MGB or to diminish the value of Bailey 

by unfair comparison. Rather it is my intention to point 

out that the MGB has critical limitations which must be 

considered by the commander in the field. Since some of 

the MGB's weaknesses are strengths of the Bailey 

system, I suggest that perhaps our current thoughts on 

allocation and deployment of these two bridges do not 

take maximum advantage of the capabilities and limitations of each system. 

Given the doctrinal framework, let's examine the advantages and disadvantages of MGB more closely. 

ADVANTAGES 

a . Speed of construction-The MGB allows 

significantly faster construction rates. For example, a 

class 60 MGB 103 feet long can be built in 90 minutes. 

An equivalent Bailey bridge would take about five hours. 

b. Reduced resources-The 103 foot MGB could be 

constructed by only 25 soldiers. The equivalent Bailey 

would require 71 soldiers. 

c. Interoperability -Our NATO allies are largely 

equipped with MGB. Equipping our units with MGB 

would promote compatibility on the battlefield. 

d. Palletization-«The MGB is stored on pallets in the 

unit. This enhances construction site organization and 

significantly improves upload problems from depots or 

bridge parks. 

DISADVANTAGES 

a. Limited capacity-The MGB cannot be constructed in any manner to allow passage of vehicles 

greater than class 60. Allied nations apparently plan to 

use the bridge as their primary tactical bridging equipment. They have developed ancillary equipment to offset 

this deficiency. The US Army has not initiated action to 

procure ancillary equipment. 

b . Limited length-MGB is currently limited to 

lengths of 103 foot military load class (MLC) 60. There is 

no capability within existing equipment to install the 

bridge with intermediate supports. Addition of the cable 

reinforcing system will extend the class 60 length to 162 

feet but this reinforcing system is not expected to be 

available until calendar year 1980 at the earliest. 

c. Limited life-The MGB is made of an aluminumzinc-magnesium alloy. It has a well identified fatigue 

problem which reduces its value on lines of communication. Its estimated life is 10,000 class 60 crossings. The 

more we train with the bridge, the shorter will be its 

useful combat life. Stated doctrine implies that the .,.,' 

bridge will be a dynamic battlefield asset. This is to say it 

will enhance the main battle area; being emplaced and 

removed as battlefield mobility requirements arise . Loss 

of useful life due to erection. extraction , and hostile fire 

have yet to be determined. It is safe to assume that con ­

tinued use will contribute to existing problems of metal 

fatigue. Our current system for determining fatigue conditions is simply to check for cracks in the outer lugs of 

panel jaws . When cracks appear. the bridge can still sustain at least 1,000 MLC 60 crossings. Hopefully , we will 

be able to observe cracks immediately and thus accurately estimate the remaining life. 

d. Limited replacement parts-Limited procurement, 

only 34 sets, results in limited replacement parts. Europe 

is programmed for only 12 sets. 

e. Redu ced repair capability-Since MGB is made of 

an exotic metal, repair at unit level will be virtually impossible . 

f. Flexibility-Use of the MGB is rather rigid. Time 

may produce additional knowledge about uses of the 

equipment. Flexibility of the Bailey bridge is legend. 

g. Cost-One set of MGB is expected to cost 

$420,000. Bailey bridge , currently on hand, had a pro ­

curement cost of $35,391 per set. When the cost of erection sets and pallets is considered, MGB will cost about ) $3,800 per foot, compared to about $270 per foot for the 

Bailey . 

Since we are preparing for a battlefield characterized 

by aggressive movement. where does the MGB tit in? 

Obviously, the Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge 

(AVLB) will best satisfy the need for gaps less than 60 

feet. Th e MGB can be used to span gaps between 60 and 

100 feet. Remember, under no circumstances can we 

utilize MGB for gaps greater than 103 feet. 

Under current doctrine. the MGB will be issued to 

Corps Panel Bridge companies. These units will 

download, or reduce, their present supply of Bailey . In 

return , they will be charged with the responsibility to 

maintain, transport and install the MGB. Installation of 

the bridge is a new mission for the Panel Bridge Companies. It's a mission which causes some concern in view 

of the described modern battletield. The vision of a 

dump truck-mounted Corps bridge company bouncing 

around "forward in the main battle area," installing and 

removing MGB, is ludicrous. 

Considering bridging requirements on the future battlefield and comparing the equipment altern atives. the 

case favoring current doctrine becomes quite tenuous. 

Figure 1 describes the battlefield in terms of bridging 

equipment. 

Gaps up to 60 feet encountered in the brigade areas 

are best bridged by AVLB . As the brigade moves, these 

bridges may be left in place. If not, they may be replaced 

20 WINTER 1978-79 
FIXED BRIDGES or THE BATTLEFI ELD 

XXX XXX 

»-,

......, 

..0 XX XX l/1 

C 

0 

n 

l/1 

llJ 

L AVLB 4­ lGG 0

'0 

X BAILEY x llJ ~14T6 L 

c::( CLASS 60 FI XED SPANS 

FU3 A FEBA 

!\VLB 

II

I 

BAILEY 

BA ILEY 

r·1 GG BA ILEY 

FI XED BRIDGI NG ~LI ELY

DUE TO HIGH VISIBILITY BAI LE Y 

0 ' 60' 100 I 

GAP in DTH 

FIGURE 1 

by MGB , Bailey, M4T6, or class 60 fi xed spa ns . If the 

bridge is expec ted to rem ain in place for an extended 

period or if it is on an LOC, the bridge sho uld be replaced by Bail ey since MG B has a life span and capacity 

limitat ion. Bridges in Division and Corps a rea s sho uld be 

Bailey for the same reaso ns. 

Assa ult gap crossings using Bailey bridge have been 

cond ucted, although rarely and at great expense. in th e 

past. Neither the Bailey bri dge nor the MGB is an assa ult 

brid ge. Sign ature of both bridges on th e modern battlefield will miti gate aga inst their use. If. however. such 

crossings are to be accomplished on the battl efield , th ey 

favo r th e use of MGB . Ga ps 60 to 100 feet in th e rear of 

the brigade area are th e most likely candidat es for use of 

MGB. In the Corps area . the MGB shoul d be replaced 

by the higher-capacity. longer-life Bailey brid ge. 

Since existing equipmen t limits MGB to 103 feet. 

wider ga ps m ust be bridge d by Bail ey. Longer term intro duction of th e cable reinforcing system will expand 

the MGB to gaps of 162 feet. 

I have arriv ed at an untenabl e position in dir ect opposition to curre nt doctrine. I have argued that the inherent limitations of MGB , coupled with limited procurement, mitigate ag ainst extensive employme nt of this 

I believe we should combine the best of our ava ilable 

assets by creating compos ite Bailey brid ge/MGB compan ies. At present, the TOEs of th e two companies are 

almost ident ical. The retention of Bailey bridge as 

prim ary equip ment would allow each company to respond to its most likely requirements. We do not currently 

tak e ad vantage of a significa nt advantage of the 

MGB-its palleti zati on . Beca use of this chara cteristic, it 

can be more easily upl oad ed in truc ks, helilift ed or 

moved by aircraft to construction sites and installed by 

th e bridge company, a Corps company or a division 's 

combat or bridge company. I suggest we keep the Bailey 

bridge in the panel bridge companies. uploaded in tr ucks 

for rapid depl oyment, and maintain , at th e same place. 

palletized MGB, ready for deployment to th e critical 

gap. 

MGB is a significant addition to our family of tactical 

bridging. It has practical limitati ons, but also many ad ­

vantages. The prudent engi neer will underst and a ll its 

cha racteristics and depl oy it to best support the ta ctical 

comma nder in th e field . 

III
 

• 

br idge on th e battlefield . Yet th e two bridge companies 

in Europe are bein g con verte d to MGB . Current doctr ine Maj or Harvey G.' Ramsey is 'currently assigned as 

requires MGB to be installed by its owning unit forward Chief of the Com bat Operations Di vision. Directorate of 

in the main battl e area . I suggest th at this conce pt is fol­ Training. USAES. He is {1 previous contributor to THE 

ly. ENGINEER Magazin e. 

THE ENGINEER 21 
- ' - ..--­

--­

," 

Tlte 

RoJrlguez 

Tae#leal 

Training Range 

Lieut enant Colon el John B. Wh eeler 

22 WI NTER 1978-79 
The silence of the valley is shattered as high·explosive mortar and artillery rounds whoosh overhead and rip jagged craters 

into the enemy hill mass just 200 meters away. VT fuse 

warheads burst much closer, peppering friendly TOW and 

fighting bunkers with white-hot shrapnel. Air Force fighter 

bombers scream out of the sky and release their deadly 

payloads. The earth trembles as bombs explode on target. 

Suddenly the artillery and airstrikes shift and M·60 tanks roar 

toward the objective, stopping only to fire. Cobra gunships 

rake the hill with rockets and cannon fire. Finally, infantry 

soldiers charge the pulverized objective, firing on the move. 

