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By Order of the Secretary of the Army:

GEORGE W. CASEY, JR.

General, United States Army

Chief of Staff

Official:

JOYCE E. MORROW

Administrative Assistant to the

Secretary of the Army

0721404

COMMANDANT

BG (P) John E. Sterling, Jr.

563-6192

<john.e.sterling@us.army.mil>

ASSISTANT COMMANDANT

COL Lou L. Marich

563-8080

<lou.marich@us.army.mil>

REGIMENTAL COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR

CSM Clinton J. Pearson

563-8060

<clinton.pearson@us.army.mil>

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMANDANT–USAR

COL Loretta Deaner

563-8045

<loretta.angela.deaner@us.army.mil>

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMANDANT–ARNG

LTC Steven K. Knutzen

563-8046

<steven.knutzen@us.army.mil>

CHIEF OF STAFF

LTC Alfred Pantano

563-7116

<alfred.pantano@us.army.mil>

COMMANDER, 1st ENGINEER BRIGADE

COL Bjarne Iverson

596-0224, DSN 581-0224

<bjarne.iverson@us.army.mil>

DIRECTOR OF TRAINING AND LEADER DEVELOPMENT

COL Jerry Meyer

563-4093

<jerry.meyer@us.army.mil>

DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRATION

Mr. Robert F. Danner

329-1942

<robert.f.danner@us.army.mil>

COUNTER EXPLOSIVE HAZARDS CENTER

COL Richard M. Hornack

563-8142

<richard.hornack@us.army.mil>

HUMANITARIAN DEMINING TRAINING CENTER

Mr. Rodney A. Robideau

596-3870

<rodney.a.robideau@us.army.mil>

ENGINEER PERSONNEL PROPONENCY OFFICE

Ms. Victoria Anthony

563-6137

<victoria.anthony@us.army.mil>

SGM Rick Morales

563-7232

<ricardo.morales@us.army.mil>

MANEUVER SUPPORT ORGANIZATION

LTC Leonard E. Wells

593-6282

<leonard.wells@us.army.mil>
 Engineer 1 July-September 2007

FEATURES

040.Plan, Build, Protect: Assisting Iraq!

 By Major Joseph A. Snel

08 Assured Mobility

 By Major Craig Wertheim

10 Al Bakir Freshwater Treatment Plant

By First Lieutenant Darren J. Friot and Lieutenant Colonel James

H. Lukehart

12 Building a Base Camp

By Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Shea III

16 Army and Air Force Engineers Provide Bed-Down for Surge Troops

By Captain Ken Hall

19 Reserve Component Volunteers—Filling the Gap

By Lieutenant Colonel Trent M. Andrews

20 Air Force Engineers Support Surge

By Lieutenant Colonel Douglas D. Hardman

22 Operation Sand Castle 2007

By Brigadier General Jeffrey W. Talley

23 The Birth of a City

By Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

25 Last Chance to Rock

By Private First Class Christine Samples

26 Paving the Way

By Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

28 Engineers Send NTC Skyward

By Private First Class Christine Samples

29 Engineers Train As They Fight

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski

30 Constructing a Dry Support Bridge

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski and Private First Class Christine Samples

32 Engineers Light Up Firing Range

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski

33 Engineers Go Vertical

By Private First Class Christine Samples

34 Environmental Restoration Is Possible

By Dr. JoAnne Castagna

37 New Well-Drilling Rig Arrives in Djibouti

By Captain Jerord E. Wilson

38 2007 Army Deployment Excellence Awards

By Mr. Henry H. Johnson

40 War Trophies of the Past

By Mr. Garry Hollands and Mr. Wil Nelson

42 Bamboo to Blue: Army Engineers in Vietnam Refurbish a Captured

Bulldozer

By Mr. Harold Walden

July-September 2007 Headquarters, Department of the Army Volume 37 PB 5-07-3

Front Cover: Photo by Christian

DeLuca, a former Fort Leonard

Wood GUIDON staffer.

Back Cover: Operation Iraqi

Freedom photos from the 411th

Engineer Brigade and the 332d

Air Expeditionary Wing Public

Affairs.

NGI EThe Professional Bulletin of Army EngineersNEER

DEPARTMENTS

02 Clear the Way

By Brigadier General (P)

John E. Sterling, Jr.

03 Lead the Way

By Command Sergeant Major

Clinton J. Pearson

21 Dedication

43 Book Review - “Falcon

Brigade: Combat and Command in Somalia and Haiti”

Reviewed by Mr. Jeffrey L.

Rosemann

43 The Engineer Writer’s Guide

44 Engineer Update

Inside Back Cover:

Subscription Order Form

UNITED STATES ARMY

ENGINEER SCHOOL

MANSCEN

DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING

Commandant

Brigadier General (P)

John E. Sterling, Jr.

Managing Editor

Shirley Bridges

Editor

Rick Brunk

Graphic Designer

Jennifer Morgan
2 Engineer July-September 2007

Clear The Way

By Brigadier General (P) John E. Sterling, Jr.

Commandant, United States Army Engineer School

A.

s we prepare to begin another

fiscal year—Army year that is—

of continued remarkable, selfless,

tireless, and courageous service and

sacrifice to the Nation and our Army,

summer transitions are nearly complete and

our Army Families are back in the routine

of another school year, many with their

engineer Soldier deployed or deploying to

war. Your leaders very much recognize and

appreciate that the past five years have

been immensely difficult, challenging, and

stressful for all members of the engineer

team. We are so incredibly blessed and

grateful for your service and sacrifice.

Together, we have endured, and will continue to endure, the

challenges associated with this persistent War on Terrorism

and commitment to achieve great successes in keeping with

the ideals, freedoms, and liberties that make our country great.

We have had a great deal of senior leader transition in the

Engineer School. We welcome the new Director of DOTLD,

COL Jerry Meyer, and his family. COL Dick Hornack has

transitioned from the Concept and Development Integration

Directorate (CDID) to the Director of the Counter Explosive

Hazards Center (CEHC). Other new senior engineer leaders

serving on the MANSCEN team include COL Thomas Kula,

the Chief of Rapid Transition Division (RTD), and COL Pete

Tabacchi, Director of CDID.

I am pleased to announce another great addition to the

Fort Leonard Wood community, the Explosive Ordnance

Clearing Agent (EOCA) Course. The EOCA team will move

from Redstone Arsenal to Fort Leonard Wood in October,

and the first course to be taught here is scheduled to begin

on 26 November 2007. The EOCA Course, which is

transitioning from 6 weeks to 4 weeks, will be located in the

new CEHC facility. By moving the course to Fort Leonard

Wood, units will realize a cost savings in TDY dollars. Instead

of sending Soldiers to two locations, they can now come to

only one and receive training on multiple disciplines.

Engineers are able to provide support as required, in

accordance with the FRAGO published by MNC-I on 29 June

2007 allowing engineers to blow in place (BIP) confirmed

IEDs under certain restrictions. CEHC offers several

outstanding training opportunities that prepare Soldiers

with current counter explosive hazards techniques and

employment of contingency equipment. The Route

Reconnaissance and Clearance Course–

Sapper (R2C2–S) and Counter Explosive

Hazards Planning (CEH-P) are two key

courses offered that instruct on the planning

requirements and systems for executing

counter explosive hazards operations (with

emphasis on counter IEDs). Five courses are

offered and are available via ATRRS.

I strongly encourage leaders to maximize

attendance at these courses aimed at

defeating the greatest threat to our forces.

Safety is a matter of utmost importance,

and it is personal to all members of our team.

As an Army that conducts inherently

dangerous operations on behalf of our Nation

in training and at war, we continue to injure and lose great

members of the team. Sadly, many of the injuries and deaths are

preventable. Many occur off duty or are non-battle-related. In

reading the many accident reports, the contributing causes of

many of the injuries and deaths are quite upsetting and

disturbing. It is unbelievable that an alarming percentage of

Army Soldiers, Civilians, Families, and their loved ones don’t

use seatbelts regularly. It is an undisputable fact that seatbelt

use is the top preventive measure for injuries and deaths in

motor vehicle accidents. I highly encourage everyone to care

enough about yourself, your Families, loved ones and friends

to accept nothing less then 100% wear of seatbelts at all the

times. Your Army and Regiment care! Distracted driving caused

principally by cell phone use is another alarming and growing

trend. Seek alternatives and demand the same of your friends

and Families, to include pulling over to use a cell phone if

absolutely necessary or using approved hands-free devices.

Lastly, excessive alcohol use remains a problem for our Army,

which is exacerbated by those seeking alcohol to alleviate the

stress on the force and Family. Excessive alcohol consumption

mixed with any activity always results in serious consequences,

personally and professionally.

In closing, I’d like to extend my appreciation for the

adaptability, flexibility, and perseverance demonstrated by our

engineer team to support the War on Terrorism. I ask for your

patience and commitment as we ascend from the “trough” in

transformation; we will reap the benefits of transformation, most

notably over the next two fiscal years.

I appreciate your selfless support and sacrifices to the

development of our Soldiers and leaders. Thank you for your

service during this challenging and dynamic time in our history.
Lead The Way

By Command Sergeant Major Clinton J. Pearson

United States Army Engineer School

July-September 2007 Engineer 3

I

.would like to welcome you back to

another great issue of the Engineer

Professional Bulletin. This publication helps keep the Regiment informed on

current and emerging developments and

serves as a tool for enhancing your professional development.

Engineers everywhere are fully engaged in their heavy summer training

schedules. Here at Fort Leonard Wood,

the drill sergeants and cadre are busy

with the annual surge of trainees who

migrate with the civilian school cycles.

And in our many Reserve and National

Guard training areas, engineer units are conducting the

annual training that provides their best opportunity of

the year to gain collective competence in their missionessential tasks. At Active Army posts, the normal hustle of

training deployments and support is increased with Reserve augmentees, cadets in apprentice troop-leading roles,

supporting Reserve unit training, and the surge of personnel turnover.

We continue our efforts to Transform, Train, and Take

Care of the Regiment. I would like to highlight some changes

going on in our Regiment now and some that will take place in

the future. Congratulations to all the master sergeants who

made the command sergeant major (CSM) list. This is one of

the largest selection lists we have had. I know you will continue to display great leadership and to mentor Soldiers as

they come up through the ranks. Two units have been added

to the Engineer Regiment this past quarter: We activated the

8th Engineer Battalion at Fort Hood and stood up the

31st Engineer Battalion at Fort Leonard Wood.

NCOES: The Engineer Advanced Noncommissioned

Officer Course is comprised of three courses: 21B/C Combat

Engineer, 21H Construction Engineering Supervisor, and 21N

Construction Equipment Supervisor. Commanders and CSMs,

I need your assistance to ensure that all Soldiers who are

selected for NCOES courses show up. We have had a significant number of no-shows the past two quarters, and we need

to eliminate no-shows. NCOES courses are a very important

part of our Soldier’s promotion and career progression. In FY

2007 the 21 B/C courses graduated 172 students with 33 scheduled no-shows; the 21H course graduated 68 students with

9 scheduled no-shows; and the 21N course

graduated 67 students with 7 scheduled noshows. The projections for FY 2008 show

21 B/C with 183 students, 21H with 37 students and 21N with 30 students.

The Engineer Basic Noncommissioned

Officers Course is working to implement the

most current and relevant information available into the programs of instruction. This

allows a training environment to keep pace

with the current operating environment and

its ever-evolving demands. Over the past

year, we have trained in excess of 433 combat and construction engineers, and 41

construction equipment maintainers. In the future, we expect

to maintain the highest levels of mental and physical toughness, which are essential to the continued success of the

Regiment.

Modularity: Our Fusion Cell continues to work hard on our

Regimental units and strength. Currently, the documented,

approved MTOE is a consolidated 151-man engineer company residing in the brigade special troops battalion (BSTB).

The current implementation plan is to have the companies

convert from two companies in the combined arms battalion

(CAB) to a consolidated company in the BSTB, based on

the timeline that supports each individual brigade combat

team (BCT). We are submitting a force design update (FDU),

which has been approved by TRADOC, making two101-man

companies residing in the CABs. In addition to the original

76-man engineer company, the joint assault bridge and assault breaching vehicle will be added. The personnel and

equipment numbers haven’t been worked out in depth, but

the plus-up of personnel and equipment will fill gaps identified as shortfalls in the original heavy brigade combat team

(HBCT) engineer companies. The FDU is being initiated

and will be inserted in the Total Army Analysis (TAA)

10-15 cycle.

In closing, I am extremely proud of our Regiment’s Soldiers

for their contributions and positive impact over the past year. I

am especially proud of the sappers who are deployed around

the world in harm’s way. To those who have paid the ultimate

sacrifice in the cause of freedom, justice, and the American

way of life, neither you nor your families will be forgotten.

God Bless America!
4 Engineer July-September 2007

A.

s the Multinational Corps–Iraq (MNC–I) corps

engineer brigade headquarters, the Headquarters and

Headquarters Company, 411th Engineer Brigade

(Theater Army), provided proactive, timely, relevant, and

essential command and control for more than 3,000 engineer

Soldiers, Airmen, and Sailors throughout Iraq in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom. The brigade’s mission included

assured mobility, military construction, and geospatial

engineering. The brigade headquarters also exercised

administrative control for all United States Army engineer units

operating in support of United States Marine Corps

expeditionary forces in Multinational Force–West.

The brigade theme—Plan, Build, Protect: Assisting Iraq!—

resounded in each and every endeavor across the theater of

Iraq. The commander of the 411th Engineer Brigade challenged

his Soldiers to “bring forward the leadership” shown during

the mobilization’s early stages. He then introduced the

command message as the brigade received its mission from

the 130th Engineer Brigade, the previous MNC–I theater

engineer brigade:

The 411th Engineer Brigade is called to duty by our

nation. We are clearing IEDs [improvised explosive devices]

from the road systems to protect the coalition force’s mobility

within Iraq to allow the continued building of a free, independent Iraqi government. Army Strong!

