C LEAR THE WAY By Major General Robert B. Flowers Commandant, U.S. A rmy Engineer School

' m sure by now that most of you have read or heard participate in the process to ensure that our engineer-unique about Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) GEN Shinseki's needs are met. I desire to "transform the World's Best Army into We have designed a strong engineer capability to suppo rt a Full Spectrum Force ... Strategically Responsive and Domi­ the brigad e' s mobility requirements. The brigade headqu arters nant." The fir st step of his transformation is the creation of includes a Maneu ver Support Cell wi th a four-p erson Bri gade two Brigade Comba t Teams at Fort Lewis, Washington-a pro­ Engineer Cell and Digital Topographic Support Cell. A senior cess that we want to achieve within the next 12-18 months. engineer- a lieut enant co lonel or major-head s the Engineer Th ese new highl y mobil e and lethal brigades are designed Cell to deal with the full range ofexpec ted missions and poten­ to be capable of deployin g anywhere in the world within 96 tial augmentation requirement s such as USACE , con trac tor, hours. They will have about 3,500 personnel and will feature host nation, and multination al assets. The Digital Topographic "off- the-shel f ' techn ology that is more deployable and sus­ Support Cell, working in conjunction with the RSTA Squadron, tainable. All of the brigades' equipment will be air transport­ will playa criti cal role in managing the brigade 's topographic able by C- 130 airc raft. The brigades are optimized for small­ data in support of the intelligence preparation of the battlefield scale contingenc ies but will have the capability (when prop­ process and to ensure that the maneuver comma nder and his erly augmented) to perform stability and support operations subordinate elements have a common topographic operating and to particip ate in major theater war missions. They are de­ environment throughout the brig ade's battlespace. The Engi­ signed to be co mbat capable upon arri val, neer Company is designed to support the mobility require­ The brigade s are infantry and information centric. Each will ment s of the maneu ver batta lions. Its design incl udes three have three Motori zed Infantry Battali on s; a Reconn aissance, mobil ity platoons and a mobility support platoon. It is envi­ Surve illa nce, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) Squadron; an sioned that this is a second command opportunity, The mobil ­ Ant itank Compa ny; a Hi gh-Mobility Artillery Rocket System ity platoons will feature an engineer Valiant of the MAV that (HIMARS) Battery; an Engineer Co mpany (multifunctional and will include min e-detection, breachin g, rubbl e-clearing, and robust); and a Brigade Support Battalion. The infantry nature obstacle- creation capabilities. The mobility sup por t platoon of the brigade provides superb strategic, operational, and tac­ will be equipped with assault bridging and earthmov ing equip­ tical mobility to achieve decisi ve action throu gh dismounted ment such as high-mobilit y engi neer exca vators (HM EEs) and infant ry assault. Th e RSTA Squadro n will be equipped with a deployable universal combat earthmovers (DEUCEs). The com­ pheno menal anay of data-colle ction equipment and will be re­ pany will rel y on augmentation fro m division and eche lons­ sponsible for providing the situational awareness necessary for above-division enginee r assets to provide addition al mobility the brigade to set the time and co nditions for the fight. The and the majority of the counterrnobility and survivability sup­ brigades will be aug mented with add itional capability (armor, port required for the Brigade Co mhat Team . aviation, air defen se, en gin eer, military polic e, chemical, etc.) Achieving the CSA's vision will require major paradigm based on a mission, enemy, terr ain , troops, time available, and shifts in the wa y we have traditionally do ne business ill the civilian conside ration (METT -TC) analy sis. Army and at the Engineer School. Th e successful transforma­ A unique aspec t of the brig ade is that it will be designed tion of these brigades will require un precedented teamwork aro und a common medium arm ored vehicle (MAV) platform. from every member of the regim enl as we revoluti onize our Th e ultimate goal is to reduce the logistical and sustainment DTLOMS processes to meet the CSA's timelines. These will be requ irements. A com mon platform will translate to fewer spare intense, exc iting times as we shape the future of the Army and parts, fewer maintainers, and a greatly reduced logisti cal foot­ the engineer 's role in it. The Maneu ver Support Battle Lab print. The search for the optimal platform is ongoing. The Plat­ personnel are leadin g MANSCEN's efforts. The y have reac hed form Perform ance Demonstration at Fort Kno x ran more than out across the schoo lhouse and the Army to brin g in the right 30 vehicles and their variants through a series ofenvironments people with the right ski lls to help us create a capable and as we try to find the right balance between deployability, le­ responsive engineer force for the Brigade Co mbat Team. thality, sustainability, and survivability. The Maneuver Sup­ Our sleeves are rolled up and we are decisively engaged. port Center sent a team of officers and NCOs to Fort Knox to Essayons! Englneer · o/W1 February 2000 Headquarters, Department of the Army Volume 30 PB 5-00-1 UNITED STATES ARMY FEATURES ENGINEER SCHOOL 2 Engineer Support to Exercise Bright Star COMMANDANT By Lieutenant Colonel David Yanik Major General Robert B. Flowers 6 Engineers Keep the Peace in Kosovo MANAGING EDITOR By First Lieutenant Paul C. Stephenson Lynne Sparks 11 U.S. Army Firefighters FEATURES EDITOR By Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Ward Shirley Bridges 14 Keeping the Mechanized Engineer Rolling GRAPHIC DESIGNER By First Lieutenant Don A. Nestor Jennifer Morgan 22 Sets, Kits, and Outfits: Bridging, Diving, Lighting, and Fire-Fighting By Order of the Secretary of the Army: By Alan Schlie ERIC K. SHINSEKI 26 Ohio Engineers Get "Stick Time" at Selfridge: General, United States Army A Mutually Beneficial Relationship Continues Chief of Staff By Rae Higgins

Official : )w/t}~ JOEL B. HUDSON DEPARTMENTS Administrative Assistant to the Inside front cover: Clear the Way Secretary of the Army 000101 5 10 The Engineer Writer's Guide

Front Cover: Soldie rs from the 92d Engineer Battal­ 18 CTC Notes ion, 2d Platoon. Bravo Company, Fort Stewart, Geor­ gia, use a j ackhammer before laying security wire 25 Engineer Safety around 3d Army Headquarte rs. Mubarak Mili/ary City. They are participating in Exercise Bright Star 99100 in 28 Past in Review Egypt. (U.S. Army photo by SPC Jamarco Bowen, 55th Signa l Company.) 32 PERSCOM Notes Back Cover. View of the initial Panama Canal con­ s/rue/ion. 19 May 1910, Culebra Cut, Culebra, show­ 33 Lead the Way ing small stide-obs tructinq steam shovel.

ENGINEER (ISSN 0046-19890) IS prepared quartenv by lhe US. Army Engineer professiona l developme nt. Views exp ressed are those of the author and not School. 320 Engineer Loop. SUite 210. Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473-8929 Second those of the Department of Del en se Or its elements. Th e contents do not Class postage IS paid at Fort Leonard Wood. MO, and additional mailing offices. necessarily reflect ofIIciaI U.S. Arm y positrons and do not change or super­ sede information rn other U.S Army pubhcauo ns. Use of news It ems consn­ POS TMASTER: Send ad dress changes to Engineer Professional Bulle tin. tut es nenner att lrrnauo n of their acc uracy nor produc t endorsement Engineer 320 Engineer Loop. Suite 210, Fort Leonard Wood . MO 65473-8929 . reserves the right 10 edit material. CO RR ESPONDENCE, lette rs to the edito r, manuscri pts. photographs. of­ CONTENT IS not copyn ghled. Matenal may be reprinted II credu is given to Iicial urul requests to receive copies . and unit add ress changes should be sent Engmeer and the author. to Engmeer at the preced rng address Telep hone (573) 563-4 104 , DSN 676­ 41 04 . Engmeer's e-mail address ls· oridgess @wood.army.mil. Our Internet home OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION is targeted to all engineer and enqmeer-relatsd units. page is locat ed at· http'llwww .wood.ar my.mitlengrmaglemag_hp hIm PERSONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS are available for $14 00 per year by contacting DI SCL AIME R' Engineer presen ts prctessonal Informa tio n de sig ned to the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954. PIttsburgh. PA 15250-7950 keep US milita ry and CIVilian en gmee rs rnformed of current and eme rg ing Address changes for personal subscnpuons should also be sent to the Superinten­ developm ents within therr areas of expert ise for the purpose of snhancmq their dent of Documents.