THE NARRATIVE above describes not an ac tua l bat­ was exca vated an d leveled , for ming an d placing of con ­

tle, but a training exercise conducted regularly by crete floor s was initiated . This first ph ase of con struction 

soldiers of th e Second Infan try " Indi anhead" Div ision at presented no real problems and progressed smoo thly. 

a un iqu e train ing site 14 kilom eters northeast of division However, when th e tim e came to form a nd po ur reinheadquarters at Camp Casey, Korea . The Rod riqu ez forced conc rete wa lls and roofs, it became eviden t th a t 

T actica l Train ing Ran ge, a project of the Indianhead' s the average 12B Combat Engi neer is not familiar with 

2d Engineer Bat talio n (Comba t), affords soldiers of th e steel work. con crete finishing. and man y ot her construc2d Division and the ir Air Fo rce counterparts the rare op ­ tion skills normally ass ociated with heavy const ru ction 

portunity to participate in live-fire exe rcises that come as projects. On-the -job -tra ining a nd experience gained on 

close as po ssibl e to replicating the act ual pa ce an d the bu nker pr oject significantly imp roved the com bat 

pr essure of joint a ir/ land com bat . engineers' ba sic ski lls and improved unit morale. 

In the fa ll of ]977, th e 2d Enginee rs were assigned the NUMEROUS other problems mad e the bunker protask of comp leti ng th e first ph ase of th e range project­ ject a real cha llenge. Logistical support and vehicle 

constructing 20 reinforced concrete fighting and TOW mainten an ce was diffic ult beca use line platoons were 

hun kers-before the onset of the har sh Korean winter. separa ted fro m th e Com pa ny CP by severa l mil es of very 

Th e bu nke r project , called "Little Line Papa ," was to in ­ poorl y maintained road . Truck loads of const ruction 

clu de 18 fighting bu nker s and two specially-des igne d mate ria ls had to be de livered dai ly and per sonnel shu trein forced concrete bu nkers to ho use the groun d­ tled back to ga rrison frequ en tly for showers and admou nted TOW anti -ta nk weapons syste m. Wor king min istra tive ma tt e rs. Commu n ica ti on s was also 

closely with the Division G-3, the enginee rs patterned th e disconcerti ng . All com mun ications wit h the battalion 

defensive positions after simila r fightin g positions found and company had to be mad e through Rad io Wire In ­

througho ut the Repu blic of Korea. tegrat ion ( RWI), a n un responsive mode due to heavy use 

Whil e plans, blueprints and materials were being p ro­ by other uni ts in the division . Sec urity was a 24-ho ur-aduce d, Charlie Co mpany of the 2d Engi nee rs condu cted day con sideration. Aro und-the-clock guards, hig hsite pla nni ng a nd su rveying in conj unction with Division intensity per imeter ligh tin g and triple concertina fenci ng 

G-J to determine exactly where eac h bunke r sho uld go to were necessary to hold down materia l and equipment 

best utilize the existi ng te rrain. Excavation into a losses. 

ridgeline began immedi ately. As soon as each bunker site But the most bothersome and frustrating problem, 

THE ENGINEER 23 
fr om an eng ineer sta ndpoi nt, was th e int ermittent use of 

the ra nge fo r live fire tr a ining exercises. Eve ntua lly interruptions became so fre que nt that enginee rs were pe rm itted to continue work during such exercises. 

As Charlie Compan y engineers developed expertise, 

produ ction accelera te d . Desp ite the freque nt inte rruptions , const ruction on 14 two-man bun kers. on e large 

command bunker. two hu gh TOW bunk ers a nd th ree 

small Dra gon firing position s was complete d in o nly 

21

/ 2 mo nths - well a hea d of th e cold weather. 

T o test th e stre ng th a nd du rab ility of the bun kers for 

live fir e exe rcises. a series of tests was cond ucted. Hand 

grena des placed at bun ker entra nces were command 

deton at ed to see if schra pne l would pene trate th e entra nces . It did not. A 10S-MM Howitzer round was th en 

com ma nd deton at ed on top of th e com ma nd bunker a nd 

one of the two-man bu nkers. each of which had eig ht 

inches of rein fared conc rete roof a nd two feet of earth 

and rock overburde n. Again th e bun kers withstood the 

test. " Little Line Papa" was read y. 

AIR FORCE target s were th e seco nd ph ase of th e constru ction at Rodriqu ez Range. Th e targets. con stru ct ed 

ap proximately 900 met er s down ran ge fr om "Little Line 

Papa ," were design ed to pr ovide reali st ic close air sup ­

port targets during combined arms exe rcis es. 

T he targets con sisted of two simula ted bunker positi ons dug int o a mountainside and a sim ula ted Nort h 

Korean missile sit e complet e with te lepho ne poles for 

missiles . Th ese were po sitioned inside earth revetm ents 

and were connected by tr ench lines to simulate a com­

/(fl 

i:lil J : I: 

I . 

i i 

24
 

maud bunker. This project was finish ed in five days. 

With its completion , C Company engi neers returned to 

Ca m p Castle and wer e replaced by A Com pa ny personnel 

who focuse d the ir attention on the fin al phase of th e pr ojec t- the 200- meter Movin g Target System. 

T he purpose of the system was to im pr ove 

TOW I Dragon and tank gunnery acc uracy. Cons tr uc tio n 

gu idance given to the 2d En gineer Battali on was simply 

th at th e ta rget be realistic. Translated. this meant that 

the target had to be life-sized. move uphill a nd down hili 

(as well as on level gro und) and vary in spee d up to 20 

mph. 

Complicating req uire me nts was th e fact tha t the 

syste m would be some 10 miles fro m U. S. com po und 

and would not be continua lly gua rde d after its completion. This required th at the syste m be cap abl e of 

disassembl y after ope ration so th at all moveabl e compon en ts could be sec ured. After mu ch discu ssion , a 

syste m was conce ived which would meet all requirem en ts. 

The movi ng ta rget ran ge con sisted of fo ur ma in com ­

pon en ts: the runway (upo n which th e ta rge t ca rt rides). a 

reinfor ced concrete bunker (to pro tect the personn el re ­

quired to op er at e th e syste m). the power system . and a 

tar get ca rt. 

CONSTRUCTION of th e runway becam e th e mission 

of the 1st Pl a toon, A Company. 2d Eng inee r Batt al ion . 

After the site was surveyed, do zers were p ut to work cut ­

tin g a slot in a gently sloping hill. A con cr ete sla b (the 

runway) would lie in this slot protected from the weapon 

tire aim ed at th e t arget movin g alon g its surface . By putting the ru nway on a hillside. th e u pi down hil1 requi rements would be met a nd th e natural vegetation 

above and be low the runway would be preserved as well. 

Faced with cost probl ems a nd the threat of th eft from 

nea rby indigenous personnel, it was deci de d that slots 

cut in th e surface of th e concrete runway would be used 

instea d of 400 meters of angle iron to guide th e cart as it 

moved . To mak e the slots. two pa rallel pieces of 4" x4" 

lu mb er were se t in the runway. and conc re te poured 

a round the m. Th ese pr ovided two parallel 3" deep slots 

when th e two pieces of lu mb er were removed a fter the 

concrete cured . 

The sla bs were poured in 20-foot sections a nd rein ­

forced with wire mesh t o provide stre ngth aga inst extr em e te mp eratures. A " lea p frog" pouring meth od was 

used to allow one full day of curing before expansio n 

jo ints wer e pl aced and adjacent sla bs comp leted. Th e 

pl at oon was split into three cre ws. One crew surveyed 

and const ructed the forms , a not he r crew operated the 

mixer s and moved the co ncrete. a nd the third crew 

" worked" the conc rete, fi nis hed the surfa ce, and placed 

metal rollers a long the center line of the run way. The 

rollers guide the " drive" rope whic h makes a sing le conti nu ou s loop from one end of the ru nway to the ot he r a nd 

is tied off to the ta rge t cart on bo th ends. 

The runway was 722 feet long an d was border ed by 

WINTER 1978-79 

-

I 
gravel. sandbags and dit ches as protecti on aga inst erosion . Contin ua l surveying was essential to keep the run ­

way ab solutely straight. The lumber, when pr operly 

greased, could be pulled from the hardene d concrete 

with littl e diffi culty. The runway was completed in five 

weeks. 

THE CONCRETE bunker proj ect was undertak en by 

the 2d Platoon. The bunker was built at right angles to 

th e runway and large enough to hold the one-qua rte r-ton 

tru ck which would be the power source to move the cart. 

An open slot three feet high was form ed in th e wall of the 

bunker which faced the runway. The bunker walls and 

roof were eight inches thick a nd made of rein force d concrete . Careful forming and cro ssbracing were necessar y 

to allow a continuous pour of th e entire bunker at one 

tim e. 1nitially. concrete was transferred from th e mixer 

by scoo ploa de r, but when th e " scoop" br oke down , 

eng inee rs finished the job with wheelb a rrow s. 

The pour took place in late November when evening 

and morning temperatures dipped into the teen s, hardly 

ideal weather to cure conc rete . To overcome this problem. a tent was pl aced over and a spaceheater was 

placed inside the blinker to maint ain th e requi red 

temperature. Fo r seven da ys this " war ming pr ocess" was 

used to insure pr oper struct ural strength before removing th e forms. Finally, layer s of sa nd. rock, and sa ndbags were pl aced on th e top a nd sides to serve as a 

burster layer. Wh en comp leted. the bunker resembled a 

hugh dir t a nd roc k mound with one open end . 