The commander further explained the brigade’s theme:

 Plan: Through initiative and innovation, the patriotic

American service members of the 411th Engineer Brigade

contribute their engineering skills to plan, design, and

maintain critical lines of communication and force protection

for coalition Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines.

 Build: The 411th Engineer Brigade Service members

aggressively execute the construction of logistical support

platforms and force protection structures to sustain and

protect coalition forces endeavoring to assist Iraq in

building a free and independent nation.

 Protect: Through intelligence analysis, the clearing of IEDs

from main supply routes (MSRs), and the construction of

force protection measures, the 411th Engineer Brigade

Plan, Build, Protect:

Assisting Iraq!

By Major Joseph A. Snel

Engineers place

cement pads in

preparation for

surge forces.

Operation Iraqi Freedom
July-September 2007 Engineer 5

service members protect the brave coalition forces

dedicated to helping Iraq achieve its governmental goals.

Mobilization and Deployment

T.

he 411th entered 2006 continuing with preparations

for the unit’s upcoming mobilization and deployment

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In January, the

commander was selected as the next commanding general of

the 99th Regional Readiness Command, and in March, he

handed the reins of the 411th over to a new commander.

Planning and coordination continued into the spring as the

headquarters prepared for a four-phased mobilization.

In April, the first of four elements of the brigade headquarters mobilized. Soldiers from the brigade’s construction

management section (CMS) reclassified their military

occupational specialty as technical engineers with six weeks

of training at Camp Grafton, North Dakota. The CMS section

had to be reconstituted after the original CMS section

mobilized and deployed in 2004 with the 420th Engineer

Brigade, which did not have an organic CMS section.

In May, the leaders mobilized for the reconnaissance/

predeployment site survey (PDSS) to Iraq with the

130th Engineer Brigade. The PDSS allowed the staff to see

firsthand where the brigade would operate and to meet the

staff of the 130th. This survey allowed the staff to conduct

detailed planning for assuming the mission and occupying

the headquarters building. Following the PDSS, the leaders

returned to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, for continued mobilization

training.

In June, Soldiers from the brigade’s command group and

representatives from the personnel; intelligence (G2);

operations, plans, and training; logistics (G4); and

communications sections and the CMS traveled to Fort Hood,

Texas, to participate in the III Corps mission rehearsal exercise

(MRX). The MRX brought together the corps’s separate

brigades, such as the 411th Engineer Brigade. Although the

MRX did not involve the brigade staff in the exercise play, the

staff used the time to develop situational awareness and staff

products for use later in the deployment. The balance of the

Headquarters and Headquarters Company later mobilized and

deployed to Fort McCoy, where it conducted Soldier readiness

processing and individual validation tasks.

September brought the movement from Kuwait into Iraq

and the beginning of the relief in place/transfer of authority

(RIP/TOA) with the 130th Engineer Brigade. On 19 September

2006, the authority, responsibility, and mission of the MNC–I

corps engineer brigade passed to the 411th Engineer Brigade.

By the end of that week, the 130th, an Active Army unit, had

fully redeployed back to its home station in Germany, and the

411th Engineer Brigade officially had command and control

of more than 3,000 Soldiers, Airmen, and Sailors across the

theater. The span of command and control included Active

Army, Reserve, and National Guard from the United States

Army and United States Air Force. The brigade headquarters

even had a Navy lieutenant commander attached to it.

The Mission

Assured Mobility

The brigade’s assured mobility mission to ensure unimpeded traffic on the corps MSRs had five components:

 Route clearance—Locate and clear IEDs.

 Rapid crater repair—Fill previous blast holes and deny the

enemy a favorite place to hide IEDs.

 Culvert denial—Block the openings of culverts to impede

the enemy’s ability to hide large amounts of explosives in

the openings, causing massive road destruction when

detonated.

Soldiers and Airmen

build a tactical

operations center for

the 1st Cavalry

Division.
6 Engineer July-September 2007

 Route sanitation—Clear road shoulders and medians of

debris and vegetation used to hide IEDs.

 Bridging—Repair or replace damaged bridges on critical

routes.

Under the command and control of the brigade headquarters,

the results of these efforts were phenomenal.

Route Clearance. As the corps engineer brigade, the 411th

executed command and control of the 875th Engineer Battalion,

which performed route clearance along the corps MSR. This

mission was essential to ensure the uninterrupted flow of

supply convoys throughout Iraq. The brigade’s route clearance

teams moved through the operating space of multiple brigade

combat teams (BCTs) in a complex and dangerous environment.

The brigade headquarters was especially proactive in

monitoring emerging enemy trends to ensure that teams were

clearing IED hotspots during the enemy’s preferred

emplacement times. The results of this effort were exceptional.

Twelve route clearance teams cleared more than 394,000

kilometers of roads with more than 1,344 IEDs found over a

12-month period. As a testament to the targeting effort the

brigade staff directed, the 12 teams consistently found and

cleared more than 59 percent of all IEDs on the routes for

which they had responsibility. In addition to these regular

missions, the brigade route clearance battalion was frequently

called on to clear additional roadways for the BCTs in direct

support of their combat operations.

Rapid Crater Repair. The brigade headquarters facilitated

and synchronized rapid crater repair teams by using heavy

engineer equipment from the two engineer battalions under

its control to fill previous blast craters along critical routes.

The teams dramatically reduced favorite enemy hiding places

for IEDs by repairing more than 700 craters.

Culvert Denial. Once the enemy began placing explosives

inside culverts to interfere with mobility on the MSR, the 411th

began a process of denying access to these culverts throughout its area of operations. Its CMS developed a playbook of

options for the various types of culverts found in Iraq. This

playbook was adopted throughout the Iraqi theater of

operations by other engineer units.

Route Sanitation. The final piece to keeping the MSR open

is the route sanitation mission. By using engineer equipment

to clear road shoulders of debris and vegetation, route

sanitation teams made it harder for the enemy to conceal IEDs,

which resulted in fewer lethal IEDs and increased success for

route clearance teams. During the course of the year, more

than 70 route sanitation patrols removed debris along

750 kilometers of routes north and south of Baghdad.

Bridging. As the higher headquarters for all military

bridging assets in the MNC–I, the 411th provided a vital

capability for the corps commander to respond to the

damage or destruction of critical

bridges anywhere in Iraq. In

addition to this rapid response

mission, the brigade conducted

multiple bridging, rafting, and

riverine operations. The brigade

also provided military bridge

emplacement and inspection

training to the Iraqi army to

develop a Mabey Compact 200®

bridge capability.

Bridging operations included emplacement of Mabey

bridges at six locations; repair

of IED-damaged overbridges

on four occasions; emplacement

of an assault float bridge (AFB);

repairs to an AFB on two

occasions; and plans for the

emplacement of an AFB bypass.

Additionally, the brigade

conducted continuous rafting

operations across the Euphrates

River for nearly 12 months,

providing essential mobility

support to both coalition forces

and the local populace. HESCO Bastion Concertainer® units surround an ammunition holding area.
July-September 2007 Engineer 7

Military Construction

The 411th exercised command and control for all echelonabove-division construction, design, and construction

management units in Iraq. This joint force of Army and Air

Force engineers was responsible for design, management, and

execution of corps priority construction missions on and off

major contingency operating bases (COBs) and smaller forward

operating bases (FOBs).

The brigade’s initial efforts in base camp design,

construction, and master planning throughout Iraq were

focused on the improvement of the COBs, the closure of

smaller bases, and the movement of units there to larger

enduring bases. The brigade made a complete turn halfway

through its tour, when the president announced that

additional BCTs would be sent to Iraq. With a joint force of

Army and Air Force facilities and design engineers, the

brigade played a central role in the corps requirement to

bed-down an additional surge of Soldiers deployed to Iraq

over a short time frame.

The brigade’s facility engineers and designers worked

closely with the area support groups to develop innovative

ways to house and maintain these additional Soldiers and

their equipment. In addition to already existing bases, the

brigade CMS planned the construction of a new base in a

remote area. With no existing infrastructure, the section used

a variety of methods to create a base camp capable of housing

Soldiers, contractors, and their equipment. While this new

base camp was under construction, the CMS moved on to

plan and design the bed-down of four additional BCTs on six

separate FOBs.

Throughout the year, the four facility engineer teams,

under the oversight of the CMS, continued to program and

design improvements at the four major COBs. In addition

to troop construction, these teams developed a military

construction program. Regardless of the service or type of

mission, the teams consistently performed to high standards

and consistently exceeded the expectations of their

customers.

Geospatial Engineering

The brigade provided timely and accurate geospatial

engineer support to operations throughout Iraq through terrain

analysis and map production. The brigade G2’s topographic

section completed more than 450 requests for information in

support of the corps engineer priority route clearance and

construction missions. By creating multiple special products,

the section provided construction support for four combat

teams with more than nine surge missions, including base

camp buildups. The section was also instrumental in producing

maps and imagery in support of the United States Army

Defense Ammunition Center. Additionally, the section printed

numerous imagery photo mosaics with range fans for the guard

towers at a logistics support area, which greatly enhanced the

situational awareness of the Soldiers maintaining security for

that base.

Logistics Support

W.

hile mobilized and deployed in support of Operation

Iraqi Freedom, the brigade G4 section developed a

coherent team of Soldiers from different units who

planned, coordinated, and executed the brigade’s logistical

requirements. This included managing and operating a

construction material yard that procured and distributed

construction materials in support of more than 200 projects

and missions on all the major operating bases, three major

surge projects, and more than 400,000 kilometers of route

clearance and blast hole repair. This section also monitored

the brigade’s supply accountability system to ensure the

maximum utilization of its equipment. It coordinated

maintenance operations for more than 2,800 pieces of

equipment, resulting in a high operational readiness rate for

the brigade’s route clearance fleet and ensuring that the

brigade’s other low-density specialty equipment remained

available for operations. In order to ensure that this equipment

could be used under combat conditions and protect our

Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines, this section oversaw

the fielding of numerous pieces of counter-IED equipment.

The logistics section also executed the brigade’s container

management system, averaging more than 650 containers daily,

ensuring that there were no commercially owned containers

on hand. Further, Soldiers of the brigade headquarters

operating the Class IV yard packed or unpacked and moved

more than 450 containers of construction material in support

of surge operations. Finally, in support of all these operations,

this section monitored and coordinated the request and

execution of millions of dollars in nonstock funds, ensuring

its proper execution and use in support of the brigade’s

missions.

Summary

T.

he 411th Engineer Brigade left its footprint at more

than 27 locations during its tour in Iraq. Each unit that

served under the command—whether under administrative, tactical, or operational control—proved itself Army

Strong. The 411th is grateful to every Service member who

answered their nation’s call to duty. The following articles

(pages 8 through 21) highlight the brigade’s successes and

exemplify the drive of every Soldier, Airman, and Sailor to

Plan, Build, Protect: Assisting Iraq!

Major Snel was the 411th Engineer Brigade public affairs

officer for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has served as a

combat heavy platoon leader, executive officer, and construction inspection officer. He entered the Active Guard/

Reserve (AGR) Program as an evaluation officer at the Army

Reserve Readiness Training Center and continued in the AGR

Program as a battalion liaison officer and battle captain

during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi

Freedom, as a combat mechanized company commander, and

a brigade chief of operations. He holds a bachelor’s in

mathematics from Norwich University.
8 Engineer July-September 2007

engaged frequently by the enemy either with IEDs, small arms

fire, or a combination of both.

The benefit of being a corps asset was the ability to send

Soldiers wherever they were needed during operations. This

support was in the form of additional route clearance assets

when the maneuver units needed them. On numerous

occasions, the 411th route clearance teams were called to clear

the way for combat teams, allowing them to project combat

power during operations. During the year-long tour, the route

clearance teams performed 2,800 patrols, traveled more than

350,000 kilometers, and cleared more than 1,000 IEDs.

The second step to assured mobility was to deal with the

blast holes formed when an IED detonated on a road. These

holes ranged from a small indentation up to a crater that could

swallow a truck. To combat these holes, the brigade used

construction assets from its construction and combat engineer

battalions. This operation took not only engineers but also a

combined arms team to make it a success. Frequently, the

brigade sent out reconnaissance teams to identify and

inventory new holes throughout the area of operations, and

this data was made available to all units that crossed the area.

It was important to inventory these obstacles to speed repair

operations and prevent future IED attacks.

Once the engineers performing the work

identified which holes would be filled on a

mission, the brigade contacted the brigade

combat teams (BCT) that owned the battlespace to coordinate security for the operation.

Then the mission was confirmed, supplies were

ordered, and the mission was executed. On a

given mission the team could fill three to eight

holes, depending on their size. The final job

for the team was to mark each hole with a

distinctive number and symbol. This allowed

identification by friendly forces and helped

track whether the hole was ever used again by

anti-Iraqi forces (AIF). Security was needed

to observe the blast holes to ensure that AIF

did not emplace another IED in the hole just

filled in. When the holes were repaired, the

Soldiers from the 92d Engineer Battalion

repair a blast hole formed by an IED

detonation.

During its year in Iraq, the 411th Engineer Brigade

(Theater Army) designated key individuals for its

assured mobility cell, which supported the brigade’s

main effort of keeping the corps main supply routes (MSRs)

open for coalition forces. The missions consisted of—

 Route clearance.

 Blast hole repair.

 Route sanitation.

The first step in this main effort was route clearance.

Planning for it started at the intelligence section, which

compiled and analyzed all of the significant events from the

previous weeks that occurred on the routes. The assured

mobility cell then derived targeting recommendations for the

brigade’s route clearance battalion. Based on the slate of

targeting recommendations, the route clearance battalion

produced schedules that the companies used to perform their

route clearance missions to force open the MSRs in support of

coalition forces and the Iraqi people. During these long and

dangerous missions, the engineers looked for improvised

explosive devices (IEDs). The route clearance missions took

up a good part of the day on the road. The Soldiers were

By Major Craig Wertheim

Operation Iraqi Freedom
July-September 2007 Engineer 9

road was ready for traffic to resume. The 411th filled more than

600 blast holes along the corps MSRs during its deployment.