February 2000 En gin eer 1 lanning support for an off- site exerci se is always a (Prime Power), Fort Bragg , North Carolina, set up a 110­ challen ge (or engineers. Anticipating Class IV sup­ volt power gird to support U.S. standard equipment and P ply needs, meldin g participant requirements with re­ minimize use of tactical generators. sources, learning and understanding local conditions, setting • The 100th Engineer Company (Topographic), Fort Bragg, priorities, and flowing proper troop skills and equipment to provided terrain analysis and bulk map sheet production. meet the pha sed needs of the plan are all considerations fac­ ing a comm ander and his staff. Addit ionally, any commander • A detachment from th e 306 th En gin eer Com pany is challen ged to integrate good mission- essent ial task list (Separate)(Combat Heavy), a U.S. Army Reserve unit from Fort Totten, New York, deployed earl y on during the (METL) training into an operation without compromising the buildup to assis t with interior wiring. services the exercise director expects. These challenges are magnified when the exercise is held in the desert halfway Planning for Bright Star 99/00 began during the previous across the world. Such was the task given to the 416th Engi­ exercise. At that time, representati ves from ARCENT and the neer Command (ENC OM) and the 92d Engineer Battali on 416th ENC OM identified the need for perm anent facilities (Combat)(Heavy) in Bright Star 99/00. for future exercises. The repre sentatives developed a plan for a command-and-control complex to be funded under the Ex­ Exercise Bright Star ercise-Rel ated Construction (ERe) Program. nited States Central Co mm and (CENTCO M) The Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the funding in 1999. conducted Bright Star 99/00 in Egypt during Oc­ The origin al proposal included a series of K-span buildings U tober and November 1999. It took place in the north ­ to be built by Reserve Component soldiers beginning in May ern desert region of the country as a joint/combined/co ali­ 1999. When the evolving situation in the Balk ans cause d tion, computer-aided command-post and field-training exer­ uncertainty as to fund ing for the project. a contracted design­ cise. It was the most significa nt coalition military training co nstruct project was coordinated with the Cairo Area Office exercise ever conducted by CENTCOM and the largest-scale of the Transatlantic Program Center, U.S. Army Corps of deployment and employment exercise in the CENTC OM area Engineers (TAC). The 4 J 6th ENCOM (Forward Cell) in con­ ofresponsibility outside of the Arabian Gulf. More than 17,000 j unction with TAC-Cairo completed a complex of three pre­ representatives from all U.S. service com ponents, the Egyp­ engineered (Butler-type) buildings. There were two 18,000­ tian military, and nine other Europea n and Gul f States part­ square-foot main exercise command-and-control buildi ngs and ners participated. a 4,000-square-foot Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). As the subordinate engineer command of the U.S. Army Central Command (ARCENT)/Third U.S. Army, the 4 16th ENCOM was the command-and-control headquarters for four 416th Engineer Command Mission enginee r units: he 41 6th ENCOM, wi th headquart ers in Darien, Illinois, is a Reser ve Component echelons-above­ Th e 92 d Engi nee r Battalion (Co mbat)( Heavy), Fort • corps command-and-co ntrol headquarters that reports Stewart, Georgia, was the lead unit for general support. T directly to the U.S. Army Reserve Command. A forward eell • Th e I st Pl atoon, Company B, 249t h Engineer Battalion of 20 Active and Reserve Com ponent soldie rs, collocated

2 Engineer February 2000 with ARCENT at Fort McPherson, Georgia, directly supports staging, onward movement, and integration of personnel and the ENCOM's Middle EastJCENTCOM area of responsibil ­ equipment; coordinate and prioritize construction effort dur­ ity planning mission. The forward cell was ENCOM's pri­ ing the buildup and sustainment stages; and coordinate the mary planner for exercise Bright Star 99/00 . orderly closeout of engineer acti vities and the in stall ation before redeployment. The cell of three officers and two or The 416th ENCOM's primary objectives during this exer­ three NCOs was constantly in the field inspecting progress, cise were to­ coordinating support, and preparin g for the next phase of in­ • Provid e engineering services to exercise parti cipants frastru cture development. Th e austere communications ca­ throu gh the command and contr ol of assigned units. pabilities, especially during the startup and base-dev elopment • Provide technical and planning assistance, via a liaison stages, made direct contact with units necessary to meet the officer, to the 377th Theater Support Command (TSC) in changing conditions and to rapidl y complete projects for ar­ testing and validating its new role as overall theater logis­ riving soldiers. tics manager. To track and control the operation. a master list of require­ II Perform these duties while testing the structure ment s and proj ects was dev eloped before departing from and operating procedures of its early- entry module CONUS . This list was the baseline for all activiti es. At the that deploys in support of ARCENT in case of a exercise site, the ENCOM became the single point of contact contingency. for all new support requests. Units and deploying headquar­ The unit phased three rotations of soldiers into theater to ters, including other services and coa lition partners, were in­ man the command-and-control cell. Each rotation included structed to submit work and support requ ests throu gh the regular Army officers and enlisted soldiers and reservists on ENCO lvl cell. The liaison officer stationed with the 377th 21-day (or longer) orders. The rotations reflected the Total TSC became the point of contact for most TSC requests, which Army concept that embodies the ENCOM itself. Each rota­ were tracked throu gh an Access databa se. At dail y status tion with its mix of Active and Reserve Component soldiers meetings attended by representati ves from subordinate engi­ blended the experience of active soldiers with the technical neer units and the supported headquarters, priorities were skills of part-time unit members. Rotations were structured assigned, pro gress tracked, and wo rk integrated int o each around anticipated missions and the skills required at impor­ unit' s schedule. This meeting gave staffs an opportunity to tant jun ctures of the exercise, while taking into consideration raise issues, disseminate important inform ation, and put out the tran sportation constraints of a deployment halfway across fires. Additionally, each unit submitted daily situation re­ the world . ports, which were consolidated and forwarded appropriately. The ENCOM now had a valuable electronic record of Blight At the exercise site, the ENCOM staff focused on what an Star 99/00 activities. engineer headqu arters does best: identifying engineer require­ ments, assigning work, monitorin g the progress, performing An added benefit of the exercise was recording and evalu­ quality control, and solving problem s. Its main tasks were to ating some of the field-expedient structures fabricated and provide assistance to the engineer units in the reception, used by participating units. Valuable data was gathered on

Soldiers from the 249th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, work continously to keep the lights running during Bright Star 99/00.

February 2000 Engin eer 3 Typical view of the interior partitions and finish of the exercise control building used by the major partici­ pants of Bright Star 99/00. Panels and electrical wire were completed by the 92d Engineer Battalion (C)(H). desert theate r-of-ope ration structures that we re constructed tent floors, and shelves; spread more than 4,000 cubic meters under co nditions that might app ly in other situations. (The of gravel in parking lots and other vehicle storage areas; and 416th ENCOM. in conjunction with the Engineer School at dug more than 35 tracked -vehicle positions for the 3d Infan­ Fort Leonard Woo d and the Huntsville Division of the Corp s try Division. of Engi neers, continuously upgrades its database of theater­ The 92d operated an efficient Class IV yard and. when the specific struc tures in the Theater Construction Man agement exercise was ove r, the battalion co llec ted, inventoried, and System program. ) warehouse d the majority of these item s for future lise. The projects required 191.000 square feet of plywood , a ton of 92d Engineer Battalion Mission nails, and 7 1 miles of interior wire. The tasks were acco m­ he battalion received noti ce to participa te in Bright plished with no major accidents or inj uries and an equipment Star 99/00 in February 1999. Dunng a series of plan­ availability rate well above 80 percent. T nin g mee tings and site surveys, it bec ame apparent that Bright Star wou ld pro vid e an excellent opportunity to 249th Engineer Battalion Mission train and evaluate most of the ba ttalion ' s METL tasks. Un­ SI Pla toon, Co mpany B, 249th En gin eer Battali on like typical exercises tba t almost excl usively emphasize hori­ (Prime Power), is stationed at Fort Bragg, while the zontal or vertica l ski lls, this deploy me nt provided a good l ba ttalion is headqu artered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Th e balance of carpe ntry, electrical, and interi or finish work alo ng platoon was invo lved in the exerc ise planning from the be­ with ample dozer/bl ade, line haul, and other horizonta l tasks. ginnin g. Using site surveys and after-action reviews from Having time to train wa s importa nt to the battalion com­ past exercises, 249th personnel decided to deploy four 750 ­ mander. The 92d was OPCON to the 41 6th ENCOM, but kilowatt generators to suppo rt the mai n camp grid and two when the ENCOM ' s base -develop me nt mission could not SOO-kilowatt generators as a dedicated power source for lights keep the entire uni t occ upied , the battalion staff was ready and air conditioning for the main exe rcise buildings and the with plans to meet its own traini ng and readiness objectives. Sens itive Compartmented Information Fac ility . This tran s­ The staff took adva ntage of every ava ilable training opportu­ lates into a capability of produ cing enough electricity to sup­ nity. Altho ugh significant effort was required during the ini­ port a town of 10,000 people. tial setup stages of the exercise, once the exe rcise platform A tea m of one warrant offi cer and lO sergea nts designed wa s in place , there were many opp ort unities for unit-directed the grid s, laid cable, located transformers and breaker boxes. training. This included honi ng both special staff skills and and prep ared the plants for operations. The team in stalled combat engineer skills throu gh the support of the 3d Infantry more than 44, 000 feet of high-voltage cab le and 14 tran s­ Divisian's field -training-exerci sc ope rations. formers, which provi ded power from three generators serv­ By the time the exercise was completed, the battalion had ing more than 2,000 custome rs. The 249t h provided unin ter­ bu ill more than 25 mil es of force-pro tec tion berm, recon­ rupted power Cor 45 days with no equipment-ind uced elec tri­ structed an old ammunition supply point (AS P), and devel­ cal outages to the 11 01208 grid while pulling all scheduled oped a new ope n-storage ASP for coalition forces. It clea ned services . Th ere were no work-related injuries. up and made functional the water system for the track ed ­ The prime power battalion is the only one of its type. As­ vehi cle wash rack, assembled more than 2 10 wooden field signed directly to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is latrines that had been prefabricated at home station, and wired generally deployed [ 0 support disaster relief or in an advi­ and partitio ned more than 40,000 square feet of exercise area. sor y role to operations in locations suc h as the Balka ns. Th ere, It constructed countless guard shacks, guard towers, tables, the unit ' s technical expertise is used to maintain host-n ation