Wh en the runway and bu nk er had been poured , the 

mech an ical syste m had to be designed to move th e target 

back and fort h a long t he 200-meter track. This job was 

assigned to th e batt al ion's enginee r warra nt officer who 

combined his mechani cal expe rience with the talent s of 

his welder and ma ch inist. Usin g standa rd issu e 

au tom otive parts. th ey put togethe r a simp le power 

system consisung of two jeep wheel rims mounted at 

either end of the runway. At the far end of the runway 

the hub was mounted on a moveabl e sled which sat on 

the runway and which could be moved further awa y from 

the bunker by a block and ta ckl e affixed to a deadman at 

the extreme end of th e runway. 

AT THE BUNKER end of th e runway. the wheel was 

mounted inside th e bun ker on a sheet of half-inch steel 

plate. A jeep sha ft was connected to th e rim . This pr op 

shaft was th en modifi ed so that it could be attac hed to 

the rear differential plate of a jeep which is backed into 

th e bunker . Rope is wound around the drum devi ce, 

threaded through th e rollers along the runway, wound 

around th e hub at the far end of the runway and back 

over the top of the rollers ; both ends are tied off to the 

cart. Th e rop e is tighten ed by pulling up slack at the cart 

as mu ch as poss ible a nd th en using the block and tackle 

to elimina te all slac k. Power is supplied by th e jeep when 

its rear wheels are jacked off the gro und. In forward 

gear, th e ca rt moves in one dir ection , in reverse it moves 

in th e othe r direction and at any speed desired! 

Th e fou rth compo ne nt of the system is the target ca rt. 

Nine feet long, two feet wide , and two feet high . it was 

welded togethe r with four-inch angle iron . It ca n travel 

alon g th e runway fully protect ed from gunners either by 

th e slot cu t in t he side of the hill (the slot's wall s be ing 

four to six feet high ). or by a 12-1'00t high berm on level 

areas. T he ca rt's whee ls consist of M 113 Armo red Personnel Ca rrier road wheels moun ted with jeep hearings 

a nd wheel spindles. The road wheels (21

12 inches wide) 

rid e smoo thly in th e slots of the concrete runway. The 

ca rt can act ua lly travel at 20 MPH with out ju mping th e 

tr ack . Th e target itself is a simulated 1'-62 tank mad e out 

ofplywood, 2" x 4" lumber, and target cloth , The Moving Ta rget System wa s completed in seven weeks . It has 

been extensively used in TOW/Dragon and tank gun ­

nery pr actice. The whole system ca n be set up in abo ut 30 

minutes by six men. Additionally, all compone nts subject to th eft can be removed at the end of ope rations and 

safe ly secured . 

T he completion of the Moving Tar get Syste m marked 

the end of construc tion at Rodriquez Ran ge. Th e entire 

project-20 fighting bunkers, th e Air Force ta rget s and 

the Moving Tar get System-cost approximately $20,000. 

Th e Ran ge continues to pr ovide both Korea n and U. S. 

soldiers with realistic combined ar ms training . Equally 

import ant, it enabled many combat en gin eer s of the 2d 

Engin eer Battalion to polish thei r construction skills and 

read y the mse lves for a sim ilar task in actu al combat . 

L ieutenan t Colonel John B. Wh eeler is currently 

assigned as the Dire ctor of the Department uf Military 

Engineering , Directorate of Training. USAES. He com ­

manded the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division prior to his current assignment . 

THE ENGINEER 2S
 
-


the
 

interactive
 

interactive MAPPING system 

system
 

CW2 H erh c!rt H. Kressler 

A me a sure of success in topogra phy, a nd especially in additi on to pla nimetric detail) is a ccomplished on
 

cartography, is rapid a n d a ccurate r esp on se. The major analog or a na lytica l st ere oplotters which. by using
 

problem sh a red by many cartographers is their inab ility overlapping stero -p hotos, creat e th ree-d imen siona l
 

t

qu

o 

an

pr

tit

oduc

y a

e 

nd 

or 

va

revis

rious t

e m

yp es 

aps o

de

r rel

sired wi

at ed 

th

p

in 

roducts 

a n adequ

in th

ate 

e mode!'>.
 

Va rious features are p ortrayed a ll a m a p compilation
 - resp ons e time. An In teract ive Mappi ng System ca n p ro ­ ma nuscrip t. T o prod uce a five-col or map, the features
 

vide a means of accu rate an d rapid revision or com p ila­ are catego rized a ccording to t he co lors in wh ich they will
 

tion an d a variety of new prod ucts or ..services. " But appear on the final p ro d uct , nd dra ft ed a ccura tely and
 

befor e plunging into in te rac tive mapping , let's exam ine ne a tly on sepa ra te sheets or na t', (photog ra phi c negative s
 

two ph ases of th e m ap-making process most widely or positives affinal dra fted ma p fe atu res) . T hi s process is
 

utilized- compilation a nd color sepa ration. calle d color sepa ratio n .
 

There are diffe re nt met rods of a chieving colo r separa 

tion but the most widel y used is engraving . or sc ribing
 

CONVENTI ONAL PRODUCTION METHODS selecte d fea tures 011 a coa ted, stable- b a se plasti c sheet .
 

Co lor sep aration must be ap plied to t h e com p ilation
 Map com pila tion is th e incorpor a tion of data a ssem ­ ma nuscript as th e lithogra phic on set printing p rocess re­ bled fro m n umero us so urces su ch as other maps or q ui res se p a at e flats to prod uce p ress plates of ea ch color 

ch arts, ae ria l photographs a nd field surveys. These t hat will a ppear on the fi na l m a p. so u rces a re " com p iled ," i.e., gra p hica lly presented on a
 

ma n uscript cont ai n ing a propert y oriente d projection
 COMP ONE NTS OF AN INTERACTIVE a n d gr id ofthe appropri a te spheroid at a specified sc ale . MAPPING SYSTEM Pl animetric com pila tion (depic ting th e horizontal
 

position of features on ly, no portrayal of eleva tion ) can P rio r to ex pla in ing how an Interactive M apping
 

be a ccomplished by visual interp ret a tion or with t he u sc Syste m wi ll enhanc e the map mak ing ~I it is
 

of va rio us devices that all ow t he superimposition of necessary !:., identify the system 's majo r c.... rnro;,e nts- ·· "
 

phot ography to an ex isting ma p; re vision s arc then di gitizer. p rocessor, edit station a nd fina \ out pu t plo:trr.
 

draft ed from the superi mposition . Planimetric cornpila­ Dig itizers an: used to m ea sure .x )_1. coordina tes witl:
 

tion ca n also be achieved, when th e terrain is relati velv the operator assig ning a cod e for t hc fea tures. Dig irizers
 

flat , by seg me nting the photog ra phy into pi eces of a re usually operated m anu ally. but some use sca nne rs, ;\
 

relatively equal elevatio n a nd th en direct ly trac ing from d igit ii'.er sta tion i ncludcs a CIl rsor. ;! detector ern
 

the ae rial photo or photomosaic. (us ua lly bu ilt into the wor king surfa ce) h I' measu ring t he
 

T op og ra phic co m pila tion (portrayal of relief fea tu res cursor p osi tion, an alp h a nume ric keyb oard int erfa ced 

26 WIN TER 1978-79 
:,,,\ .~.;; .:.

j/ I » » 

with a computer, and an edit station (usua lly a cathodera y tu be device). In th e newest developmental syste ms an 

auto ma tic scan ner is employed . 

T he processor is a computer and sto rag e device, com ­

bin ed with appropria te software . It is th e heart of th e interactive system . Speed , flexibility, and ca pa bility are 

highly dependen t on the computer size and stor age 

capacity, and the efficiency ofi ts softwa re. T he adve nt of 

minicomputer s has dr asti cally redu ced space and cost requ irem ents for th is compo nent a nd the avai lability of 

large capacity Random Access Devices (RAD) for 

sto rage has mad e th e use of mi nicomputer s for mapping 

systems feas ible. 

T he edit station can be a simp le pr oofin g plott er or a 

cat hode-ray t ube (CRT) device in which t he digitized 

data is displayed, thus permitting on-line, virtu ally realtime visua l inspection and qu ali ty control. Correc tio ns, 

additions, and delet ion s ca n be made and da ta 

red isplayed for vcrific iation prior to final dr afting. Th e 

fin al outp ut plotter may be used for this funct ion . but th e 

CRT is genera lly preferred . 

T hejlnal outp ut pl ott er produces a pencil. ink , scr ibe 

or film copy of t he various " fla ts" of a map . Specifications for this plotter vary widely according to the pr ecision or qu alit y required by the customer. The "flats" ar e 

used for making press plat es for offset printing of th e 

fin al produ ct in larg e qu antities. 

INTERACTIVE MAPPING SYSTEMS 

The incorpora tion of an Interactive Ma pping System 

into the map ma kin g process sta rts with th e digitizer , 

THE ENGINEER 

edit station and processor in the com pila tion ph ase. 

