yno-y e glneer - W INTER 19 7 9

The Bridge

-J..c.:~:.. ' -- ~ '~ - .' ~:'~~:J~-_'~~~.!: '~ ~- t-' ..~ ,' • . ~ ';....~~ ':. _ 40 "-'. ; ~ ~ , - .1-, - . ~ ~. "'~~ 'I ' * • ..' .~-> --:.'.~~ '..' ,', ,."1"-." " ~ . " '" .. ~ . ~ UNITED STATES ARMY ENGINEER CENTER AND FORT BELVOIR

Com mander/Commandant MG James L. Kelly

Assistant Commandant COL Robert S. Kubby

Command Sergeant Major CSM Frederick I. Eisenbart, Jr.

DIRECTORATES

Directorate ot Combal Developments COL Gene B. Welch Directorale of Training Developments COL Robert M. Bunker Directorate of Training COL Robert E. Conroy Directorale 01 Evalualion MAJ Terrance C. Ryan Delense Mapping School COL Heclor Wood

UNITS

Engineer Cenler Brigade COL David O. Cooksey Engineer Training Brigade COL James H. King, Jr.

~ e .... gineer .....r. .. . ~V ~ PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER THE COVER

MAJ Sandor I. Ketzis German demolitions, artillery born­ bardment, and continuous heavy tral­ fie led to the collapse of the t.uden­ EDITOR dorf Bridge at Remagen on 17 March 1945. But not before U.S. engineers Jerome J. Hill had constructed a lifeline of sup­ plementary bridges which enabled ILLUSTRATOR the Allies to press the offensive against the Nazi forces. See page 8 William Ruth for the complete story. yruq ­ e glrleer

\JOLUME: 9 VVINTER 1878 NUM~E:R3

FE:f:\TURE:S

4 BRIDGING FOR THE 1980s AND BEYOND by Hal Do tterer

8 THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN by Lieutenant Ronn ie Chai Chang

12 INTEGRATING ENGINEERS INTO THE COMBINED ARMS TEAM by Captain Dale Robert son

15 WINTER REFORGER 79: LESSONS LEARNED by Colonel Jerome B. Hilmes

18 TACTICAL EMPLOYMENT OF ATOMIC DEMOLITION MUNITIONS by Captain John F. Rybicki

22 THE COMBAT HEAVY BATTALION IN FORWARD SUPPORT by Major Fran cis R. Skidmore & Major Jo hn A. Mu/lans

27 GUIDELINES FOR NEW LIEUTENANTS by Captain James B. Norwood page 13 32 INTERSERVICE COOPERATION PAYS OFF AT TAEGU by Lieutenan t Michael Hull ihan

DE:PARTME:NTS

2 NEWS & NOTES 37 COMMANDER'S UPDATE 34 ENGINEER PROBLEM 38 ENLISTED CAR EER INFO 35 RESERVE COMPONENTS 40 THE "SCHOOL SOLUTION 36 OFFICER CAREER INFO page 18

EN G INEER ISan aut ho ri zed pub lic at io n of the US Army Enq ineer Center and Fo rt B e lVOir Un less spec if ically stat ed . m atenal ap pe ari ng herem does not nec essari ly reflec t offi ci al po licv. thmklng or e ndorse me nt by any agen cy of the U S A rm y A ll photographs contarnec he rein are of ­ fiCial U S A rmy ph otog raphs unless ot he rw ise cr ed ited Us e of funds for pr in tIng th is publ ic ation was appr oved by Head qua rte rs Department o f t he A rmy. o n 23 February 1979 Material he re in may be re printed prov idi ng cre d it ISgIve n to EN G IN E ER and the auth o r • The ENGINEER rms­ sio n IS to Inc rease un der standing of t he role and Impo rta nce o f eng ineers on th e ba ll te fleld and to promo te the oro tessio nal develo p me n t of all me m bers of the A rmy enq ineer tarnuv ENG IN EER pr ov io es t ime ly and authon tatrv s mtormat ron on Ar my engineeri ng co nc ep ts, plans pouc res doctri ne. proc ed ur es, oper at ion s. eq uiprne nt. and dev elopmen ts to ac tive A rm y uruts, the Rese rve C omponen ts . tra in in g and ed uc ati o n centers facil it ies e ng l ne e r ~ , an d other branch ag encies and activit ies w orlowide - Direct c orrespo ndence Wit h E NGIN EE R 1$ auth or ized and en ­ c ouraged rnc urn es. lett e rs to t he editor . man uscnpts, ph otogr aph s and gen eral corr espo ndence should be se n t to Ed rto r. ENGINEER MagaZin e , USA rm y Eng Ineer Ce nter Fort Betv oir. VA 22060 Te lephone A UTOVON 35 4·500 1 or Comme rc ial 703 -664· 4001/3082 If a rel urn o f m anuscri pts o r mate rial IS desired . a se lf -addressed. stamp ed e nvelo pe IS re ourre d - Co nt ro lled Circulat ion postage IS paid at M e rri f ield , VA - ENGINEER IS available by subscrrpt io n Se nd check Or mo ney ord e r. pay able to S upen n te ndent of Do cu me nts, to . S upe ri nte nde nt o f Doc u me nts US G ov ernmen t Pri nting Office . W ashi ng to n. DC 20 402 Subs cr rptron rates are $5 50 per year domest ic (Inc lud ing A PO and FPO addresses) and $6 90 fo r for e ig n add re sses IndIVid ual co pies are also av aila ble . at $325 eac h fo r domest ic addr esses and $4 10 each for foreig n add resses News & Notes

ENLISTEE TREATMENT STANDARDS

A recent TRADOC directive has established new standa rds for trea tme nt of Arm y recruits. The cha nges will be appa rant from th e mom ent a new enli stee rep orts to his reception stat ion . " Shock will not be used on receptees by RE CSTA cadre." according to the T RADOC directive. Such tradi­ ti on a! prac tice s as m aking receptees stand at a brace. run on and off bu ses with luggage, a nd ot her forms of har assmen t are now prohi bited. So is the " skinhead" haircu t. Trainess may now wear mu staches in accordan ce with Ar­ my regul ati ons. The philosophy und erlying these changes is to "tra in soldiers by building on their strengths and by shoring up their weaknesses. It is not to tear the m down and build them up aga in." T hese changes resul ted fro m an eigh t-month review of entry train­ ing at nine Army training centers.

TOPO SUPPORT SYST EM

A mod ern system to pr ovide cri tical ter ra in data to tactical commanders is on the way. A $16.4 million contract to produce 42 un its of the Topographic Sup­ port System (TSS) has been awa rd­ ed to the American Development Corporati on of South Carolina. In­ itial field ing of th e T SS, designed to improve the capa bility of field tapa un its. is anticipated in 1982. ANNUAL TRAINING T55 will consist of seven in­ t er dep en dent su bsys te ms, in­ clu din g ma p r ep rod uc t ion : Specialist Five Andrew B. Hill, a heavy equipm en t operator assigned to Com ­ storage, retrievaI, and distribution pany A, 926th Enginee r Ba ttalion, Birm ingham , AL, puts a scoop load er to of topo inform ation ; on-site terrain good use during annua l training at Camp Shelby, MS . Train ing activities for data collection; survey support ; th e 926th and its sub ordinate units inclu ded the pr eparation of runways, cartogra phic revision; mosaicking, min efields , fire br eak s, ta nk and drainage ditc hes, and other construction pro­ dra fting, and rectificati on; and jects. (USA R ph oto by Paul Adams) comma nd and control.

2 WINTER 1979-80 CORPS REASSIGNMENTS

MG Harry A. Griffith and MG Bennett L. Lewis have been appointed as comma nders of th e Cor ps' Ohio River and North Atlantic Division s. re specti vely . . . COL Max­ imilian Imhoff has been appoi nted as the first com mander a nd director of th e Corp s' new W ater Resou rces Sup port Center at For t Belvoir . VA , , . Lloyd A. Duscha has bee n selected as the new Ch ief of the E ngineering Division, Civil Works Direc­ torate, aCE _ . _ COL Samuel P. Collins, Jr., has been appointed as d istrict engineer for the Corps' Vicksburg District . . .

$1 BILLION CORPS PROJECT

T he Corps of Engineer s is the construc ­ tion agent for a 5> 1 billion project to design and constr uct two strategic air bas es in Isra el. Constr uction has already begun a nd is scheduled for completion within thr ee years. Con struction will include runways and parking apr ons, aircraft she lters, a nd othe r operationa l and support facilities, in ­ clud ing utilities, roads, and housing. A Corps of Enginee rs staff in Tel Aviv and at two site offi ces is ma nagi ng the const ruc tion effort . The new ba ses will be locat ed near Beer Sheva and Elat in the Ncgev Deser t.

RUNWAY REPAIR EXERCISE

Filling and compacting craters was just one of four cruc ial tasks ac­ JOB ESTIMATING SYSTEM complished by memb ers of A Co mpany, 27th En gineer Battalion (C) (A) dur ing FT X SaUD SH IEL D in May. Never before had the Ar my Th e Directo ra te of Engin eering and tested its entire pack age of run way repair by an airborne com bat Hou sing. US Army Sup port Comma nd, engineer assau lt force. T he ai r drop included TWO dozers, four loader s, Hawaii has im pleme nted a minicomputer five tr ucks, two jeeps, an air compressor, an d a pioneer tool tr ailer . based Job Est imat ing Syste m (JES) for use Within six hou rs of the drop, Alpha Company engineers h ad derigged in preparing detailed work estimates. The and asse mbled all eq uipment, cleared all airfield craters and vehicle syste m is designed for use with the WANG hulks of mines and anti-ha ndling devices , and tilled and compacted 22001' min icom puter. T he system delivers a all craters. Compaction by the 250 CFM air compresso r above was more acc urate detailed estima te an d reduces succ essful due to a combi na tion of good wea ther and sma ll craters, the total esti mating hou rs by 40 per cent , but larg er craters andlor ba d weathe r would have created a more thus allowing Integr ated Fac ilities System seri ous challenge . Thus, inclu sion of a l J-wheeled roller , a sheepsfoot inspections to he con ducted without hirin g roller , and/ or a vibr atin g compactor in the rep air pack age is being addit iona l personnel. conside red .

ENGINEER 3 . .' ~ " . .' ""

ew are aware of the development program BRIDGING going on at Fort Belvoir as well as in Ger­ Pmany and England which, when successfully comp leted, may require revolutionary changes to US and NATO tactical bridging conc epts of opera­ FOR tion and organizational structures. It will cert ainly enable us to launch br idges across a wider range of gaps under assault or near assault condition s in ju st a matter of minutes. THE 19805.... The objective of the program, known nati onally 1 as " Bridging for 1985 and Beyond " (BRG 85 ) and internationally as " Bridging in the 80s" , is to develop a family of bridges with a common bridge girder that will be used in all three tacti cal bridge roles, i.e ., assault role. dry support role, and wet support role. All bridges will be mech an ically laun­ by Hal Dotterer ched and retrieved by a common launch mech anism mounted on either a national main bat­ tle tank chassis or a special wheeled vehicle , each with a two-man crew . Girder reinforcements, such as a cable reinforcing system for long, clear-span bridges, or piers for mu lti-span bridges, will also

4 WINTER 1979·80 equ ip pe d assa ult elements. The wh eeled transporter/ Iauncher will be designed to provide the on-road speed and maneuverabili ty needed to keep pace with support elements. Wh eeled transporters/launchers will also be design ed to provide the off-road mobi lity needed to reach bridge launch sites. The need for the system is tied directly to the perceived threat in Europe in the 1990-2000 time frame. In thi s environment, tactical bridging operations within the division and corps ar ea will be opposed by an enemy with sophisticated bat­ tlefield surveillance and reaction ca pabilities. The threat will come from manned surveillance air­ craft, tactical aircraft capable of accurate ord­ nance delivery, and conventional and guided ar ­ tillery. Bridging missions, therefore, mus t be completed before enemy forces can dam age or destroy the bridge . T o do so, bridges must be built, essential traffic must cross, and the bridg e dismantled and relocated before the tactical air or artillery threat is applied. Erection time for current US hand erected bridge system s, particularly dry support bridges, are too slow to defeat the threat. Even the current Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) system , which ca n emplace a bridge 63 feet /19.3 meters long in 2-3 minutes, is limited by the fact that it cannot be extended when the gap width ex­ ceeds 60 feet/1 B.3 meters. be included in th e family . All bridges will be The logistical support requirements of current designed to accommodate military load class US tactical bridges is compounded by the fact that (MLC) 70 tracked loads. there is no commonality between the several bridge Assault bridges will vary in length from 17 to 31 systems in the inventory. Each requ ires different meters (in 7-mete r increments) with launch tim es assembly and disassembly procedures. Several dif­ of th ree to five minutes. ferent transport vehicles are required. None of the Dry su pport bridges (fixed bridges) will vary in length from 17 to 52 meters (in 7-meter in­ crements). Launch times will be 10 to 30 minu tes by one to three wheeled launchers. Th e cab le rein­ .... and BEYOND forcing system will be required for bridges over 31 meters long. Bridges longer than 52 meters will be curr ent bridge systems are designed to connect to possible using piers. Piers may also be used to in­ any of the oth er systems when the assets of diverse­ crease the load classifica tion of dry support bridges ly equipped bridge units are requ ired to span a to ena ble them to accommoda te the Heavy Equip­ major wate r barrier. ment Transporter (HET) load ed with th e XM I. Developm ent of this new bridg e system requires Wet Support bridges (float bridge s) will vary in tha t we reexam ine current operational concepts for length (in 14 meter increments) with emplacement all three bridge roles and chang e them where rates of six meters (20 feet) per minute. necessary to take advantage of the improved Mounting the assault br idge on the XMI chassis capabilities of the new system and the unique will affor d the cross-country mobility and crew pro­ benefits offered by a common girder. The tecti on needed to provide close support to tank organizational structures of bridge units will have

ENGINEER 5 ·. _ -- - ~ - - . - ~- - _ . ---- -_ ..~-.....:::...... _--_.