February 2000 asset s. Exercises of the magnitude and scope of Bright Star their derail and resolution. And nothing beats the capability are rare and pose unique challenges for soldiers of the 249th. of field topographic units to provide the broadest dissemina­ For example, the soldiers are seldom asked to incorporate tion of terrain intelligence. different configurations of distribution system s as they were during Bright Star 99/00. And seldom do they have an oppor­ Lessons Learned tunity to perform and train on so many individual and collec­ xercises a.re gre at opportunities to learn and train. tive skills. By the deployment's end, the squad had trained Th ey require much of the same detai led planning and validated 95 percent of its METL squad. E effort as tactical deployments but are executed at a pace more conducive to trainin g, learning, experimentation , and lOOth Engineer Company Mission trial and error. The engineer organizations participating in Br ight Star 99/00 came away with a better understanding of ar t of th e 30th Engin eer Battalion (To po), Fort their strengths and weakness, the status of their METL profi­ Bragg, the 100th Engineer Company (Topo) was ciency, and the direction needed for improvement. the only engineer unit assigned to the 416th ENCOM P In austere environments like Egypt, if you don 't plan for it that wa s not associated with the facilities support mission. A before deployment, you may have to do without it. In the Third comba t topographic company, the lOath deployed to Bright World , westerners cannot count on having acce ss to supplies Star 99/00 with a seven -person terrain-analysis squad and its and services in the quantities an exercise like Blight Star may heavy print-plant squad. require. Predeployment site surveys and planning conferences Assign ed to the ENCOM for administrative and logist ics help ensure that critical items of support are available to meet support, the 100th was directly tasked by the ARCENT G2. The mis sion demands. terrain-analysis team set up operations near its customers within Engineers must be given sufficient priority for available the ARCENT headquarters. Using digital data and satellite im­ air- and sealift at the beginning of the exercise. Having engi­ agery supplied by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency neer units on the ground as earl y as possible with the right (NIMA), the team built and reproduced numerous map prod­ equipment and soldier skills ensures that satisfactory infra­ structure is in place before the main body of the exercise ar­ ucts and other tactical decision-making aides. Major projects rives. completed during the exercise were maps showing the training areas and ranges, a special two-map set of navigational aids for Engineers must lead the way in anticipating, identifying. the aviation units, special obstacle maps for the exercise, and 14 and planning support to othe r exe rcise parti cipants. Many units were unable to adequately identify their support require­ other special maps. This effort translated into 1,400 man-hours ments or were very late in submitting these requests. Devel­ of work that produced maps consuming more than 1,300 linear oping a database of common support tasks at the Army and feet of map paper. ENCOM levels saves countless hours ofcoordination and plan­ The heavy print-plant section included seven soldiers and ning and provides better preparation for future exercises with a field bulk-production plant consisting of three vans and an similar force mixes. associated support trailer. The crew, which received assign­ ments through the ARCENT G2 , completed bulk runs of spe­ Conclusion cial maps produced for a specific phase of the exercise and articipation in Bright Star 99/00 was a success for stock maps from the NIMA inventory. In 105 operational all eng inee rs in v 0 Ived. The exercise mi ssion, hour s. the prim plant produced 9,000 map sheets and distrib­ P force structure, and austere desert conditions provided uted more than 5.000 of them to soldiers in the field . The an excellent environment for all levels of command to train . project allowed evaluation of all of the team's major METL test. and evaluate unit readin ess. Across the board. engineer task s. participants were satisfi ed that their time was well spent and that the experiences and lessons taken from the exerci se will Bright Star 99100 was an excellent training vehicle for the be drawn upon [or years to come. terrain-analysis team. Being a very specialized organization , w the skiIls are hard to train and often overlooked at home sta­ tion. This deployment allowed team leaders to instruct, evalu­ Lieutenant Colon el Yanik is an Active Guard Reso w or ate. and reinforce the skills needed by their soldiers. For the ficer serving as a senior team leader; 4 I6th ENCOi'vl For­ wa rd Cell. Fort McPh er,wn, Georgia. Previous assignments new and inexperienced unit members. this was especially valu­ include service with Third U.S. Ann.\'; FORSCOM; the U.S. able because it was the first opportunity to apply perishable Army Reserve Command; 4 I2th ENCOM Forward, Sl-series military occupational specialty ski lis learn ed at ad­ Heidelberg, Germany; I04th Division (IT); 70lh Regional vanced individual training. Support Command; and ClTli- Ku wa it. LTC Yanik holds a The efforts of these two squads proved that even in this bach elor ofscience degree in civil eng ineeringfrom Lafayette age of digital technology, organization s like the 100th are Coll ege. Easton, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the En­ still required. During depl oyments, soldiers on the battlefield gineer Officer Advanced Cou rse and Command and General will alway s need paper map products, because nothing beats Staff Colleg e.

Febr uary 2000 Engineer 5 Engineen Keep the Peace in Kosovo

By First Lieutena nt Paul C. Stephenson n July 1999, the Assault and Obstacle Platoon, Bravo Gypsy, Turkish, Montenegrin , and Croatian communities that Compan y, 9th E ngineer Battalion (Combat), tran ­ accounted for 6 percent of the population. The majorit y of the I sitioned fro m traditional engineer missions to peacekeep­ factories and businesses in Gnjilane catered to the region 's ing operations in the city of Gnjil ane, the capital of Eastern agr icultural indu stry. Kosovo. The platoon initially occupied a schoolho use but later moved to the main post office and medical cli nic in down­ The Threat town Gnjilane (sec Figure 1). The mission was to provide n June 1999, marines from the 26th Marine Ex pedi­ security and stability to the city's northern sector according tionary Unit occupied Gnj ilane. During the firs t fe w to the Milit ary Technical Agreement (MTA). Signed in June weeks , dail y shootings between Kosovar Serbs and Al­ 1999 by both Serbi an and Kosovar Albanian leaders, the MTA I banians result ed in several cas ualties . On a few occasions, outlined the withdrawal of Serbi an forces from Kosovo and marines were caught in the crossfire. In addition, house fire s the demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army (Kl.A), set by arsonists OCCUlTed on a daily basis. The platoon' s duties in Gnjil ane included dismoun ted patrols, chec kpo int operations, and building searches. The platoon By the time Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, re­ also ensured free access for both Ko sovar Alb anian s and lieved the 26th in northern Gnjil ane, much of the shootings Kosovar Serbs at the clinic and post office. Thi s article de­ and fires had subsided. However, the most serious threa t to scri bes how the platoon conducted its operations and discusses the Assault and Obstacle Platoon was still the possibility of lessons the platoon learned during its stay in Gnjilane. being caught in the middle of aggressive actions between Kosovar Albanians and Koso var Serbs. who continued to at­ Gnjilane tack each other in direct violation of the MTA. These groups­ which included curre nt and former KLA memb ers, KLA sym­ he larg est city in Eastern Kosovo, Gnj ilane serves pathizers, organized crime figures, disgruntled Kosovar Serbs, as the cultura l and eco no mic center of the region . and form er Serbian para military-were involved in shooti ngs, T The prewar estimated popul ation of the city was about arson, home invasions, bomb ings, and kidnappings . In addi­ 50,000 . The ethnic breakdown among the popul ation hefore tion, local Kosovar Albanians com mitted similar crimes, such the war was about 71 percent Kosovar Albanians and 23 per­ as lootings and house burnings, agai nst Gnjilane.'s Gypsy cent Kosovar Serbs. In addition, Gnjil ane was home to small population in an attempt to force them from their homes. Loca l

6 Engineer February 2000 Post Office D (Platoo n Command Post) KLA Logistics '" Clinic Headqua rters 100 m ~ (A&O Platoon)

250 m 150 m Military Police Detention Facility

~ Market Place Camp Monteith TF 1-26 IN HQ

Figure 1. Downtown Gnjilane

Albanians distrusted Gypsies, who were alleged ly members consisted of one or two soldiers to provide securi ty and two­ of Serbian paramilitary groups and police during the war. man search teams. Each vehicle or individual without a cur­ few pass was systematically searched.