Aeri al ph otogr aphs are registered to a geogr aphicallyrelated control base (gr id, existing map . etc .), usin g at 

lea st three known points. Digital compilation ca n then 

be performed to specifications via th e digitizer. The 

digital data is then enco ded and sto red by th e processor . 

T he data compi led is displayed and verifie d on the CRT 

and , if necessary, refin ed at th e edit sta tio n. Next , color 

separation of this digit ized compilati on can be ac ­

comp lished by successive selection of da ta (which was 

labeled and stored upon input) to be produced on the 

fin al output plott er. 

Automated cartograph y becam e possible in the 19505 

with th e adve nt of a utomatic plotters. It has progr essed 

from simple tasks to complex drafting. fro m compilation 

digiti zing by a manu al (ha nd-held cursor) system to 

digit izing by an autom atic raster scanner. In the ea rly 

1960s the Defen se Mapping Agency (DMA) int rodu ced 

an automated symbo ls and nam es placem ent syste m and 

th e digitizing of terrain detail. Autom ated ph otogrammetric compilation equipment facilitated the recording 

of profiles and conto ur det ail and greatly contributed to 

th e development of a fast mean s of producing ortho photogra phs, which are prepared fro m perspective 

photos with compensa tion for tilt and relief. 

In th e ea rly 1970s, compute r-assisted drafting eq uipment. with soft ware to symb olize map det ail , was intr oduced . Linear digitizati on and int eractive drafting 

was followed by a tot ally digital ed iting procedure . and 

today a sem i-aut omatic digit al compilation procedure is 

available. The fin al ste ps in the development of this 

27 
syste m may be machine recogrntion of map feature s digitizers compleme nted by both vendor -supplied and 

followed by full y automated ca rtog ra phy. customer-developed software. 

Let' s exa m ine th e disadvantages and adv an tages of an The major LIS comp onents and thei r functions inInter acti ve Mapping System when injected into a pro­ clude: a ca rtographic table con taining a cursor/ ca rduction environme nt. Disadvan tages focu s on th e high riage / gan tr y arra ngement which ca n pe rform digitizing, 

initial cost of th e equipment need ed to im pleme nt the plotting or intera ctive editi ng; a ba tch processi ng syst em 

syste m. Other causes for concern include operat ing and th at pr ovides softw ar e for an extensive set of ca rmainten an ce cost as well as train ing for opera tor and tog ra phic processing fun ction s; and a Cartogra phic D ata 

ma inten ance personnel. Advantages include improved Base System fea ture class ific ation, 

I NTERACTIVE MAPPI NG SYSTEM 

Di Ed it itiz e r 

FLOW CHART 

Linear 

Processor 

Station 

Di giti zer Final 

Sc a nner 

respo nse time , man -h our sav ings, flexibility, qu ality control, con sistency, improved acc uracy of th e fi nal product , 

and higher volu me capability. Experimental and ope rational work has proven th at Interactive Mapping System s 

can produce map s, charts, and rel ated products to re ­

quired specifications a nd accuracies. 

Interactive mapping is developing a t a tim e when 

digital data an d related p roducts ar e in great deman d 

and econom y and effi ciency are becoming increasingly 

important. 

SYSTEMS EXAMPLES 

T he Lin eal Input System (LIS) is a por tion of the l nteractive M appin g System at D MA where it is used for 

cr ea ting and mainta ining digital rep resentation of line al 

features in a n au to mated on-line com puterize d syste m. 

LIS equipment includes off-the-shelf gene ra l-purpose 

mini computer , graphic displ ay devices, peripheral disk 

pack and tape drives, printers, plotters, and lineal 

Ou t put Plot t er 

T he latter pr oduces a " da ta cell ," which is a collec tion 

of geographically related linea l features . Feature descriptions and location al precision are det ailed eno ugh to permit exploitation for va rious conventional ma pping and 

adva nced aerosp ace products. The output file als o identiti es source material sufficiently to establish its own accuracy and compl eteness in suppo rt of data b ase 

maintenance and data exploitat ion. 

The LIS is a rap id means of up dating data bases. 

Com municat ion between th e ca rtographer/operato r and 

th e system tak es place using function al words r ath er 

th an codes. The major ben efit of th e LIS is erro r-fre e 

digit al representation s of mapping source material. 

The DMA digital mapp ing syste m emp loys th e 

UN IVAC 1108 , a large-scale comput er. Automate d cartographic and ph otogr ammetic equipment is coupled 

with spec ially design ed computer programs a nd integrated with hardw ar e into a pro duct ion system kn own 

as t he Sem i- Au t oma ted Cartog rap hic Syste m 

28 WINTER 1978-79 
(SACARTS). Phase I has been implemented and approximately half th e cost of producing the same maps 

presently produces color-separated material. conventionally and in half the time required for manual 

SACARTS includes graphic digitizer compilation c units, high-speed verification plotters, fast ultra-precise 

linework , symbol, alphan umeri c ph otoplotting , Control 

Graticule and Grid (CONG RD) software, and a Symbols, Names, and Placement System (SNAPS) . The 

operator at the digitization station records point , line, 

and text information for processing through the Graphic 

Improvement Software Transformation System (GISTS). 

Once the digitized data is dr afted by flatbed plotters for 

editing and refin ement, the refin ed data is then stored on 

tape or produced by final plotters in the form of 

scribecoat, ph otographic film or paper. 

Interactive Mapping Systems and digiti zati on ar e 

being implement ed in many city planning offices, utility 

companies, constru ction compan ies and other types of 

pr oduction facilities. resulting in signifi cant cost and 

manpower savings as well as more efficient revision , 

storag e and reprodu ction of pr oducts. 

Rapid growth in the field has resulted in numerou s 

private enterprises that provide assistance in int eractive 

mapping, operat ing much like computer servic es companies. Services are available for digiti zing, data reduction , data base generation, software development , 

analysis, computer processing and computer gr aphics. 

Such service orga nizations have engaged in met eorology, 

geology, hydrology, and biology, as well as mapping. 

Some of th ese companies advertise mapping services a t ( 

preparation . 

SUMMARY 

The development and refinement of Interactive Mapping Systems will continue to have a great impact on 

manpower, cost, and org anizational stru cture in cartographic agencies, and will provide a level of response 

and a variety of products never before possible. Interactive mapping is ma terializing at a time when military and 

civilian demands for digital data and related products 

are rapidly increasing, as may be seen in on-board 

navigation systems for modern aircraft, missile systems, 

target locating, census records, utilities, etc . 

Since Interactive Mapping Systems are automated, 

but not automatic , they call for a high degree of 

man / mach ine int eraction . Cartographers provide th e 

human intelligence and cartographic input. while th e 

system provides the spe ed. precision and computational 

muscle to accomplish th e mapping mission with in an acceptable response time. 

III
 

CW2 Herbert Kressler, Ir. , is currently assigned as 

Course Manager of the Basic Cartography Course in the 

Departm ent ofCartography and Applied Graphics at the 

Defense Mapping School. Fort Belvoir. VA. He is a 

native of Quak ertown. Penn sylvania. 

Commanders Update
 

COL Philip R. Hoge 

2nd Engineer Group, 8th Army 

COL Jerome B. Hilmes 

7th Engineer Brigade, USAREUR 

COL James W. Vanlobensels 

181h Engineer Brigade, USAREUR 

COL John C. Levanger 

20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg 

COL Robert E. Ayers 

36th Engineer Group, Fort Benning 

COL Thomas M. McClelland 

130th Engineer Brigade, USAREUR 

COL Joseph L. Spruill 

937th Engineer Group. Fort Riley 

COL George H. Hilt 

USA Engineer Center Brigade 

Fort Belvoir 

COL Kerwood W. Barrand 

USA Engineer Training Brigade 

Fort Belvoir 

COL James K. Highfill 

2nd Training Brigade (OSUT) 

Fort Leonard Wood 

COL Tenho R. Hukkala 

41h AIT Brigade (Engineer) 

Fort Leonard Wood 

THE ENGINEER
 

CE Directory 

Th e 1979 Corps of En gin eers Ofticer and Warrant Officer Directory is available for purchase from the Post Exchange Book Store. Building 269, Fort Belvoir VA 22060 . 

The cost of the 1979 Dir ect ory is $1.50 per copy. Due to personnel constraints, the dir ectory is no longer availabl e by 

mail orde r through th e USAES Periodic al Publicati ons 

Fund. 

29 

ON ANY given day from one to many very proud men 

and women are handed a document that appoints them 

as officers and non-commissioned officers in the United ( States Army . 

What problems must newly appointed commissioned, 

warrant and non-commissioned officers surmount to 

become good leaders? How can they gain the willing obedience of their subordinates? How, if at all, does 

psychology affect their ability to lead? The answer to 

these and other questions about military leadership will 

be found in this article . 

Before leadership can be discussed it must be defined. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the verb lead means "to 

guide on a way" and "to direct th e operations, activity or 

performance of. " A much more meaningful and useful 

definition which agrees with Webster is offered by Norman Copeland: " Leadership is the art of dealing with 

human nature, int1uencing a body of people , by persuasion or example, to follow a line of action." 