The third step toward assured mobility was route

sanitation, which consists of clearing vegetation and debris

from the median and shoulders of the MSRs. In Iraq, where

IEDs are placed in every imaginable shrub or piece of trash,

route sanitation is essential to keeping the MSRs open. It was

left to the route clearance battalion to decide when and where

to perform this mission. Clearing the MSRs of vegetation and

debris disrupts the enemy’s ability to emplace IEDs close to

where coalition and civilian vehicles travel. It also inhibits

concealed movement by AIF, diminishes their ability to set up

traps, and forces them to place their IEDs farther back from the

road. This standoff increases the survivability of coalition

forces. Route sanitation is a never-ending battle in Iraq. The

brigade usually ran multiple sanitation missions each week.

The 411th made great strides in assured

mobility. The route clearance teams’ rates

for IEDs found and cleared rose steadily,

but this was not without sacrifice. The

brigade had 10 Soldiers killed in action and

numerous Soldiers wounded. As the corps

brigade, it had the flexibility to help reach

out and impact the corps mission. The 411th

saved countless lives, not only for the

coalition but for the Iraqi people as well.

IEDs will continue to be the enemy’s weapon

of choice, and engineers will continue to

clear a path through them to victory.

Major Wertheim was the 411th Engineer

Brigade assured mobility section leader.

Previous assignments include vertical

construction platoon leader, aide-de-camp,

company commander, and battalion

intelligence officer. In the civilian sector,

he is the sales manager for Holland &

Sherry Incorporated, a luxury fabric

importer.

Vegetation and debris are cleared from the median and shoulders of the MSRs as part of route sanitation.

After finding an IED during one of its missions, the route clearance team

blows it in place.
10 Engineer July-September 2007

T.

he Al Bakir freshwater treatment plant is part of the

Balad Air Base complex, which was built in the 1970s

and 1980s as part of Saddam Hussein’s military

buildup. It is located on the banks of the Tigris River about

two kilometers from the base perimeter. A Yugoslavian

company under contract to the Iraqi government designed

and built the plant, with most of the construction being

completed by Yugoslavian workers. The plant was built to

provide potable and irrigation water to the base and the nearby

village.

In May 2004, members of the 86th Engineer Team (Dive)

inspected the Al Bakir freshwater intake lines, designed to

draw their water from the neighboring river. The team found

only one of the four intakes exposed, and the other three buried

beneath a 15-foot mound of sediment. The team proposed five

courses of action to keep the intakes clear of sediment. But no

action was taken at the time, and the final water intake became

clogged by 2005. As a result, a temporary aboveground

pumping station was installed by the Iraqis.

Existing Situation

T.

he 411th Engineer Brigade construction management

section (CMS) first visited the Al Bakir freshwater

treatment plant in September 2006. The plant was

operational, but its cisterns were being filled by the cobbledtogether system of pipes and worn-out pumps that were set

on the ground, exposed to the elements and vehicular and

foot traffic. This system was in poor condition, leaked badly,

and required that all water be pumped into the cisterns before

it could be processed through the rest of the system. Water

could not be pumped directly to the clarifiers for processing.

The pumps used to get water from the chlorinated water tanks

to the water net were undersized and worn, providing only a

portion of the water needed in the peak summer months, when

temperatures frequently exceed 120 degrees. The generator

that powered the water plant was worn-out, and there was no

backup generator to pick up the load if the first generator

failed or was down for maintenance. The gravity lines that fed

the two large cisterns were nonoperational.

The managers at the Al Bakir freshwater treatment plant

had decided that the only way to keep the plant operational

was to pump water into the cisterns, so two much-worn pumps

had been installed at the Tigris River. These pumps effectively

bypassed the gravity feed lines that had become completely

unusable. The remaining parts of the plant were worn but still

serviceable. Raw water from the cistern was being pumped to

the clarifiers, then to the sand filters, then injected with

chlorine, stored in tanks for 24 hours, and finally pumped to

the village of Al Bakir for consumption. The pumps installed

at all stages of the process were badly worn but continued to

operate. A 250,000-gallon water tower was not operational,

which added further to the strain on the system’s pumps. The

Iraqi national power supply was sporadic, lasting four hours a

day at most. The plant provided 250,000 gallons of potable

water and 150,000 gallons of irrigation water to Al Bakir and its

5,000 residents daily. When fully operational, the plant was

capable of providing more than 650,000 gallons of potable

water and 500,000 gallons of irrigation water daily.

Scope of Project

T.

o adequately upgrade the Al Bakir freshwater treatment

plant, a design incorporating the jury-rigged system

the Al Bakir engineers had built was deemed the most

By First Lieutenant Darren J. Friot and Lieutenant Colonel James H. Lukehart

Al Bakir water tower

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Al Bakir Freshwater

Treatment Plant
July-September 2007 Engineer 11

practical and versatile solution. The original gravity feed

system to the cisterns was considered unsalvageable and was

abandoned due to the almost constant maintenance required

to keep it free from sedimentation from the high silt content of

the Tigris River. Several innovations not found in the original

system, but added on the temporary Iraqi system, were

incorporated into the new permanent design. These innovations included separate lines to deliver water directly to

the clarifiers, bypassing the cisterns and smaller intake lines

that could be pulled and repaired if damaged or blocked by

sedimentation.

Since a functional water tower was deemed critical for the

system to function properly and not put undue wear on the

pumps in the water system, the nonoperational water tower

would have to be repaired.

The 411th Engineer Brigade would work in cooperation

with the Iraqi engineers responsible for keeping the Al Bakir

plant running. It was understood from the start that this project

would be designed and built by Iraqis. The 411th would provide

engineer expertise and an independent government estimate

once the project was ready to move forward. As part of working

with the Iraqi engineers, the 411th prepared its own designs,

engineering calculations, and construction drawings and

specifications to facilitate an accurate independent government

estimate to apply for a Commander’s Emergency Relief Program

(CERP) funding packet.

Conclusion

T.

he project received CERP funding, and the contract

was executed at a cost below the original estimate. An

extensive knowledge of what the project required and

an excellent working relationship between the 411th Engineer

Brigade CMS engineers and the Al Bakir engineers helped the

project proceed smoothly, and it was completed in April 2007

without any significant problems. Al Bakir now has a reliable

source of water from the ancient Tigris River for its freshwater

treatment plant and the potential to provide water to

neighboring villages.

First Lieutenant Friot is the commander of Headquarters

Company, 411th Engineer Brigade. His previous assignments

include civil engineer/construction inspection officer with

the 411th Engineer Brigade construction management

section, Balad, Iraq; and executive officer and platoon leader,

C Company, 479th Engineer Battalion. In his civilian career,

he is an operations leader with the General Electric

Company, Schenectady, New York. He is a graduate of

Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York.

Lieutenant Colonel Lukehart was the deputy engineer for

the 411th Engineer Brigade construction management

section. His previous assignments include deputy adjutant,

70th Regional Readiness Command; executive officer, 3d

Chemical Battalion, 104th Division (Institutional Training);

and operations and training officer, then commander of the

476th Chemical Battalion. In his civilian career, he is a

facility manager for the University of Washington in Seattle.

He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and

General Staff College and holds a degree from the University

of Washington.

Pump station for treated water at Al Bakir
12 Engineer July-September 2007

M.

ost engineer officers never get the chance to see a

base camp built from scratch, but I have had the

opportunity to build two. The first was Camp

Powderhorn, built in the Yoro Mountains of Honduras to

support Exercise Fuertes Caminos 88. The second was Forward

Operating Base (FOB) Hammer, recently built in an equally

remote area in Iraq for the surge during Operation Iraqi

Freedom.

Camp Powderhorn

E.

ngineer Task Force 111 built Camp Powderhorn to very

austere standards. We did not have access to the

Internet; morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR)

support; telephone systems; or the robust maintenance

infrastructure that we can provide today at an FOB. An

advantage we did have was that we designed, built, and lived

in it—we were our own customer. Another advantage was

that we had almost a year of lead time before we had to occupy

the camp. Thus, we had plenty of time to lay it out, identify the

required facilities, and develop the bill of materials (BOM).

When the 52d Engineer Battalion arrived to build the camp, all

the materials were on hand. Given the low security threat, we

could drive an hour to the nearest hardware store for supplies,

or two hours to a larger city for other supplies or repair parts.

Camp Powderhorn had the basics of a 1,000-person base

camp. We built a shower facility and mess hall and used tents

for command and control, billets, and an aid station. The 249th

Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) provided two generators,

and a quartermaster company provided water purification,

shower, and laundry services. Communications consisted of a

loud speaker, a radio teletype rig, and four satellite phones.

Finally, we had a small post exchange that sold junk food and

beer. Life was very simple and good.

FOB Hammer

F.

OB Hammer was almost the opposite in every respect.

In January 2007, with the notice of the surge of forces

into Iraq, Multinational Corps–Iraq (MNC–I) began its

planning and decision-making process to determine where it

would use each incoming brigade combat team (BCT). The

outcome was a basing plan that fell to the corps engineer

brigade, the 411th Engineer Brigade, to construct. In this case,

MNC–I selected the Butler Range Complex as a site to house

a BCT. Built a few years earlier, the range offered enough open

space to construct an FOB. MNC–I told us to have the camp

ready to accept the first elements by mid-March 2007.

Site Reconnaissance

Accepting some uncertainty in the final boundaries of the

site, MNC–I and the 411th Engineer Brigade construction

management section (CMS) conducted a joint reconnaissance of

the proposed site. A single building to use and an understanding

of the limits of the new base camp were the results. The CMS

then sent a survey team to conduct a detailed topographic survey

of the proposed camp, while the rest of the section used overhead

imagery to begin to lay out the facilities and develop the force

protection plan. Before its completion, the limits of the camp and

its name changed several times.

Planning

To synchronize the many aspects of the planning and

execution of the construction, we formed a special team within

By Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Shea III

Operation Iraqi Freedom
July-September 2007 Engineer 13

the brigade from the primary sections

involved in the planning: operations,

supply, CMS, and the subordinate

units. This team gathered regularly to

identify and resolve issues and met

with the MNC–I engineer section (C7)

and the 13th Sustainment Command

(Expeditionary), both of which conducted similar meetings. The crosscommunication was critical to the

ultimate success of building FOB

Hammer.

The basic plan for the camp was to

use Army Force Provider kits and

supplement critical facilities with

Southwest Asia (SWA) huts. A

Force Provider kit provides tents,

environmental control units, generators, kitchens, dining areas, MWR

tents, beds, and a chapel, as well as

laundry, latrine, and shower facilities.

Engineers are required to prepare the

ground, construct force protection

measures, and install electrical and

plumbing components. Since only four Force Provider kits

were available, MNC–I contracted for the remaining necessary

tents, beds, generators, and environmental control units.

Construction Priorities

The base camp was planned in increments that supported

the MNC–I priorities for construction. The general layout of

the camp included areas for each unit as well as areas for

contractor general life-support functions, such as—

 Burn pit.

 Water purification units.

 MWR.

 Entry control points.

We also considered special topics, such as—

 Detainee holding area.

 Brigade medical treatment facility.

 Helipads.

 Force protection.

The result of this planning was the recognition that the

entire BCT could not be moved into SWA huts. Thus, it was

decided that key facilities such as the brigade headquarters,

battalion headquarters, medical treatment facility, and

maintenance facilities would be placed in SWA huts.

Everything else would stay in tactical vehicles or field tents

drawn in Kuwait. These facilities were then prioritized for the

411th to build.

Coordination

During the entire planning time and well into the construction phase, interface was nonexistent with the surge unit,

which was either at its home station or in Kuwait training for

its upcoming mission. Eventually, some contact was

established via e-mail or a liaison officer, and the surge unit

was able to review the overall site plan and the layouts for the

brigade and battalion SWA huts. We received minimal

comments and made all of the requested changes. Mostly, the

leaders of the surge units had to trust that we were going to

do the right thing for them, and the CMS did not take that

responsibility lightly. Once the surge unit hit the ground,

additional coordination began and the combined team made

several site changes.

Building Design

The actual design of the SWA huts was relatively easy.

The CMS used several sources, to include the Theater

Construction Management System and previously built SWA

huts. One alteration was to the width of the building. This

change accommodated the RED HORSE squadron since it

already had jigs built for the roof trusses. To speed up the

process, we gave the construction unit our designs in increments, such as the initial layout, finalization of the details,

and development of the BOM. This served several functions:

it allowed the constructing unit as much time as possible to

conduct its planning and provided a review process to catch

errors and omissions in the BOM.

Construction Priorities

In keeping with MNC–I construction priorities, we started

with the perimeter berm and concertina wire, and at the same

Airmen construct future brigade headquarters.
14 Engineer July-September 2007

time we built a small engineer camp to house the construction

force. HESCO barriers for force protection around the housing

areas, the billeting tents, and the dining facility came next. The

overriding goal was to provide a safe place for the surge unit

to live and eat. The burn pit, water supply, and blackwater

lagoon were the next priorities for horizontal construction,

while the brigade headquarters, medical facility, and battalion

headquarters were priorities for vertical construction. A brigade

ammunition holding area, a detainee holding annex, and

upgrades to the existing helipads were also constructed.

While most force protection measures in Iraq use the

T-Wall®—a precast concrete retaining wall system—or some

variation of it, the tactical situation at the time of the

construction prevented us from using it. Instead, we used

7-foot and 4-foot HESCO barriers. A key lesson to remember is

to develop a drainage plan for the area protected by the barriers.

This includes grading the area to create a sloping crown,

ditching key areas to drain the water to where you want it, and

including seep pipes under the barriers to allow additional

draining. Failure to include this will create a pool and a mud

bath, which Soldiers will not enjoy.