Dail y Operations Building Searches o min imize the threat against the platoon and to The most complicated operation the platoon conducted was provide stability to the area, we co nd ucted pres ­ building searches. Several factors were taken into consider­ ence operations thro ughout our sector of Gnjilane. T ation to make the searches a success: These operations included dismounted patro ls, checkpoint op­ erations, and building searches. • To ju stify our entry into buildings, probable cause must be established. Dismounted Patrols • To determine entry/exit routes and security needs , a thor­ Dismounted patrols consisted of four to seven soldiers. The ough reconnaissance of the buildings was requ ired. patrol schedule varied to cover periods of time when house • Based on information collected during the reconnaissance, fires and lootings occurred most frequently, which was dur­ a search plan was created and briefed. The plan included ing the late afternoo n and early evening. Manning require­ the security team and building-search team breakdown, ments increased for night patrol s to provide more security. searching methods, and where the entry would take place. Many soldiers in the platoon had not conducted patrolling operations since basic training, so the patrols provided a good Across the street from our command post at the post office training opportunity. In addition, the platoon could interact were two unauthorized KLA buildin gs-a logistics headquar­ with the populati on, which was the highlight of the deploy­ ters and a civil administration center. The platoon was to ment for some soldiers. On patrol they could see the results of search these buildin gs for illegal activity. Several days before the operations- people coming back to their homes, children the search, the platoon conducted detailed surveillance of the playing in the streets, and the beginning of the slow rebuild­ buildings. Sketches were made of the buildings, and persons mg process. entering and exiting were tracked to determine when the build­ ing was least occupied . During the surveillance, several uni­ Checkpoint Operations formed KLA members regularly entered and exited the build­ Nightly checkpoint operations were conducted at the squad ings. In addition, we noticed antennas on the roofs and com­ level to enforce curfew. Locations varied among different in­ muni cations wire between the two buildings. Both the uni­ tersections throughout the sector to avoid developing a pat­ formed KLA members and the communications equipment tern. At checkpoints, pedestrians and vehicles were stopped were indications that KLA comma nd-and-control activity may and searched thoroughly. Manning for check points varied have been occurring inside. The platoon's surveillance of the from four to eight soldiers with one NCOIC. Search teams buildings also included a thorough reconnaissance on each side of the buildings by two three-man teams.

February 2000 Engineer 7 After the reconnaissance, search teams were formed to ex­ Through the translator, they explained to the guard the na­ ecute the mission. The platoon was divided into security ele­ ture of their search and determined if there wa s anyone else ments, search elements. and a command-and-control element. in the building. Then they took the guard to a personnel hold­ The search elements acted as assault elements while security ing area to be searched. elements acted as support. Security elements. which consisted Meanwhile, the room-search teams entered the building of two-man teams, were placed along likely escape routes. Se­ and began to search each room methodically from the first curity teams were to detain anyone who left the building. A floor to the attic. They checked for KLA docum entati on in roving search team in the street would provide fire support if desks, filin g cabinets, closets, and safes. Wh en they found required. Search teams were divided into two-man personnel­ documentation, they took it to be translated . Any document search teams and two-man room-s earch teams. Although FM that mentioned illegal KLA activity was turned over to the 90-10-1, An Infantryman :\. Guide 10 Combat in Built-Up Areas. command-and-control e le ment. T he search teams al so recommends three-man room-search teams, our teams were searched sheds in the rear courtyard for military equipment, reduced by one person to increase the number of teams. The ammunition, and weapons. The secur ity guard was brou ght command-and-control element consisted of the platoon leader, back into the building to open doors and answe r question s. a radio-telephone operator, and a translator. The search of the logistics headquarters confirmed our ini­ The KLA logistics headquarters was the first building the tial suspicions. Although no weapons or ammunition were found, platoon searched (see Figure 2). With security in position, the illegal activity was occurring in the building. Besides conduct­ search teams and the command-a nd-control element ap­ ing unauthorized logistical activity, information found on a com­ proached the building. When the command-and-control per­ puter in the building revealed possible KLA criminal activity in sonnel reached the building, they were met by a security guard. the Gnjilane area. After informing higher headquarters of the resul ts of our initial search, a debri efin g team from the task-force intelligence sec­ tion documented and collected our findings. While the intelligence section continued the search, the platoon remained on-site to se­ Side Exit 2 Side Exit 1 cure the building. The debriefing team con­ fiscated several documents as well as the ~ computer. The KLA logistics director. who Back Yard Search arrived after the search began, and the se­ Team curity guard were detained and transported to the military police detention facility. securi,0 KLA 0 Team Logistics Lessons Learned Headqu arters-+ he platoon learned the foll ow­ .-s earch ing le ssons dunng these O Teams T operations: Personnel Main Entrance Security, Security, Security Holding Area A ll of our operations occurred in heavily populat ed areas. While the threat level was low after the first few wee ks, there was always the possibility of an at­ tack. To protect against possible threats, 3 security man or team overwatched during Personnel Security all operations. Whether stopping cars at Search Team Team checkpoints or searching buildings, secu­ rity remained the top priority.

Command and Control Post Office PM 90-10-1 states that in milit ary op­ erations in urban terrain (MOUT), small­ unit leaders must have the initiative, skill, and courage to accomplish missions while isolated from their units. Durin g our pa­ Figure 2. Building Search trol s and checkpoint op erations, squad

8 Engineer February 2000 leaders-and in some cases junior NCOs-wcrc the senior leaders on the gro und . To ensure that patrol s an d checkpoint ope ra tio ns we re con­ duct ed to standard, a thorou gh mission brief and precornbat inspections and checks were esse n­ tial. We en sured that there was time set aside to go over every aspect of the patrol and to co nduc t back briefs and rehearsa ls, Before every patro l, leader s bri efed their sq uads on mi ssion objec ­ tives, con tingency plan s, etc . Essential Equipment The table below lists equipmen t that was useful during operations in Gnjilane. Premade plastic hand­ cuff.s called Ilex cuffs, which are easy to handle and reusable, were invaluable during building searches and checkpoint operations. All soldiers had to do was place a detainee 's hands in thecuffs and ratchet the straps dow n. A release mec hanism in the cuffs allowed them to be reused. Night-visio n-goggle (NYG) helmet mo unts also were useful durin g night patrols. The moun ts freed soldiers' hands, allowi ng them to maintain Logistics Building better control of their wea po ns. Instead of having to raise and lower NyGs hanging around their necks, so ldiers Ground-to- Air Radio Sy stem (S INCGARS) m anpack s flipp ed their NyGs dow n from Their helmets for quick use. malfunct ioned . One piece of equip ment the platoon wished for was AN/ Systematic Approach to Searches PR C-127 radios, because they needed radios with goo d range Before a search, discu ss how it will be conducted and then and the ability to rech arge for internal co mmunications. The rehearse to impro ve efficie ncy. For example, discu ss wh ich German -made handheld radios we used had poor range and en d of a vehicle or which floor of a building will be searched re quired eight AA batteries that lasted from 24 to 48 hours. first. With perso nnel searches, practice search techniqu es so AN/PRC - lns wo uld ha ve been a reliable secondary means no pan of the person is left unsearchcd. Finall y, use the same of comm unica tio n in case o ur portable Singl e- Channel soldiers to conduct searches to improve efficiency. Once teams