Keeping in mind the definition of leadership, a definition of military leadership must be determined. The best 

definition I have found comes from the Department of 

Defense Command and Small Unit Leadership pamphlet: " Military Leadership is the art of influencing and 

directing men in such a way as to obtain their willing 

obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in 

order to accomplish th e mission." 

THE SAME pamphlet offers further amplification of 

the definition: "The ability to handle men, the heart of 

leadership involves understanding, predicting, and controlling men's behavior." Now consider objectives of 

psychology as set down by Ruch: " to understand, 

predict, and control the co~ditions and situations that 

man meets in his environment and within himself." Thus 

it is easy to understand that the practice of psychology 

and leadership parallel each other and have the same 

goal. In fact, leaders are continually drawing from the 

work of psychologists and psychologists use leadership 

situations and experience to aid their work. 

Perhaps social psychology offers the greatest promise 

for future applications of psychology to leadership. 

Among military officers there are few problems as important as the selection and training of leaders, the 

organizati on and managing ofteams, the predicting and 

influencing of attitudes, and the group process of 

evaluating evidence to decide a course of action. 

Although military leaders are selected today through 

various tests, we are looking for better and more scientific ways of predicting the leadership potential of those 

selected. It is very difficult to break down a leader's functions into unitary and measurable factors. 

Apparently , general leadership traits do not exist, or 

else are not classified in any familiar psychological or 

common-sense terms. Furthermore, it is apparent that 

traits which distinguish leaders from followers vary from 

THE ENGINEER 

situation to situation . It is not, however, a completely 

block situation. Leaders do not have to be chosen in the 

dark . Leadership traits such as age, dominance and 

emotional control are not necessarily required for a particular leadership role. Each particular type of leadership does require certain traits. There are also a few 

universal leadership traits, including verbal fluency and 

intelligence. 

DESPITE the fact that psychologists are unable to 

scientifically pinpoint the traits of a good leader, an entire book could be written on quotations by famous 

military leaders about the qualities a good leader should 

possess. In his book, "On War," Clousewite indicates 

that ambition makes a great leader. He says all great 

leaders possess ambition, the desire to outperform 

others, to raise oneself above the rest. 

In choosing people as future leaders, the most satisfactory , though not foolproof, method would seem to be the 

following : (a) determine , as closely as possible, what 

traits are desirable for the type leadership desired: (b) 

determine each applicant's military leadership traits and 

universal leadership traits; (c) determine the moral and 

intelligence level of each applicant through tests and 

evaluations by superiors, peers and subordinates. 

There are three basic types of leadership. The first 

type and the one most often found in the military service 

is autocratic leadership, whereby the leader seeks obe ­

dience from his group. He determines policy and considers decision-making a one-man operation . However, 

even in the military, this isn't the only type leadership 

that is or should be used. 

DEMOCRATIC leadership is where the leader irons 

out ideas and suggestions from the group by discussion 

and consultation. Group members are encouraged to 

take part in setting policy , while the leader's role is largely one of moderator. 

Laissez-Faire leadership is demonstrated by the leader 

who is more or less an information booth . He plays down 

his role in the group's activity. He is on hand to provide 

materials and information . He exercises a minimum of 

control. 

It might appear to the casual observer that autocratic 

leadership is the only type of leadership used in the 

military. To the psychologist it may appear that 

democratic leadership is the best. But the fact is, 

autocratic leadership in certain situations will be more 

effective and successful than the democratic or laissezfair e approach. Democratic leadership. under the right 

conditions, renders better results than any other method. 

Let' s look at how each method might be used by a 

military leader. A new platoon leader takes over a platoon and learns that his platoon has to take a technical 

proficiency test in two weeks. Since a minimum amount 

of time is available, he calls his troops together and asks 

them in what areas they feel a need for intensive training 

(democratic leadership). He then designates individuals 

31 
-- to drive specific vehicles and states that they must be 

ready to start at 8 a.m. the next day (autocratic leadership). In the midst of training he is called away but 

before leaving he suggests that the trainees devise a faster 

way of performing a particular operation (laissez-faire 

leadership). Thus, in this example, all three types of 

leadership were used by the same leader on the same 

group of followers. 

IT IS THE skill with which you apply the three basic 

methods of leadership that determines the level of success as a leader. Each leader will usually tend to favor 

one type of leadership over the other two. 

Psychologists generally agree that every aspect of our 

behavior is a manifestation of our personality. Depending on our personalities, we prefer certain leadership 

methods more than others. In the long run we do better 

with whichever method feels more natural. Every leader 

must, nevertheless, use each of the three basic approaches to some extent. 

But the problem of when to use which type of leadership remains. The solution depends on three factorsthe characteristics of the group, the leader, and the 

situation. Most often the proper approach requires a 

compromise of all three factors . The effect of the leader's 

personality on his choice of leadership method has 

already been discussed, so I will now address the effect of 

the situation. In time of crisis people expect, even demand, strong leadership. When the pressure is relieved 

the tendency flows in the opposite direction. Age, sex, 

and background experience must also be considered. A 

subordinate's familiarity with his job or assignment 

favors democratic or laissez-faire leadership over 

autocratic leadership. It is also worth noting that people 

tend to prefer the same kind of leadership they would 

themselves provide. 

Leadership, unfortunately, is not simply a matter of 

evaluating the three types of leadership and deciding 

which to use. Discipline alone converts a crowd into an 

army. Therefore, in order to convert a group into a team, 

discipline must be one of the leader's primary considerations. But what is discipline? 

DISCIPLINE is the foundation of morale . It is the 

systematic training, exercise, development and control of 

the physical faculties. It is the system of instruction and 

submission to established authority, self-control and 

orderly behavior. 

The best type of discipline evolves from the following 

conditions: (l) the leader knows the individuals who 

make up his group. he knows their mental make-up, 

their complaints and worries, their family circumstances, 

their history and future ambitions. He is genuinely interested. An outstanding leader will go to more trouble to 

understand and handle a single individual than an ordinary person will take to understand and handle an Army. (2) The individuals who make up the group know 

their leader. (3) The leader identifies himself with the 

group in every possible way. The successful leader must 

have empathy with the group, be in tune with it, and yet 

in advance of it. He must be a person of character and 

personality. (4) The whole group is a team inspired by 

the enthusiasm of the leader. (5) The team has a high ­ esprit-de-corps. (6) The team is wel1 instructed, keen and 

efficient. If a leader can establish these conditions, he 

will have a group that wiII be able to discipline itself. 

Three important psychological needs that the leader 

must constantly be aware of are recognition, security and 

social approval. Recognition includes medals, letters of 

appreciation, etc. Another effective method of 

demonstrating recognition is to calI a person by his/her 

name. A person's name is the most important thing in 

the English language. Calling a person by name gives 

him /her an identity. It singles that person out as an individual. It gives the person a sense of importance, a feeling of confidence and respect. Recognition is also shown 

through encouragement. It is well to remember that a 

good way to develop the best in anyone is by encouragement. There never has been an outstanding leader who 

did not keep this fact constantly in mind. Human nature 

craves recognition and appreciation. 

A LEADER can instill a sense of security in his 

followers by developing their confidence in him. There is 

a good deal of evidence that military leaders who take 

care of their troops are the- ones most enthusiastically 

followed. 

The power of the need for social approval is 

demonstrated by the following incident from the book, 

"Men Against Fire," by Marshall. A young company 

runner, hit by a shell at Corenton, collapsed in the arms 

of his commander and, with his life swiftly ebbing, said, 

"Captain, the company has always called me a --- up. 

Tell me that I wasn't one this time." The Captain 

replied, "No son, you weren't," and the boy died with a 

smile on his face. It is extremely strong force which 

enables a person to do what has to be done when the 

common good requires the repression of personal ambition. 

Through the understanding and application of 

recognition, security and social approval, the leader is 

able to succeed. One of his chief duties is to develop and 

harness the collective mind of the group to work with 

maximum effort and efficiency . 

Just the high points of leadership as it is connected 

with psychology have been discussed, but it should be 

clear that good leadership requires diligent study and 

much hard work . For leadership is a way of life in the 

military. 

III 

CW4 Charles E. DUlin is currently assigned as Opera­

tions Officer, Department ({(Mechanical ami Technical
 

Equipment, Directorate ofTraining. USAES. He holds a
 

Bachelors Degree ill Manage ment from the University of
 

Nebraska at Omaha and will soon complete his Masters
 

program in Human Resource Management at Pepper­

dille University.
 

32 WI NTER 1978-79 
c metical Problem _
 

DI'J. MS R. 2LA~E Rd. 

U~IMPROVED

D1RT ROAD 

1 LANE 

x 

)( 

3FPS 

150' 

{,.5'OEEP 

")( 

\ 

x 

2J<.M 

SITUATION 

Enemy sappers have destroyed a 

bridge along the division al Main 

Supply Route (MSR) usin g the water 

plume technique of demolit ion. The 

enemy has also emplaced an art illery 

delivered interdiction mine field 200 

meter s in diameter ar ound the 

de s tr oyed bridge . The bridge 

abutments sustained only negligible 

damage. 