Prototype st-meter bridge on the wheeled transporter/launch vehicle

to be revised drastically as a mechanically launched the support Bridge Section of the battalion. bridge system replaces the remaining manpower­ This change to the assault bridge concept of dependent, hand erected bridges in today's inven­ operation is proposed in order to take advantage of tory. one of the benefits offered by the common girder. With the BRG 8S + system, the old concept of ASSAULT BRIDGE EMPLOYMENT replacing an assault bridge with a support bridge will no longer be valid, since the replacement sup­ Essentially, the day-to-day employment of port bridge will be identical to the assault bridge assault bridges will follow operational procedures being replaced. similar to those used with the current AVLB, with Engineer AVLB platoons (one per line company, one notable exception. That is, to implement a re­ four per divisional engineer battalion) will be cent doctrinal decision, all of the assault bridges in equipped with six launchers, six 24-meter bridges, the division will be centralized in the divisional and three pier modules. This allocation will enable engineer battalion and operated by AVLB sections each launcher to carry either a 17 or 24-metcr of an AVLB platoon organic to each engineer line bridge as determined by gap reconnaissance company. The traditional close association be­ reports. By combining platoon assets, 31-meter tween engineer line companies and maneuver bridges can be launched under assault conditions, elements will ensure that assault bridges are while 38 and 4S·meter bridges can be launched located well forward, thus enabling them to sup­ under near-assault conditions (some exposure of port assault crossings by combined arms teams. personnel). Again, by combining platoon assets, When its emplacement is approved by the cross­ bridges 24, 31, 38, and 4S meters long each ing force commander, the bridge is brought for­ capable of accomodating the HET with XM1, can ward under the over-watch fire of the lead tactical be launched under near-assault conditions. elements and emplaced quickly . The bridge will move by the most direct route to the crossing site, DRY SUPPORT BRIDGE EMPLOYMENT remaining on-road where possible. Bridges emplaced by an assault bridge section will be Dry Support Bridge assets of the Divisional retrieved by the same section when the bridge is no Engineer Battalion/Separate Brigade Engineer longer needed by the assault force , unless a bridge Company will be used to back up AVLB is required at that location for follow-up and com­ capabilities by replenishing armored launchers bat service support traffic. In such cases, the when the bridges they have laid are to remain in­ bridge will remain in place and a replacement place for combat support/combat service support bridge for the assault launcher will be provided by traffic. Dry support bridges will also be emplaced

6 WINTER 1979-80 within the division area to facilit ate lateral move­ ment of maneuver clements and combat sup­ por t/combat service support tratftc by bridging wet or dry gaps up to S1 meters wide. Dry supp ort bridges will be emplaced by the Support Bridge Section of the divisional engineer battalion/ sepa rate brigade engineer compa ny at locatio ns selected in coordination wit h the division GJ/brigade S3 and approved by the divi­ sion/ brigade commander. After the bridge site has been reconoitered and it has been determined that the requ ired span is within the capability of a dry support bridge, a bridge girder, tailored to span the gap . will be assembled (using organic MHE, i.e., crane or wrecker). After picking up the assembled girder, A 24·meter bridge on an M60A 1 chassis during mobility tests the wheeled transporter/launcher(s) will proceed , on order, to the brid ge site to launch the bridge. tion ary change in concept is the fact , established by T ravel will be on-road as much as possible. Cross­ gap distribution studies, that a vast majority of country travel will be used only when necessary to gaps throughout the world are under 30 meter s by-pass obstacles and to reach off-route launch wide. In Europe 96.9 percent of all gaps are 30 sites. meters or less and 97.5 percent are SO meters or Each Support Bridge Section (two per Division less. Engineer Battalion, one per separate Brigade Based on these studies, the BRG 85 + dry sup­ Engineer Comp any) will be equipped with three port bridges allocated to the divisional engin eer wheeled lau nchers, one 31-meter bridge, two battalion will be abl e to spa n, in 30 minutes or less, 24-meter bridges, one pier module, and one cable 97.5 percent of all gap s that the division may ex­ reinforcing modu le. T his allocation will enable pect to enc ounter. Since the locations of all major each section to span a var iety of wet or dry gap s water barriers are wen known, adequate planning from 16 to SI meters wide and reinforce one and coordination for a major river crossing opera­ 30-meter bridge to accomoda te loads such as the tion will ensure that the wet support bridge HET loaded with the XMl. Multiple crossings (up cap ab ilities of the corps bridge company are pro­ to three) will be possible acr oss gaps of23 meters or vided as required to cross the remaining 2.5 per­ less. cent of gaps . Dry Support Bridges of the Corps Bridge Com­ Wet support bridges will be emplaced by Wet pany will be used to supplement divisional bridge Support Platoons of the Corps Engineer Bridge capabilities by providing additional bridging as re­ Company. Each of three platoons will be equipped quired, by spanning gaps that exceed the with ten wheeled transporters/launchers, 16 seven­ capabilities of the divisional battalion's Support meter interior bays , and four 8.S-meter ramp bays. Bridge Section, and by ernplacing reinforced This equipment will enable eaeh platoon to build bridges capable of accommodating HET/ XM1 one 129-meter bridge or two 31-meter rafts. loads across gaps greater than 30 meters wide. Dry Those who must look into the future and dare to support bridges will be emplaced by the Dry Sup­ predict when things are likely to happen say th at port Platoon of the Corps Eng ineer Bridge Com­ this new family of bridges should be ready for field pany. Th e platoon will be equipped with four service by 1989. Realistically , much can, and wheeled tr ansporte rs/launchers, four 31-meter usually does, happen to a research and develop­ bridges, six pier modul es, and two cable reinforc­ men t program over a ten-year period . Optimistical­ ing modules. General purpose transportation, i.e ., ly, all th at we hope for willcome to fruition . On the flat bed trailers, will be required for movement of other hand, we may have reached too far. We'll the pier and reinforcing modules. see. Nevertheless, once in awhile it is good for the spirit to tak e an opti mistic look int o the future. WET SUPPORT BRIDGE EMPLOYMENT

Under this proposed organizati onal and opera­ Hal Dotterer. a previous contributor to ENGINEER. is a tional concept, the corps bridge company would Com bat Dev elopment M ateriel A nalyst with the Ma teriel provide the only float bridge capability with in the Systems Division, Directorate of Combat Developments, division/ corps area. The bas is for this revolu- USA ES , specializing in military bridge systems .

ENGINEER 7 The Bridge at REMAGEN

by LT Ronnie Chai Chang

--­ While engineers labored to complete repairs to the bridge, rivets in the steel arches began to shear, pop­ ping like rifle shots. Within seconds, the bridge rotated to the upstream side, pulled its approach spans off their rollers, and dropped into the river. But the bridge had served its purpose. Other means for crossing the Rhine, at or near Remagen, had been established.

irst Arm y engin eers began planning to cross the barrier. Poor morale and chaos and confusion in the formidable Rhine River barrier while participating German Command left an opportunity begging to be ex­ F in the Allied drive through Belgium during July ploited. 1944. By mid-September, tons of Class II and Class IV U.S. commanders reacted switftly . Lieutenant Hugh bridging had been stockpiled, but by 22 October, pro­ Mott, a plattoon leader in Company B, 9th Armored spects for an early crossing had faded due to the stiff Engineer Battalion, recalled being told by his task force Nazi resistance. commander: " Matt, General Hoge wants you to get out In February 1945, the Allied High Command decided onto that bridge and see if it's mined or loaded with the First Army was not to cross the Rhine. Stockpiling of TNT, and whether it'll hold tanks. I'll give you fire sup­ bridge equipment ceased and bridge units were port from my tanks and you'll have infantry scouts out transfered elsewhere. there too." It was a virtual suicide mission . By early March, III Corps of First Army had reached Enemy gunners across the river could rake the bridge Cologne on the Rhine. The rest of First Army wheeled with fire. Even more ominous was the possibility that th e southeast to strike the enemy flank and rear in the Eifel bridge might blow at any moment. This possibility was region bordering the Rhine and to link-up with Third reinforced when the engineer detachment consisting of Army slicing up from the south toward the confluence of Mott and two of his most able NCOs set out for the the Rhine and the Moselle Rivers. Hopes of find ing in­ bridge; before they reached it, a hughe geyser of rock tact bridges over the Rhine were virtually non-existent as and dirt erupted as the Germans blew up the vehicle ap­ th e Germans destroyed dozens of bridges along the vital proach ramp on the western side, leaving a 30-feet barrier. crater. But th e bridge still stood. The Americans swiftly The Ninth Armored Division was disposed to the right started across and German machine gun s promptly flank of the southeastern pincer of III Corps to facilitate began their deadly clatter. a crossing of the Ahr, a Rhine tributary and the subse­ quent link with Third Army. In their path lay the small rail junction town of Remagen, on the west bank of the cross the river, German engineers worked franti­ Rhine. Significant only in that it contained the Luden­ cally. Their main dernoliton circuit had been dorff rail bridge. Remagen did not figure in any plans for Abroken probably by American tank fire and they a crossing. were prevented from fixing it by that same fire. The Ger­ The ruggedness of the terrain in th e West erwald mans then lit the primary cord fuse to emergency demoli­ region across the bridge and the poor quality of roads tion charges placed to do the greatest damage. With a from the west were unsuitable for tanks and any large tremendous roar, these charges exploded. but, when the maintenance and depo installations necessary to support dust had settled. the bridge was still standing. a major river crossing. Without its bridge, Remagen was The three engineers ran out and began cutting every ju st another milestone. wire they could find, bringing great relief to the infan­ But on 7 March 1945, the Ludendorff Bridge took on trymen accompanying them. In the middle of the bridge, great significance when the first scouts of Company A, the engineers climbed down to find four packages of 27th Armored Infantry Battalion. 9th Armored Division TNT, each weighing 20-30 pounds, tied to I-beams peered down on Remagen. The br idge was intact, still underneath the deck . Working quickly, they cut the spanning the Rhine, the only br idge left across the great wires and dropped the charges harmlessly into the river.

ENGINEER 9 midnight 17 March, armored engineers under Matt's direction gave the signal that tanks could cross the bridge. Nine tanks crossed the Rhine before a tank destroyer fell into one of the holes in the flooring , stuck and effec­ tively blocked further crossing. It was not until 0530 the next morning that engineers dislodged the vehicle after using crowbars and pushing and pulling with other vehicles for hours. Tanks and vehicles again rumbled across the bridge and within 24 hours of its capture, scores of vehicles and some 8,000 troops had crossed to establish a bridgehead. More than a single lifeline was needed to exploit the bridgehead, however. Within a day or two, only a small fraction of the engineers at Remagen were actually on the bridge itself. First Army's river crossing equipment was pushed forward to bridge parks near the Rhine. Eighteen forward supply dumps were established and over 100 trucks with 5-7 ton semi-trailers were pressed into ser­ vice. Ferries were established at three locations by the 86th First Army soldiers and equipment pour across the Remagen Bridge Engineer Heavy Ponton Battalion: just south of Remagen at the junction of the Ahr and the Rhine; in the center between Remagen and its neighbor, Erpel across the Rhine; and just north of Remagen between the towns of Unkel and Unkelbach. The establishment offerries at Seconds later, the three men were back on the bridge these locations consisted of the assembly of 5-ponton cutting a heavy cable. rafts and the grading of approach roads on the Rhine Moving across the bridge, the engineers methodically banks. These ferries were operated until 13 March, hunted for the master switch controlling the German which time a floating treadway bridge and a heavy pon­ demolitions and eventually found it near the eastern end . ton bridge were established across the Rhine in the Cutting the wires leading from it, they returned to look Remagen area. for other caches of explosives. Altogether, the engineers removed 2,000 pounds of explosives placed in approx­ imately 150 separate charges. One of the largest weighed 500 to 600 pounds and was found correctly wired and onstruction of the heavy ponton bridge by the primed for demolition, and with the fuse cap blown . By 1159th Engineer Combat Group and the treadway that time, other engineers had joined the intrepid Cby the 1111th Engineer Combat Group began on threesome and were busy checking the approaches for 10 March. From the onset. engineers suffered heavy mines and working on a solution to the huge crater. casualties from German artillery fire , small-arms fire , Close inspection revealed that the German demolition and air attack. On the heavy ponton bridge located to the efforts had inflicted considerable damage. The main south of Remagen near the Ahr River , 14 4-boat rafts multiple panel joint of the eastern truss was blown and reinforced with pneumatic rubber tloats were assembled some flooring and several floor beams were blown away. "by feel" after dark. The next day, under cover a heavy Significant engineer repair efforts were required before smoke screen, the rafts were anchored into position. The the Lundendorff Bridge could be utilized by more than entire bridge, 935 feet long and built for Class 40 loads , foot traffic. was completed in 291/~ hours. Three main repair tasks were carried out concurrently: The treadway bridge site was also subjected to intense repair of the bridge flooring; re-garding of the approach artillery fire. Located just north of the Lundendorff ramps from the bridge to roadways along the Rhine; and Bridge, it had to be re-built three times after German strengthening of the vital support panel joint adjacent to gunners blasted the first 450 feet. The cost in human the northern pier. All work was carried out under heavy lives was seventeen men, all killed by artillery tire. The enemy fire, including artillery which at time limited work additional loss of three air compressors helped make the parties to two-man teams. feat of completing the 1,032 feet bridge in 321/~ hours Makeshift repairs to shattered planking were effected, even more remarkable. utilizing lumber from captured houses in Remagen. On 17 March, while engineers labored to complete Gaping holes were roped off. Cable was stretched to help repairs to the Ludendorff Bridge, rivets in the steel ar­ ;; strengthen parts of the lower chord of the bridge. At ches began to shear, popping like rifle shots. Within

10 WINTER 1979·80 seconds, the bridge had rotated to the upstream side, br idges, it made the bridgehead's supply lines secure. pulled its approach spans off their rollers and dropped Th e bridgehead itself proved significant. It not only into th e river. Of the 200 men worki ng on the bridge, 10 reduced German moral e, but it also directed German were killed, 18 missing and 63 injured. The cumulative forces fro m strategic locations along the elongated Rhine effect of German dem olit ion charges, artillery and bomb defen se net work . Flung piecemeal into savage bu t attacks, heavy traffic for five days (unt il the ponton and disorganized counter-attacks agai nst the Remagen tre adway bridg es were opened on 12 March), and repair bridgeh ead , the diverted forces were later helpless to efforts utilizing cranes and air compressors, finally resist subsequent Allied crossings, thus hastening the brought the old rail road bridge down. However , th e end of the Nazi Germany. bridge had served its purpose. Other mean s for crossing Th e engineer effort in pre serving the Lud end orff at or near Rem agen , including ferri es, ponton, and Bridge until supplementary bridges could be built was treadway bridges, had been established . tre mendously signifi cant. Without the lifeline provided With the collapse of the Lud endorff Bridge, First by th e bridges and ferries, the bridgehead was doomed. Army authorized construction of a Class 40 float ing And the effort to destroy the Nazi war machine would Bailey a mile north of Remagen . In a remarkable have been even more costly. engineer feat, the 148th Eng ineer Combat Battalion built the l ,244-foot bridge on Bailey pontons with 32-foot Lieut enan t R onnie O. Choi... Chang wrote the abo ve article while floating bays in 47 hours and 4S minu tes. With th e com­ att ending th e Engineer Officer Basic Course at th e U.S . A rmy pletion of the Bailey, maintenance of troops across the Engineer Sc hool. Fort Belvoir. VA . He has since been assigned Rhine ceased to be a major problem. Together with other to th e l st Engin eer Batt alion. l st In fantry Division,

The collaps ed Ludendorff Bridge a t Remagen The preponderance of existing guidelines on engineer com­ bat support to the combined arms team is focused at the divi­ sion and brigade levels. Yet the fluid nature of today's bat­ tlefield requires more responsive engineer effort, particularly at task force level. This article addresses the role of the task force engineer in support of a combined arms task force.