The 411th Engineer Brigade was fortunate that the RED

HORSE squadron assigned to the mission was composed of

National Guard personnel who recently performed a similar

mission in support of Hurricane Katrina relief. The squadron

provided the command and control cell and half of the

construction force, while the 92d Engineer Battalion from Fort

Stewart, Georgia, provided its Bravo Company as the other

half of the construction force. It was a pleasure to watch these

two units come together and operate as a single joint force.

Logistics

The final critical piece to the whole operation was the

logistics. As previously stated, the camp was in a remote

location. If located in the United States or some other part of

the world, the distance to a nearby town might not be too

great, but this was Iraq. Everything had to be trucked in—

Force Provider kits, contractor tents, lumber, electrical BOM,

water, and all classes of supply. (Eventually, a water source

was found, so it was no longer necessary to truck it in.)

In addition to the normal logistical packages, the

411th Engineer Brigade supply section sent more than

Construction on the medical treatment facility began once force protection measures were in place.

“Most engineer officers never get the chance to see a base camp

built from scratch, but I have had the opportunity to build two.”
July-September 2007 Engineer 15

300 containers of lumber, concertina wire, and electrical parts

to FOB Hammer. We had to procure all of the electrical BOM

locally. And while the Iraqis can deliver dimensional lumber

fairly quickly, it took at least 30 days to deliver electrical parts.

That was after awarding the contract, which takes about 30

days. Since our regulations consider construction materials

to be permanent supplies, our field ordering officers are not

allowed to purchase them. Special care must be taken in the

identification of the BOM, or the project could be delayed 60

days or more.

Gravel and concrete pose a special problem in Iraq. For

FOB Hammer, we initially programmed more than 100,000 cubic

meters of gravel for roads, limited dust control, and the

maintenance areas. Gravel deliveries from the three companies

with contracts were slower and of lower quality than expected.

The constant problem with gravel in most of Iraq is that it is

river run and not well gradated. This leads to poor quality

concrete and roads that require constant maintenance. We

never found a contractor willing to deliver ready-mix concrete

to the camp.

Summary

During the initial buildup of the camp, the

13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and its

15th Sustainment Brigade provided outstanding

support. It was interesting to learn that when the 15th sent a

small party to FOB Hammer to coordinate logistical support,

Construction of an engineer living area was a top priority.

they brought their own communications package, including

long-range voice and satellite voice and data capabilities. The

engineers, on the other hand, relied on a single AN/PRC-150

radio—mounted in a high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled

vehicle (HMMWV)—and a TeleEngineering Toolkit. We had

no way to send e-mail messages with status reports, requests

for BOM, or construction drawings in a secure and timely

manner. As a result, I believe it is important that we take a hard

look at how we are equipping our new deployable brigade

command posts and ensure that they have the same communications capabilities that other brigades have.

Although the experiences were quite different, planning

and building Camp Powderhorn and FOB Hammer were both

very rewarding. The challenges of building a base camp

from scratch can be daunting. But by building on the lessons

learned from others, we can quickly provide our Soldiers

the accommodations they need to support their missions.

Lieutenant Colonel Shea serves as the design engineer

for the 411th Engineer Brigade. His active duty assignments include Korea; Honduras; Turkey; Fort Stewart,

Georgia; and Fort Dix, New Jersey, serving in both troop

and United States Army Corps of Engineers® (USACE)

positions. His Reserve assignments include USACE, the

411th Engineer Brigade, and the 305th Engineer Detachment

(Real Estate). In civilian life, he is a New York District USACE

project manager.
16 Engineer July-September 2007

E.

arlier this year, only dirt and desert tumbleweeds could

be found 11⁄2 miles southeast of Besmaya Range, where

Iraqi soldiers train. But then a United States Army

unit—the 3d Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 3d Infantry

Division—conducted missions in Operation Enforcing the Law,

known to the media as the Fardh al-Qanoon, or “Baghdad

Security Plan.” That plan began when General David Petraeus,

commander of Multinational Forces–Iraq (MNF–I), directed

new combat brigades to deploy in and

around the Iraqi capital. On 18 February,

orders flowed from MNF–I to the Army’s

411th Engineer Brigade to build a base at

Besmaya to accommodate troops by

26 March. The Besmaya project was just one

of many the 411th was tasked to accomplish

as part of its main missions, which included—

 Route clearance and sanitation.

 Rapid crater repair.

 Engineer support to the 3d Infantry Division and other combat units.

 Planning, design, and construction of

contingency operating bases.

 Command and control of tactical bridging

assets.

The 411th was organized to accomplish

those missions, with assistance from

subordinate units that included the Arkansas

Army National Guard’s 875th Engineer

Battalion, the Active Army’s 92d Engineer

Battalion, and the United States Air Force’s

557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron

(ERHS). The 557th ERHS, performing an

“in-lieu-of” mission for the Army in Iraq, built

the base 30 kilometers east of Baghdad.

Approximately a month later, Soldiers had a

place to hang their hats at night “inside the

wire.” RED HORSE, which stands for “rapid

By Captain Ken Hall

Soldiers from the 92d Engineer Battalion complete guard towers along

FOB Hammer’s perimeter berm in Iraq. Airmen from the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron and Soldiers from the 92d Engineer

Battalion’s “Black Diamonds” were tasked to bed-down the Army’s

3d BCT, 3d Infantry Division, in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.

U.S. Air Force Photo/Courtesy of the 557th EHRS U.S. Air Force Photo/Courtesy of the 557th EHRS

Operation Iraqi Freedom
July-September 2007 Engineer 17

engineer deployable heavy operational repair squadron,

engineers,” provides the Air Force with a highly mobile civil

engineering response force to support contingency operations

worldwide. With Airmen from Active, National Guard, and

Reserve Component assets, the 557th is engaged in engineering projects throughout Southwest Asia. The unit is part

of the 732d Air Expeditionary Group, under the 332d Air

Expeditionary Wing headquartered at Balad Air Base northwest

of Baghdad.

A bed-down tasking is a two-step process for the engineer

force. First, the force itself needs facilities to work, sleep, and

eat. Then the main engineer force can move in and begin

construction on the tasked project. As part of step one,

engineers from the 557th ERHS and the 411th Engineer Brigade

formed a survey team and deployed to the site to work out

detailed plans for the new base. What they found was spartan.

A bombed-out structure remained, with only three walls intact

and a roof that was caving in. Other buildings had been reduced

to rubble that would need to be cleared for new facilities.

Surrounding it all was a 31⁄2-foot berm, traversed by goat trails,

that formed a protective perimeter barely substantial enough

to trip over. They had their work cut out for them. The 411th’s

construction maintenance section (CMS) completed a site

reconnaissance with members of the MNC–I logistics and

engineering sections, walking the site and taking photographs.

Then the CMS and members of the 557th conducted a site

survey to collect topographic information and overhead

photographs to drop into the computer-aided drawing software

to plan and build Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer (see

article, page 12).

While the five-day survey was being conducted, RED

HORSE engineers back at Balad Air Base were planning how

to bed-down the engineer force. They determined that the

force would need a tailored Harvest Falcon kit (a prepackaged,

transportable base camp) to sustain them while they built the

rest of the base for the troops of the incoming 3d BCT. A full

Harvest Falcon kit includes tents, hard-wall shelters, area

RED HORSE engineers install roof trusses as they build

up FOB Hammer for the 3d BCT in Besmaya, Iraq.

Soldiers from the

92d Engineer Battalion fill

HESCO Bastion

Concertainers® for force

protection at FOB Hammer.

U.S. Air Force Photo/Courtesy of the 557th EHRS

Photo by Rob Curtis/Air Force Times
the 3d BCT with dining facilities and a headquarters made by

refurbishing the bombed-out structure. Each battalion was to

get a tactical operations center and maintenance building.

Prefabricated guard towers, elevated fighting positions, and

perimeter berms would provide force protection. Morale,

welfare, and recreation facilities would complete the project.

Water for the camp comes from the Tigris River, which makes

its way toward the camp through an old canal system. To

make it usable for the brigade, engineers had to undam several

points on the canal to get the water to within 21⁄2 miles of the

camp. It is first pumped to a new holding pond, then pumped

to two ROWPUs where it is made potable and pumped to

water storage bladders. The potable water stored in the bladder

farm provides drinking water for the brigade, and the pond

provides nonpotable water for showers and laundry facilities.

For the 3d BCT Soldier, all that really matters is that he and

his fellow “Sledgehammer” Warriors now have a place to call

home after each day’s patrols in Baghdad—a place where it is

safe to take off battle armor and get a hot meal.

Captain Hall served as deputy chief of public affairs for

the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing while in Iraq and has now

returned to duties as chief of public affairs for the 47th Flying

Training Wing, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

18 Engineer July-September 2007

lighting systems, basic water and electrical systems, latrines

and showers, a kitchen facility, environmental control units,

and other basic equipment. The first five days of actual

construction saw huge amounts of Harvest Falcon assets

moving from outside Iraq to Balad by numerous aircraft, then

convoyed by tractor-trailer and helicopters to Besmaya to build

the facilities for the engineers. In addition, heavy equipment

(loaders, bulldozers, graders, and excavators) and supplies

(food, water, fuel, hand tools, and lumber for tent flooring)

were transported to the site in the continuous stream of

convoys and helicopter loads.

While they were building the engineer facilities, materials

for the main camp were being moved in, including—

 Three Army Force Provider kits.

 Two life support area kits.

 Reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPU) to

produce fresh water.

 Lumber, plywood, and nails to construct Southwest Asia

huts.

 Concertina wire and pickets.

 Prefabricated guard towers.

 Bottled water; meals, ready-to-eat; and 50-person unitized

group rations to sustain the construction force.

As materials came in to Besmaya, the construction force

already there began erecting the tent city and fortifying the

perimeter berm. The RED HORSE Airmen focused on vertical

construction while Soldiers from the 92d performed the

horizontal construction. The camp was designed to provide

More than

33,000 cubic

meters of

debris were

removed from

land at FOB

Hammer.

U.S. Air Force Photo/Courtesy of the 557th EHRS
July-September 2007 Engineer 19

Operation Iraqi Freedom

S.

oldiers of the United States Army Reserves and Army

National Guard continue to volunteer to serve beyond

their 12-month tour of duty. These Soldiers extend to

serve in the Army’s formations wherever their military

occupational specialty (MOS), experience, and leadership can

be used. They are staying in-theater to continue to serve from

one to two extra months. A small number of Soldiers are even

raising their hands to stay for a third consecutive year. Whether

it is for monetary reasons, a poor job market back home, or

just a strong pull by the mission, the list of volunteers fills

several pages.

The mechanism these Soldiers use is the Contingency

Operation–Active Duty for Operational Support (CO–ADOS)

orders. These orders are ultimately cut by the United States

Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis, Missouri, but

the process starts with the Soldiers. They must find a unit

with an opening for their MOS or skill set, then sign a

Department of the Army (DA) Form 4187 and a volunteer

statement. The gaining unit must prepare a letter of justification

that demonstrates how the Soldier’s skills are needed to meet

the unit’s mission requirements. Sometimes a Soldier’s skill

set is not necessarily the result of MOS training. This is another

example of how America’s National Guard and Reserve

personnel frequently bring added value to their units. For

example, one unit had a volunteer who was officially in the

Signal Corps but also had in-depth experience with preparing

contracts. This added bonus filled a critical need in the

headquarters where she served out her additional six months

in-theater under CO–ADOS orders.

The journey for these Soldiers begins like many other things

in the military—by stepping up and putting their names and

other required information on a volunteer form. These forms

are gathered at CJ-1 (the joint military section) of Multinational

Corps–Iraq (MNC–I) and distributed on a master list across

the theater. Units looking for Soldiers to meet mission

requirements can review the list and match their needs with

the MOS, rank, and availability date of the volunteer. Once a

tentative match is made, the coordination to prepare the

CO–ADOS packet begins. The Soldier and gaining unit must

sign the DA Form 4187, and the Soldier signs the volunteer

statement to extend in-theater for the mutually agreed upon

period of time. The gaining unit with the first colonel in the

chain of command then signs a letter of justification for the

Soldier to stay on active duty orders, and the entire packet is

forwarded to CJ-1 for the next step in the review process.

When Reserve or National Guard units prepare to mobilize

and deploy, they often have vacancies on their manning

rosters, also referred to as battle rosters. Since Operation Iraqi

Freedom has extended over multiple rotations, the number of

Soldiers who have not deployed is small. A unit may then

actively seek Soldiers who are willing to return to Iraq for

another rotation. Also, Soldiers may hear of a unit getting

ready to deploy and volunteer to join that unit. These efforts

work toward filling 100 percent of the modified table of

organization and equipment (MTOE) requirements, but may

still leave the unit short of meeting critical mission requirements

not addressed by the MTOE. The 411th Engineer Brigade, a

United States Army Reserve unit from New York, experienced

such a deficit. The brigade discovered during its predeployment site survey that it would inherit a multimillion

dollar Class IV yard containing construction materials for the

numerous construction projects throughout the theater. The

brigade’s mission analysis identified a deficit of seven Soldiers

to operate the Class IV yard. Efforts began in Kuwait to recruit

Soldiers for this mission and initiate the CO–ADOS (then called

CO–TTAD for contingency operation-temporary tour of active

duty) packets to allow them to stay. Efforts continue to recruit

Soldiers to fill this mission requirement as the unit deployed

from Kuwait to its mission location in Iraq. The CO–ADOS

mechanism contributed to the successful manning of the Class

IV yard, which became critical to supporting surge construction

operations for coalition forces and other MNC–I priority

construction projects.

There is room for improvement in this process as it gains

momentum. It would be beneficial for units preparing to

mobilize and deploy to have a copy of the volunteer list before

arrival in-theater in order to initiate the packets. This could be

accomplished by distributing the list through United States

Army Reserve Affairs to United States Army Reserve Command

headquarters or to the mobilization platforms. This would help

decrease the time it takes to match units’ known requirements

with the volunteering Soldiers.