Mission-Essential Equipment

I NVG Helmet Mount ,------

I ! AN/PRC-127

i- rCa me l Back - - _ .__._-­- - ! -C~ rg e Flashlight IChem Ug:,

~Di ~ ; ta lC_a m e ra -- - - -_. j ___ _ J

Fehruary 2000 Engineer 9 The Engineer Writer,'s Guide

We think engineers take a special pride in their pro ~ " quotations not referenced in the story should carry fession, and Engineerrs always looking for articlestrom " appropriate endnotes. readers who want to share their expertise.experlence. ,,', Contributors are encouraged .to include black-and­ and ideas. ' ' , ,white or color photos, artwork.and/or line diagrams that If you are a potential contributing writer, here are a illustrate information in the article. lnclude.captions for few "w riter's guide" tips to steer you in the 'right direction. any photographs submitted. Hard-copy photos are pre­ Articles may discuss enginee r training; operations.. -terred, but we will accept digital images originally saved doctrine, equipment, history, or other areas of general ' at a resolution no lower than 200 dpi. Please do not interest to an engineer readership. include them in the text. If you use PowerPoint, save We're especially interested,in articles that have a each illustration as a separate file and avoid excessive "how-to-do-it-better" theme. For instance, we're not use of color and shading. Please do not send photos looking for articles telling readers how you conducted embedded in PowerPoint. a routine field exercise . But if you think you have a Include your full name, rank, current unit, and job " n e ,,:, - a n d - i r:n ~ ro v e d " ~ay of conducting a,tactical op­ title. Also include a list of your past assignments, ex­ eration, traininq exercise, or other operational proce­ perience, and education; your mailing address; and a dure that may prove helpful to other engineers, that's fax number and commercial daytime phone number, what we need. R ' fb . . I I Articles should generally come from contributors with eviews0 ookson engineer tOPiCS area sowecome, firsthand experience of the subject being presented. Articles or book reviews may be mailed to: Editor, Articles should be concise, straightforwa rd, and in the Engineer Professional Bulletin, 320 Engineer Loop, active voice. Suite 210, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 65473-8929. Length should range from 2,000 to 4,000 words, and All submissions are subject to editing. text should be double-spaced. Generally, each such . ., h Id tal f 200 t 250 d M If you have questions about an article you re work­ pa~e s ou con am , rom 0 , wor s', anu­ ing on-or considering writing-eall Shirley Bridges scripts should be oriqirals or clear copies. Provide a 3 L S k t DSN 676 4104 . I 1/2 ' c h d' k l M' ft W d R' h li F or ynne par s, a -, or commercia -mll ( li S In .Icdr?so or d' IC e~ t format, or (573) 563-4104. We look forward to hearing from you. ASC p ease In reate war -processmq ormat on disk or cover letter). You also may send articles Note: Due to the limited space perissue, we will bye-mail tobridgess @wood.army.mil. not print articles that have been accepted for publica­ Articles containing attributable information or tion by other Army professional buJJetins. are trained, rotate otber soldiers to gain experience. During the in our sector. Since patrols were unab le to give grid locations first week in Gnjilane, we learned that the situation on the street using the city maps, the squad took a plugger along in case a can be very fluid, Using systematic approaches and practices gri d was required on their location , allows soldiers to concentrate on a search while remaining aware of the changing situation around them. Conclusion Winning With Civilians s the platoon became more proficient with peace­ keeping operations, we began to fine-tune our tech­ Develop a positive relationship with local civilians during niques. Conducting presence ope rations gave NCOs the initial occupation phase. When 'We arrived at the post of­ A and soldiers an opportunity to learn and practice search tech­ fice and clinic, we establi shed a stro ng prese nce in the neigh­ nique s on personnel, vehicles , and buildings . In the process , borhood s. The intent was to let the people know we were there squad leaders and j unior leaders learned valuable lessons that to provide stability and security to the area. To accomplish they will carry with them throughout their careers, this, we held meetings with local leaders and the people. As a w: resu lt, they became our eyes and ears and often came to us to First Lieutenant Stephenson is the Assault and Obstacle report fires and suspected lootings. Platoon leader f or Bravo Compan y, 9th Engineer Battalion Maps (CBT), in Schweinfurt, Germany. Previous assignm ents in­ clude combat engineer line platoon leader and tusk-fo rce The normal scale of 1:25,000 and I :50,000 on military engineer f or Task Force / -/ 8 lnfan try, Camp Able Sentry, map s will not suffice in a MO UT environment. Military map s Macedonia, 1LT Stephenson holds a degree in environmen­ of Gnjilane only showed the main routes, so the platoon used tal poli cy analysis and planning [rom the University of "tourist maps " of the city, The large-scale maps, which were California, Davis. obtained tbrough the help of civil affairs, showed every street

10 Engineer February 2000 By Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Ward .s. Army firefighters make up only a small section building inspections, generally are left to sergeants and above. of the Corps of Engin eers. About 242 active Pas sive measures are encouraged by all firefi ghters through U duty military firefighters and 573 in the Reserve Compo­ publ ic relati ons and safety program s. nents represent both table of organization and equipment (TOE) and table of distribution and allowance ef DA) assignments. Responsibilities In toda y's Army, there are seven active duty TOE fire-fight­ s u~ p o rt ing det achm ent s, consisting of two to six soldiers, and 25 irefighters two general types. of unit s or cus­ Army Reserve and National Guard TOE fire-fi ghtin g units, tomers. The first IS U.S. Army or All' Force aviation assets. Most aircraft use a more flammable fuel than consis ting of six to 30 soldiers. Many soldiers and leaders are F unaware of the existence of these detachments and the ser­ ground vehicles and require additi onal attention dur ing fuel­ ing and defueling operations. Attack aircraft are twice as dan­ vices they provide. This article give s a brief overview of the gero us. since onboard fuel has the capability of detonating organiz ation, train ing, and role of Army military occup ational ord nance on the aircraft. specialty (MOS) 51M firefighters and fire-fighting units. The second type of customer is unit s that live in a large Missions collection of tents or base camps. The tendency to erect tents close together and the propensity of canvas and wood to burn rmy firefi ght ers provide fire- fighting services, in creates a risk to occupying soldiers . Army firefighters work eluding fire protection and fire preventi on, to the­ with unit or insta llation safety offices to provide and enforce aters or operation. DUling deployments , firefighters A fire-preventi on guidelines for these temporary shelters. are task organized-usually as general support (GS)- to the joint task force, who in turn makes them GS to the supported Army firefi ghters are not limi ted to these customers unit. Although they are GS due to their uniqueness, these during combat operations. Other tasks may include provid­ fire-fighting teams require mess, maintenance, logistical , and ing aid to host-nation fire departments and protectin g administrative assistance from the supported unit. Firefighters have three primary missions: Aircraft Crash/Rescue Fire Fighting Thi s is fireli ghters ' most dem anding mission and invol ves aircraft or ground vehicles that are burning or have crashed. Firefighters must be familiar with basic safety procedures of all U.S. aircraft. Although the emphasis is geared toward rotary-wing aviation assets. firefighters mu st also be ramiliar with fixed -wing aircraft.

Structural Fire Fighting This mission encompasses burning of static objects, such as tents, hou ses, barns, and other buildings. Fire-fi ght ing teams require skilled techni cal trainin g so they can quickly execute fire-fighting "battle drills." These inclu de connect­ ing fire trucks to hydrants, venting build ings, and searching for victims in smoke-filled buildings. Fire Prevention Thi s task includes taking active and passive measures to prevent fires fro m occurring. Active measures. which include U.S. Army firefighters enter a smoke-filled building.

FehrUQI} ' 2000 Engineer II ammunition storage point s; petroleum, oil and Iubricant (pack­ aged and bulk) storage points; motor pools; and intern­ ment/dislocated -civilian camps.