Integrating Engineers into the Combined Arms TeaDl

by CPT Dale Robertson

he commander of the Opposing Force sup press a large percentage (40 to 60 percent) of (OPFOR) has bee n assured by his staff th at NATO weapo ns, especially antitank weapons. T prep arations for the att ack are well under­ Assessing his division 's nume rical superiority way. Indeed, he is impressed with the manner in over the NATO forces, and combining that assess­ which his subo rdinate commanders arc making ment with the added assu rance of reinforcements, spot checks to prevent last-minute delays. if necessary, the OPFOR commander is very op­ Artillery units move into positi on and ta nk crews tim istic . load their ammunition. Motorized rifle units make Meanwhile, the commander of the 1st Brigade, last-minute checks of their BMPs. 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), is pla nni ng an The OPFOR commander knows that he will act ive defe nse to halt the anticipated OPFOR at­ have to hit hard and advance rapidly if the attack is tack. He presents his concept of the active defense to be succ essfu l. In order to maintain a rapid ad­ to staff membe rs and designates specific respon­ vance an d, thereby, gain a foothold in Western sibilities for eac h. With his operations officer and i Europe, he also knows that his artillery will have to Brigade Engineer, he decides where to place rein-

12 WINTER 1979-80 forcing obstacles to best support the tactical plan . together numerous times before, so th at each Th e Brigad e Commander makes it clear to his underst ands the other's requirements in the ac tive Engin eer tha t lateral points between task forces defense. The engineer is confident th at his person ­ must be kept open . Hence, obstacles sited a long nel possess the technical skills necessary to su pport thes e routes will be reserved demo lition targets . the Comb ined Arms Task Force. The Task Force Other eng ineer responsibilities include digg ing in commander, acutely aware of the limited man­ th e Brigade CP , protective slots for th e Brigad e power and resource con straints of his eng ineers , trains, and maintenance of 20 kilometers of roa d in will task them accord ingly. the Brigad e trai ns area. Th e Brigad e En gineer The T F 1-7 commander requests spec ific input ana lyzes his responsibilitie s while returning to his from his eng ineer on how to best use th e terrain. How can they structure the terrain to the ir advan­ tage, while, at the same time, reinforce the terr ain with obstacles to th e disadv antage of the OPFOR ...... "": .. . : ., . .. armor. He stresses th at all obstacles mu st be tied in ., .. MECHANIZED closely with his ATGM and tanks. ..' INFANTRY ;. Th e T ask Force commander stresses the need for rapid movement from position to position via covered and conc ealed routes . He kn ows that if his tanks and APCs ca n be seen, they can be hit, and if they ca n be hit , th ey can be killed. Having pr esen ted his mobili ty and countermo bility re­ qu irem ents to his engineer, the Task Force com­ mander details his survivability requirements whi ch require engin eer effort. Th en he proceeds to pr ioritize th em , based on their impo rtance to his ta ctical scheme. Unl ike his counterpart support ing T ask Forc e 1-7. the Engineer supporting TF 1-3 does not have a good working relationship with the Task Force commander. In past training exercises, his engineers have been only spora dically integr ated :"0 into the concept of operations. The TF commander does not identify any specifi c engineer respon­ sibilities during his initial briefing. Left in the da rk , the TF 1-3 En gin eer cannot properly allocate his resources to support th e tactic al plan . His TACTICAL AIR piecemeal efforts are, thus , unproductive.

...... ::. eanwhile, th e Engineer for TF 1-3 prepares the following list of engineer responsibili­ M ties, based on priorities esta blished by the TF commander : CP o He th ink s of the many tim es he has made (I) Prepare obsta cles to support the antitank similar ana lyses in th e past. But thi s is different. weap ons systems; This is no exercise, this is for real. (2) Provide for battlefield mobility; Moving quickly, the Brigade En gineer assigns (3) Prep are hull down defilade and/ or protec­ one engineer platoon to eac h of two task forces (TF tive positions for TOWs, tanks, and APC s; 1-7 and TF 1-3) and retain s one platoon in genera l (4) Dig in Task Force CP ; support of the brigade. Task Force engi neers (5) prepare alte rn ate figh tin g positi on s within qui ckly attach the equ ipm ent th ey'll need an d set th e Battle Position; out to link up with th eir respective Task Force (6) Prepare subsequent Battle Position s in a commanders. similar mann er ; Arriving early, the Task Force En gineer suppo rt ­ (7) Con struct decoy sites with in the Battle ing TF 1-7 ana lyzes the terrain and iden tifies those Position. features which may affect his mission. The Task Utilizing the bucket load er and 0 7 tra ctor at­ Forc e commander and his engin eer have worked ta ched to his pla toon, th e TF 1-7 Engi neer and his

ENGINEER 13 men work throughout the night to accomplish their (Podgotovka). Smoke and steel filled the air as mobility, countermobility, and survivability mis­ both Task Forces scrambled into protective sions. shelters. Upon his return from Brigade Headquarters, the TF 1-7 was under heavy bombardment when a commander of TF 1-7 Engineer and his men work BMPs came into range of it's antitank weapons. ., throughout the night to accomplish their mobility, Slowed and canalized by point rninefields, reinforc­ counterrnobility, and survivability missions. ed natural obstacles, well-placed road craters, and Upon his return from Brigade Headquarters, the other prepared obstacles, TOW gunners began to commander of TF 1-7 summons his Engineer and score hits at 3,000 meters. conducts an inspection of the engineer effort. He At 2,000 meters, advancing OPFOR tanks were finds that the Task Force CP is well dug in, thanks brought under fire by well-concealed M-60 tanks. to the tractor dozer. Team A, which includes tank Artillery fire kept the advancing armor formations platoon, two infantry platoons, three TOW sec­ buttoned as friendly tank, TOW, and Dragon gun­ tions, and a mortar section, have gotten con­ ners continued to destroy enemy tanks. siderable help from the engineer platoon's bucket By moving between hull down positions and tak ­ loader. ing advantage of the covered and concealed routes The M60A2s of the tank platoon are in hull between alternate firing positions, TF 1-7's losses down fighting positions with only their main guns were comparatively low. Survivability preparations and cupolas visible . Alternate positions with had been put to a severe test and had passed with covered and concealed routes have been con­ honors. structed. A bridge has been prepared for demoliton In contrast, TF 1-3's active defense did not fare and will be executed later to become a dynamic nearly as well. OPFOR armor maintained a high obstacle. rate of advance across TF 1-3's front. Since Engineer efforts are equally visible to the Task obstacles had not been sited to take advantage of Force commander at the locations of Teams Band ATGM weapons, few enemy tanks were destroyed. C. Combat engineers are providing technical ad ­ Thin-skinned friendly vehicles such as APCs vice to infantry soldiers during the construction of received exceptionally high losses from OPFOR ar­ individual fighting positions and the preparation of tillery. TOW weapons were either destroyed or sup­ proper camouflage. Protective obstacles are being pressed because they had little or no protection. In­ emplaced in front of each team's position to delay adequate camouflage resulted in OPFOR sagger and disrupt approaching OPFOR vehicles. Decoy gunners rapidly locating and engaging exposed sites are being constructed. The combined arms M-60 tanks at maximum range. Vehicles moving concept is working! between alternate firing positions were silhouetted The commander of TF 1-7 is convinced that against ridge lines or slowed by unimproved trails, engineers have provided his forces with the thus contributing to an already high rate of loss. capability to successfully conduct the active The result was not surprising. Task Force 1-3 defense when the attack begins. suffered more than 50 percent casualties in the first eight minutes of battle and was declared combat ineffective. nfort unately, the Engineer for Task Force In retrospect, it should be obvious that the com­ 1-3 is equally convinced that disaster is irn­ mander of TF 1-3 failed to properly utilize his miment. Although he had the initiative to U engineer resources. By not assigning priorities of allocate his engineers to the various teams within engineer effort, his Engineer was forced to operate TF 1-3, they had not been integrated into the com­ in a vacuum. As a result, the engineer potential as bined arms team. a combat multiplier was neutralized. Obstacles were not tied in with antitank weapons The lesson is clear. Integration of the Engineer systems. Indirect fires on obstacles were not system into the combined arms team must take preplanned. Routes between positions were often place during peacetime. Th ere will be no margin not improved and did not offer natural cover or for error when the battle begins. concealment. Equipment was dug in, but since there were no established priorities, some elements were completely overlooked. Information on the Captain Dale Robertson... is curr ently assigned as an In­ location of subsequent Battle Positions was receiv­ stru ctor with the Tactics and Operations Division. Department of Combined Arms, US Army Engineer ed only indirectly. School. Fort Belvoir, VA. Prior to his current assign­ At 0700 hours the following day , OPFOR ar­ ment. he was Commander ojCompany A. 82nd Engineer tillery began their artillery preparation Battalion. USAREUR. .. t, j

14 WINTER 1979-80 \Nin't:er" AEFCIRGER'7,9 =

by COLJerome .B. Hil~es

'T- " lie "most startling .lesson derived from FTX Certain Sentinel /REFORGER 79, in this . .... engineer'sopinion; occurred before the exer­ cise started. It is simply this: war in Europe during, the . Whiter ~ iIl be far more difficult than at any other time of the year. lnthe icy grip of a severe winter, it is a theater 'that favors 'the -attacker. Ice in ports and .on .roads aggravates the already complicated mission OF receiving reinforcements, equipping them, and moving. them . into combat: EquipmentJiecomes halk~ , batteries-die, ships cannot dock, rnechaniz­ ed vehicles slide off roads, and bitter cold add to "t he fog of war .." Laying' o(m ineftelds 'b ecomes _ cumbersome inrneter-deep snow and their-effec­ •tiveness becomes doubtful unless special rrieasures ate taken. Ground fog is more prevalent than nor­ mal and-takes longer'to dissipate. FTX 'Cetain Serrtinelwas an impressive preview , of. how the first fe\y days of ~ar in the dead of ~intet; might go ...In spite ~of the' confusion,bitter cold,' and treacherous roads, the combined arms te'am waged successful "~.r . "

~ ENGINEER 15 '.

Mechanized emplacementof antitank mines during advers'e weather requires prior planning

The important lessons derived from Certain Sen­ LESSON 5 tinel also chart us a course of actions to improve We need winter camouflage items . 'W h i !~ engineer support in the future. These lesson's coveralls, winter camouflage nets, and white underscore and reinforce the lesso ns le-arned dur­ panels, coverings, or. winter camouflage patterns ing REFORGERS 77 and 78. for equipment -are necessary. If a c0!UP~ny can be LESSON 1 seen, it will be hit; if it is hit, it will be decimated. The battlefield will be lethal and thethreatfrom Our cam ouflaged equipment is painfully outstan­ enemy air.and artillery is sizable. We need to pro­ ding in winter woods and snowy settings. vide ourengineers ~ i t h armored cover so that they LESSON 6 can survive artillery and small arms fire. We need a different engin;er organization to be , LESSON 2 ~m o r e effective , in"the combined ar ms tea m. We The lack 0]" mobility is painfully obvious to need ari engineer major to cont rol engineer forces anyone who has observed Corps engineers trying to (typically two companies) supporting a maneuver keep up with the mechanized combined arms brigade. Four different configurat ions were tried teams,' or seen a brace of dozers scuttling from a during Certain Sentinel in 'order to ascertain ' the work site toward their low-bed s .as enemy armor b~st organization for the br jgade engineer. It comes into.sight. Mechani:z;iqg ourCorps engineer became obvious th at .the company com mander can-, battalions and adding the Universal Engineer not handle two companies of engineers and still be Tractor (UET)to the inventory will provide badly­ at the Brigade TOG when need(:d. An engineer rna; needed surv ivability and mobility capabilities. jor in the Brigade-;fOG proved to be the best solu­ LESSON 3 tion.He shoilldbe the Brigade .. Engineer, comman­ Com munications equipment for command and ding a beefed-up'engineer; company, with a captain controlof our typically wictespread engineer forces as executive officer. are woefully inadequate. We need systems that can There were 7,000 engineers whopatticipated in cover distances of 60 to 80 kilometers, and which REFORGER 79---: 11 percent of 't he combined have t he capability of monitoring three netsfrom a arms forces-e and, they weren't enough - About company commander's jeep. The alternative is a 2,000 engineers were committed to construction reorganization of engineers within a division Area support, maneuver damage, andcontrol ofthe ex­ o£Operations (AO). Sucf an altern ative would be ercise. There was a void of engineers from the very costly. Brigade rear bou ndary to the Corps rear boundary. Within .a division AO, there were normally 2,000 e'n g i~ ee rs, or two battalion;s worth. There 'appears to be considerable merit to recognizing thi s requirement with an organiza­ tiorral solution. After three tours with combat engineers in V Corps and VflvCorps, I' m convinced

16 WINTER 1979·80 that an engineer regiment in the division, 'with a without incident andwithlittle congestion. In-fact, mini-battalion supporting each brigade, is needed. there were no major problems. It would merely recognize the configuration we The Medium Girder Bridge was used several practice every FTX. I'm also convinced that the times, occasionally with a Chinook as the prime current officer shortage and space crunch will mover. It proved to be a very flexible and efficie nt never permit that size force in the division. new system. A compromise is clearly in order. The three com­ Although Europe in winter's icy clutch favors the panies that provide direct support to the three attacker, there are two factors which fa vor the maneuver brigades of the division should be in­ defender. First, the rivers freeze over just enough creased by two line platoons and be commanded by to impede assault crossings, but not nearly enough a major (brigade engineer). He should have a cap­ to form the base for an ice bridge. This enhances tain as executive officer to execute the brigade the obstacle value of defense along a river line . engineer's operations plan. Second, the severe cold doesn't last long, typical­ Other companies in the battalion, except the ly two to four weeks. Sudden thaws saturate bridge company, could remain essentially un­ previously frozen ground, making cross-country changed. The bridge company should be replaced movement slow, and even impossible in some with a line company to give the division engineer cases. 'W hen rivers swell, floating chunks of ice en­ some flexibility in supporting a fourth brigade or danger bridging operations, a new factor which task force, as well as a cavalry squadron and/ or the must be considered. The defender can integrate division rear. these factors into his plan and partially offset some LESSON 7 of the disadvantages cited at the beginning of this Logistics is still a problem. In Certain Sentinel, article. the barrier haul logistics were practices as well as I have ever seen. Nevertheless, the logistics re­ SUMMAlty quirements for minefields remains considerable. We need a small lethal antitank mine (such as in The 7,000 combat engineers who supported th e FASCAM) but conventionally fused. This would maneuver forces during Certain Sentinel acquitted give us a four to one advantage over our bulky themselves well. With typical engineer hustle, they MISs. A conventional follow-on antitank mine will worked day and night to help maneuver com­ go a long way toward relieving our barrier logistical manders structure the battlefield. They did it with problems. dated equipment. With the exception of our bridg­ We also need the Ground Emplaced Minefield ing equipment , the tools with which our combat Scattering System (GEMSS) and the M180 rapid engineers worked belong to another era. We must cratering system to speed obstacle emplacement in modernize these tools if we want ou r combat a short-fused, come-as-you -are war. engineers to keep pace with other members of the During Certain Sentinel, I witnessed the combined arms team. smoothest division-size river crossing operation im­ aginable. The 1st Armored Division put an Assis­ tant Division Commander in charge of the opera­ tion and a Corps engineer battalion headquarters Colonel Jerom e B, Hilmes is the Commander of th e Zth was provided to do the work . The division placed Engineer Brigade and is the VII Corps Engineer. The Zth various staff personnel in the battalion head­ Engineer Brigade provided engineer forces fo r both quarters and from a single room in a Gasthaus, the BLUE and ORANGE f orces during REFORGER 79. entire operation was conducted with the precision and was responsiblefor man euver damage. em ergency of a Swiss watch. More than 3 ,200 vehicles crossed repair. and construction;