Another significant improvement would be to allow Reserve

Soldiers to serve on CO-ADOS orders with an Active Army

unit (especially units without a joint manning document

[JMD]), provided the MOS and grade/rank requirements are

met. That change would have allowed a number of volunteers

from the 411th headquarters to remain with the Active Army

unit that replaced the 411th, which would have contributed to

continuity and a seamless transition between the two rotations.

Currently, an Active Army unit must have a JMD with Reserve

Component authorizations for Reserve Soldiers on CO-ADOS

orders to serve there. If the process of CO-ADOS approval

allowed a letter of justification signed by a brigadier general

or higher, seasoned volunteer Reserve Soldiers with necessary

skill sets could remain in-theater.

The real focus of this article is to highlight the spirit of

volunteerism of our nation’s Citizen-Soldiers. Normal total

deployment time is fourteen to fifteen months for Reserve and

National Guard Soldiers, and those who volunteer and remain

for an additional period of time demonstrate a patriot spirit

that imbues the Army values. A total of 82 Soldiers from the

411th Engineer Brigade have volunteered to extend their

service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrews is the Assistant Chief of Staff

for Personnel, 411th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army).

By Lieutenant Colonel Trent M. Andrews

Reserve Component Volunteers—

Filling the Gap
20 Engineer July-September 2007

I

.

n early December 2006, the United States Air Force’s

732d Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron stood up

Detachment 3 to support the United States Army’s

411th Engineer Brigade. Replacing the 803d Utility Detachment,

the Air Force detachment completed seven major construction

projects during its first rotation and handed over three more

projects that were in progress when it rotated out of theater. It

was a testament to the Airmen and their accomplishments as

part of a joint engineer team. In order to support the surge of

troops in Iraq, the Airmen were tasked to completely rebuild

a much-needed facility. Existing earthen berms were

demolished, then replaced with HESCO Bastion Concertainer®

units. Then new berms were built around the new perimeter

and roads in the area were rebuilt and strengthened. In only 21

days, the detachment doubled the storage capacity of the

largest facility of its kind on location, while allowing

uninterrupted operations by the facility’s personnel.

To facilitate the flow of horizontal construction materials to

three forward operating bases in central Iraq, the detachment

was tasked with the expansion of the base’s transload yard.

By Lieutenant Colonel Douglas D. Hardman

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Detachment 3 Airmen construct a landing pad and taxiway for the 3d Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation

Brigade.
Dedication

This expansion was integral to ensuring the safe flow of

construction materials to units in the field. The Airmen

completed Southwest Asia huts in support of local units.

These facilities met a crucial need for troops operating in the

area. With the standup of the new Multinational Division–

Central and the arrival of the surge units, they were tasked to

turn an existing warehouse into workspace. In only three

weeks, the Airmen transformed the facility into what the

commanding general praised as “ . . . a better facility than

they have back at our home station.”

In addition, the Airmen pushed dirt in support of the

incoming surge. In a short time, crews transformed a dry

lake bed of several acres into usable land by raising the

elevation of the site, ensuring positive drainage, and

preparing the site to bed-down incoming troops. The

detachment constructed multiple horizontal and vertical

projects from scratch to support the incoming unit. The

mission was again completed in a very short time, allowing

the timely bed-down of the entire unit and its equipment.

The surge of forces brought about the requirement for

expedient command and control workspace to accommodate the incoming units. The detachment constructed

tents as work centers for units supporting the incoming unit.

Finally, to improve the quality of life for maintenance

personnel, the Airmen began work on projects to provide

storage pads for local unit motor pools. This project will

provide adequate space for vehicle maintenance personnel

during adverse weather conditions.

The accomplishments of these Airmen had a direct

impact on the successful execution of Operation Iraqi

Freedom by providing outstanding mission support for

combat units in the Iraqi area of operations. The dedication of

the Airmen from Hurlburt Field, Florida; Mountain Home Air

Force Base (AFB), Idaho; Charleston AFB, South Carolina;

McConnell AFB, Kansas; Ramstein Air Base (AB), Germany;

and Aviano AB, Italy, are a testament to the Air Force’s ability

to provide fast, top-notch combat support.

Lieutenant Colonel Hardman is the detachment commander, 732d Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

July-September 2007 Engineer 21

The following members of the Engineer Regiment have been lost in the War on Terrorism since the last issue of Engineer.

We dedicate this issue to them.

Ball, Master Sergeant Scott R. Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 55th Brigade

Clark, Sergeant Cory L. 585th Engineer Company, 864th Engineer Battalion

Herold, Specialist Adam G. 2d Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne)

Herrera, Sergeant First Class Rocky H. 585th Engineer Company, 864th Engineer Battalion

Howard, Sergeant Bryce D. 585th Engineer Company, 864th Engineer Battalion

Howells, Specialist Alun R. 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team

Ingles-Rios, Master Sergeant Julian 130th Engineer Battalion, Puerto Rico National Guard

Modgling, Private First Class Joshua S. 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team

Steele, Captain Joshua E. 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (Transition Team)

Wiens, Corporal Kory D. 94th Engineer Detatchment (Canine), 1st Engineer Brigade

Zapfe, Sergeant First Class William A. 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Fort Lewis, Washington

Fort Richardson, Alaska

Fort Lewis, Washington

Fort Lewis, Washington

Fort Stewart, Georgia

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Fort Stewart, Georgia

Fort Riley, Kansas

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Fort Stewart, Georgia

Airmen construct new headquarters facilities for brigade

combat teams.
22 Engineer July-September 2007

O.

peration Sand Castle 2007 was an Army Reserve exercise designed to challenge engineers to

perform their mission in a tactical combat environment. The exercise consisted of several

phases, including thousands of man-hours of planning; predeployment preparation; reception,

staging, and onward integration (RSOI); stability operations; and the safe redeployment of all equipment

and personnel. The overall goal of the exercise was to provide each command team within the 926th

Engineer Brigade the ability to train their unit as it will fight, with the stresses, operational tempo

(OPTEMPO), challenges, and danger the current battlefield presents. The National Training Center

(NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, was the perfect backdrop for this training.

The 926th Engineer Brigade was task-organized with units that are not a normal part of its peacetime

command, but with careful planning we successfully integrated and succeeded at our combat and

construction-effects missions. We built permanent additions to NTC’s training facilities, while maintaining

a tactical posture throughout the exercise. Our task-organized engineers, through much sweat and hard

work, made NTC a more robust and effective training facility—with new buildings, improved roads, and

processed material ready for use in future projects. Some of these projects are described in the

articles on pages 23 through 33.

All Soldiers are Warriors first and their respective military occupational specialties second. Everything

we do must be focused on helping brigade combat teams (BCTs) and maneuver divisions project combat

power. My goal during Operation Sand Castle 2007 was to train all Soldiers and units to execute

individual and collective tasks under wartime conditions, while in support of the 3d BCT, 4th Infantry

Division (Mechanized). We clearly achieved that goal!

The opportunity to train alongside the BCT and exercise our tactical skills in addition to our engineering

skills was of immeasurable value. We must not forget the lessons learned from this exercise and must

implement them throughout the training year. Together, we must have Soldiers and units ready to deploy

and fight as a team.

Brigadier General Talley is the commander of the 926th Engineer Brigade, Montgomery,

Alabama.

By Brigadier General Jeffrey W. Talley
July-September 2007 Engineer 23

Hundreds of thousands of Soldiers have trained for

desert warfare at NTC. All come away with an

appreciation for the heat and the challenges the

desert brings to even the simplest missions. However, NTC is

changing. With the help of the United States Army Reserves

and Operation Sand Castle, it will eventually have in its training

arsenal a booming Middle Eastern town. The long-term goal

of Operation Sand Castle is to construct approximately 480

buildings over 10 years, creating a small city called Medina

Jabal. This city will provide a backdrop similar to current

operations, allowing Soldiers training at NTC to train in a robust

urban environment that will help them save lives in the Middle

East. The 10-year mission is now in its third year.

The 412th Engineer Command from Vicksburg, Mississippi,

was the exercise agent for year three of Operation Sand Castle.

The command planned training, arranged logistics, and

coordinated all the participating units. The 412th brought

together a balanced team of Army Reserve units to accomplish

the mission and provided quality training opportunities for

the Soldiers. The units were from different commands and

locations, and many had never worked

together before. That fell in line with what

units experience when they deploy overseas,

making the training opportunity very realistic.

The 412th was also instrumental in

integrating the Active Army brigade combat

team (BCT) training at NTC with the Reserve

elements. This gave both an opportunity to

interact and to rely on each other as they

would overseas on a real-world deployment.

As Operation Sand Castle drew to a close,

the planning had already begun for the 2008

rotation. In the works is a 10-mile section of

road into the eastern expanse of NTC, as well

as more buildings for Medina Jabal. As

always, training will be paramount for

everyone involved.

Sergeant First Class Pickett is a member

of the 350th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Indianapolis, Indiana.

By Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

A Soldier mans a squad automatic weapon while on the jobsite at Medina

Jabal. The heavy equipment operator with Company C, 854th Engineer

Battalion, must keep an eye out for enemy forces and provide protection

while his fellow Soldiers construct buildings.

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

Operation Sand Castle
24 Engineer July-September 2007

Soldiers of the 770th Engineer Company pave the parking lot of the

post theater at Fort Irwin, California, as part of Operation Sand

Castle.

Soldiers with Company A, 458th Engineer

Battalion, check for levelness while

building the door frame for a building at

Medina Jabal.

Members of the maintenance section, Headquarters and Headquarters

Company, 854th Engineer

Battalion, fill sandbags to

place around the edges of

their tents to keep sand

from blowing in.

A Soldier from Company A, 854th Engineer Battalion,

places forms for a building at the Medina Jabal work

site.

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

Photo by Private First Class Christine Samples
26 Engineer July-September 2007

By Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

.

T.

hanks to the 770th Engineer Company, a Reserve unit

from Penn Yan, New York, NTC is getting a fresh

topping of hot asphalt on some well-worn areas. Since

there were no paving missions in the emerging city of Medina

Jabal, planners turned their focus to the post. Three areas

were identified based on the unit’s mission-essential task list,

time restraints, and project size—a portion of Barstow Road,

the theater parking lot, and Hamby Barrack’s parking lot. In

keeping with the scope of the mission, all paving operations

were done tactically, including Soldiers setting up perimeter

security to guard against possible enemy attacks. The Soldiers

wore full “battle rattle”—flak jacket, Kevlar helmet, and M-16

rifle—while they shoveled, pushed, and

laid down the hot, rocky blend.

The noncommissioned officer (NCO)

in charge of the lay-down projects was

concerned about the extra gear. Since the

personal equipment could get caught on

machinery, leaders had to pay close

attention to Soldiers as they worked and

rely on battle buddies to make sure

everyone was safe. Also, since the pavers

work with hot equipment and materials,

leaders had to ensure that Soldiers did

not suffer from heat exhaustion and

dehydration. Working in these conditions

is not new to the Soldiers of the 770th.

They deployed to Kuwait and Iraq from

2003 to 2004 and performed their paving

mission daily in much worse conditions.

A Soldier uses a lute to smooth

asphalt on a section of Barstow Road

at NTC as part of Operation Sand

Castle.

Operation Sand Castle

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett
July-September 2007 Engineer 27

They were tasked with repairing, patching, and fixing roads so

that convoys could get through easily and quickly.

The projects at Fort Irwin may not determine life or death,

but they are important for those living and working on post.

They will be focal points for people parking on the lots and

driving on the roads. Even the slightest bump will be noticed.

The civilians in charge of setting up the projects were wary of

the Reserve pavers and unsure of their abilities. Paving is

expensive and if not done correctly can be costly to repair. But

after two days of paving, they realized that the Reservists

were good at their job.

A civilian truck driver delivering

material to the crew on Barstow Road

definitely had reservations about the

Soldier pavers at first because an

inexperienced paver operator could

damage his truck if the paver does not

maintain a straight course. He said the

Army Reserve pavers were comparable

to any commercial crew, and he was

pleased that his truck came away

unscathed. The paver operator, who kept

the paver in line, said the hardest part of

driving the paver is indeed keeping it

straight, but also keeping an eye out for

his fellow Soldiers. During paving

operations, large dump trucks hauling

tons of asphalt are constantly moving

in and out of the work area. It is up to

another Soldier to ensure that the trucks

are backed into position and their loads

are dumped into the paver’s hopper at

the correct rate. Some Soldiers on the crew smooth the 300-

degree asphalt with long rakes, called lutes, while others

constantly monitor the depth and make adjustments to the

screed. The screed is the back portion of the paver where the

asphalt is pushed under, smoothing it out and setting the

thickness.

Sergeant First Class Pickett is a member of the 350th

Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from

Indianapolis, Indiana.

Members of the 770th Engineer Company repair a section of road at NTC in full combat gear.

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

Photo by Sergeant First Class Craig Pickett

A Soldier shovels asphalt to fill in the gaps as the 770th Engineer Company

repairs a section of Barstow Road at NTC.
28 Engineer July-September 2007

T.

he Soldiers of the 459th Engineer Company out of

Bridgeport, West Virginia, sent large pieces of NTC

airborne with C4, shaped charges, and cratering

charges when they took advantage of an opportunity to

practice basic familiarization and refresher training in demolition

during Operation Sand Castle 2007. “Demo” does not have as

high a priority as building bridges, so the Soldiers don’t often

have an opportunity to do it.

Each Soldier was issued three 1-pound blocks of C4, a

pliable and versatile explosive that can blow up anything from

a single door to a steel building, depending on how much is

used. The first step in preparing C4 for detonation involved

taping each Soldier’s three blocks together and knotting them

with detonation cord. Instead of burning, detonation cord

By Private First Class Christine Samples

Operation Sand Castle

Far Right: Soldiers

from the 459th

Engineer Company

survey a line of C4

bundles to make

sure they are

properly connected for the

detonation.

Right: The 459th

Engineer Company

sent NTC airborne

with the help of C4.
After everyone had detonated C4, the Soldiers moved on

to training with shaped charges and cratering charges, which

are used to demolish construction or damage surfaces. All of

the explosives had to be detonated before the unit could leave

the demolition range. It was a long but beneficial day for the

Soldiers.