Types of Units rmy firefighters are organized into two types of de­ tachm ents: headqu arters (LA) and fire-fighting (LB). A These detachments may be task organized based on the size of the area to be covered, the number of vehicles or aircraft that require protection, and the availability of other military firefighters (Air Force or Navy ). LA Detachment This detachment serves as the comm and-and-control func­ tion for three to five other detachments. The four-soldier team consists of an MOS 2lB fire marshall (a first lieutenant), an MOS 51M40 fire chief (a sergeant first class), an MOS 51M30 Firefighters inspect their self-contained breathing fire inspector (a staff sergeant), and an MOS 63B 10 mechanic. apparatus gear. Eq uipment for the LA detachment includes two HMMWVs and assorted radios for establishing a base station. Missions LB Detachment are to­ The core of the fire -fightin g team . the se detachments con­ • Plan fire-fighting programs and area fire protection. sist of an MOS 5 \M30 team chief (a staff sergeant), an MOS 51M20 crash rescue sergeant, two MaS 5 IM I0 crash rescue • Exercise command and control durin g rescue and fire­ specialists, and three MOS 51M I0 dri ver/operators. LB de­ fighting operation s. tachments operate the fire-fighting equipment, which includes Cond uct fire-prevention operations, to inclu de determin­ a fire truck, a water truck, self-c ontained breathing appara­ ing building classification and conducting installation-level tus, a hydr aulic jaws set, and crash kits. They provide 24­ inspections . hour fire prote ction and personnel rescue support, administer • Develop pl an s for handling ha zard ou s-material timely and adequate first aid, and impl ement a fire preven­ emerg enc ie s. tion program(s) for­ • Conduct initial fire-ground inve stigation s. • Life-supp ort areas . • Conduct fire departm ent unit maintenance operations for • Intermediate staging bases. technical fire-fighting equi pment not provid ed during de­ • Forward-operating bases. ploym ent from local support maintenance activities. • Petroleum , oil, and lubricant tank farms and distribution sites; open and closed warehouse faciliti es: or general depots. • Enemy prisoner of war and civilian internment camps.

MOS Training rmy firefi ght ers begin their military career s with basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. Missouri . When A they graduate, they are trans ferred to Louis F. Gar­ land fire Academy, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, which is the home of fire-protection trainin g for the entire Depart­ ment of Defense. Here, firefighters attend advan ced individual trainin g (AIT) for the 51M MOS . Operated by the Air Force, this joint service school has 125 mu ltiservice and civilian in­ structors. Training provided by the academy complies with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards . Soldiers, airmen, marines. and sailors train together for 13 weeks on individual and crew drills. Trainees must maintain Firefighters extinquish a burning fuel spill. the TRADOC academic standard of 70 percent but also must

J2 Engineer February' 2000

..------­ pass several physically demanding tasks, as well as standard­ ized written and performance evaluations, to graduate. After completing AlT, soldi ers are NFPA certified at the Firefi ghter 11, Airport Firefigh ter, and Hazardous Materials operational levels. Ca reer progressio n for firefighters is un ique. They are trained and nationally certified as firefighters in MOS 51M through the grade of E7 . When they are promoted to master sergean tJE8, they leave this MOS and change to MOS 51Z general engineerin g supervisor, where they are invol ved with other engineer speci alties not norm ally assoc iated with fire fig hti ng .

Certifications epartment of Defense manual 6055 .6-M, Fire an d Emergency Services Certification Program , is a com­ Wearing protective gear, firefighters inspect a burned­ Do ponent of a nati on al certification sys tem for out helicopter. firefighters and othe rs in the fire-protection career field (tire fighti ng and resc ue, fire-department management, trainin g, colleges offer an associate degree in fire science, which is an inspections, etc.). The Firefighter Certification System is ac­ excellent resource for building a competent fire-fighting uni t. credited by the International Fire Service Acc reditation Con­ Alth ough this training is expensive, soldiers bene fit from be­ gress (lFSAC) . The certification program is mandatory for ing trained by subject-matter experts and receiving hands-on all Departm ent of Defense firefighters-military, civilian, and trainin g with live-fire burnings. co ntractors. Certifica tion requ irements are governed by the applicable NFPA standards. These standards prescrib e pre­ Summary cisely what mu st be done for certifica tion at each level. oldiers and leaders face several challenges concernin g Certificat ion may be obtained by completing correspo n­ firefighters in TO&E units. Leaders must bal ance mili­ denc e cour ses (called career-development cour ses) combined Stary requirements and tire-fighting certi fication require­ with performance tests, resident training schools (such as ment s. It is difficult to sched ule qualification ranges or man­ state and local fire academies and the Louis F. Garl and Fire datory clas ses whiIe soldiers are working day-on/day-off ro ­ Acad emy) accredited by lFSAC or the Nati onal Profession al tations. Career soldiers must mai ntain all required engineer­ Qualifications Board, and other trainin g that is proven to be ing skills. Staff sergeants must work hard to retain their equivalent to that required by the NFPA. The Air Force Civil engineer-specific skills. such as construction and bridging , to Engineer Support Age ncy, Continge ncy Sup port Directorate, complete the Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Tyndall Air Fo rce Base, Florida, man ages and adminis ­ Courses. ter s this program. The presence of military fire-fi ghtin g detachments in the­ Military firefighters depend on federal and state training aters of operat ion is not commonly known or understood. but facilities to provide instruction on various skilis. The two major firefighters playa critical role there. In additi on to their pri­ traini ng resources to test fire-fighting skills are a smoke house mary missions, firefighte rs provide benefits to all so ldiers, and a bum pit, A smokeh ouse is a building vented with ducts since they also receive lifesa ving training. Com manders must to produce a blanket of smoke within the building. Soldiers take active steps to includ e these detachments in their com­ are requ ired to enter the building and rescue any personnel panies and battalions and help make the theater safer for 311 foun d inside. A burn pit is a concre te bowl with a special per sonn el. .w drain system in which obje cts can be set afire . Firefighters use a co mbination of water and foam to extinguish burn ing Sergeant First Class Ward is a seniorfirefi ghter observer­ vehicles and aircraft. The speci al drain system in the bottom controller/traine r wi th the Engineer Training Support Bat­ of the pit separates the water and foam so each can be re­ talion, Fort Lewis, Washington. Previous assignments include cycled. Performing these two training events is equi valent to the 89th Engineer Detachment (FF) Fort Bragg, North Caro­ a combat arm s unit live-fir e exercise . lina; Fort Wainwright Fire an d Em ergency Se rvices , For t Army fire-fighting units maximize the use of these train­ Wainwright, Alaska; and Directorate ofCombat Developments ing facilities for their soldier s, who rarely attend specialty and Directorate ofTraining, U.S. Army Enginee r Sch ool, Fort traini ng such as Airborne or Air Assault School. Some Leonard vVr)()d, Missou ri.

February 2000 Engin eer 13 By First Lieutenant Don A. Nesto r

he short-notice deployment of from the 1st Infantry Division to naive in organizational maint enance operations . Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Kosovo , its work began immediatel y as Norm ally this is for a prescribed number T Battali on (Combat) , to the the company helped lay the groundwork of days of supply, whi ch depend s on the Balk ans in June 1999 presented numer­ for the U.S. area of responsibility. Mis­ average customer wait time. ous maintenance challenges for mecha­ sions included road marches, mounted The imp ortan ce of a PLL is not truly nized comb at engineers. This article de­ and dismounted patrols, berm co nstruc­ reali zed until a unit mu st rely solely on scribes how a company executive officer tion, force-protection construction , and its PLL parts to maintain vehicles and addresses, manages, and attacks the mis­ civilian convoy escorts. equipment. Th is became clear to Bravo sion of keeping me chanized engineers During the first six weeks of depl oy­ Company during its first 30 to 45 days of rolling . It also identifies some ofthe prob­ ment , the company compiled more than a deployment. With no full forwa rd sup­ lems encountered when deploying a com­ year 's worth of miles (600) on its vehicles port battalion in Kosovo, parts flow was pany and its equipment to a new area of and equipment. The high operating slowed to a trickle. Parts availability was operation before a forward support bat­ tempo (OPTEMPO) and constant vehicle limited to the company 's PLL-which talion (FSB) arrives. use cos t more than $300,000 for Class IX provided parts for about 25 days- and repair parts in less than two months. the prestocked major assemblies at Camp .Missions Able Sentry in Macedoni a. PLL manage­ ith only fiv e day's notice, Key to Success ment is an important function becau se, Bravo Company transiti oned epartment of the Army Pamphlet duri ng short-notice deployments, the W from a lO-day, high-intensity 710-2-1, Using Unit Supply Sys­ PLL often must maintain the company for rotation at the Combat Maneuver Train­ Dtems. defines the prescribed load an cx ~ndedp eri od o ftim e . ing Center in Hohenfels, Germany, to a list (PLL) and describes procedu res for A unit's ground PLL is a combination six-month peacekeeping deployment to man aging it. Th e pamphl et states that of demand-supported (OS) and command­

Kosovo. As one of the first engineer units I a PLL is kept to support a unit's daily supported (CS) parts. not to exceed 150