Your S-2 section has provided you 

with the followin g in telligence 

rep ort: fair weather is expected to 

prevail for the next 10 days; there 

have bee n no recent heavy rain s; th e 

ar ea of opera tions 'is in a glacial outwash plain. which contains many 

kames and eskers; the only vegetation in the area of ope rations is light 

to medium coniferous forests; enemy 

art illery has a range of 30 kilometers 

and ha s nuclear and chemical 

ca pabilities. 

Your own available forces and 

equipment includes: two combat 

engineer platoon s less than 4S 

minutes away; one earth moving 

engineer platoon less than 7S 

minutes awa y; nine interior secti ons 

and three ramp secti ons of ribbon 

bridge for th e nex t 48 hours; four 

F 

E 

B
 

A
 

bridge er ecton boats and a n 

overhead bridle anchorage system 

less than 90 minutes away ; cla ss 60 

equipment three hours awa y; 100 

feet of DD Bailey bridge two hours 

and 4S minutes away. 

PROBLEM 

You are the S-3 for the engineer 

battalion responsible for maintaining the MSR. Your mission is to reesta blish the divisional MSR within 

three hours. How do you accomplish 

your missi on and what factors mu st 

you take into account ? 

See THE SCHOOL SOLUTION, 

page 40. 

Correction 

• 

We ap ologi ze to Sergeant First was incorrectly identified as SFC 

Class Larry A. Sirman s. Senior Drill Simmons in th e art icle entitled " A 

Sergeant for Char lie Company, 1st Bridge Too Long" in the Fall 1978 

Batt ali on , 2nd Brig ade , Fort editio n of THE ENG INEE R. 

Leon ard Wood , MO . SFC Sirm an s - Editor 

THE ENGINEER 33 
Officer Career Info _
 

COLONELS 

The 0-6 level command boards are 

scheduled as follows: 

Combat Arms 6-23 FEB 79 

Combat Support 12-23 FEB 79 

Arms 

Combat Service 6-23 FEB 79 

Support Arm s 

Assignment selections 

LIEUTENANT COLONELS 

under several programs although all 

have some common elements. These 

include the requirement for st udy in 

a validated Army Education Requirement Board (AERB) discipline. 

a service obligation identical to that 

34 WINTER 1978-79 
nomination to and acceptance by a 

school for ROTC duty as well as acceptance for study, applications take 

longer to process than for the other 

programs. 

.. . Permissive TDY may be 

authorized for degree completion 

that may be accomplished within 20 

weeks of full time study. Application 

is made in accordance with Para 

8-4c, AR 621-1. With the exception 

of possible VA benefits, no expenses 

are paid by the government for this 

program . 

... The United States Military 

Academy (USMA) program is essentially the fully-funded program 

described above, with certain exceptions: (l) the program is nominative; 

(2) study may be authorized for up to 

two years; and (3) study must be accomplished in a discipline and at a 

' -- school acceptable to USMA. This 

program is extremely competitive 

and, in addition to the general 

criteria specified for graduate study 

above, Engineer Branch requ ires 

completion of a minimum of two 

tours in an officer's primary speciality before nomination for this program. 

ENGINEER PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT CONTACTS IN 

OPMD 

- Colonels Division (DAPC-OPCAE): It. Col. L.E. Lufkin x7871. 

-Lieutenant Colonels Division 

(DAPC-OPl-AS): Lt. Col. Tom 

Fisher x0423. 

- M ajors Division (DAPC-OPMA): Major Wayne Roth x8l99 . 

-Combat Support Arms Division, Engineer Branch (Company 

Grade) (DAPC-OPF-E): Branch

.. 

Chief, Lt. Col. H.A. Froehle x0650; 

Professional Development, Major 

W.T. Gregory x0650; Captains
 

Assign rnents, Major Mike Foster
 

THE ENGINEER 

x065l; Lieutenants Assignments, 

Captain Bob Melchior x7434 . 

- Warrant Officers Division 

(DAPC-OPW-AU): CW3 Aleck 

Fletcher x783 7. 

Autovon prefix is 221, commerical 

prefix is (202) 325. Mailing address 

is: Commander, U.S. Army Military 

Personnel Center, ATTN: (Appropriate office symbol), 200 Stovall 

Street, Alexandria, VA 22332. 

PROJECTED ASSIGNMENTS 

FOR OAC STUDENTS 

Effective I June 1979, officers 

selected to attend the Engineer Officer Advanced Course (EOAC) will 

be advised on projected follow-on 

assignments. The new program is 

designed to eliminate uncertainty 

regarding the future and to allow 

student officers to tailor their EOAC 

elective program to the requirements 

of their follow-on assignment. 

Requests for orders (RFOs) 

assigning officers to EOAC will contain special instructions requesting 

an up-to-date preference statement 

be submitted to OPMD within 30 

days of receipt of the RFO . The 

statement should include recent and 

current duty assignments, professional desires. medical /special 

schooling needs for dependents, 

planned leave address, and 

telephone numbers. 

Upon receipt of preference 

statements. OPMD will consider the 

officer's needs and desires as projected assignments are matched. 

Most officers selected for EOAC will 

be advised of their projected 

assignments prior to departing current duty stations enroute to EOAC. 

However, some assignments may not 

be completely confirmed until after 

reporting for EOAC. Examples include officers being considered for 

advanced civil schooling or certain 

nominative assignments such as 

ROTC assignments, which require 

concurrence of the gaining organization . 

Projected assignments will normally be honored, but changes could 

occur when events alter the major 

considerations of professional 

development and personal needs. 

When a change is considered 

necessary. it will be coordinated with 

the individual officer concerned . 

Orders for the follow-on assignment will be issued following OPMD 

branch visits to the EOAC. The purpose of the visits will be to formally 

interview each officer, answer qu estions regarding career development/progression, and to resolve all 

follow-on assignments . 

EDUCATION BENEFITS 

Some officers who entered on active duty prior to January 2, 1978 

may still be eligible for G.1. Bill 

educational benefits. according to 

education officials at The Adjutant 

General Center (TAGCEN). 

The Department of Defense 

together with the Veterans Administration have decided that persons who entered the Reserve Officers Training Corps program 

before January 1, 1977 and who were 

commissioned and served on active 

duty before January 2, 1978 are eligible for educational benefits under 

the G.l. Bill. 

All service members who came on 

active duty after December 31, 1976 

remain eligible to participate in the 

Veterans Educational Assistance 

Program (VEAP), which superceded 

the old G.1. Bill. More information 

may be obtained form Veterans Service Centers and local installation 

education services centers. 

35 
Enlisted Career Info _ ­

SQT GUIDANCE 

The following guidance from 

Change 59, AR 600-200 clarifies requirements for eligibility and exempti on from Skill Qualification Testing 

(SQT): 

Soldiers must submit to SQT if 

they have completed a minimum of 

12 months active Federal Service and 

are properly classified in a primary 

MaS identified in the SQT announcement circular. Soldiers in pay 

grade E-I through E-4 must hav e 

held th eir PMOS, regardless of time 

in grade , for a minimum of 90 days 

immediately prior to testing . 

Soldiers in pay grade E-5 and above 

must have held their PMOS and pay 

grade for a minimum of 90 days irnmediately prior to the test date. 

Exemption from SQT is granted for 

the following reasons onlf, (a ) participation in a course of instjuction 

which , upon successful co'mnletion , . 

results in advancement to commis ­

sioned or warrant officer status; (b) 

attendance at a civilian college or 

university on a full-time basis under 

the provisions of AR 621 -1 or A~

621-7; (c) attendance at an _Ma S 

producing course or fu nctional 

school; (d) voluntary retirement 

within six months of the scheduled 

test date; (e) attendance at the resident NCOES course; (0 confinement 

to a civil or military detention facility; (g) separation from active duty 

within 90 days of the scheduled test 

date (applicable only to first-term 

soldiers who have previously verified 

their current PMOS and grade 

through SQT); and (h) special exemptions granted by the Commander of MILPERCEN . 

Soldiers may request SQT while in 

an exempt status or within the 

90-day period after termination of 

th e exempt status. Soldiers preparing to ETS during the test period are 

not exempt except under th e conditions listed above, and are still required to undergo SQT if it is 

scheduled prior to their ETS date. 

SOLDIERS MANUALS 

A new issue and control policy on 

Soldiers Manuals has been instituted 

recently. In the past. Soldiers 

Manuals were distributed directly to 

each individu, ~1 soldier to retain permanently. The system, however, 

proved to be ineffective because 

many soldiers were reporting to new 

duty stations witHout their.rrianuals, 

thus ne cessitating a new issue. 

Hencefo rtli, SMs will be issued to 

un its . The quantify issued to each 

u~it will c orrespond to unit strength 

for each MOS. Control of th e 

manuals will be th e respo'nsjb iJity of 

unit commanders. 

The new control" procedure should 

eliminate t he requirelllent tp replace . 

manuals lost during PGS moves , 

ROTC SCHOLARSHIPS 

The application period for the . 

Two-Year Army ROTC Scholarship 

~ogra~ for active duty enlisted personnel opened January IS. Winners 

'for the 1979-80 school year wi11 be 

announced in June. 

