The Apache sentinel., 1944-09-15
1916 Engineer (GS) Regiment
Now Ready for Overseas Service

ment was activated July Is, 1943,
at Camp Claiborne. La, by four
Steen- officer cadre trained at Fort
Belvoir Va Shortly after this, it
moved to Camp Sutton, N. c., where
it was brought up to TO strength
and the arduouS task of whipping
an engineer outfit into condition be-
gan. In addition to Engineer Basic,
week of this period was spent on
the Catawba in the construction of
pOntoon bridges and two weeks at
Pageland, where the unit completed
much of its range firing and con-
Structed German combat village.
Christmas Day of '43 will not be
forgotten by veteran 16thers.
Through Sleet and snow and rain,
officers and men wearily marched
the twenty-five miles from Page
Hand to Camp Sutton in record time
of less than five hours.
Men Defeat Weather
Soon after the beginning of the
new year we entrained for the
transcontinentaI move to Base Gen
eral Depot, San Bernardino, Calf.
Our four months there were char
acterized by the liquid variety of
sunshine, but once more adverse
weather was defeated by engineer
persistency and doggedness. At that
base we combined various other ac-
tivities without secondary train
ing so successfully as to receive
several letters of commentator.
One lasting contribution of our
regiment was the making of
training film on Bailey bridges.
With Companies B and F in stellar
roles and the Laguna Canal near
Yuma, Arizona as the locale, the
construction of the Bailey bridge
was clearly explained in celluloid
for the instruction of other engi-
neer soldiers.
Technical Training Completed
= A 600-mile trek eastward, and the
1316th arrived at Fort Huachuca
on the last day of April. Our stay
here has been characterized by the
seemingly confused orderliness COM
mon to units in our stage of train
ing. Men have been sent to Spe-
cialist Schools all over the country
to return with new, vital skills.
Other technical training in engi-
neeFing tasks has been provided by
regimental schools. Firing has been
completed. Infiltration courses have
given our soldiers an idea of actual
combat conditions. Defense against
chemical attack has been stressed
in case a cornered and defeated
enemy attempts, this as last re-
sort. We have become very POM
conscious.
Life at Huachuca, despite the iso-
lation, has been quite pleasant.
Bivouacs have increased our knowl-
edge of desert life with its cactus
and rattlers, it's tarantulas and Gila
monsters. Conveys to Tucson and
Douglas. have varied the monotony
of camp life, and frequent trips
south of the border have furthered
our Good Neighbor" policy. WACs,
the Service Clubs and the Field
House (remember Louis Armstrong;,
league baseball games all these
will be part of our memories OF
Huachuca.
Now commanded by Col. Lyle
Rosenberg, the 1316th Engineer
(GS) Regiment is completing the
last phases of its training for o. r
seas. The time is approaching when
we shall see the fulfilment of the
mission for which we have been
training for over fourteen long
months. Ever-increasing in the
hearts of all of us is the desire to
.gst overseas, do our part in this
war, and return to live in peace in
a world whose future of freedom
and equality has been assured at
least in part by our efforts. That
time is not far off.