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ENGINE ER 17 ,

Tactical Employment

of he purpose of this article is to rationalize the use of Each ADM in this hypothetical family has an atomic demolition munitions (ADM) as an antiper­ "on-call" remote-firing capability that greatly increases T sonnel weapon without detracting from its current the weapon's battlefield potential. This remote capability use as an engineer demolition. Points developed here are consists of either a wire-firing or radio-firing option for not intended to answer all questions involved in this con­ detonation upon command. This system is both cept, but are intended to stimulate thought and con­ lightweight and man-portable and can be emplaced troversy. In response to specific questions posed during either at ground level or below the surface, and its effects military appropriations hearings before Congress for can be varied and controlled by selected burial depths. Fiscal Year (FY) 1975, then Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger stated that theater tactical nuclear weapons will be employed: ny attack from Eastern Europe into the West ". . . in response to an overwhelming Warsaw Pact would bring with it numbers of men and equip­ conventional attack where the consequences of conven­ Ament superior to the defending NATO forces. Ex­ tional defeat are deemed more serious than nuclear tirnates on present NATO versus Warsaw Pact force escalation. Theater nuclear forces would be employed in strengths are numerous and much debated. There are so conjunction with conventional forces within clearly many variables to consider that detailed analysis is not a perceivable limits to halt the aggression through a simple task . dramatic reversal of the tactical situation. " Some widely accepted figures are available for These " clearly perceivable limits" are preplanned analysis, however. It presently is estimated by the nuclear weapons packages consisting of specific weapons Defense Department in its annual report to Congress and yields for use in well-defined locations within exact (FY 1978) that Warsaw Pact forces would outnumber time limits. ADM logically may be included in these their NATO counterparts in medium tanks by about 4 to packages. 1, in armored personnel carriers (APCs) by about 3 to 2 The purpose of this package will be to neutralize large and in artillery by over 3 to 1. enemy formations in order to produce the "dramatic Current production schedules of the United States and reversal of the tactical situation." I suggest that current the Soviet Union are not narrowing this equipment gap. nuclear weapons employment doctrine include the use of In fact, in FY 1977, the Soviet Union outproduced the ADM as a weapon . The use of ADM against personnel United States in medium tanks by 6 to I, in APCs by 3 to would not be any more escaltory than would the use of I , and in artillery pieces by 8 to 1. In major ground force nuclear artillery or nuclear air strikes. The use of ADM weapons systems, the United States has a substantial against personnel should not be considered revolutionary lead over the Soviet Union only in helicopters (3 to 2) and but as another option for an already operational tool in in tactical nuclear warheads (2 to 1). our efforts to win the "first battle." Recently published NATO estimates suggest that, in ADM are planned for employment against material­ local penetrations on a European battlefield, the Soviets type targets to destroy massive structures (that is, may engage NATO defenders with as many as 600 tanks bridges, dams, road networks) and thereby reduce the across a S-kilometer front . That is roughly one enemy enemy's maneuver ability by creating obstacles., The use tank every 2S feet over a front of approximately 3 miles. of ADM closely parallels that of conventional explosives. Though the Soviets would not attack in an exact linear The use of ADM, however, is exemplified by savings in formation, the depth of the first echelon attacking force time, manpower and logistical support and offers an in­ could be as little as 200 to 300 meters. This force would creased demolition capability along with certain "bonus" be followed by mechanized infantry and other tank for­ effects that can enhance obstacle effectiveness and are mations to exploit the penetration and mop up by-passed potentially hazardous to troops. NATO forces. These bonus effects include thermal radiation, which Such attacks undoubtedly would be made over high­ can significantly increase damage to targets by burning; speed avenues of approach simply because the terrain initial and residual nuclear radiation, which can in­ must be favorable to such a formidable force in order for capacitate troops and contaminate large areas of the bat­ it to maneuver. In southern West Germany where US tlefield; and tree blowdown, which can make by-passing forces are currently assigned, major avenues of approach any obstacle more difficult. for massive combined arms formations are limited and

ENGINEER 19 easily recogn izable. These high -speed avenu es of ap­ actical air and artillery ass ets are high -priority proach are candidates for ADM employment to impede target s and extreme ly vulne ra ble on the modern enemy movement by crea ting large craters or other T battlefield . Artillery system s a re susceptible to massive obs tacles which would mak e these approaches hostile weapons locator systems that ca n detect inco ming imp assable to a highl y mechani zed force. These rounds au tom atically and direct immedi ate counterfire obstacles would slow th e enemy' s momentum an d delay against th ose positions. T his, coupled with the fact that his formations in large killing zones th at would be NATO is outnumbe red in arti llery pieces by over 3 to 1, susceptible to either air or artillery-delivered nuclear or makes it imperati ve that artillery be used cautiously and conventional counterattack . selectively, especially the nu clear-cap able wea pons. Pre sently, a number of nucl ear systems exist which Highly flexible nuclear artillery mu st be spared for ac tual hav e as their primary mission th e destructi on of enemy enemy penetration threats or for local counteratt acks formations. All th ese system s, however , inclu din g guided and counterbattery fire. and un guided rockets, tube-launched artillery rounds Tactical air-delivered system s are also highl y and air- delivered syste ms, have a delivery error which vulnerable. One need only study the devastating effect could detract from thei r overa ll effectiveness. Delivery that the Soviet-supplied Egyptian air defense syste m had error results in larger wa rheads being used to ass ure th e on th e Israeli Air Forc e in the 1973 October War. The desired coverage of a tar get element. Lar ger yields in­ United States can no longer count on unchallen ged air crease safety distances required for civilians and fr iendly superio rity over th e battlefield. T here will surely be a forc es an d may result in un desirabl e colla teral damage fight for con trol of th e skies, and this fight will have a over mu ch larger ar eas . high pr iority in the ea rly allocation of available aircraft. These syste ms are excellent for ta rgets of op port unity Aircraft simply will not be availabl e for all close air sup­ which may appea r on th e battlefield un expectedly. Bu t, port mission s th at tactic al commanders may desire, and for high-speed avenues of appro ach, it is poss ible to those th at are avail abl e will face a leth al air defense prepl an targets and "seed" an area with munitions in an­ envelope over the battlefield. ticipa tion of an enemy attack with out delivery error and Conceivably, ADM can take up some ofthis battlefield with out allocating valu abl e air an d art illery assets. " slack" where it is known that large mech anized forma-

ADM EFFECTS ON SPECIF IC TARGET ELEMENrS (Hypothetical ADM Family)

YIEL D IN KILOTON S TARGET ELEMENT DAMA GEIINJURY 0.2 1.0 2.0 5.0 Highway Trus s Bridge Moderate 80m 230m 340m 530m Severe 40m 200m 140m 210m Tracked Vehi cles - Ape s Moderate 70m 180m 260m 400m Severe 40m 110m 150m 210m Tracked Veh icles-Tanks Moderate 50m 130m 180m 260m Wheeled Military Vehicles Moderate 70m 180m 260m 400m Casualti es/Exposed Person nel IP 230m 410m 560m 710m IT 310 520m 700m 890m LL 460m 710m 850m 1190m Cas ualties/Perso nne l in APCs IP 210m 390m 520m 670m IT 290m 490m 660m 830m LL 430m 680m 900m 1120m Casualt ies/Pe rsonnel in Tanks IP 160m 320m 440m 560m IT 240m 420m 560m 710m LL 370m 590m 790m 980m

NOTES: Moderate Damage'--major repair s needed to return item to service Severe Damag e- total reco nstruction necessary before item can De r epaired and ut il ized . IP-immediate permanent incapacitation; personnel will beco me incapacitated w ithin fiv e min utes; death will occ ur in one to tw o days. I IT- immediate transient incapacitation; pers onn el become incapacitated within five minutes and remai n so 30 to 45 minutes; personnel wi ll part ially recov er, but death wi ll occur within fo ur to six days . LL-personnel become functionally im paired within two hours, bu t may respond to medical assist ance before \ death in several weeks.

20 WINTER 1979-80 tiODS must advance, such as mountain passes and defiles the enemy force as possible, it may be best to have the and across major bridges and autobahns. enemy reconnaissance and advance guard elements pass As an example, consider an enemy attack across a by the weapon in order to cause maximum damage to the 3-kilometer front down a high-speed avenue of approach main body. It also may be desir ed to use conventional with mechanized infantry and armored forces. If an obstacles such as min es and ditches to slow the main ADM were emplaced on the surface and a remote firing enemy force or to bring the main body under antitank option were used, a commander could have the munition guided missile fire to stop it or reduce speed as it a~- : detonated as the enemy approached. proached the best positi on for destruction. After the A single 2-kiJoton (KT) weapon would damage ene my detonation, reconnaissance and advance guard elements, tanks 180 meters in all directions and APCs out to 260 now cut offfrom the destroyed main body, can be attack­ meters. This could neutralize 12 percent of the attacking ed and eliminated. armor and 17 percent of the APCs in a single blast. Per­ sonnel in th ose tanks would be susceptible to initial uch a weapon would have to be well-camouflaged nuclear radiation and would becom e immediate and possibly moved off of the center of advance to casualties out to 560 meters (37 percent of all tanks lessen the possibility of detection. If the weapon is crews). Personn el in APCs would become immediate S placed wen before the arrival of the enemy, camouflage casualties out to 660 meters or 44 percent of all moun ted should be no problem. Our hyp othetical2-KT ADM is 5 mechanized infantry. These crews would become feet long and only 2 1/ 2 feet in diameter with an approx­ casualties from an initial radiation dose within minutes imate weight of 500 pounds. Other systems in this famil y of th e detonati on and eventually succumb to this ex­ can be as small as 3 feet long and only 15 inch es in posure. diameter with a weight of only 100 pounds. Camouflag­ Delayed casualties resulting from thi s nuclear blast ing an object this size should not be a maj or undertak­ cou ld reach approximately 70 percent of th e entire force . mg. Again, th ese casualties would result from a massive dose Where terrain demands, the system can be buried of initi al nuclear radiation, would become incapacita ted and, as the depth of burial is increased, the radius of within hours and eventually would die. Ch aos and confu­ damage decreas es. As a rule of thumb, the radius of sion would be added as bonus effects for the defenders damage is reduced by 10 meters for every meter that the and would likely present good targets to modern antitank system is buried down to a depth of approximately 10 systems. meters. If the system is to be buried and used as an Besides the se effects to men and equ ipm ent, a crater antipersonn el-type weapon, a depth of burial in excess of approximatel y 30 meters in diameter and 13 meters deep 10 meters would not be practical. would be formed at the point of det onation, and dry fuels Since the damage radii can be controlled by th e depth would be ignited over a total area of 10.2 square of burial, th e commander is given an even gre ater flex­ kilometers. Troops in the open would receive second­ ibility in his planning. With only a limited number of degree skin burns up to 530 meters fro m ground zero . yields available, significant modifications in damage Fallout, induced ground radiat ion and fires could radii can still be achieved by varying the depths of burial. enhance the effectiveness of the obstacle. This modifyin g ability can be used to reduce.collateral Even greater effects could be obt ained if the system damage a nd also reduce safety distances for friendly were emplaced and detonated above the ground such as troops operating in the area. Preplanned targets with in an abandoned building. Not only would blast and predetermined yeilds using ADMs and a minimum of therm al damage be enhanced, but residual radiation tr ained personnel can increase the commander' s bat­ would be reduced, allowing friendly troops to operate in tlefield flexibility greatly. th e affected areas sooner. With our own small numbers of deployed forces, every concept th at could economize force s and maximize here are other points to consider. If an ADM is to firepower effectiveness at the front must be considered . be detonated when an enemy axis of attack is in the The ADM is a reliable and available system that cou ld be T best position for destruction , the executing com­ used now as a weap on without modification to th e system ma nder mu st know exactly when to give the order to fire . itself. Only a change in doctrine, thinking and tr aining This means that he will have to "sense" the enemy either would be needed to make the AD M a mor e potent tool by means of a forward observer, the ADM assembly team and take full advantage of its total capability by enlarg­ itself or by some electronic surveillance equipment. If ing its battlefield role from simply demolition to weapon. personn el are to be used as th e eyes of the commander in observing the enemy, a minimum safe distance mu st be III observed for each yield so th at no danger from the Captain Iohn F. R yhicki was th e senio r instr uctor ofth e A to m ic detonation occurs. T his distance can vary from 610 D emolit on Munition s Bran ch . Depart ment or Military meters for a .2-KT weapon detonation on the surface to Engineering, Directorate of Trainin g. U.S, Army E ngineer Sc hoo l. Fort Belvoir. VA. prior to his m ost recent tou r as 2,320 meters for a S-KT weapon with the observer in a B ranch Advisor. R eadiness Group Fort Kn ox . H I' has also ser v­ protected position. ed in Ger m uny as ADM platoon leader. 9th Engin eer Batralion, Since maximum destructive force would be delivered an d us Chie f, VII Corps T echnical E valu ation In sp ection Team to the enemy when the weap on was as near the center of (A DM) .

ENGINEER 21 Dozer operators sharpen their skills at antitank ditching during ARTEP the COMBAT HEAVY

battalion by MAJ Francis R. Skidmore and MAJ John R. Mullans

In he 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) in the three years following conversion has found the T concept of forward combat support to be a viable one, although not the only one for a heavy battalion. FORWARD Combat heavy engineers can contribute effectively in their traditional rear area construction role and also in combat support of forward maneuver forces . But the combat heavy battalion has unique strengths and support weaknesses, which must be carefully considered before it is deployed forward. To understand the role of the combat heavy battalion, it is necessary to understand the corps engineer force structure in Europe. The active engineer force structure today is based on three engineer battalion organizations: the divisional battalion, the corps combat battalion, and the combat heavy battalion, supported by other specialized engineer units.

22 WINTER 1979-80 Winning the first battle of the next war in Europe re­ quires that every component of the combined arms team be employed to maximize the combat power of our maneuver forces. In recognition of this, construc­ tion battalions in Europe converted to combat heavy in 1975 and 1976. At that time, questions arose as to the effectiveness of such units in forward support.