These scholarships are designed to 

provide Army enli sted men and women an opportunity to obtain 

" both a college deg ree and cornrnission as an Army officer through participation in the ROTC program. 

The award will pay full tuition, 

books and miscellaneous educational fees. plus provide a living 

allowance of up to $1,000 a year for 

each year the scholarship is in effect. 

In addition, winners will be paid for 

attending the Advanced Camp, normally held during the sum mer between the junior and senior years of 

college. Besides the scholarship 

benefits, winners may also take advantage of Veterans Administration 

benefits to which they would normally be entitled . 

Competition for scholarships is 

limited to enlisted personnel who : 

have served at least one year on active duty; will be under 2S years of 

age on June 30 of the year they are 

eligible for commissioning; and hav e 

already received credit for at least 

two years but not more than two and 

one-half years of college. Also , to be 

considered by the final selection 

committee, applicants must have 

been accepted by a college for next 

fall's enrollment , must hav e earned a 

GT score of 115 or higher, and must 

be United States citizens. 

Winners may attend any of the 

four-year colleges and universities 

hosting Army ROTC or one of the 

.more than 500 non-host colleges 

whicf has a cross-enrollment agreement with a nearby host school. 

Scholarship winners will receive 

an early discharge so they can arrive 

on campus in time to enroll in the 

1979-80 fall term. Winners will also 

" be required to enlist in the US Army 

Reserve prior to enrollment in the 

Army ROTC Advanced Course. 

Additional details of thi s program 

are cont ained in A R 145-1. 

Applications must be requested by 

April 15, although applicants have 

h . until May 1 to complete t err ap­ '.f . plications. For further In ormation 

and applications, write Army ROTC 

Scholarships, Ft. Monroe , VA 

23651. 

oes 

The first step for soldiers interested in applying for OCS is to 

complete a DA Form 61, Application for Appointment. Unit commanders are then responsible for 

36 WINTER 1978-79 
c 

counseling applicants, administerin g 

an Army Ph ysical Fitness Test and 

rating each applicant. 

I nterested personnel who haven't 

alrea dy submitted their application s 

to M1LPERCEN for OCS Class 3-79 

beginning 22 April have until 2 

March to get their applications in for 

Class 4-79 beginning 3 June. 

OCS is a 14-week course designed 

to produce professional cornissioned 

office rs for variou s Army br anches. 

Basic eligibility requirements include the following : 

• No more th an 10 years of active service at date of OCS completion . 

• Two or more years of college 

credit (minim um of 60 semeste r 

hours). 

• At least 191

12 years and not 

more than 29 years of age up on 

enrollme nt. 

• Test scores of 110 GT. 115 

OCT, and composite OCT /OQ1 of 

200 for male and 115 GT for fem ale 

pers onnel. 

REBIRTH OF AN ENGINEER 

MOS 

Effective 1 September, MOS 12F 

will be reinstated to the Combat 

Engineering Ca reer Management 

Field (CMF 12). Th e MOS is bein g 

re-est ablished for duties asso ciated 

with the	 operation of Combat 

En gineer Vehicl es (CEV), Armored 

Vehicle Launched Bridges (AVLB). 

a nd Armored Personnel Carriers 

(APC) organic to engineer units. The 

MOS encompasses approxim ately 

1,320 position s with a skill level 

distribution of 864 at skill level one . 

245 at two, 156 at three and 55 at 

four. 

The En gin eer Tracked Vehicle 

Crewman will serve in various duty 

positions and units during his Army 

ca reer. Table I summarizes th ese 

positions for each skill level. The impJementati on process will include 

recl a ssif ic ation of certa in in ­

cumben ts and the start of entry-level 

training. All positions and personnel 

cu rr entl y classified in MOSC 12BlU 

(APC Driver in eng ineer units), 

MOSC 19E10 (CEV a nd AVLB 

crewmen only), MOSC 19FIO (CEV 

and AVLB crewmen only), MOSC 

19F20 (CEV and AVLB crewme n 

only), and MOSC 1980 (CE V a nd 

AVLB cre wme n onl y) will b e 

reclassified in current gra de and skill 

level as MOSC 12F20 and 12F30. 

Skill level two, three, a nd four personnel now or formerl y associated 

with CEV and AVLB ope ra tions ma y 

requ est recla ssificati on int o a 12F 

MOSC equal to th eir curre nt skill 

level. The reclassificati on actions 

should be completed by 1 October. 

Entry-level training under th e On e 

Station Unit Training conce pt will be 

condu cted at the US Arm y Training 

Center Engineer, Fort Leonard 

Wood, Missouri . The 15-week 

course is scheduled to begin in 

September . The tirst school-trai ned 

En gineer Tracked Veh icle Crewma n 

should reach the field in April, 1980. 

The En gineer School is currently 

preparing Sold iers Manu als for the 

four skill levels of MOS 12F. Coordinating dr afts of these manuals will 

be delivered to the Training Support 

Center, Train ing and Doctrine Command (T RADOC), in June. At the 

same tim e, Th e Engineer School will 

send several dr aft copies for special 

coordination to each en gineer battalion that has th e CEV and AVLB. 

T he fin al manu als will be delivered 

to TRADOC by 1 January. 1980 for 

printing and world-wide distributio n. They sho uld reach unit level by 

early summe r , 1980 . 

EERWA DATA 

The Enlisted Efficiency Rep ort 

Weighted Aver ages (EE RW A), as of 

1 October 1978, were as follows: 

PAY GRADE EERWA 

E-9 124. 34 

E-8 123 .58 

E-7 121. 99 

E-6 120.10 

E-S 116.87 

E-4 111.98 

SKILL LEVEL DUTY POSITION	 UNIT
 

1	 CEV driver Engineer 

CEV loader Engineer 

AVLB operator Engineer & Armor 

APC driver Engineer 

2	 CEV gunner Engineer 

AVLB commander Engineer & Armor 

3 CEV commander 

AVLB section sergeant 

4 Mobil ity/countermobi Iity 

section sergeant 

Platoon sergeant 

TABLE 1
 

Engineer
 

Armor
 

Engineer
 

Engineer
 

THE ENGINEER 37 
NCO Channels _
 

BRIDGE CREWMAN 12C 

If you're having problems maintaining training proficiency in MaS 

12C or looking for a balanced, wellrounded course of instruction in 

military bridging, the 12C Bridge 

Crewman's Primary Technical 

Course (PTC) at Fort Belvoir might 

be your answer. Complete course 

description . prerequisites and class 

schedules are contained it} USAES 

Pam 350 -1, FY -79. The course is five 

weeks in length and upon successful 

completion, graduates are qualified 

in all aspects of tactical bridging. 

The PTC uses the latest instructional methods, including practical 

exercises. on actu·al ·bridges and 

classroom models. Instructor-tostudent ratio is usually about 1:5, 

and class size averages about . 20 . 

Thus, intensive, individualized instruction is the rule. A complete sef 

of tactical bri dgi ng r eference 

material is available to each student . . , and may be retained upon completion of the course. This well-rounded 

program of instruction includes 

bridge classification, des.~gn.and

construction' procedures on the M2 

Bailey, MAB, M4T6 (Class 50 raft 

and fixed span), LTR, Ri15bori a:nd 

medium gIrder ' bridge . _Instru ctor 

personnel are among-the -most highly 

qualified in the Army and are willing I 

to provide individu-al assisfance .to 

each student. 

If you are scheduled to attend 12C 

PTC and need additional information on the course or are interested in 

learning more about this excellent 

course . write to: CSM, U.S. Army 

Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, VA 

22060. 

APPEARANCE STANDARDS 

An increasing number of NCOs 

are arriving at The Engineer School 

to attend the Advanced NCO Course 

in poor physical condition. Upon arrival at Fort Belvoir, each NCO is 

evaluated to determine if he /she 

meets the weight and appearance 

standards. Students who fail to meet 

the standards are cou nseled and 

placed in the weight reduction program (Operation Streamline). And if 

significant progress isn't made during the 10-week course of instruction, it is reflected in the student's 

academic efficiency report. 

All NCOs should be aware of the 

possible consequence of sub ­

standard appearance prior to their 

arrival at The Engineer School. It 

could affect their career development. 

TOPO DOCUMENT 

There is a new document out entit led " D A Con sol i d at e d 

Topographic Support Program 

(DACONTP) FY 80-g4 ," which 

should be interesting readi~g for 

Tapa types throughout the A.rmy. 

It answers a lot of questions about 

T a p a ' s future and should he 

available through unit S-2 'sections. 

NEW TRAINING BRIGADE 

Recent changes " have brought " 

about the creation of a' new training 

brigade at the Engineer Center .and 

Fort Belvoir. Effective 1 October 

1978 the U.S . Army EngineerTraining Brigade was organized. Its twofold ,m ission' is to provide training in 

three MOSs for which The Engineer 

School' is .the proponent but which 

belong to other Career Management 

Fields.arrd to .provide....commarrtl and 

control for all brigade officer and 

enlisted students at The Engineer 

School. The new brigade was formed 

from the Engineer School's Department of Mechanical and Technical 

Equipment and the 1st and 3d Battalions of The Engineer Center 

Brigade. 