Private First Class Samples is a member of the 350th

Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from

Indianapolis, Indiana.

actually explodes, which then sets off the C4. Each Soldier

then took his blocks downrange and connected them to other

Soldiers’ blocks with more detonation cord to create one huge

blast. Well back from the blast site, at a safety area 500 meters

away, the Soldiers watched as the C4 was detonated. For the

engineer Soldiers in the safety area, the boom created by the

C4 more than made up for the lack of flash. Even though

everyone knew it was coming, the blast still caused more than

one Soldier to jump.

July-September 2007 Engineer 29

Engineers Train As They Fight

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski

A.

Soldier first—that was the spirit instilled in United

States Army Reserve Soldiers at NTC during

Operation Sand Castle 2007. Soldiers trained to

proficiently construct buildings, roads, and bridges, and

along with that, they performed and succeeded in tactical

training. The Reserve Soldiers traveled to Fort Irwin to

upgrade existing facilities at NTC, the military’s premier

desert environment training center.

The Soldiers worked out of Forward Operating Base

(FOB) Santa Fe, which was operated as if it were in a hostile

area. Guards searched vehicles and also ensured the safety

of Soldiers inside the wire. Outside the FOB, Soldiers wore

full tactical gear, to include Kevlar helmets, body armor,

ballistic eye protection, and individual weapons.

Because of the hot, dry weather, plenty

of water was also part of the uniform,

either in canteens or in Camelbak®

hydration packs.

Vehicles leaving the FOB were treated as if they were in a

combat zone as well. As a safety precaution, convoys were

used to ensure that no Soldier went into the combat zone

alone. In response to security alerts, convoys had to have at

least four vehicles with two Soldiers in each of them. During

convoy missions, they learned to react to improvised

explosive devices (IEDs), and when vehicles were stopped

during missions, they pulled security along the roadside.

Security was important in other situations as well. A combat

engineer from the 671st Engineer Company pulled guard duty

along with his team during a reconnaissance mission. While

his battle buddies took measurements for a future bridging

mission, the 671st Soldier and his team were in the prone

position providing overwatch for safety. While construction

was taking place, engineer Soldiers pulled guard at the work

sites. The Opposing Forces (OPFOR) made sure that the

Soldiers were always on their toes. Dummy IEDs and mortar

attacks replicated real combat situations. Soldiers had to

react to the explosions as if they were real, taking

cover, accounting for their fellow Soldiers, and

securing the area.

While at NTC, engineer Soldiers

became more proficient at their

military occupational specialties,

and they also became better

Soldiers.

Specialist Wisnieski is a

member of the 362d Mobile Public

Affairs Detachment, an Army

Reserve unit from Londonderry,

New Hampshire.
30 Engineer July-September 2007

T.

wo United States Army Reserve engineer companies

from opposite sides of the country came together at

NTC during Operation Sand Castle 2007. The 459th

Engineer Company, a bridging unit from Bridgeport, West

Virginia, brought a new dry support bridge (DSB) to replace

the medium girder bridge (MGB) the unit had used in the past.

The 671st Engineer Company, a bridging unit from Portland,

Oregon, got a concentrated lesson from the 459th in

constructing the new bridge.

The DSB can be constructed as two 20-meter bridges or a

single 40-meter bridge. The 459th had set up the bridge only a

few times in the past, but the situations were not tactical and

thus not very realistic. The NTC rotation was a great opportunity to use the new system in a realistically tactical setting.

While the old MGB was a very labor-intensive system,

taking many Soldiers a long time to construct, the DSB uses a

hydraulics system and a crane to take the place of manpower.

A trained eight-Soldier crew can put up the bridge within three

to five hours. The new bridge is a completely modular system,

designed by the British for the U.S. Army. The system is on

the high end of technological advancements for bridge

construction, and because of its complexity, the company had

a two-week training session with British instructors when it

acquired the bridge more than two years ago. That session of

hands-on training with the designers of the DSB was

a great training experience for the Soldiers. The

training was done at a deliberate pace so that nothing

was forgotten; however, since that training took place

so long ago, the NTC rotation was a good refresher.

The training for the 671st Engineer Company was

more abbreviated. The unit had a month’s class

compressed into four days. The Soldiers learned the

different personnel roles needed to construct the DSB.

The system requires three Soldiers to set pins in the

bridge to ensure that the modules stay connected.

Two more Soldiers stand on top of the truck and help

the crane operator with clipping and unclipping the

modules. Two Soldiers are also needed to be “tag

liners,” to guide and balance the modules being moved

by the crane operator.

The hands-on training was conducted deep in the

middle of NTC over a large crevice so advancing

convoys would have a safe passage. It took six hours

of hard work under simulated combat conditions. The

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski and Private First Class Christine Samples

Constructing a Dry Support Bridge

A Soldier helps assemble a dry support bridge

during Operation Sand Castle.

Operation Sand Castle

Photo by Specialist Mat Wisnieski
Specialist Wisnieski is a member of the 362d Mobile Public

Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Londonderry,

New Hampshire.

Private First Class Samples is a member of the 350th Mobile

Public Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from

Indianapolis, Indiana.

Soldiers were very methodical in setting up the bridge to ensure

that no steps were missed. Once the DSB was tested with

tactical traffic, the bridge crew dismantled it. The new bridge

went back to West Virginia with the 459th, but the 671st will

get its copy of the bridge as the Army continues to upgrade

and improve its equipment.

July-September 2007 Engineer 31

Members of the bridge crew with the 671st Engineer Company begin the breaking-down process

of their dry support bridge after it was tested with tactical traffic.

A 459th Engineer Company Soldier leads a truck across the dry support bridge that the company just

set up.

Photo by Specialist Mat Wisnieski Photo by First Class Christine Samples
32 Engineer July-September 2007

A.

s the convoy stopped, a hush fell over the nine Army

vehicles. The reality of the situation set in as the four

gun trucks tested their weapons systems. Soldiers

looked forward a bit nervously to what lay before them. Ahead

of the convoy was a city with more than a hundred enemy

targets. Improvised explosive device (IED) attacks were

expected. The Soldiers’ task was to conduct a 20- to 30-minute

assault on the city without injuring any civilians. Safety was

the most important part of this mission. The Soldiers were

technically proficient on their weapons and would need to

rely on their training to get them through this assault.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust washed over the convoy as it began

to move.

The assault was on a live-fire range at NTC, as part of the

Soldiers’ three-week annual training during Operation Sand

Castle 2007. They had been working hard under tactical

conditions—constructing bridges, buildings, and roads—

while others supported these missions. The culmination of

the exercise was the two-day weapons training.

The first day was spent teaching Soldiers to operate the

M-2 .50-caliber machine gun and the M-249 squad automatic

weapon (SAW). The training was invaluable because during a

deployment, any Soldier might need to use these weapons.

The familiarization was important to maintain the safety not

just of individuals but of entire units. After the familiarization

classes, Soldiers fired live rounds from both weapons,

including a ball and tracer mix from the M-2.

The second day was the real test. Soldiers

shot both blank and live rounds from moving

vehicles at targets on the live-fire range. The

training gave Soldiers a good idea of how to

engage the enemy from a moving convoy. The

landscape of the realistic range was rocky and

included plastic sheep, shopkeepers in their

stores, and families in their homes. IEDs

exploded at various distances from the

convoy along the course. Throughout the

town, enemy targets were in hiding or out in

the open. It was a great training opportunity

that taught Soldiers how to react in situations

when force is needed.

Specialist Wisnieski is a member of the

362d Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, an

Army Reserve unit from Londonderry, New

Hampshire.

By Specialist Matt Wisnieski

A combat engineer Soldier teaches his fellow Soldiers how to correctly

operate and clear the M-2. The class was conducted in preparation for

a live-fire training exercise at NTC.

Operation Sand Castle

Photo by Specialist Matt Wisnieski

Photo by Specialist Matt Wisnieski
July-September 2007 Engineer 33

A.

lpha Company and Charlie Company, 458th Engineer

Battalion, United States Army Reserve units out of

Brookeville and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, learned

new jobs during Operation Sand Castle 2007. The Soldiers of

the two companies were tasked with building a number of preengineered buildings and concrete masonry unit (CMU)

structures in three weeks. The challenge was that they had

little or no experience with vertical construction before coming

to NTC, because they were reclassifying from combat engineer

military occupational specialties (MOSs) to jobs that support

vertical construction. The urban city, Medina Jabal, being built

at NTC was their learning site.

Operation Sand Castle gave the Alpha Company Soldiers a

lot of tough training. With just four days to construct four

CMU structures, the days started at about 0400. On some

days, the Soldiers didn’t get back to their forward operating

base (FOB) until after the showers closed at 2300. That provided

motivation for them to get their jobs done faster so they had

time for hot showers.

The Soldiers didn’t spend all their time building. Trips to

and from the work site were delayed by attacks from the

Opposing Forces (OPFOR) that were in place at NTC to help

create a more realistic training environment. Before they started

work for the day, the Soldiers also practiced clearing buildings

that were already finished at the site. Clearing involved

searching out hidden enemy forces and other hazards the

OPFOR might have set up overnight.

Charlie Company engineers teamed up with the 461st

Engineer Company out of Fargo, North Dakota, to begin

working on a taped-off L-shaped area in the sand that would

become a CMU structure. Since they had built roads during a

deployment to Iraq, these Soldiers had experience in horizontal

construction, but they too had never built structures that go

up into the air.

The NTC training aimed to teach Soldiers what to expect

during a deployment. The experience of those who had already

been deployed was helpful when the company performed a

convoy or pulled security, but their experience usually did not

extend to vertical construction.

The transition of Alpha and Charlie Company’s Soldiers to

vertical engineer skills fits in with the Army’s move to a more

modular force. Engineer jobs are changing as the Army

becomes more versatile and mobile. These Soldiers are taking

the change in stride as they adapt and learn their new role in

the Army.

Private First Class Samples is a member of the 350th

Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from

Indianapolis, Indiana.

By Private First Class Christine Samples

Engineers Go

A Soldier with Alpha Company, 458th Engineer

Battalion, sets a cinder block down on fresh

mortar on a CMU structure.

Operation Sand Castle

Photo by Private First Class Christine Samples

VERTICAL
34 Engineer July-September 2007

A.

n eighth grade student from Elizabeth, New Jersey,

stands on a pier and carefully lifts a starfish from a

water-filled glass aquarium as her classmates surround

her. She shrieks as one of its arms breaks off. A biologist with

the United States Army Corps of Engineers® quickly assures

her that the arm will grow back and that the creature will be

okay. The starfish is finally placed safely in its natural habitat

in the Hudson River Estuary.

Hudson-Raritan Estuary

T.

he students were taking part in the fourth annual Earth

Day celebration sponsored in April by the Corps and

other agencies on the Elizabeth Marina City Dock. The

students learned that the nearby Hudson-Raritan Estuary, the

starfish’s home, could also be restored by keeping it pollutionfree. It was a sunny, breezy day when more than 200 New

Jersey students gathered on the dock overlooking the estuary.

Corps experts explained to the students that an estuary is a

partially enclosed coastal body of water with one or more

rivers or streams flowing into it and with a free connection to

the open sea.

Students learned about the effects of pollution on their

environment from a number of Earth Day volunteers. They

learned through a variety of interactive educational stations

manned by scientific and educational experts. Glass touch

tanks containing estuary marine life were featured, and

demonstrations of pollution and water quality

testing were conducted. The students also

boarded a United States Coast Guard vessel

for a tour and boarded the Corps vessel

Hocking as it traveled near the estuary.

Aboard the Hocking, Corps experts

discussed the estuary’s rich history, current

condition, and the Corps’s ongoing port

activities and environmental restoration

projects in the estuary, four of which were

recently completed with much success. The

estuary covers 16,212 square miles and

surrounds the Ports of New York and New

Jersey in a region populated by 20 million

people. For more than 200 years, the New

York District has managed the port’s

navigation, development, and maintenance

and is one of the Corps’s largest civil works

missions. Over the decades, the salt marshes

along the shores of navigation channels have

experienced some degradation and habitat

loss due to a number of factors, including

increased boat traffic and years of commercial

construction and development along the

By Dr. JoAnne Castagna

Photo by JoAnne Castagna, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Eighth grade students learn about starfish that live in the Hudson-Raritan

Estuary.
July-September 2007 Engineer 35

shore. To restore these areas, the Corps has an environmental

restoration program in place. Maintaining the health of the

estuary is important because salt marshes clean the water

environment, reduce flood risks, and provide essential fish

and wildlife habitats. Salt marshes are areas of land that are

either covered by shallow water or contain waterlogged soil.

Salt Marsh Successes

I

.

n 2006, the New York District, in cooperation

with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and

state and local agencies, successfully completed four salt

marsh restoration projects in the estuary that are preserving

and restoring more than 143 acres of salt marsh.

Elders Point Island, Jamaica

Bay, New York

Located in the boroughs of

Brooklyn and Queens, the

easternmost areas of New York

City, is the Jamaica Bay

Gateway National Recreation

Area. It is a popular park

visited by millions each year

and home to a variety of

wildlife species, including

migratory birds and fish

nurseries. Since colonial times,

90 percent of the Jamaica Bay

marsh islands have degraded

and the remaining acres of

islands are disappearing at a

rate of 44 acres per year. That

rate has grown faster in the last

decade. If the islands are not

restored, they will be completely lost within the next

three decades. The Corps is

successfully restoring these

islands, including Elders Point

Island, which is composed of

Students board the

Hocking for a tour of the

estuary, where the Corps

will be completing

environmental restoraPhoto by JoAnne Castagna, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

tion projects.
36 Engineer July-September 2007

two separate islands—Elders Point East and Elders Point

West—that are connected by mudflats. They totaled approximately 21 vegetated acres before the Corps’s restoration. That

restoration plan for Elders Point Island includes recontouring

the land using dredged sand from various harbor channels

and restoring the existing vegetation.