Current Army doctrine dictates that most combat strength with two general construction platoons and one enginer assets immediately available to the corps com­ heavy equipment platoon each. The support company mander be committed wel1 forward in the brigade areas adds another equipment platoon and a direct support (Fig. 1). Divisional engineer battalions have the mobility maintenance platoon. Total equipment and construction to remain with the maneuver forces and the protection t o personnel capabilities are listed in Tables 1 and 2. survive in a high-intensity environment. Their missions Construction is the traditional mission of the construc­ center on emplacement and removal of obstacles and tion battalion, the predecessor of the current combat providing protection to the division's fighting forces. heavy battalion. The construction mission is still ap­ Corps combat battalions increase the corps' combat propriate in forward areas and is now properly termed effectiveness by providing engineer combat support and combat construction. The range and lethality of modern general engineer work and by reinforcing divisional artillery and air delivered weapons enables the enemy to engineer units. To achieve the mobility to match their destroy vital main supply routes. forward supply systems missions, the corps combat engineer battalions in and distribution centers over an extremely large area. Europe wil1 someday adopt the armored personnel car­ The density and location of towns and urban areas on all rier as the squad vehicle, replacing the current 5-ton major routes present choke points easily blocked with dump truck. This change will allow corps engineers to debris and rubble created by long range weapons. operate more effectively with forward maneuver forces Enemy air and artillery emplaced mine systems repre­ but will, of course, reduce their capability for general sent other potential obstacles which may disrupt the engineer support work . logistical supply system. Forward deployment of a com­ This engineer force structure is a compromise between bat heavy battalion to overcome such obstacles is an ex­ the numerous general engineer support requirements cel1ent utilization of its assets and perhaps the essential and the fiscal and manpower constraints placed on the salvation for a combat engineer force that has sacrificed engineer slice of the total force structure. There are many some general engineer capability for mobility. more potential engineer requirements than forces to ac­ In combat, the six construction platoons become basic complish them. With lighter, more mobile combat combat engineer platoons, with pioneer tools and dump engineers positioned forward, the engineer combat bat­ trucks for equipment. The battalion's heavy earthmoving talion (heavy) provides an engineer capability for the re­ equipment from its four equipment platoons provides the maining engineer requirements in both forward and rear greatest advantage to the maneuver force s. In particular, areas. the active defense offers an excellent opportunity for employment of the equipment. Working behind a covering force preparing the main battle area, the equipment emplaces tank ditches to he Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) is organ­ channelize the attacking enemy armor and to render it zed and equipped by the Table of Organization more vulnerable to infantry, armor, artillery and air­ T and Equipment (TOE 5-115 , modified by MTOE) delivered anti-armor systems. Of equal importance is the to perform three basic types of missions: protection provided defensive forces by the construction 1. Construction of roads, airfields, pipelines, etc; of strong points and defilade fighting positions. 2. Combat support and general engineer work ; In the offense, however, this equipment is extremely 3. Infantry operations; limited. Neither the l G-ton tractorl2S-ton trailer com­ The battalion is structured with a headquarters com­ bination nor the 290M rubber tire tractor/scraper have pany, an equipment support company, and three line the mobility to keep up with advancing or penetrating ar­ companies. Line companies have the bulk of the line mored forces.

ENGINEER 23 TABLE 1 TABLE 2 MAJOR EQUIPMENT ASSETS CONSTRUCTION MANP OWE R ASSETS ENGIN EER COMBAT BATTALION ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION (HEAVY) (HEAVY)

07 Dozers 13 Front End Loaders 9 Construction Helper 6 290 Tractor w/18 Cy Scraper 9 Carpenter 72 290 Tractors wlo Scrapers 6 Construction Foreman 35 Graders 9 Heating & Ventilation Specialist 6 25 Ton Cranes 5 Plumber 18 Backhoes 3 Water Supply Specialist 6 10 Ton Tractor/25 Ton Trailer 21 Electrician 36 5 Ton Dump Truck 32 Engineer Equipment Mechanic 39 20 Ton Dump Trucks 8 Asphal] Specialist 2 Rollers, All Types 6 Dozer Operator 13 Water Purification Units 2 Crane Operator 9 General Machine Operator 34 Grader Operator 15 Wheeled Tractor Operator 15 Front Loader Operator 11 Construction Machine Supervisor 16 n additional strength of the combat heavy batta­ Truck Driver 84 lion is its equipment maintenance capability, ConstructionSurveyor 6 Awhich allows the battalion to depl oy an indepen­ Construction Draftsman 6 dent, self-contained force . Direct support mechanics can Combat Engineer 1 operat e forward as contact teams, while shop facilities TOTAL 430 provide back-up support from field locations. This great­ ly increases the operational value of th e heavy equip­ ment. I In addition to limited mobility, the 94th Engineer Bat­ V' talion has found that inad equate communications equip­ raining for forward depl oyment , which is oriented ment is a major constraint to proper comma nd and con­ on combat engineer or combat ta sks , is more of a trol in combat engineer operations . Thus, specific mis­ T challenge for a construction-oriented battalion, bu t sion ass ignments in th e forward battle ar ea provide a bet­ it can be accomplished. The approach of the 94th ter utili zation of battalion assets than direct support or Engineer Battalion in this regard is typical of other com­ attachment of combat forces , which depend on mobility bat heavy battalions in th e 18th Brigade. First and and good communications. forem ost , the construction pr ogr am itself has proved to Execution of the infan try mission must be considered have applicability to forward area missi ons . Th e an extreme choice tak en only under drastic emergency challenge of managing actual constru ction project s pro­ conditions. It provides the maneuver commander with a vides excellent leadership training for officers and NCOs. light infantry force weak in communications and crew Managing men , materials, and transportation against served weapons. It also deprives him of the engineer sup­ time deadlines, or researching engineering manuals to port he needs to enha nce the comb at power of his solve pr oblems, are processes common to all engineering maneu ver forces. situations . The tra ining program for combat heavy battalions in In addition , equipment platoons, which comprise 40 Europe ret1ects the trade-oft's between a real peacetime percent of the battalion's line platoon strength , receive construction mission and the wartime readiness require­ excellent training in actual construction projects as ment. It is possible, however, to achi eve a high state of operators become skilled on their equipment. Equip­ training readiness for forward depl oyment under these ment "stick time" is the single most imp ortant element conditions. for insuring a professional response to tank dit ch, hull Training in 18th En gineer Brigad e hea vy battalions is defilade, or maneuver support missions in the forward scheduled to allocate 7S perc ent of traini ng time to con­ area. struction projects and 2S percent of the time to comb at It is recognized, however, that additional training is an d combat support tr aining (Figure 2). Constru ction required to supplement tr aining derived from the con­ projects ten d to be plat oon-sized in scope and provide ex­ struc tion program. Consequently, 2S percen t of all train­ cellent opportunities for development of vertical and ing is combat engineer oriented and conducted to horizontal constru ction skills. Thus, a pr oper selecti on of minimize forward depl oyment limitations of th e heav y projects insures that soldiers are well prepared for tr adi­ engineer battalion. Particularly useful are training exer­ tional rear area missions in the event of war. cises which stress forward deployment. For exa mple. two

24 WI NT ER 1979-80 FEBA rEBA Q9

I I I ~DIV ~DIV ~DIV X rX X X X X X I I I I ( I I ICORPS II I IICORPS II I I ICORPS THE CORPS X X X ENGINEER FORCE II II ~OIV(-) STRUCTURE II I I I CORPS C-) X X X It I~I i 1:1CORPS

II XX II I I ICST (HV)

I r;~~1 1 X I X Iii-Ix I

r XXX FIGURE 1

of the brigade's combat heavy battalions (the 94th and battalion in the forward area. Its mobility, weapons, and 79th) participated in recent REFORGER combined communicat ions are not adequate in a mechanized en­ arms exercises and learned important lessons on how to vironment. With current peace-time constraints, the work and communicate with the combat units. Going combat heavy battalion operates infrequently with com­ further back, in 1976 and 1977, the 94th conducted ex­ bin ed arms uni ts. tensive testing on tank ditching techniques which con­ Properly utilized on a mission or area basis, however , tributed to doctrine on dimensions and construction it can significantly multiply forward combat power of methods. With continued emphasis on these missions maneuver forc es in a defen sive situation which requires during company ARTEPs, equipment platoons maintain combat construction, tank ditching, strong point con­ a high state of readiness for forward deployment. struction, and defilade protection for both tactical and No-notice readiness tests, company ARTEPs, and support vehicles and facilities. In Europe today, the basic weapons qualification constitute the remaining 25 engineer comb at heavy battalion has proved itself ef­ percent of scheduled combat engineer training. Schedul­ fective in combat support as well as combat construction, ed properly, this training assures that a1l units in and will be ready for forward deployment during a con­ engineer combat heavy battalions are reasonably profi­ flict. cient in their forward area combat support missions. Skill Qualification Testing is adding a new dimension to the training program. As Soldiers Manuals and Maj or Francis R. Skidmore is currently serving as a R esearch various test comp onents for engineer and support MOSs Associate/or th e Lawrence Liverm ore Laboratory in Livermore. CA . He was assigned as th e S-3 of the 94th Engin eer Battalion are incorporated into the program, additional training (C) (Hlfrom lll~ l' 1976 through Augu st 1977 and as 94th Bat ­ time and management effort will be allocated for the talion Exec utive Officer /rom Augu st 1977 through July 1979. testing procedures. Major John R . Mullans is currently serving as th e Executive Of­ In summary, the combat heavy engineer battalion ficer ojthe 94th Engineer Battalion. He served as th e S-3 o] th e should not be a substitute for an additional corp s combat 94th/rom Augus t 1977 to July 1979.

ENGINEER 25 Guidelines for New Lieutenants

by CP"T James B. Norwood

W\NTER ,979-80 eadership is an individual thing. No one ever As a new lieutenant, you are faced with the became a leader by memorizing endless challenging task of developing your own leadership L " laundry lists" of leadership techniques and style in a world peopled with men and women who applying them scientifically to his relations with his have more experience than you, but who depend on subordinates. Rather, the successful leader uses you daily for leadership and guidance. Here are those time-honored leadership principles like the some notes, taken from my own experience, to help artist's paint. A dozen artists may use the same you weather the storm until that moment when you paint to portray the same scene, but the brush know what you want your painting to look like. strokes of each one will be different, as will the use One of the first things you will notice that you of color and hue. So it is with leaders: each one lack is experience. In the Army, e~erience is must develop his own style, applying the principles everything. Quite often, the man with experience is he has learned with his own brush strokes and col­ in charge whether anyone intended for him to be or oring them with his personal strengths and talents. not. Soldiers respond to the man who knows how to get the job done. No one expects you to arrive with experience. They will expect you to gather it quick­ ly. You must learn from everything that you do and you must do as much as possible to gain ex­ perience. Do not be content to ride along letting others do all the work. One of the most dangerous things you can do is to pretend that you know what you're doing when you really don't. No one resents a beginner as much as he does the guy who pretends to know it all when he doesn't. The first corollary to gaining experience is ask­ ing questions. You must ask questions to learn. People expect you to ask a lot of questions. It shows that you want to learn how to lead them effectively and it shows that you are interested in them and in their work. Never be afraid to ask questions. More about questions later. Be a leader, not a laborer. It's easy to get lost in the fun of doing manual labor. You have entered an interesting profession and there are a lot of tasks that can be fulfilling in themselves. Your job, though, is to lead and manage. You will have many things going on at one time and you must be aware of all of them continuously. As soon as you get per­ sonally involved in one task, you lose control of all the others. Let the soldiers do the work and the NCOs supervise and teach: that's their job. You make sure that all of them are doing their jobs and that your entire communications complex is being erected efficiently and according to plan. Keep abreast of changes. In garrison or in the field things are changing all of the time. There's an old saying that "change is normal. " It is! You are the link between your soldiers and your com­ mander, your unit operations section, a battalion systems control center (SYSCON), and any other outside source of information. When something changes, your people depend on you to know and to tell them. Know who makes changes that affect your platoon or its mission. Maintain contact with them and probe frequently to find out what's going on . In addition to being a link between the com­ mander and the soldier, you are a buffer between

ENGINEER 27 them. You buffer informati on passing both up and Find people's strengths and use th em . I regard down the chain of comma nd . This does not mean this as one of my most import ant personal techni­ that you misrepresent facts or fail to pass on essen ­ qu es. It doesn't mean that you don't train people to tial information or orders. It does mean that you do overcome their weak areas - that is an essential not rep eat everything you hear verbatim. Think part of your job. It does mean tha t when things get abo ut how you can best present information or hot and you need a maximum effort from every orde rs to convey the appropri ate message. Con­ sold ier, you should kn ow what you can expect from sider personalities, prejudices, and levels of ex­ every soldie r. At times like th at it mak es no sense periencc before speaking . You mu st develop an ap­ to have your best field wireman run power cable prop riate threshold of response to th e things you while a relatively inexperienced man who is a whiz hear. If you overreact, you will lose credibi lity like with th e 58-86 switchboa rd tries to untangle the th e littl e boy who cried " wolf! " If you underreact, maze of wires leading to th e brigade command the n people will believe they are not gett ing th e post . That switchboard man will have his momen t whole sto ry whe n you spea k. of glory later when the wires ar e in . Let him run the

t is a fundamental law of human nature th at power line while th e wire whiz gets those vita l cir­ peopl e will do what you expect of the m. If you cuits hooked up. Every soldier feels good whe n he I expect the m to do well, th ey will almost in­ does some thing th at he kn ows he does well. Wh en vari abl y fa ll over th em selves trying to meet your ex­ he kn ows he' s doing poo rly, he becomes confuse d, pectation s. Ex pect proficiency. Expec t efficiency. resentful and slow. Goo d trai ning will eliminate Let your people know that you expect these th ings most of th e problem bu t some guys will always be and rewa rd them when th ey pr oduce exe mplary better at certain tasks. Kn ow who does what well. results. Be concerned! Your level of concern retlects in A lwuys follow up. Never expec t th at some thi ng everything you and your troo ps do. If you ar c indif­ will be done just because you told someone to do it. ferent, th ey will be, too. You ca nnot expect anyone Check, check and recheck! Afte r a while you will to do a goo d job just to sat isfy him self : if you have develop a reputati on among your men for checking better things to do, so does he. One of my com­ up and things will get done. Don't bec ome compla­ manders put it very succinctly when he cautioned cent! As soon as your tr oop s realize you have stop­ me to sim ply " Give a damn!" ped checking , they will sto p doing.