The three MOSs that are taught 

by the Tra ining Brigade are : 

35E-Special Electronic Devices 

Repairer (CMF 29); 52C-Utilities 

Equipment Repairer (CMF 53); 

52D-Power Generation Equipment 

Repairer (eMF 63). 

Under the current structure the 

1st Battalion is responsible for MaS 

52D training and the 4th Battalion 

(newly created under the Brigade 

organization) is responsible for MaS 

35E and 52C training. Each unit 

provides .comma nd and control for 

students and cadre. The 3d Battalion continues its mission of providing command and control for 

'ba sic and advanced officer students, 

NCOs attending the Engineer NCO 

Advanced Course and AlT students 

attending the Defense · Mapping 

School. .. 

Current training in the three 

MOSs is being conducted at Skill 

Levell (3S'EI0, 52ClO and 52DlO 

Advanced Individual Training). Early" next year training will begin in 

Skill Level 2 (35E20, 52C20 and 

52D20, Primary Technical Course). 

AIT training in MaS 52DI0 has 

been converted to the self-paced 

method of instruction . The possible 

conversion of the . remaining two 

MOSs (35ElO arid52C1O) to tlie selfpaced method of instruction is still 

under ~udy.

The establishment ofSL-2 courses 

in the three M()Ss marks'a milestone 

in EPMSdevelopment. The prerequisites, course descriptions and 

class schedules of the SL-2 courses in 

MaS 35E, 52C and 52D are contained in the USAES Pam 350-1, 

FY-79 edition. If your training section doesn't have a copy of the FY-79 

edition it can obtain one by sending 

a completed DA Form 17 or a written request to the U.S . Army 

Engineer School, ATTN : ATZADTR (Individual Training Section), 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060. 

38 WINTER 1978-79 
Reserve Components _
 

NEW LEADERS 

Major General LaVern E. Weber 

was reappointed last August to serve 

another four years as Chief of th e 

National Guard Bureau, while a t th e 

same time, Brigadier General Emmett H. "Mickey" Walker, Jr. , 

assumed his new duties as Director 

of the Army National Guard. 

OVERSEAS TRAINING 

Twenty-seven Reserve un its had 

been approved for OCONUS training in 1979 as of 30 October 1978. 

Four units ar e slat ed for tr aining in 

Korea, with the remaining 23 units 

scheduled for training in Euro pe. 

Two of the latter will particip ate in 

REFORGER 79. Two addition al 

USAR units ar e expected to be 

selected for overseas training later. 

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

Attention was focu sed on the 

Gaining Command Progr am at the 

6th Annual Army Re adine ss 

Region /Group /Reserve Component 

Commanders Conferen ce in St. 

Loui s 1-3 December. 

The pu rp ose of t he Gaining Command Progr am is to identify specific 

reserve un its and the active Army 

units they will support in th e event of 

a contingency. The 412th Engineer 

Command outlined details of the 

program to the 306 conferees. 

The conference, hosted by the 

U.S. Army Engineer School for the 

second consec utive yea r, also surfaced a pr essing need to provide 

Reserve and Nati on al Guard units 

with effe ctive method s for eng ineer 

specialty training . 

PAY STATUS EXPANDED 

High schoo l seniors and graduates 

who enlist in the Army Reserve 

within 180 days of their initial active 

THE ENGINEER 

du ty for training (IADT) , and all 

others who enl ist within gO days of 

IADT may now be placed in a paid 

drill status (pay category Pl. Those 

not initially eligible for pay at the 

tim e of enlistment may be transferred to pay status when with in 180 

or 90 day s, depending on their 

educational status. All recruits 

placed in pay status prior to IADT 

are exp ected to attend drills and 

receive orientation training. 

UNAUTHORIZED UNIFORM 

ITEMS 

Som e local commanders have app arently mi sinterpretted their 

authority to prescribe the un iforms 

worn in their units, and have approved non -standard items which do 

not have DA approval. Effective 1 

Janu ar y 1979, only non -standard 

item s approved in ARs 670-5 , 

672-5-1, or in Common Table of 

Allowances 50-906 may be worn . 

MANAGEMENT OF RETIREES 

The Reserve Components Person ­

nel and Administration Cente r 

(RCPAC) ha s begun to identify, 

classify . establish peri od ic contact 

with, and make tentative mobili zation assignments for some Ar my 

retirees to till CONUS post. camp 

and station positions upon nation al 

mobilization. The retiree call-up will 

free other soldiers for demanding 

troop unit assignments. Individuals 

being considered for management 

within the program include retired 

general offi cers to age 64, warrant 

officers to age 62. and others 

through age 60 . RCPAC hop es to 

contact each selected retiree twice 

ann ually to verify addresses, physical 

sta tus. and civilian occupation . 

Ba sed upon their military and 

civilian skills, RCPAC will match the 

retirees again st MTDA positions, 

and upon mobilization , call them to 

active duty . 

EXPEDITIOUS DISCHARGE 

PROGRAM 

A recent change to AR 135-378 

provides a simplified method of 

eliminating substandard first term 

enlisted member s which will protect 

the unit and individu al from lat er 

administrative probl ems. It applies 

to non-prior service USA Rand 

ARNG tr oop program enlist ed 

members who ha ve completed at 

lea st six months, but not more than 

36 months, of con tinuous service . 

Check out the new change for details 

of the program. 

NEW SURVIVOR BENEFIT LAW 

A new Survivor Benefit Law extends to Reservists th e option of providin g survivor benefits even though 

death ma y occur before th e Reservist 

attains retirement pay eligibility at 

age 60. The following options are 

now available: 

- Retirement eligible Reservists 

may continue to decline making elec ­

tion for or against survi vor benefits 

un til reaching age 60. This option re ­

mains the sa me as th e arrangement 

under the previous benefit law. 

- The retirement eligible Reservist may elect a survivor annuity 

payable on the dat e at which th e 

member would hav e become 60 years 

of age, should he or she die prior to 

age 60. 

-The retirement eligible Reservist may elect a survivor annuity 

payable on the date of death, 

regardless of whether death occurs 

before or after age 60. 

Th e intent of the new options is to 

afford th e retirement eligible Reservist th e opportunity to provide 

benefits for survivors. even if the 

Reservist dies before age 60. 

39 
The School Solution _
 

Put in the ribbon bridge initially in order to reopen the M$R 

within three hours. Upon arrival of the work forces, set up security and breach the mine field. Replace the destroyed bridge with 

either a Bailey bridge or Class 60 dry span. A log boom with net 

must be deployed upstream from both bridge sites to prevent further sapper activity. 

CONSIDERATIONS AT FLOAT BRIDGE SITE 

1. Approach roads - In a glacial outwash plain ,
 

natural dr ainage will be good. Use the earth moving pla­


too n to make tiny ur gent repa irs to the detour road and
 

to construct t urn outs. On ce the detour road is usabl e.
 

the platoon should cont inue to upgrade, impro ve, and
 

widen it to eventually allow two-way traffic. Fill mat erial
 

is readil y available in any csker or kame.
 

2. Bridge -Consid ering the speed and ease of
 

emplaci ng ribbon bridge, along with th e width of the
 

stream , the ribbon sho uld be your choice rather th an a
 

raft bridge.
 

3. Anchorage system - Use a JD41 0 backh oe from
 

the earth moving plat oon to dig in dead men.
 

CONSIDERATIONS AT FIXED BRIDGE SITE 

I. Approach roads -Use a dozer with the driver well
 

prot ected again st shrapnel to clear roads and shoulders.
 

Art illery delivered mines will not be buried an d may have
 

anti -handling devices. Any road damage du e to mines
 

expl oding can be qui ckly rep aired. As time permits, the
 

surrounding forest s should be cleared.
 

2. Destroyed bridge -The debris will have to be
 

cleared before the new bridge can be built.
 

3 . Bailey -This bridge will require min imal
 

maintenance, but if damaged by a rtillery or demoliti on,
 

repair is very difficult, tedious and time consuming.
 

4. Class 60 fixed span - This bridge can be put in
 

faster than the Bailey and is more easily rep air ed . In­


termediate supports can be damaged by debri s in the
 

strea m and the foundations are subject to be scoured
 

away by the water.
 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

1. Camouflage - Sho uld be used for both sites and
 

all equipme nt.
 

2. Smoke -Shoul d be used to camoufl age
 

movements and for decepti on purposes at dummy sites.
 

3. Security - Necessary to prevent destruction of the 

----. new bridges and to safeguard th e equipme nt a nd work
 

crews.
 

·U.S . GOVERNM ENT PRINT ING O FFIC E. 

1978-0-720-392 /4 

40 WINTER 1978-79 
ANN UAL ENGINE R NNER
 

The 112th Annual Engineer Dinner is scheduled for May 11 at the Fort 

Belvoir Engineer Mess. As usual, the Itschner and Sturgis Awards will be 

presented to the outstanding engineer company and enlisted soldier, 

respectively, but other details of the annual affair were not available at 

press time. For more information, write to the Protocol Office, U.S. Army 

Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, or call Autovon 354·3332 or commercial 703·664·3332. 

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