In the summer of 2006, 250,000 cubic yards of sand were

pumped onto Elders Point East, and 700,000 plants were handplanted, including salt marsh cordgrass, salt hay, and spike

grass. Today, marsh grass is flourishing there, promoting the

return of wildlife. The tentative schedule for Elders Point West

is to place sand on the island next year and plant vegetation

in 2009.

Keyspan, Staten Island, New York

One of the first salt marsh areas identified for restoration

by the Corps was the nine acres of marsh adjacent to the

Keyspan Corporation Facility in Staten Island, New York. In

recent years, areas of the site have been overrun by an invasive

species of common reed called Phragmites australis, which is

a problem because its roots can grow very thick and high,

preventing tidewater from penetrating the area frequently.

Without a frequent tide, fish, shellfish, and other food sources

for birds and mammals cannot exist.

The Corps removed the reed and 36,200 cubic yards of soil,

graded the land to elevations suitable for native plants, and

planted a diverse group of 107,000 native plants, including

salt marsh cordgrass, salt hay, and marine shrubs. The plants

provide a food source for fish and other marine life in the

estuary and vegetation for nesting birds. Water flow to the

area has been reestablished, improving the water and soil

quality and promoting the return of native fish and wildlife.

Joseph P. Medwick Park, Rahway, New Jersey

The Corps decided to restore approximately 14 acres of salt

marsh in the northern portion of Joseph P. Medwick Park along

the southern shore of the Rahway River. Years ago, a berm

was built on the banks of the Raritan River,

cutting off the site from the daily tide. As a

result, the area was overrun by Phragmites

australis. The reed prevented a normal tide

of water from flowing into the site,

degrading the site and adversely affecting

its fish nurseries and the birds and wildlife

that live and breed there. The Corps

removed the reed and approximately 30,000

cubic yards of soil, recontoured the land,

and planted 270,000 plugs of native wetland

plants, including salt marsh cordgrass, salt

hay, and marine shrubs. The plants provide

a food source for fish and other marine life

in the estuary and vegetation for nesting

birds. Water flow to the area has been reestablished, improving the water and soil

quality and promoting the return of native

fish and wildlife.

Woodbridge Creek Project, Woodbridge, New Jersey

Woodbridge Creek is a salt marsh with a diversity of

vegetation and wildlife. In recent years, areas of the site have

been overrun by Phragmites australis. As at the other sites,

the reed prevented a normal tide of water, which has degraded

the site and adversely affected its fish, bird, and wildlife

habitats. The Corps restored approximately 23 acres of the

marsh. In addition, approximately 8 acres adjacent to the site

were restored in cooperation with the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration and the New Jersey Department

of Environmental Protection. These additional acres helped to

restore the land adversely affected by a 1990 oil spill. The

restoration included removing soil from within the marsh,

grading the land to make it suitable for native marsh vegetation

to flourish, and replanting more than 240,000 marsh plants.

The plants provide a food source for fish and other marine life

in the estuary and vegetation for nesting birds. The project

has restored the water flow to the site and now juvenile fish

species are creating nurseries there, and bird and wildlife

habitats are returning to the site.

Future Environmental Leaders

T.

he Earth Day celebration was a great opportunity to

energize the students, our future environmental

leaders, about the health of their own estuary in the

New York and New Jersey Harbor and help them understand

the connection between land and water. It was an important

part of the effort to encourage public support to maintain this

resource as a world-class estuary.

For additional information about the New York District’s

Hudson-Raritan Estuary Program, visit <http://www.

nan.usace.army.mil/harbor/index.htm>.

Dr. Castagna is a technical writer-editor for the United

States Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. She can

be reached at <joanne.castagna@usace.army.mil>.

The Corps restores a degraded salt marsh in Joseph P. Medwick Park on

the Rahway River in New Jersey.

Photo by JoAnne Castagna, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
July-September 2007 Engineer 37

I

.

t was like a prayer being answered when an eagerly awaited

new well-drilling truck arrived at Camp Lemonier in

Djibouti in May 2007 to be used by the 1132d Engineer

Detachment. The North Carolina Army National Guard unit,

working as part of the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of

Africa (CJTF–HOA), accepted the rig and performed preventive maintenance checks and services (PMCS) to identify

any mechanical problems with the system and prepare the

equipment for the difficult conditions it would face in Djibouti.

In the past, well-drilling equipment took a long time to set

up and, because of the thick geological structure of the rock

formations in Djibouti, the equipment was subject to severe

maintenance problems. Those problems delayed the creation

of much-needed wells because repair parts had to be ordered

from the United States. The capabilities of the new equipment

are impressive. It travels with two large trucks, and the drill

can reach depths of more than 2,000 feet. It can use either 6- or

12-inch steel roller cone drill bits designed to chew through

the toughest geological formations in Djibouti.

The new well-drilling truck is manufactured by the Laibe

Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana. A representative from the

company spent several weeks at Camp Lemonier to train

members of the 1132d on the equipment. Temperatures in

Djibouti can reach 100 degrees by midmorning, and the increase

in temperatures could have some effect on the operation of

the equipment. The crew operating the new machine will have

to take precautions against the effects of the heat on the

equipment and on themselves as operators.

Previously, the equipment used by the 1132d took about a

week to set up before drilling could even begin. To drill 100

feet with the old drilling rig could take a considerable length of

time, depending on soil composition. The new drilling

equipment can be set up and ready to drill in just one day.

Also, the new rig can drill 100 feet in five hours, even in the

toughest soil in Djibouti, increasing the number of wells that

can be drilled at locations throughout the country.

The mission of CJTF–HOA is to prevent conflict, promote

regional stability, and protect coalition interests in order to

prevail against extremism. The CJTF–HOA organization began

operations at Camp Lemonier on 13 May 2003. It works with

partner nations on humanitarian assistance; disaster relief;

consequence management; and civic action programs, to

include medical and veterinary care, school and medical clinic

construction, and water development projects.

Captain Wilson worked for the CJTF-HOA civil-military

operations section until July. He is now back in the United

States.

By Captain Jerord E. Wilson

New Well-Drilling Rig

Arrives In Djibouti
38 Engineer July-September 2007

T.

he Army’s 2007 Deployment Excellence Award (DEA)

winners received top honors and presentations from

Lieutenant General James L. Campbell, Director of the

Army Staff, on 5 June 2007, at the 3d Annual Chief of Staff

Army, Combined Logistics Excellence Award Ceremony/

Banquet hosted by Lieutenant General Ann E. Dunwoody, the

Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, at the Hilton Alexandria

Mark Center Hotel, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Lieutenant General Campbell congratulated the awardees

on their outstanding achievement on behalf of General George

W. Casey, the Army’s Chief of Staff, before delivering the

keynote address to an audience of congressional dignitaries,

senior Army generals, senior executive civilians, and a host of

Family members, Soldiers, and friends.

The DEA program is open to all Active Army, United States

Army Reserve, and Army National Guard units or table of

organization and equipment (TOE), table of distribution and

allowances (TDA), or fixed military installations with a

deployment or deployment support mission. Units and

installations compete in one of five categories: large unit

(battalion and above), small unit (company and below),

supporting unit, installation, and operational deployment.

The deploying unit category recognizes units that have

demonstrated the ability to actually conduct a deployment as

evidenced in their nomination packet and verified by an onsite evaluation team. This category consists of two

subcategories—a large-unit category for battalion-size units

and above and a small-unit category for company-size units

and below.

The supporting unit category recognizes units that have

demonstrated the ability to support an actual deployment, as

evidenced in their nomination packet and verified by an onsite evaluation team. Finally, the installation category

recognizes fixed military installations or installation commands

that have demonstrated the ability to support an actual

deployment, as evidenced in their nomination packet and

verified by an on-site validation/evaluation team. Units and

installations prepare and submit self-nomination packets

through command channels to their appropriate major

command, where panels will select the best. The major

commands send their nominations to a Department of the Army

(DA)-level evaluation board conducted at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

The DA DEA Board reviews and scores the nominations and

determines semifinalists. DEA teams of deployment specialists

visit the selected semifinalist organization locations for an onsite firsthand validation of unit deployment practices.

“I’d like to just say a few things about all of you award

winners out there and the thousands of Soldier and civilian

logisticians you represent. ... Actually, to be in the midst of

the Soldiers and civilians who have received the equivalent of

the Nobel Prize in logistics is pretty awesome. It’s not every day

that you are surrounded by some of the Army’s finest logisticians

and the best supporters in the world. ... Hooah!” – MG Stevenson

The operational deployment category recognizes large

(battalion and above) and small (company and below) units

for short-notice deployments in support of operational

missions like the War on Terrorism, peacekeeping, or

humanitarian relief operations, which is different from the

program’s original categories, in that units do not submit

nomination packets but are instead evaluated on-site by a

DEA observation team.

“It’s not about the general who is out there in the sand and

mud making the critical decisions at the point of the spear. It is

... and always has been, Soldiers and civilians, like you, that

have gone beyond the call of duty to hone their tactical and

technical skills ... building a strong foundation from which

leaders can base future decisions— decisions which often have

life and death consequences.” – MG Stevenson

The DEA winners and runner-up unit commanders received

the Army Chief of Staff’s Star Note, distinguished plaque, and

a distinguished shadow box with the Chief of Staff of the

Army; the Sergeant Major of the Army; the Army Deputy Chief

of Staff, G-3; the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4; and the

Chief of Staff Army Combined Logistics Excellence Award

coins encased in a plush leatherette display box commemorating the unit’s accomplishment. The unit awardees

received a Star Note signed by the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4;

a three-night stay in the luxury Hilton Alexandria Mark Center

Hotel and tours of the Pentagon, the Capital, and other places

of interest in the Washington, D.C., area and received VIP

guest seating at the “Twilight Tattoo”—a colorful military

pageant held at the Jefferson Memorial. The awardees’

celebration concluded with a banquet hosted by the Army

Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, in their honor that included the

keynote speaker—Major General Mitchell H. Stevenson,

Commanding General, United States Army Combined Arms

Support Command and Fort Lee—and entertainment provided

by the United States Army Chorale.

By Mr. Henry H. Johnson
July-September 2007 Engineer 39

“The 21st century necessitates a highly versatile Army

that can handle a diverse array of operations and missions,

and so I encourage, and challenge, each of you in this room

to continue the extraordinary work that clearly has set you

apart from your peers.” – MG Stevenson

The DCSLOG memorandum /letter of instruction (LOI) dated

19 April 2000, on the DEA website, outlines the DEA awards

criteria and guidance. The DEA LOI contains detailed

guidance/instructions for competing units and installations.

The DEA checklist is an appendix to the LOI (pending release

of AR 525-30, later this year). This guidance is available in

Microsoft Word® format for online viewing or downloading

from the DEA website at <http://www.eustis.army.mil/

deploy>.

Significant dates for the 2008 competition are as follows:

 1 December 2006 - 30 November 2007: Competition period;

submit packets through command channels to major

commands.

 31 January 2008: Major commands’ nomination packets are

due to the DEA Program Manager.

 4-15 February 2008: DEA Board convenes to evaluate unit

packets and select semifinalists.

 3-26 March 2008: DEA teams visit selected semifinalists’

locations and conduct on-site validation of deployment

and deployment support practices.

 April 2008: Winners announced via DA message.

 June 2008: DEA awards are presented at the Chief of Staff,

Army Combined Logistics Excellence Award Ceremony/

Banquet, Washington, D.C.

For additional information, contact the DEA Program

Manager, ATTN: Mr. Henry Johnson, Building 705, Room 215,

Fort Eustis, Virginia 23604, DSN 826-1833 or commercial

(757) 878-1833.

Mr. Johnson, a retired command sergeant major, is the

Deployment Excellence Award Program Manager at the

Deployment Process Modernization Office, Fort Eustis,

Virginia.

2007 Deployment Excellence Award Recipients

Category Winner Runner-Up

Active Large Unit 526th Brigade Support Battalion

2d Brigade Combat Team

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Fort Campbell, Kentucky

21st Combat Support Hospital

Fort Hood, Texas

Active Small Unit

Active Support Unit

Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment

30th Signal Battalion

Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

D Company, 7th Battalion

101st Aviation Regiment

Fort Campbell, Kentucky

National Guard Large Unit

841st Transportation Battalion

Charleston, South Carolina

National Guard Small Unit

838th Transportation Battalion

Rotterdam, Netherlands

National Guard Support Unit

A Company, 1st Battalion

186th Infantry Regiment

Medford, Oregon

Army Reserve Large Unit

B Company, 2d Battalion

218th Field Artillery Regiment

McMinnville, Oregon

Army Reserve Small Unit

Army Reserve Support Unit

All Army Installation

Operational Deployment

Large Unit 

Brigade Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade

Combat Team, 3d Infantry Division

Fort Stewart, Georgia

NA

Operational Deployment

Small Unit

A Company, 15th Brigade Support Battalion

2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry

Fort Hood, Texas

NA

322d Maintenance Company

Arden Hills, Minnesota

1188th Transportation Terminal Battalion

Decatur, Georgia

1185th Transportation Terminal Brigade

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

362d Tactical Psychological Operations

Company

Fayetteville, Arkansas

1190th Deployment Support Brigade

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

1394th Deployment Support Brigade

Camp Pendleton, California

53d Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Pinellas, Florida

41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Tigard, Oregon

Joint Forces Headquarters-Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

Joint Forces Headquarters-Minnesota

Little Falls, Minnesota

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Hood, Texas
40 Engineer July-September 2007

T.

he role of the United States Army combat engineer

usually gains little press coverage, while the infantry

and armor Soldiers often gather accolades for their

endeavors. However, thirty-eight years ago in Vietnam,

American combat engineers were engaged in the largest and

most successful combat engineering feat of that long-ago

war—one that tested all their skills and ingenuity and brought

them recognition—Operation Horace Greeley. The operation

involved the construction of Route 547—also known as the A

Shau Expressway—from Hue across the steep jungle-covered

mountains of the Ammonite Cordillera and into the infamous

A Shau Valley.