28 WINTER 1979-80 Ask questions. I said before that this would has been directed to do and that you intend to see it come up again. It will come up again after this! I done well. cannot overemphasize the importance of asking questions. Questions unnerve the unprepared. Learn when to sit down and shut up. Any good When you start questioning the man who is doing a commander will encourage discussion of his direc­ job poorly or incorrectly, he will become nervous. tives if you have something meaningful to con­ He doesn't really know if your are ignorant and tribute. Disagreement, if expressed in private, will curious or if you know all the correct answers and seldom cause anger. Once the commander has are merely testing him. Quite often he will blurt out heard all the facts and has made a decision, the information that he is doing the job wrong or however , it is time to stop bickering and get on with taking unauthorized short cuts. On the other hand, it. Some commanders will permit their policies to the man who is doing the job well will welcome your be challenged in public; others will not. Learn questions because they give him a chance to show which type you've got before opening your mouth. off his knowledge and skill. Once he's told you how Honest mistakes will be forgiven. Everyone ex­ good he is, he's committed to a program of ex­ pects lieutenants to make mistakes. Never make cellence. the same mistake twice! The first time is ignorance, In the field. the mission is always first. there is a the second marks you as an incompetent, or as a lot of debate about whether the mission or the men slow learner. Nobody wants either of those! come first, but the argument is fatuous. Troop welfare during the first 36 hours of a field problem Take care of the troops . Make sure they have is a matter of prior planning. If you have to become proper food and clothing and they get enough concerned with problems like food, clothing sleep . Make sure they get paid on time. These con­ shelter, latrine preparation or related affairs dur­ cerns are easy to manage in garrison but they can ing those first hours, then you did not plan proper­ be a real headache in the field. Be aware of their ly. You must check to insure that the plans and ar­ problem,. both individually and as a group. rangements you made are carried out on time and Soldiers' problems are not always like your pro­ properly; but, if you have to stop the execution of blems. Maturity and a college background make a the mission to get someone fed or to take care of big difference in how we deal with problems. some other morale or welfare related problem, then Sometimes, when you think you are receiving shod­ you blew it before you ever left the motor pool. dy treatment from an agency or facility, you will During the entire field exercise you must plan for find that you are actually receiving preferential your troops' welfare in advance so that you do not treatment because you are an officer. You should become involved in crisis management. In perfor­ see what the troops go through! Part of your job is ming your mission , crisis management cannot be to help your soldiers solve their problems. avoided; in troop welfare matters, it usually can be. Counsel continuously. You cannot expect a man Never criticize a fellow officer. It degrades the to turn out the quality of work you desire if you officer corps as a whole and it makes you look never tell him how far he is from the mark or how stupid because you have no more regard for your close to it. Take every opportunity to tell your peo­ own profession than to degrade it. ple how they are doing. Don't be afraid to tell a man he's doing poorly. How can he improve if he Be open to advice . One of the things that doesn't know he needs to? This is especially impor­ distinguishes man as an intelligent animal is that tant if you are going to have to prepare an efficien­ he learns from the mistakes of others. Your peers cy report on him. may offer you advice based on their mistakes. Learn to recognize and use the good parts of their Be fair. Never pick or play favorites even if advice, your superiors may have a lot of advice bas­ someone seems to deserve special treatment. The ed on their mistakes. r personally have a great deal platoon leader's "favorite" quickly becomes an of very sound advice based on a dazzling array of outcast and is distrusted by his peers. This destroys my own mistakes. Much of that is in these notes. the team spirit necessary to get things done. The platoon leader's credibility is destroyed in the eyes Tru st your company commander. He has a of those who do not see anything special about his vested interest in your success. After all , the better " favorite." Never characterize yourself as a " good you do at your job, the better he looks to his com­ guy" or a " bad guy." Good guys are taken advan­ mander. tage of. Bad guys alienate everyone. Just be fair.

You must support your commander. Never Be consistent. Never leave anyone in doubt as to criticize him or his orders. You do not have to where you stand. I have never met a soldier who agree with him or take credit personally for an didn't prefer having a boss he didn't agree with, order that appears to be stupid, but you must never but whose views and policies he clearly understood, express your dissatisfaction openly to the troops. to having a boss who is wishy-washy or can't make Simply make it plain that this is what the platoon up his mind. Something that's good today should

ENGINEER 29 be good tomorrow. What was un acceptable yester­ If the top NCO doesn' t want to get involved , make day should be un acceptabl e a week from now. him. If he just will not get involved , th en ta ke ca re of th e problem yourself and coun sel with your unit Treat everyone with respect. Most people deserve first sergea nt on str aightening him out. You must it. The few who don't should receive it anyway, if support th e NCO chain of command! If the NCOs only because it is your policy to respe ct everyo ne. do not have faith in their own chain of command When you be come known as a man who respects and in your willin gne ss to support it, th en they will others, your troops will begin to respect you not con tribute to running the plat oon and you will whether they want to or not. We all value th e be on your own. In any confr ontation between an esteem of others and tend to return it in kind. A NCO a nd an enlisted man you must suppo rt the coro llary to this is that you sho uld deliver criticism NCO. You may have to get with your platoon in private and praise in public. Criticism is much sergeant lat er and have him counsel the NCO for mo re likely to be constru ctive if there is no one pr e­ being an idiot in his handling of the sold ier, bu t sen t to overhear and cause the recipient embarrass­ never ca use the man the embarrassment of being ment. Praise goes a lot further when you deliver it counseled in front of a subordinate. I have seen in front of a man's peers. many cases where it was necessar y to int ervene to

Treat everyone with respect Always support your commander Learn when to sit down and shut up Be open to advice Ask questions Take care of the troops Guidelines Always set the example Be fair and consistent Be concerned Don't believe everything you hear Never criticize a fellow officer Always support your NCOs

You must always set the example. It migh t be stop an inju stice in progre ss, but it has always been more accu rate to say th at you are always setting th e possible to do it without embarrassing the NCO or example, whether you intend to or not , so set a correcting him on the spot. good one . T he choice in setting the exa mple is not yours. You are their leader and the tro op s tend to Utilize available experience. In other words, imitate you . If you take sh ort cuts, so will your listen to your experie nced sergean ts. Solicit th eir men . Ifyou fail to take a job seriously, so will they. advice and opinions. You mu st mak e the final deci­ If you exp ect specia l treatment or privileges, they sion, but you need not make it in igno ran ce. will, too . You can never expect anyone in your pla­ Som etimes it pays to listen to your soldiers, too . toon, reg ardless of age or experience, to beh ave Occas iona lly you will be surprised by what they better th an the example you set. Your act ions. not kn ow. your words, set the sta nda rds. Here's my f avorite technique again: ask ques­ tions.' Questions show th at you care. Ask abo ut Always suppo rt you r noncom m issioned of ficers. families, abo ut finances, abo ut the chow in the Do not ever criticize or degr ad e one in fro nt of his mess hall. Ask about jo b satisfaction and about peers or his subo rdinates. Confli cts between peers ideas to improve thi ngs. Don 't be nosey about per­ are inevitable . It is the plat oon sergeant's job to sonal detail s, but let your men kn ow that their well straighten these out . If th e problem is brought being matt ers to you. Ask your squ ad and sect ion directly to you, grab your plat oon sergeant and get sergeants abo ut their men. They should kn ow a lot him on it. D on 't deal with it directly yourself un less abo ut each of their people and thei r problem s. your platoon sergeant is un available within th e Wh en you ask them ab out these things, they will be time frame in which the pr oblem must be resolved. pr ompted to find out.

30 WINTER 1979-80 ------~

ife is full of traps for the unwary. If you have NCO s. Most lieu tenants feel awkward counseling a given any th ought to the complexity of your man with ten tim es more experience th an they L mission as a tactical Signal platoon lead er , have. You have to avoid tha t tr ap . Old er men mak e you have figured out that there must be a hundred mistak es in spite of their experience. Sometimes a gre mli ns out there waiti ng to trip you up. Here are man 's experience acts against him because he a few of th e more common ones to be prepared for. learned something wrong and ha s been doing it wrong for years. Age and experience do not make a Don 't let yourself becom e confused. One of th e man right. You should document your counseling un iqu e (a nd fun l) aspects of th e Sign al Corps is sessions. l anc e had to tir e a platoon sergea nt who th at it is not unc ommon for 25 or 30 things to be ju st couldn 't get it togeth er. I man aged to get rid of going on at once. This is especially true when a him before he dam aged the platoon too badl y, but Signa l center is setti ng up to go into operation. only becau se of exte nsive counseling with copious Your job is to bring everyt hing togeth er at once, docum entation . but you can't do it if you' re confu sed. Fortu nately, it's simple to avoid confusion. Plan carefu lly, Don 't f all into the 'you th ink yo u 're good" trap. organi ze in ad vanc e and ask questions! When you make decisions which affect a soldier ad versely, particularly when you recommend ac­ Neve r fear appearing to be stupid because yo u tion by the company commander under Article IS, ask questions . If you are ignorant, the troops will the soldier is liable to attack you emotionally. He find out whether you ask qu estions or not. You may accuse you of " playing God" by judgi ng him look a lot smarter when you are trying to find out for his wrongdoing. He may point out that you what is going on th an you do when you foul the job haven't been perfect all of your life, either, and you up because you didn't kn ow something. There are , have no bu siness being so hard on him . Qu ite often however, a couple of cautions involving questions. he will succeed in making you feel badly . Making Unless the person you are asking is known to be ab ­ such judgments is, however, part of your job . You solutely trustworthy, always check out his answer must do it. Your superiors expect you to make before act ing on it. Thi s is especially true when the value judgements and so do your sub ordinates. If answer indicates that a third party is not doing his you fail to do it, you will create disord er and chaos job pr operly. Man y a lieuten ant has embarrased in your platoon. Don't let these incidents himself by asking a sergea nt why he didn't allow a discourage you. man suffi cient time to eat lunch , only to find th at The tr oops kn ow everything tha t you do. I men­ the man spent half of his lunch hour at th e PX tioned before that you are going to set the example looking at phonograph records. Also beware of ad­ whether you want to or not. You are the most visi­ vice from your lower ranking people . Mu ch 01' it ble man in the platoon and you don 't really have a will be good, bu t some ma y lead you to take pr ivat e life. If you drink too mu ch, the troops dangerous or destructive short cuts. kn ow. If you do dope, they know. Ifyour pers onal life is a mess, it can' t be hidden from th em . If you Don 't believe everything yo u hear. Many th ings are dishonest or unethi cal, it will be common are said pur ely for your "benefit." Some things are kn owledge. You mu st be clea n if you int end to have flat wrong. Always chec k out wha t you hear or the respect of your men. over hea r before acti ng. After reading these notes you have probably noticed th at there is nothing here to tell you wha t Be aware th at p roblem s call be hidden from you. actions to tak e in accomplishing your job or mis­ No matter how close your relationship with your sion. Those things are found in your unit SOP and NCO s may ap pea r to be, no matter how mu ch tr ust ofte n vary from one unit to the next. The issue her e seems to be excha nged between you and your plat­ has been lead ership: how you get your people to do ton sergeant, you will always b e an officer. You wha t it is that you want th em to do. If you are a cannot become "one of the guys." There will successful lead er , your unit will always accomp lish always be somet hing you do not kn ow. Do n't be its mission , becau se the men will not let th emselves surprised or shaken when something crops up­ fail. The mos t imp ortan t thing th at you will do as a especially some kind of personal pr oblem of one of new lieutenan t is to develop leadership in yourself. your NCO s-just be continuously prep ared to deal S et the example. with the unexpected. It is seldom tha t a mission Be concerned. relat ed pro blem will be hidden from you. Most of A sk questions.' the time , when the hid den problem pops out, you will need to exercise compassion to deal with it. Oc­ casiona lly you will become aware of things th at you really don't need to know about. Some things are III purely NCO matters. You have to learn to distinguish th e problem that needs investig ating Captain Jam es B. Norwood is currently an ope rations / from the one tha t is better left to othe r hands. training of ficer in the l st A viation Brigad e (I t Fort One of the most destructive pitfalls th at befalls Rucker. AL. Th is article first appe ared in the Spring young lieutena nts is the fear of coun seling older 1979 issue of THE A RMY CO MM UNICA TOR.

ENGINEER 31 stand the significance of the cooperative effort, a familiarity with the missions and organizations of the two units is necessary. The mission of the 802nd Engineer Battalion (C)(H) is self-sufficient horizontal and vertical con ­ struction. It has high equipment density and a high diversification of skills in operational units. Each general construction platoon, for example, is com ­ prised of a wide variety of skilled personnel, tools, equipment and vehicles. A 40-man unit can move int o a rem ote area, construct-battle environment stru ctures, provide security for th e work site, per­ form combat engineering missi ons, and fight as in­ fantry. A noteworthy feature of the B02d is the Kor ean Augmentation to United State s Army (KATUSA) Inters ervice program in which approximately half of the per­ sonnel of som e Arm y units ar e Korean soldiers. KATUSA soldiers are int egrat ed int o all elements Cooperation of an Army battali on and fall under the sam e chain of command as their U.S. counterparts.

hile the 802d is well suited for opera ting in a combat environment, its cap ability to W construct large scale permanent stru ctur es is limited. Personnel and eq uipment necessary for Pays Off at Taegu stru ctural steel work, heating, air conditioning, and secondary power systems are not present. The SS4th Con struction Engineering Squadron (CES) is organized as a deployabl e he avy rep air and air base facility con struction unit. Its vertical construction assets are managed acco rding to in­ dividual skills. Thus, carpenters, electricians, by LT Michael Hullihan masons, etc., work out of centralized shops. Since most squadron projects are in the base are a, shops can supply specific skills required by a number of concurrent projects. Under normal cir cum stances, e.g. when the squadron is depl oyed as a unit. thi s system affords efficient use of personnel. he T aegu Modulu x Dormitory construction The location of the Ta egu Modulux Dormitory project was a prime example of interservice proj ect , however, dictated a system modification . T cooperative and merits examination in terms Construction of the facility required the establish­ of advantages and lessons learned. ment of an " operat ing locati on" considerably The $1 .2 million housing project for Air Force removed from squa dron headquarters. Personnel personnel was considered a requirement upon the and equipment to be used at Taegu Air Base were activation of a new fighter squadron at Taegu Air detached fr om the headquarters to meet the re­ Base, Republic of Korea. Construction of this type quirements of the pr oject. of Air Force billeting facilities in overseas locations Combining Army, Air Force and KATUSA is normally the responsibility of Air Force Con­ soldiers int o a constru ction team required an ad­ structi on Engineering Squadrons, with contract justment of operating procedu res. The system construction by local nationals as an alt ernative. which evolved was a crew-typ e breakdown of per­ But in the case of the Taegu Modulux Dormitory sonnel. With th e high number of diversified tasks project, the distance from the project site to the to accomplish the mission, to ma intain supervisory nearest CE squa dron, along with the prohibitive control over tr oop s, and to raise the exp ertise level cost of civilian labor , led proj ect planners to seek of individual soldi ers. other means of construction. Under the crew system, Army, Air Force and By combining forc es with Army engineers, an in­ KATUSA soldiers were separated int o specifi c skill terservice con struction team was formed. The two construction team s. Each team was placed under units involved were th e Arm y's 802nd Engineer the immediate control of th e most knowledgeable Battalion (C)(H) and the Air Force's SS4th Con­ soldier, regardless of rank. Included in each crew struction Engineering Squadron. T o better under­ were personnel undergoing on-the-job training.