14 Engineer February 2000 lines. To be stocked as a DS line, a part Table 1. Minimum Recommended Deployment PLL must be requested at least nine times in a a . .. NOUN NIIN Vehicle Type --, ISO-day period.Ifa part meet'> this demand requirement, it is automatically added to Shock ! 01-028-8573 the PLL. Then, to be retained, it must be : Generator i 01-238-9710 requested six times in a 180-day period. ; To combat the lack of parts acquired as DS lines, units are allowed to stock up to 15 CS lines. Battalion commanders must approve these lines in writing before they can be added to the PLL. This provides a means of stocking a part that is mission essential even though it does not meet the demand-supported criteria. Units should M113A3 select CS lines carefully to ensure that necessary wartime stock is on hand for Track Pads 01-130 -3366 deployments. Having a maximized PLL before de­ Track Adjusters ployme nt wo uld have benefited Bravo Regulator I Com pany tremendously. Due to the na­ ~ ture of its operatio ns . the company's Fan Tower M 113A3 armored personnel carriers, \ M 998 hi gh-mobility multipur pose -Cooling-- · - -· - -- - - Pump- f· ~- 01-320-0530 i wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs), and 5-ton ..-01-188.--7.--~­ -: trucks accrued the most mileage and re­ Starter quired the most maintenance. Mainte­ U-Joints 01-356-9189 nance personnel observed that the ve­ hicles' trac ks and/or suspension sus­ Tire, Pneumatic 01-171-4746 tained a great deal of wear and tear from f------+------,­ constant use. However, the OPTEMPO Parts Kit 01-382-8874 M998 t------J . .. --.....-.. .. --.-....---.....-..-----.....- -­ -- durin g garrison operations was less than I 600 miles over the course of a ISO-day Wheel Spindle : 01-203- 5764 period, which did not build the demand Generator , - . 00-909-2483 history required to maintain a PLL ca­ ___- _..__.. ___... __-----_.-_+------~--~-+---~------'- '-- --.---j pable of supporting the deployment. Track Shoe !; 01-234-1917 Before deployment, the PLL was lim­ ------t------.------,------i ited to 39 lines (24 DS and 15 CS). As a -~~~-~~==~~ - - i ...-.-.. -- l--- 01-361-1 764 result, many of the track and suspension Generator Belt 01-291-5838 I parts required to repair vehicles were not - ----­--­ ------t-I -­ -----­ -··-­ --1 on hand. Thi s operatio nal constraint Track Pads 01-156-8105 M9 ACE made it difficult to maintain vehicles ac­ t-­ ------+-­ - - -­ ...--... -­ -­ -,-1 cording to -1 0120 standards . An in­ Generator i 01-264-6 542 i ! I creased PLL that included but was not 01-158-4069 . . I limited to the items in Table I would have Pump, Axial ---­---r . . ._..._.-.-...-- .._ ~ .._ .._- ­ -­ - - --~-· · ------· - - · --- ~-· -1 been a combat multipJier during the ini­ Pulley I 01-362 -3577 1 tial stages of deployment. I j Starter i 00-304-3493 Parts Flow -_..._.__..__.._------_. __._------_. +-- _._ ..._._ -_... _.. _ . _-_ . ~---+------Generator i 01-131-4931 HEMTI lth ou th Bravo Co mpany de­ ! ployed with its Unit-Level Logis­ Starter 01-,139-3722 A tic s System-Ground computer, I ~_-----'- _'____'---' 1!--'--- -'------~ .- - - . - - . ------... _..__...c __ ._ _. . .._~ the company did not have its original De­ Generator 00-830-6660 AVLB partment of Defense Activity Addres s NIIN := National item identification number

February 2000 Engineer / 5 Table 2. Weekly Maintenance Schedule

Sunday Monday Tuesday l Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

0800- 1900 0800-1600 0900-UTC HQ's Maintenance A&O Platoon Bridge Maintenance Maintenance Every Other

B1 Maintenance

1300-1600 ­ I C& E /S&R Turn-In I I UTe =until complete CE =communications and electronics SR = small-arms repair

Code (DODAAC) from Schweinfurt, There­ of fiv e vehicle services originally SC hed- 1 compan y level took on a new and diffi ­ fore all orders that were not received be­ uled for the sec ond and th ird weeks of cult form . Initially. I st Platoon wa s at­ fore de ployment were no longer valid and June. O verdue services fro m the home , tach ed to a light infantry co mpany team. consequently had to be reordered under a station in Schweinfurt and the OPTEMPO Accordin g to the co mmand and support new DO DAAC in Kosovo, This further in Kosovo caused vehicles to break the relationship, this company team wa s sup­ prolon ged the time it took for the company Army 's low-u sage program. This created posed to provide 1st Pl atoon with me­ to receive rep lace ment parts. The 299th additional hours of wo rk for the mec han­ chanic support. However, the light infa n­ FSB deployed to Kosovo about 30 days ics. The company developed a service try mech anics had little or no experience after the initial units, and the part s flow scheduIe to contin ue tro ubleshooting working on tracked vehicles, so the re­ followed- but not instantaneously. and repairing its vehicles and servicing sponsibility for tro ubles hooting and re ­ The grea t dis tances between the com­ its equipment. Unfortunately, time could pairing the platoon 's vehicles rested on pany, the fo rwa rd support battalio n, the not be allowed for scheduling an entire the company' s contact team. D uring the ini tial staging base (ISB), and the direct­ two-week-block service for platoon ve­ first few weeks of split-base opera tions , suppo rt unit in Germany drastically in­ hicles, weapo n sys tems, communications a three-man contact team enco untere d creas ed the travel tim e in the parts now. I systems, and eq uipme nt. In st ead, the numerou s problems while trying to main­ Wh en the co mpany ordered a part, the service schedule permitted one vehicle tain vehicles in three locations. Th e com ­ request went to the 299th FSB at the m ain and its respective equipme nt to be ser­ plication s included the wear and tear sus­ American base camp. The se requests viced according to -1 0120 standards in a tain ed by the co mpany's weapo n and were forwarded to the lSB , which then span of one week. The balance between communica tions systems . sent them to the direct-support unit in serv ices and troubleshooting vehicles To overcome problems caused by Germa ny. Instead of ha vin g a direct link became a major focu s and an essen tial split-base operations and satisfy opera­ bet ween the direct-support unit and the aspect of m ain taining the company's tional requirements of individual pla­ FSB , as in garrison operations in Germany, lleet. toon s, a reg ula ted maintenance sc hed­ a thir d party was established at the ISB . ule was de veloped that prov ided a bal­ This increased the am ount of time be­ Split-Base Maintenance ance between maintenance and mi ssions. tween ordering and receiving parts. ravo Company's high OPTEMPO, Table 2 shows a weekly sch edule that geograp hic dist an ce from th e allow ed days for the co ntact team to Services B 299th FSB , and expanding area travel in sector to the remo te company ithout a depl oyable battalion of responsibility res ulted in split-base sites and troubles hoot vehicles, we ap­ service section, the resp onsi­ operations . With thr ee plat oons (two ons, and co mmunicatio ns sy stems. The W bility for conducting vehicle orga nic and aile attached) operating in company also incorporat ed th e 299th serv ices belonged to the company 's rnain­ Brav o Com pany 's sec tor an d the FSB's sma ll arms and co mmunications terran ce section. The short-notice de­ compan y' s fo urt h platoon attache d to and eq uipment sho ps int o its we ekly ploym ent to Ko sov o create d a backlog anot her unit, maintenance at the I mai ntenanc e schedule. The schedu le

16 Engineer February 2000 (

Soldiers from Bravo Company replace the track on an M577 command post vehicle.

provided mechanics with a clear focus of th e company's op erational readin ess involved in establishing priorities. bal­ their work and allowed the platoons to rate. An enlarged PLL would have pro­ ancing and managing maintenance as­ address dis patch ing, small arm s. and vi ded pa rts to rep air many o f th e sets, and preventing overwo rk and con­ communications equipment problems. company's vehicles. Furtherm ore. hav­ sequent burnout of mechanics. Dutyfirst, ing more parts stocked on PLL would maintenance always. Lessons Learned have grea tly redu ced or even eliminated w the time required to rece ive parts dur­ valuabl e lesson learned dur­ First Lieutenant Nestor is the execu ­ ing the first 4S days of depl oyment. ing Bravo Company's deplo y­ tive officer/or Bra vo Company, 9th En­ A ment to Kosovo was the impor­ gineer Battalion (Combat). Previous as­ tance of staying on top of its PLL and Summary signments include combat engineer line ensuri ng that a11 1ines were either on o one knows when he may re­ platoon leader, battalion shop officeI; hand or on order at all times. A robu st ceive a mission to deploy a com­ and battalion motor officer. A graduate PLL at the company level would have N pany and its vehicles and equip­ of the Enginee r Officer Basic Course, improved the unit's ability to maintain ment with less than a week' s notice. Al­ 1LT Nestor holds a bachelor of science its fleet to -10120 standards. Reducing ways plan for contingencies. Keeping degree in mechanical engineering f rom the dem and criteria needed to stock a the mechanized soldier rolling requires the University of Notre Dame. DS line on the PLL would have enhanced that an executive office r be constantly