The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had captured the

A Shau Valley in 1966, driving out the United States Special

Forces from their camps at A Luoi, Ta Bat, and A Shau. Attempts

by the 1st Cavalry Division, and then by the 101st Airborne

Division (Air Mobile), to retake the Valley first failed in 1968,

primarily due to poor weather. Lieutenant General Richard

Stilwell, commander of XXIV Corps, and whose area of

responsibility was I Corps Tactical Zone (the five northernmost

provinces of South Vietnam), determined that an all-weather

road would be constructed to bring armor, tracked artillery,

and supplies to support infantry actions sweeping the Valley.

To achieve this tactical necessity, engineers of the

45th Engineer Group, 18th Engineer Brigade were gathered in

March 1969 to form Task Force Tiger. Led by the 27th Engineer

Battalion (Combat) out of Gia Le Combat Base, south of Hue,

the task force also included the following units:

 59th Engineer Company (Land Clearing)

 511th Engineer Company (Panel Bridge)

 591st Engineer Company (Light Equipment)

 630th Engineer Company (Light Equipment)

 C Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, Army of the Republic

of Vietnam (ARVN)

 2d Platoon, A Company, 14th Engineer Battalion (Combat)

 D Company, 14th Engineer Battalion (Combat)

 1st Equipment Platoon, D Company, 87th Engineer Battalion

(Construction)

By Mr. Garry Hollands and Mr. Wil Nelson

This 85-millimeter ammunition was discovered while clearing the jungle beside Route 547

in Vietnam.

War Trophies of the Past
July-September 2007 Engineer 41

The task force’s mission was to—

 Construct 55 kilometers of Route 547, a heavy-duty, twolane, all-weather road from Fire Support Base (FSB)

Bastogne to FSB Blaze, and a one-lane, all-weather road to

FSB Rendezvous in the A Shau Valley.

 Construct necessary bridging.

 Construct two FSBs.

 Make tactical improvements to Route 548 in the A Shau

Valley.

Operation Horace Greeley supported the 101st Airborne

Division’s Operation Massachusetts Striker and Operation

Apache Snow, which included the infamous battles of Dong A

Tay (Bloody Ridge) and Dong Ap Bai (Hamburger Hill). The

engineers began Operation Horace Greeley on 20 March 1969

and constructed the road to allow the armor of the 3d Squadron,

5th Cavalry Regiment, to reach the Valley in May. Operation

Horace Greeley officially ended on 29 September 1969, in

preparation for the monsoon season.

A critical part of the road construction was the clearing of

the jungle for 200 meters on both sides of the road to help

prevent ambushes. The 59th Engineer Company (Land

Clearing), with its 30 Rome plows, accomplished this portion

of the mission. In doing so, the Rome plows uncovered large

amounts of enemy equipment, bunkers, ammunition, and

weapons. Numerous small trucks, most of them destroyed by

earlier air attacks, were also uncovered. While clearing

vegetation along Route 458 in the A Shau Valley, the 59th

discovered a Russian bulldozer that the NVA had abandoned

when it fled the Valley in May 1969. The dozer had a broken

clutch, so the Soldiers towed it along the perilous one-lane

road carved through the steep mountains from FSB

Rendezvous to FSB Cannon. There it was placed on a lowboy trailer and hauled back to Gia Le. This dozer was of

American design but had been manufactured in a factory

shipped to Russia during World War II as part of the LendLease Program.

Back at Gia Le, the dozer was repaired and made operational.

(See sidebar, page 42.) The dozer’s clutch throwout bearing

was replaced with one from a five-ton dump truck. That

replacement would not be surprising, given the Army’s habit

of using common parts in many vehicles over a long period of

time. That the dozer was an exact replica of an American LendLease dozer was evident from the numerous nameplates copied

on various parts of the equipment, including one on the righthand side of the engine block. The casting duplicated

everything—including the fasteners that secured the plate to

the engine block—except the lettering and numbering on the

nameplate.

Of more significance was the discovery in the Rao Ninh

Valley of three buried Russian 85-millimeter artillery pieces,

complete with cleaning equipment and ammunition. Buried

nearby were three small stake-bed trucks that may have

been used to pull the artillery. It was rumored that these

cannons were loaded and a few rounds sent into Laos. At

that time, these were the first artillery pieces captured by

engineer Soldiers since World War II. One of these guns

was shipped by Major General William T. Bradley, then

commander of United States Army Engineer Construction

Agency, Vietnam, to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where

Soldiers display a

Russian 85-

millimeter fieldpiece captured

near FSB Blaze.
42 Engineer July-September 2007

I

.

n 1969, a new engineer equipment mechanic was

assigned to the maintenance section of the 27th Engineer

Battalion (Combat) at Gia Le, near Hue in South Vietnam.

while constructing Route 247, American Soldiers happened

upon an abandoned Russian-made bulldozer in the A Shau

Valley. One of the battalion’s lowboy trailers brought the little

dozer—about the size of a Caterpillar D6—into the maintenance

driveway, where it was off-loaded. A former operator had

constructed bamboo-and-leaf additions to make the bulldozer

more comfortable. It was surprising that anyone could have

spotted the camouflaged machine in the middle of dense forest.

The new Soldier, just a couple months out of mechanic

school, was designated to work with a more seasoned

mechanic to refurbish the dozer. Immediately, they began to

undo all of “Charlie’s” skilled bamboo home improvements.

Although the Russian manufacturers used metric nuts and

bolts, the Soldiers made their tools work. They did extensive

rebuilding of the gasoline pony motor used to start the

diesel engine. They replaced the clutch with one from a

it is on display at the Engineer Museum. Another was lost

en route to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and the third was presented

to the mayor of Hue. It was probably recaptured by the NVA

when Hue fell in 1975.

Of the many heroes of the Vietnam War, the combat

engineers who drove the Rome plows stand out near the top.

By Mr. Harold Walden

Bambooto Blue:

five-ton dump truck, installed new batteries and a starter,

cleaned the fuel injectors and fuel pump, lubricated all the

zerk fittings, and changed all the fluids and filters. Finally,

they tightened the track. They cranked up the pony motor

and engaged the clutch. To their amazement, the bulldozer

started up and ran.

The warrant officer who supervised the maintenance

operation wanted to make a big impression on the battalion

commander, so he got some powder blue paint and the

bulldozer got a shiny new coat. When a new battalion commander arrived soon after, the captured equipment played a

special role. The outgoing commander reviewed the troops

from atop the powder blue dozer, while the lead mechanic drove

his pride and joy.

Mr. Walden was a private first class fresh from mechanics

training at the United States Army Engineer School at Fort

Belvoir, Virginia, when he helped salvage the captured

bulldozer at Gia Le.

These young men

operated their powerful

machines on dangerously

steep slopes, pushing

down vegetation full

of poisonous snakes,

stinging insects, and

occasional mines and

snipers. They pulled

guard duty every night,

then went out each

morning and worked all

day in the oppressive

heat, risking their lives at

every turn.

Mr. Hollands, a first

lieutenant during his tour

in Vietnam, was the

battalion intelligence

officer until June 1969. Then he served as a platoon leader

and the executive officer of C Company, 27th Engineer

Battalion (Combat).

Mr. Nelson, who was a captain, served as the

27th Engineer Battalion maintenance officer from midJanuary to mid-December 1971.

Engineers inspect a Russian bulldozer captured in the A Shau Valley.

Army Engineers EngineersEngineers i n Vietnam Vietnam Refurbish a RefurbishRefurbish a Captured CapturedCaptured Bulldozer BulldozerBulldozer
July-September 2007 Engineer 43

○○○○○○ The Engineer Writer’s Guide ○○○○○○

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We cannot guarantee that we will publish all submitted

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Send submissions by e-mail to <leon.engineer@conus.

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65473-8926.

Note: Please indicate if your manuscript is being

considered for publication elsewhere. Due to the limited space

per issue, we usually do not print articles that have been

accepted for publication by other Army professional bulletins.

Falcon Brigade: Combat and Command in Somalia and Haiti,

by Lawrence E. Casper (Colonel, USA, Retired). Lynne Rienner

Publishers: Boulder, Colorado, 2001, 278 pages, ISBN: 978-1-55587-

945-7, $35.00 (hardcover)

Falcon Brigade covers the United

States involvement in two modern

military operations—Somalia and Haiti.

These actions were in the “new” era of

military commitments that involve

“nation building” and intervention aimed

at stabilizing regions rather than

straightforward military ends. This work

describes what it is like to be in command

of a combat unit in this scenario.

Casper’s tour as the Falcon Brigade

(Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain

Division) commander during these two deployments provides us

with a unique comparison between the interventions in Somalia and

in Haiti. He shows us the stark contrast between the misguided,

underarmed, underarmored, and uncoordinated United Nations

efforts in Somalia and the overwhelming application of force used to

quickly restore order in Haiti.

Anyone who has read Black Hawk Down, about the 3 October

1993 battle in Mogadishu, knows that it was a horrific action that

was saved from complete disaster only by the discipline, esprit, and

training of those who fought. Casper brings a unique perspective to

that battle. As the Quick Reaction Force commander, he literally

overflew the battle as it raged.

Then just six months after returning from Somalia, Casper and

the Falcon Brigade were aboard the USS Eisenhower, preparing to

air-assault the 10th Mountain Division troops onto the shores of

Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy. Casper recounts the

frustrations and challenges of brigade Soldiers working around the

clock for thirty days.

This is an outstanding book, strongly recommended for

professional development and informative reading for students of

modern military operations. Written by one who was there, Casper

shares many leadership lessons learned as well as giving a Soldier’s

perspective of what happened.

Reviewed by Mr. Jeffrey L. Rosemann, an Instructional Systems

Specialist with the Officers Training Development Division,

Department of Instruction, United States Army Engineer School. A

retired infantry Soldier, Mr. Rosemann also served as the 2d Infantry

Division historian during the beginning of the 50th Anniversary of

the Korean War.

Book Review

○○○○○
44 Engineer July-September 2007

Engineer Update

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Engineer School Lessons Learned Integration (L2I)

Cell. The United States Army Engineer School L2I Cell

needs your help. To keep training, doctrine, and combat

developments current and to prepare for the future, it is

critical that the school continuously receive relevant

engineer observations, insights, and lessons (OIL). The

L2I analyst can derive information from a variety of sources:

unit after-action reports (AARs); tactics, techniques, and

procedures (TTPs) used by units in and returning from

theater; Soldier observations/submissions to the Engineer

School; and requests for information (RFIs). This

information is used to conduct doctrine, organization,

training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel,

and facilities (DOTMLPF) gap analyses and to determine

solutions. These solutions are distributed to the Engineer

Regiment via new doctrine and training products, Engineer

(The Professional Bulletin of Army Engineers) and other

publications, websites, and by answering RFIs. With the

modular transformation in full swing, many engineer units

are looking for sample tactical standard operating

procedures (TACSOPs) for the new units being

established. You can help by forwarding any of these

materials from your unit’s deployment to the L2I analyst.

Unclassified information can be sent to <paul.a.zacher

@us.army.mil>. Classified information can be sent by

secure Internet protocol, routed (SIPR) e-mail to

<paul.a.zacher@us.army.smil.mil>. For more information,

call (573) 563-5340.

Transition from ARTEP/MTPs to CATS. The U.S.

Army has transitioned from using the Army Training and

Evaluation Program (ARTEP) mission training plans

(MTPs) as a collective training tool to using the combined

arms training strategy (CATS). A CATS is a unit training

strategy which, as an entity, takes the entire training

planning process from the cradle to the grave. A CATS is

developed from a unit’s base table of organization and

equipment (TOE) and Department of the Army-approved

mission statement. They are designed using the training

model of crawl-walk-run. Commanders will make the final

determination as to which tasks should be trained and at

what level the training should begin, since they will know

their unit’s training status. Included in CATS are the

required training resources such as Class III and Class V

materials and training aids, devices, simulators, and

simulations (TADSS). The current ARTEP/ MTPs that are

located on the Reimer Digital Library (RDL) are scheduled

to be removed from the RDL (TBD). CATS are located on

Army Knowledge Online (AKO) on their own dedicated

page. The planned end state is movement of CATS to the

Digital Training Management System (DTMS) once it is

fully fielded. Additionally, the Collective Training Division

of the United States Army Engineer School developed a

website on the Engineer Portal that will also have links to

CATS and files available for download. The following links

will take you to the AKO CATS site and to the Engineer

Portal.

AKO CATS Link: <https://Army Knowledge Online>.

Engineer Portal Link: <https://www.mwu.army.mil/portal/

eng/index.php>.

The point of contact at the Engineer School Collective

Training Division is <donald.durst@us.army.mil> or call

(573) 563-6237.

Engineer Doctrine Contact Update. As of 15 August

2007, the Engineer School’s Doctrine Division was

consolidated at the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN)

level to the MANSCEN Directorate of Training (MDoT)

Doctrine Division. The Engineer Doctrine element still retains

the lead for the Regiment’s doctrine with only a few minor

changes in physical locations and contact information.

The mailing address for written correspondence has

changed to: Commandant, United States Army Engineer

School, ATTN: ATZT-TDD-E, 320 MANSCEN Loop, Suite

220, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 65473-8929.

The telephone numbers remain the same: Doctrine

Chief, (573) 563-8161; Senior Doctrine Analyst, (573)

563-7332 (DSN prefix, 676-).

The generic NIPR e-mail address for

electronic correspondence has changed to

<leon.mdottddengdoc@conus.army.mil>.

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2007 Engineer Unit Directory. The 2007 United States

Army Engineer Unit Directory is available online in Adobe

PDF format at <http://www.wood.army.mil/engrmag/

Engr%20Unit%20Dir/2007Directoryonline.pdf>. Since

many unit addresses have changed recently, take a moment and see if your unit’s listing is correct. Changes to

the Unit Directory can be made by calling (573) 563-7644

or e-mailing <leon.engineer@conus.army.mil>.
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