32 WI NTER 1979-80 A number of unexpected benefits were derived from the use of the crew system. Development of working relationships between Army, Air Force, KATUSA personnel meant overcoming interser­ vice, cultural and language differences. Air Force personnel were given the opportunity to work with Korean soldiers on a day-to-day basis. Army per­ sonnel became acquainted with the organization and operating procedures of Air Force units. Most important, new construction techniques were derived from a diverse pool of experience. Interservice cooperation during the course of construction insured responsive equipment sup­ port. While the 802nd had the heavy equipment, pneumatic and gasoline operated tools. and some of the hand tools required, it was not authorized the type or amount of tools peculiar to modulux construction.

he 554th CES, on the other hand , had ready acces s to tools and equipment for specialized T construction tasks. By combining assets, con­ struction speed and quality were greatly enhanced. In some cases, both the S02d and 554th possessed comparable equipment (e.g. hydraulic and winch cranes). The option to choose between two dif­ ferent models of the same item of equipment gave project managers additional flexibility . A major factor in any construction project is materiel procurement. During the Taegu project, this factor became critical. Due to siting complica­ tions, which delayed allocation of funds, much of the materiel required could not be requisitioned until the pr oject start date. To avoid job stoppage for lack of materiel. alternate supply sources were necessary. Again, the ability to draw on both Air Force and Army assets proved beneficial to project completion. Lateral support for critical items, such as lumber and plumbing fixtures, was obtained through both Air Force and Army channels. In some instances, construction materials were purchased from local sources. While formal negotiations were handled by the Korean Procure­ Army and Air Force engineers combine efforts on Taegu dormitory project ment Agency. KATUSA soldiers were instrumental in preliminary inquiries and coordination of delivery. A KATUSA mason, for example, ordered ready-mix concrete on a daily basis. Since he knew the specifications and intended placement con­ engineer units to work together increases figuration, he was able to accurately translate the readiness. Other projects of the magnitude of the directives of the site engineer to the local batch Taegu Modulux Dormitory construction could be plant manager. managed in a similar manner. lnterservice To summarize, the Taegu Modulux Dormitory cooperation is certain to improve the efficiency and project points out several advantages of interservice training of Air Force and Army units alike. cooperation. Foremost among these are efficient use of equipment and manpower, quicker materiel III procurement, and responsive equipment support. First Lieut enant Mich ael F. Hullihan is currently atten ­ The training value of joint U.S. Air Force/Ll.S. ding graduate school at th e University ofIllinois. He was Army projects should also be considered. Interser­ assigned as a platoon lead er with the 802nd Engineer vice efforts are imminent in future conflict situa­ Battalion (e) (H) from December 1977 through Jun e tions. Recognizing this fact and preparing military /979.

ENGINEER 33 Engineer Problem

SITUATION

You are th e com ma nder of Company has been dispatche d on a roa d bypassing inver sion atmospher ic conditions exist ; B, 59th Engineer Battalion (Co mbat) the craters to the west, b ut it has en­ a nd ene my arti llery has a ra nge of JO (Mech). in direct support of a mech ani z­ cou ntered a rec tangular log crib and roa d kilometer s with nu clear a nd chem ica l ed infantry attack on a fortified ene my mini ng. capabilities. pos ition toward the south. Your 3rd Pla­ Your Plat oon Lea de r rep orts that the In add itio n to organic assets, the too n , in direct su pport of Task Force 1-6 . elem ent attemp ting th e bypas s h as squad following resources are attached to the h as been assigned as avenue of app ro ach vehi cles and tools and that direct small 3rd Platoon; an AVLB section organic to alo ng a two-lan e high way thro ug h heavily arms tire on the crib has ceased . The task th e Combat Support Company. l-6 Ar ­ wooded terrain . Your other platoo ns are force comm ander wants both routes mor: two each 5· to n dum p trucks with heavily com mitt ed. opened, with the highw ay ro ute having pole trailers; and one Comba t Engineer You receive a ca ll fro m your J rd Pla ­ top pr iority. Vehicle (CE V). In add itio n to each too n Lea de r that lead clements of T F 1-6 T he battalion S-2 has provided you sq uad's basic load of dem olitio ns. th e J rd have enco unte red two cr aters astride the wit h the following int elligence: the Platoon has three sets of M- 1S7, 10 sets h ighway. The first crater is approximate­ weather will remai n fair for the next J ·5 of bangalore, and 150 smoke pots . ly 16 met ers across. An eleme nt of the TF days; winds are ge nerally north to sout h :

o {~ ENEMY HELD HIGH GROUND

PROBLEM

Your Plat oon Leader says he can span adequa te fill is available in a borrow pit the second crater with a n AVLB, but he 600 mete rs north, but he feels such an is not sure how to attack the fir st crater, ope ra tion would take too long. He also especially since th e ene my has long range asks you ifhe sho uld sen d the CE V to the direct fire covering the obstacle . He h as bypass roa d to assis t in reducing the log considered filling th e first crater, since crib .

See THE SCHOOL SOLUTION, page 40

34 WI NTER 1979-80 • Have complete d bas ic combat training, Mi lita ry Science I and II , basic ROTC summe r ca mp, junior ROTC or one year at a service acade my to quali fy Reserve Components for entry into adva nced RO TC : • Be enrolled, or plan to enro ll with at least two yea rs rem ain ing (or be a n ad ­ vanced RO T C ca det ), in a full-time course of instruction leading to a SPECIAL WEEKEND COURSES Nation al Gu ard or Army Reserve units as Bachelor or advanced deg ree at a college officer trai nees. It is called the Army or univ ersity hosti ng or havi ng a cross­ Offi cers and NCOs responsible for ROTC / Selected Reserve Simultaneous enrollment ag ree ment with a nother tr aining in their respective units a re en­ Membership Program (SMP) and re­ schoo l hostin g Ar my ROTC progra ms. courage d to attend one or more of the qui res Reserve Component (RC) enlis ted Individuals on ROTC scholarships or special wee kend courses offe red by the status for eligibility. particip a ting in a fe de r al tuition U.S . Army En gineer Sch ool at Fori SMP par ticipants will dr ill with assistance progra m a re not eligible to Belvoir during the remainder of FY 80. Reser ve Compo nent units as officer enroll in the SMP. Five weekend course s have been con­ trainess . T hey will hold the rank of cadet du cted since October 1, and eight more and be pa id for the enlisted gr ade and are sche duled between Decem ber 1 and years of ser vice reache d . However, pay NEW OER SYSTEM Ap ril 13, 1980. will not be less t han th at for gra de E-S. Selected students shou ld be familiar Individu als will also receive ROTC train­ The new Officer Effic iency Report with th e subject matter since inst ruction ing for whic h they will be paid a monthl y (OER) syste m will be impleme nte d in full is fa st-paced and not designed for initial subsistence allowa nce of S100 up to 20 for the Ar my Reserve effective I learn ing. Cou rses offered during the re­ mon ths. February 1980. An OER for an y period mainder of FY 80 are ind icated below: Upon completion of ROTC training, endi ng on or after th at dat e will be sub­ Det ailed infor mation on th e program SM P p articipan ts will be commissioned mitted on th e new D A Form 67-8 . U nlike or qu est ion s rega rding enrollmen t should and assigned to USA R or ARNG units the Act ive Arm y, implementat ion of the be addressed : Commanda nt ; US Army until they grad ua te from college . At their new O ER system for the Reserve will nor Engin eer School; ATTN: Unit T rain ing request, th ey will then be considered for be preceded by a closeout re port . It is Secti on ; Fort Belv oir , VA 22060 . Regul ar Arm y appoin tments or three­ essential. therefore. to th e orderly transi­ Te lepho ne numbers for more informa­ year active duty tours, or the y may be tion of th e new system th at un it com ­ tion are: lNW AT S 800 -336 -3095, E xt. able to fulfill their obligation in Reserve manders insure the timely preparation 3008; Commercial 703-664 -3008; a nd Com po nent units. a nd sub miss ion of the current OER AUTO VON 354-3008 . Enlisted RC members and ROTC forms (DA Form 67-7) as they become ca dets must meet the followin g criteri a to du e. T he new syste m will incorp orate the qualify for participation in th e progr am : use of a support for m, DA Form 67·8 -1, NEW TRAINING PROGRAM • Be a United States citizen; to assist th e rat er and rated office r in • Be enrolled or intend to enroll in det erm ining the jo b require ments and Gua rd a nd Reserv e enlisted per sonnel ROTC advanced courses; objectives which will serve as a ba sis for may now enr oll in adva nced ROTC • Have at least four years remaining th e OER. Technical advice and /or course s a nd conti nue to serve in a on the ir enlistment when they enroll in assistance can be obtained fro m RCPA C Reserve Compon en t un it, according to a SMP: (AV 693-737117876). recen t Depar tmen t of th e Ar my an­ • Be less th an 25 years old when ac ­ nouncem en t. In addition, ROTC ad ­ cepted into th e pro gr am; vanced course cade ts may enlist in Army TRANSFERS TO THE IRR

New Army policy requires that certain CO,URSE DAToES OFFERED COURSE TITLE enli sted members of T roo p Program NUMBER Units be transferred to the In active Ready Reserve in lieu of disch arge. The December 15·16 80 SP·6 Roads and Airfields in the action applies to soldiers sepa rating fro m Theaterct Operations th e Active Army, the Army National December 15-16 80 SP-7 Engineers in River Crossings Guard, and the Arm y Reserve pri or to completing the ir six-year military obliga­ 80 SP;8 February 2·3 Fixed Bridging tion. The new policy, effecitve I Octob er, February 2·3 80 SP-9 Engineers in River Crossln'gs is designed to assure th at no member is March 1-2 80 SP-10 MinelCountermlne ffardware, discharged who ha s a pot en tial for useful Doctrine, and Operations at serv ice under condition s of full mobili za­ Battalion Level tio n. The new policy applies only to per ­ sonnel separa ted for one of the following March 1·2 80 SP·11 Elements of Terrain Evalua· reasons after successfully comp leti ng tion ba sic trai ning or at lea st eight week s of March 29·30 80 SP·12 Military· Explosives and their one-statio n- uni t-t rain ing : dep endency; use expeditious discharge pr ogram; hard­ April 12-13 80 SP·13 Engineer Play in Games and ship; inab ility to perform prescribed duties du e to parenthood ; sole surviving Simulations sons / da ughters and surviving fa mily members; and un suitabil ity.

ENGINEER 35 sibi lity is again shifted up on that officer's selection for prom otion to lieute na nt col­ onel and colonel. Officer Career Info SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT Under the new structure. an officer's ca reer will be ma naged by one of the three career division s fro m th e day he enters the Ar my as a second lieutenant t hr ou gh selection for promotion to col­ onel. T h is not only improves total Ther efore. E ngineer Branch has a ceili ng MAJORS man agem en t b ut also gives office rs a on th e total nu mb er of com pany grade single point of contact througho ut th eir engi neers who ca n attend scho ol at any The critical sho rt age of engineer ma­ ca ree r (0 1 through OS) . one time under all progra ms . Th e result jors is a continuing problem, particularly Each com missioned officer will be is that scho oling re mains extre mely corn­ in t he area of professional de velo pment man aged by one of t he three ca reer divi­ petitive in terms of manner of perfor­ in " other" spec ialti es. T he cu rre nt sions based on ac cession specialty. Those m ance. pr ofession al developmen t. and utilization rat e of 8S percen t in sp ecialty officers who hold ac cession specialties 11, tim e in service. code 21 assign ments ofte n precludes 12, 13, 14, or 15 will be man aged by the Desp ite th ese const ra ins , En gin eer qualification in a n eng ineer officer's Com ba t Arms Division . Man aging those Br anch conti nues to receive and use a full ot her specia lty pri or to reaching the officers with ac cess ion specialities 21. 25. "fair share" of schooling quo tos . Officers prim ar y zone for promotio n to lieu tenant 27,31, 3S, 36, 37, 72 , or 74 will be the who fee l they meet all th e requirem ents colone l. respon sibili ty of th e Combat Support for schooling at t he graduate level are in­ T he 1979 se lection list for the Com­ Ar ms Di vision . T he Combat Ser vice Su p­ vited to app ly. AR 621· 1 gives applica ­ mand and Genera l Staff College is port Division will man age t hose officers tion det ails. En gineer Bran ch will also schedu led to be released in mi d­ with acc ession specialties 42 , 43 , 44 , 71, respond to written or tel ephonic queri es December . 75, 76, 77,81,82.87,88, and 92 . regarding evalua tion of competiti venes s for sch ooling. COMPANY GRADE OFFICERS OTHER SPECIALTIES

M ost engi neer officers aspire to attend OPMD REORGANIZAnON In addition to an accession specialty, gradua te schoo l during the first 10 years eac h commissioned offi cer ob tains of milita ry service . Un fort u n a tely, A plan for the reorganization of an other specialty by the eight h yea r of ac­ however, E ngineer Br anch is co nst ra ined MI LPERC EN 's Officer P er son n el tive commissioned service. Officer s arc from app roving all requests for graduate Mana gem ent D irector at e (OPMD) was then avai lab le for a ssig nm ent in both of sch ooling . So me of th ose constraints are approve d in August. Scheduled to tak e th eir specialties. Accomplishing effec tive exp lained below: place over a 19-mon th period, the m ana gement o f offi ce rs in both • Professional D evelopment N eeds . reorganization is de sign ed to provide effi­ specialties. Id eally, ea ch of t he 40 At te ndance at th e Engineer Office r Ad ­ cient and effec tive " life cycle" career specialties would be man aged by a vance d Course and succe ssf ul completion man agem ent for t he Ar my's officers sepa rate career man ager. How ever, of a com pa ny com mand tou r are under the Officer Personnel Man age­ beca use the reorganiza tion struct ure is to minimum requirements. Ove rseas eq ui ­ ment Syst em (OPMS). be accom plished within existing man­ ty , experience at battalion staff level , an d power resources, pr ovidin g a separa te overall manner of performance ar e ot her car eer manager fo r eac h specialt y would primary det erminants. VERTICALLY STRUCTURED require expans ion of th e existing TDA • Gilly those disciplines verified as MANAGEMENT and would be cost prohibitive. "shortage disciplines" arc eligib le for In decid ing how man agemen t respon­ gr ad ua te st udy . Cu rrently. the shortage T he app roved reorgan ization plan ca lls sibility fo r th ese non accession speci alties list incl udes Geodetic Scien ce, Engineer­ fo r three vert ica lly structured car eer would b e dist ributed a mong the th ree in g O R SA , Engin eering Physics , management d ivision s-s-Corn bat Arm s ca ree r divisions, each ver tical division E ngineerin g Nuclear Effects, Engin eer ­ D ivision . Combat Support Arms Divi­ was given res ponsibility fur management ing Electronics, an d ADP . En gineeri ng sion, an d Combat Service Support Divi­ of nonaccession specia lties based upon Admini stration is no t ava ila ble at this sion-responsible for ass ignme nts of existi ng specialty pairings, training, and time for fu ll time study and a very lim ited lieutenants throug h lieutena nt colone ls. experience of the officer corps . In most number of officers will be pe rmitted to The Colonels Division and Warrant Of­ cases, th e accession spec ialty which had study Civil Engineering du rin g FY 80. ficers D ivision will be retained with out the largest percentage of officers holding All shortage disciplines are technical in change fr om the presen t structure . the pa rticular nonaccession specialty was n ature. As a result, undergraduate This vertical structuring will enable assi gned management resp onsibility for b ackground (both subject material and OPMD, for the first tim e since the incep­ that sp eci alty. A complete list ing of all grades) is im portant , since it ha s a direct tion of OPMD, to provide career specialties and t he division resp on sib le im pact on an ind ividual' s acceptance for management ba sed on a " life cycle" con­ for m ana ging each specialty is available grad uate scho ol, the d uration of school­ cept for comm issioned officers. Under up on req uest. ing , and the indiv id ua l officer's ability to t he current structu re, when an officer is successfully meet degree requi rements. selected for promot ion to major, resp on­ PHASED IMPLEMENTATION • Th e total num ber ofofficers at te n­ sibility for m an agemen t of his ca reer din g school directly affects our ability to moves from one of t he com pa ny grade T he reorgan izat ion of OPMD will be m e et o t h e r Army req u ir emen t s , divis ion s to th e Maj ors Divi sion . Resp on­ accomplish ed in phases over a pe riod of

36 WINTER 1979-80 approxi ma tely 19 mont hs and will com­ ment division s crea ted in Phase II. pected th at through th is process the men ce once automa tic data processing Phase V will be devoted pr imaril y to reorganizati on can be mad e in an orde rly syste ms su pport pa ckages ca n be preparing an after actio n report on th e mann er and mi nim ize any adverse im­ prepa red . Phase I will consist of th e reo rga nizatio n effort . pact on the office r corp s. reorga nization of the fu nctio na l divi­ An organizatio n cha rt showing the In summary, the ultima te purp ose of sions. Current ly, th ere are th ree func­ stru cture of OPMD aft er reorganization the OPMD reorganizat ion is to achieve tiona l divisions: Personn el Operations is also availab le up on requ est . " life cycle" man agement in all OPMS Division, Professional Develop ment Divi­ specialties while at the same time deve lop sion, and Officer Distribu tion Division . FLEXIBILITY NECESSARY the most effective orga nization for war­ Un der th e new struct ure, functiona l time. While speci fic internal actions an d operatio ns will be perform ed by a Person­ Alth ough th e plan ca lls for th e implementation dates are not prov ided in nel and Training Division , an Officer reorgan ization to be acco mplished over a thi s article, plans are curre nt ly being Distr ibu tion Division , a Plan s, Program period of 19 mon ths, a great deal of flex­ developed to present detailed briefin gs and Analysis Division , and an Ad­ ibility will be necessary. Following com ­ on the new organization during OPMD min istrative Support Office. pletion of each phase, that ph ase will be visits to office rs in the field . Officers are In Ph ase II the company gra de divi­ studied and analyzed before beginning encourage d to tak e adva ntage of the sions will be reorganized into three ca reer the next ph ase. Th e purpose of thi s vari ous opport unit ies to learn abou t the divisions. The divisions will provide the analysis is to surfa ce any pr oblems OPMD reorganization and its effect on base for Phases III and IV , which incor­ associated with a particular phase and th eir career management and profes­ porate th e Majors and Lieutenant Col­ provide solut ions to th ose problems siona l development in the future. onels Divisions int o the career manage­ before moving to th e next phase. It is ex­

Commanders Update

LTC ROBERT OLIVER LTC ROBERT D. BROWN , III 5 th Engine er Battalion (C) 588th Engineer Battalion (C) Fort Leonard Wood, MO Fort Polk, LA

LTC CHARLES E. CHANDLER LTC EVERETT R. THOMAS 11th Engineer Battalion (C) 864th Engineer Battalion (CH) Fo rt Belvoir, VA Fort Lewis, WA

LTC JOHN M. O 'CONNOR LTC CARLOS W. HIC KMAN 15th Engineer Battalion 3rd Battalion, 4th Br igade znc Armored Division Fort Leonard Wood, MO Fort Hood , TX LTC JOHN DORR LTC CLAIR GILL 9th Engineer Battalion 13th Engi nee r Battal io n USAREUR 7th Infantry Division Fort Ord, CA LTC ROGER F. YANKOUPE 12th Eng ineer Battal io n LTC LAWRENCE G . AlLINGER 8th Infantry Division 20 th Engineer Battalion (C) USAREUR Fort Campbell , KY LTC DAVID SPANGLER LTC ALBERT J . GENETTI, JR. 84th Engin eer Battalion (C H) 43rd En g inee r Ba ttalio n (C H) Schofield Barracks, HI Fort Be nning , GA LTC LERO Y PAUL LTC CAL D. JOH NSON 2nd Engineer Battalio n (TO PO) 46t h Engineer Ba ttalion (C H) 2nd Infantry Division Fo rt Rucke r, AL Camp Casey, Korea

LTC JAM ES W. KEYS LTC FRANK PATETE 92nd Engineer Battalion (C H) B02nd Eng ineer Battalion (CH) Fort Stewart, GA Camp Humphreys, Korea

LTC DANIEL M. WILSON LTC ALE XANDER JOHNSTON , III 299th Engineer Battalion (C) 326th Engineer Battalion (C)(AMBL) Fort Sill, OK Fort Campbell , KY

ENGINEER 37 that in many cases they are not awar e of th e tot al cons equences of th eir actions . A counseling sta te­ ment is a self-imposed bar to reenli stm ent and places a soldi er in Enlisted Career Info the following status: he loses his pro­ motion eligib ility; he is prohibited from reenli sting for at least 93 da ys following sep ar ati on ; he loses his op­ tion to reenlist even after 93 days RE VISED PROMOTION tot al of 30 points ar e achieved. without first obtaining a DA approv­ WORKSHEET Sold iers and commanders should ed waiver. [1' the waiver is obtained, he still loses at least two grades from A revi sed Promot ion Point recogni ze that resident course att en­ th e gr ad e he held at the time of his Worksheet (DA Form 3355) is now dance is the best and quickest means dischar ge. being used in conjunction with th e of achieving th e maximum number Requests to withdraw counseling semi-centra lized prom otion system of points in this item. statements prior to ETS can only be for advancement to grade s ES and • Awards and Dec or ations : The approved by MILPERCEN for E6. value of points for peacetime awards soldi ers serving in CONUS and only The worksheet is a standarized and decorations has been increased. by th e major overseas commander scoring form used to determine the Additional badges have been includ­ for soldiers serving overseas. number of promotion points achiev­ ed for points, and Certificates of ed by each soldi er recomme nded for Achi evem ent now qu alify for th e pr omotion list sta nding . The scores award of points. REVISED PROCESSING SYSTEM from the worksheet are used by DA • Co rr espo nde nce Subcourse: to det ermine the prom otion poin t Th e point value has been tripl ed to In an effort to streamline reassign­ cut -off scores announced monthly by one promotion point for each five ment processing , a new regulation , MILP ERCE N. credit hours satisfactorily com­ AR 612-10, ha s been written and is Th e revised worksheet retains the pleted . being distribu ted to the field. It 1,000 promotion point s ceiling, but • High School: The soldi er who became effective 1 October and in­ point categories have been modified has a high school diploma or GED cludes significant improvements in and points redistributed . The revised equival ency certificate will be the methods used to prepare soldie rs works heet is designed to provide granted 7S points. for reas signment. soldiers competing for promotion Although use of th e new work­ Key are as which the new reg ad­ wit h a means to influe nce their pro ­ sheet beg an in October , prom otions dresses are reassignment processing motion chances. Spec itic emphasis ba sed on the new scores will not and the spons orship and orientation on th e new workshee t was given to begin until January 1980. Until th en. program. It applies to all soldiers in those areas where soldiers could in­ th e old scores will continue to be us­ grades ES through 06 and also to creas e their poin ts t hro ugh in­ ed in det ermining promotion s. New those Els and E4s who desire to dividual effort and in itiative. work sheets and scor es for pr om otion move their dependents to or from an Major changes o n the new to ES become effective 1 January, overseas area at government ex­ worksheet are summarized below : while th e effecit ve date for prom o­ pense. It also applies to tho se junior • SQT: Points will be based on tion to E6 is 1 Februar y 1980 . enli sted so ldiers who are AIT th e " GO" Raw Scor e shown on the graduates and have dependents with Individu al Soldi er Report (ISR). COUNSELING STATEMENTS medical , dental, physical, emo­ This change permits more tim ely use tional, or in tellectual problem s. It of test results. Adjustm ent of points. An increasing number of career does no t ap ply to soldi ers being however, will occur only during nor­ soldiers are refusing to take th e reassigned between units on th e mal recomputation peri ods. necessar y actions to meet length-of­ same installa tion, to thos e bein g • NCOES Course: E4s who com­ service requirem ents which make reassign ed to schoo ls as stude nts, or pl et e the Primary Lea dership them eligible for overseas reassign ­ to thos e being reassigned for separa ­ Course, the Primary Noncommis­ men t. To be eligible for an overse as tion purposes. sione d Officer Cou rse. or the assignment, soldiers mu st have at The syste m outlined in the new reg Primary Technical Course will be least 12 months remaining in the ser­ is desi gned not only to make awarded 30 points. ESs are award ed vice upon their arrival overseas . reassignments eas ier for soldiers and 30 points for completion of the Basic Anyone with less than 12 months re­ their dependents, but also to lessen NCO Cour se or th e Basic Technical maining has the option of extending the workl oad for MILPOs and com­ Course. The new worksheet also or reenli sting to meet this minimum manders. Specific respons ibili ties recognizes completion of OJE (on­ tim e-in -servic e requirement. Or he have been assigned to each of those the-jab-experience) by awarding IS may sign a counseling statement and individuals involved-the gain ing points for certification at the tim e of be deleted from orders. and losing commander , the MILPO, initial board appearance, and one But feedback from soldiers who the appointed sponsor, and th e point per month thereafter, until a sign counseling sta tements indicates soldier being reassigned. Meeting

38 WI NTER 1979·80 .------­ th ese resp on sibilities is critical to the sio n specialities. Previou sly, ca n­ sub mitted th ro ug h cha nnels to success of th e system, so if you' re didates did not receive thei r spec iali­ M ILPERC EN . fac ing a reassignmen t in the near ty design ation unt il they had co m­ future, ge t hold of a copy of the new pleted ro ughly three- fourt hs of the INSTRUCTORS NEEDED reg and look it over. It could save co urse. Each ca ndidate now has this you a lot of head aches later. info rmation prior to departing his Second career oppo rtu nities arc old duty station for Fort Benning. now open to Army officers and OCS CHANGES The new proced ure allows the NCOs (0 1 to 06 and E6 to E9) in soldier whose ultimate ass ignme nt is Ar my Junior Reser ve Officers' Until recently, so ldie rs attending to a CONUS ins tallation to leave his Train ing Corps (AJR OTC) . Person­ OCS did so in a PCS status. It has fa mily in current hou sing , or move nel who a re within one year of retire­ now been de termined that the them to th e ultim ate duty statio n. men t or who have retir ed within the 14-week course is mor e ap propriate Candidates whose ultimate assign ­ last five yea rs may qualify. AJ ROTe for tempor ary duty (T D Y) than a ment is overseas have no option; th ey is offered at 670 high sch ools nat ion­ permanent cha nge of station . mu st leave t heir dependent s in cur­ wide. In st ru ction includes lead ership Ther efore, unl ess ca ndidates are rent ho using, unl ess they choose to de ve lo p m e n t , m ap rea d i ng. assigne d Specialty 11 (I nfa nt ry), move them at th eir own expe nse. mar ksm anship , methods of in struc­ they will attend th e co urse in a Governmen t qu arters will not be tion a nd military history. Classroo m " T OY en ro ute" sta t us . availabl e at Fo rt Benning for instructi on is au gmented by military Th os e ca n d idates assig ne d dep endents of office r candidates, ex­ drill, or ien tation trip s, field trips, Specia lty II an d th ose selecte d for ce p t t hose assigne d a ccessio n mini-summer ca mps, and orie nteer­ Ranger training following comple­ Spec iality 11 a nd pe S'd to Fort Ben­ ing. Addit iona l info rm ation conce r­ tion of th e course will be ass igned nmg. ning pay, working hours, be nefits , PCS to Fo rt Benning, t he only loca­ The deadl ine for receipt of O CS ctc., m ay be obtaine d from RO TC tion for officer ca ndidate training a pplicatio ns for Class 3-80, sched ul­ Region Headqu arters at Fort Bragg, since 1973 . ed to beg in on 6 April, 1980, is 7 Fort Knox, Fort Riley, or Fort A nothe r o es poli cy change January. The Application for Ap­ Lewis. relates to the ass ignme nt of acces ­ poi nt ment, DA Form 61, mu st be

The Missing Issue

If you did not receive a Summer edition of ENGINEER Magazine, the reason is simple. We did not publish a magazine labeled as the Summer edition. The Springedi· tion, published in May, was followed by the Fall edition, which you should have received in early September. We skipped the Summer edition-on paper, only-so that the magazine would reach the field at the beginning of each season, rather than at the tail end. Henceforth, you can ex­ pect to recieve quarterly issues at or near the onset of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

ENGINEER 39 The School Solution

You decide to reduce the first crater astride the In reducing the log crib, you mu st first clean all highway and to reduce the log crib on the bypass mines manually from the crib's vicinity. Then road. To breach th e crater, you mu st first eliminate dest roy the front and rear vert ical posts with observed ene my fir e. So, you request obscuring timber-cutting demoliton cha rges. Place 30 to 40 smoke and suppressive art illery fire on th e enemy's pounds of dem olitions in the backfill at two-thirds dir ect fir e positions. Since wind and inversion con­ the depth of the fill. Th en tamp and detonate ditions are favorable, you also decide to use smoke simulta neo usly. Clear the resulting rubble manual­ pots to form screens at all three work sites. ly. Th ere are three factors in the breaching opera­ To reduce the first crater, first clean all min es tion. First , the observed enemy tire must be manually (blow in place) from the vicinity of th e eliminated pri or to the breaching at tempt. The se­ work area around the lips of th e crater. Th en fill cond factor is the tactical commander's priorities. approximately th ree meters on each side of th e Alth ough the CEV is ideally suited for destroying crater and employ th e AVLB to span the remaining log cribs , it could not be used for th at purpose 16-meter gap . Use the CEV to backfill and achieve because of tactical priorities. Third, you must in­ minimum compact ion. An estimated 72 cubi c sur e that your platoon leader recovers the two meters of fill is required, which is equivalent to 16 AVLBs as soon as trail elements of th e task force 5-ton dump truck loads . Two trucks will have to have passed th e crater so th at they will be availab le make five round tr ips to the bo rrow pit 600 meters for use again as th e TF advances. Of course, you away, while one truck will have to make six round should advise your battalion commander or S- 3 trips to th e pit. You estima te that it will tak e ap ­ th at th e cra ters exist. Repair of the craters for pr oximately 30 min utes to till and an other five passage of division rear elements is his respon sibili­ minutes to place th e AVLB across th e crater gap. ty.

We've got a problem . ENGINEER Magazine is published for the benefit of all Army engineers, including Engineer officers, Engineer enlisted person­ nel, and DA civilians employed in engineer-related jobs. The problem is that apparently many of them never see the magazine. During recent months , I have increased the number of copies mailed to many engineer units/ac­ tivities, but I fear that more copies-per-unit/actlvlty is not the solution. I think the solution lies with commanders, activity chiefs , first sergeants, command sergeants-major, and others responsible for getting the word down to troop level. Apparently too many magazines are winding up in the desks, lockers, or quarters of individuals, rather that in dayrooms, offices, lounges, and other places where engineer personnel congregate. With a limited press run dictated by a tight budget, it is impossible to increase free distribution by a substantial amount. So read it and pass it on, or pay the price for your own personal subscription. Editor

' U S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ' 979 -0-620-06514

40 WINTER 1979-80 Subscribe to

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