February 2000 Engineer 17 and wherever we will fight in the futur e, the enemy is watch­ ing. During Warfighter exercises conducted by the Battle Com­ mand Training Program, the World Class Opposing Force (WCOPFOR) is adept at inserting special-purpose forces (SPF) throughout friendly forces' areas of operation. The WCOPFOR bases much of its plan on the inform ation these SPF teams report. What do the SPF teams report during our preparations for the defense? Just as at the "dirt" comb at trainin g centers, the teams look for and report on the activities of friendly engi­ neers . As an eng ineer once observed during a training rota­ tion at the National Training Center, "Find his bulldozers, and you've found his defen se." SPF team s are trained to look for engineers, armored combat earthmover s, and Volc ano countennobility systems. With this information. the battle­ field calculus to predict where our main defense effort is be­ comes relatively simple for the WCOPFOR. Simpl y stated, en­ gineer activity is usually an accurate gauge to predict our main effort. More often than not, friendly engineers make it far too easy for the WC OPFOR to identify the main effort. In the defen se, engineer staffs weight the division 's or corps's main effort (the force which will do most of the killing on the battle­ field ) with engin eers. The main effort ends up in a strongpoint defense, and supporting efforts are relatively much weaker. As noted above, two things happen when this occurs . First, Battle Command Training Program WCOPFOR SPF teams see this asset allocation, and they re­ (BCTP) port accordingly. Second, the commander of the WCOPFOR uses this information to plan his attack against our weakn ess. Synchronizing Engineers: Weighting the Main More often than not, the WCOPFOR correctly reads where Effort in the Defense the friendly main effort is by identifying where the preponder­ ance of friendly engineers are arrayed on the battlefield-and By Lieutenant Colonel Ron Light he attacks elsewh ere. The enemy flows like water. "The nature of water is that it avoids heights and hastens The figure on page 19 illustrates this point. The enemy was to the lowlands. When a dam is broken. the water cascades known to be attacking from the east. The divisi on designated with irresistible f orce. Now the shape of an army resembles that Ist Brigade (in the center) was the main effort. Thi s is water. Take advantage ofthe enemy's unpreparedness; attack where the divisi on commander wanted the enemy to go and him when he does not expec t it; avoid his strength and strike where he wanted to kill the enemy. In the north, 2d Brig ade his emptiness, and like water; none can oppose you. " was a supporting effort, as was the 3d Brigade in the south. Notice, however, where engineers were arrayed on the battle­ Sun Tzu, The Art af War field. The bar chart in the figure shows that Ist Brig ade recei ved most of the engineer assets available: 20 engineer In the offense, doctrine tells us that "commanders attack to platoons. Moreover, 1st Brigade also recei ved the largest allo­ avoid the enemy' s main strength ." It should com e as no sur­ cation of Class IVN (obstacle) barrier material: 174 short tons. prise that the enemy seeks to do the same thin g. As Sun Tzu Recalling that the enemy is adept at reporting on our de­ noted, "the enemy flow s like water, seeking the path of least fense preparations, where do you suppose he attacked? Seek­ resistance." However, sometimes engineers miss this point as ing to avoid friendly strength (easily read as l st Brigade ), and they shape the battl efield durin g the defense. This article briefly noting a relati ve weakness between the two supporting ef­ reviews what it means to weight engineers in support of the forts, the enem y attacked into 2d Brigade in the north . The defens e. ensuing fight was quick and brut al. Before exploring this concept , we must understand an im­ By now it is probably obvious that weightin g engineers in portant condition of the battlefield: the enemy is observing our the defense does not usually mean weighting the main effort defen sive prepar ations. Wherever we have fought in the past with engineers. The enem y will avoid our strength. One of the

18 Engineer February 2000 Pits EN PLT Allocations 22.6 ­ 20 I, 17 15 - III

8 7.5 - w.

o 2 BDE 1BDE 3BDE

CL IV/V Allocations Tons 225

(1l !:= :::J 1,). k n'" ~ rii C'fl·j {) ...J a, ...J c,

Engineer Effort

prim ary ways he gauges our strength is by observing where we array engineer forces. We can deceive or mislead the enemy as to where our main effort is by weightin g engineers to our supporting efforts . Of course, we must allocate some countermobility assets to the main effort. Rem emb er, however, that doctrine urges com­ manders to mass eff ects. not necessarily assets. We can allo­ cate close air support and air Volcano mission s to the main effort . These assets allow us to mass counterrnobil ity effects in a very short time. Moreover, with planning we can use these assets relatively late during our defensive preparations, when Joint Readiness Training Center the enemy has less time to react. Thi s technique was used (JRTC) effectivel y by a unit during a recent Warfighter exercise. So what does it mean to "weight engineers in support of the The Engineer Survivability Execution Matrix defense?" Us ually it does not mean makin g the main effort an impregnable force with all of the divi sion 's alloca tion of min es, By Sergeant First Class Isaac N. Horton and Sergeant First wire, and pickets. Wh at it does mean is crea ting a co ndition on ChI'S Thomas V Mur ray the battlefield that confu ses the enemy and causes him to com­ mit his forces not against what he perceive s to be our weak­ We have observed a trend at the Joi nt Read iness Trainin g ness but against our strength. Center concerning the engineer survivability execution matri x and how it imp acts force -protection operations here and ulti­ Lieutenant Colonel Light is the senior engineer observer! mately on the modem battlefield. The trend is that uni ts em­ controllerfor the Battle Command Training Program at Fort ploy the age-old blocked-time survivability exec ution matrix, Leavenworth, Kansas. He is scheduled to command the Ho­ Th is means that rather than conducting a detailed mission analy­ nolulu District, U.S. A rmy Corps of Engineers, in July 2000. sis. each unit with an established priority is allocated the same amount of time and engineer assets. The result is that the final product we observe routinely fails to adequately address

February 2000 Engi neer 19 force-protection requirements, link time and the resources avail­ requirements and preparing a survivability execution matrix con­ able , and command and control engineer resources that ex­ sists of the following three steps: ecute force protection in support of the brigade. Step 1: Identify key assets within the brigade. The unit encounters many unnecessary chall eng es in ex­ ecuting these types of matrices and in protecting the force Although time consuming, this is a simple process that must according to the commander's intent. Force-protection levels take place at home station. List battalion-level organizations are not linked to enemy attack probabilities through the engi­ and major company assets in matrix form . Figure I dep icts a neer battlefield assessment (EBA), and the unit's critical sys­ random selection of command- and-control node s, weapon sys­ tem s do not get the required level of protection. Ultimately, tems , and equipment in a typical light infantry brigade against units suffer irrepl aceable losses of mission-critical equipment the current task organization or the unit. Th e requirement ma­ and resources from enemy direct action that could have been trix is a sample product that units must develop and implement prevented. at battalion level and use as the primary tool in calculating survivability requirements. To be successful on the current lethal battlefield, units must protect critical systems, equipment, and supplies from enemy The construction times shown are not standard acro ss the observation and attack. Units rotating through the JRTC Army. The time required to construct protective positions var­ struggle with planning and executing force -protection and sur­ ies from unit to unit. This is primarily due to the mi ssion and vivability operations. This is due to incomplete EBAs and a the type of assets organic to that unit (such as D7 dozer s, D5 lack of clearly defined doctrinal procedures for planning these dozers, deployable universal combat earthmovers [DEUCEs], types of operations at brigade level. Engineer company com­ loaders, small emplacement excavators [SEEs], or armored com­ manders and brigade engineers are doctrinally required to pre­ bat earthmovers IACEsj) as well as the soil composition. The pare detailed plans for survivability operations and include times should be established by timing-from start to finish, these plans in the brigade operations order (OPORD). day and night-actual construction of the positions by two or more operators to get an average-time-required planning fac­ Technique tor. We suggest that the time s be established by using a single A brigade-level technique that engineer units can use to blade or single bucket rather than a blade team. Our example help improve their current system for calculating survivability uses 15-blade work hours per day as a planning factor.

I 1 Q S M F V A A M M! M A F' 1 A 3 M s D D A P M M d n 0 9 T T E n 0 3 i T A 0 T T 1 3 B V I 5 V 0 51K vA 1 ~Ii IF t r M T I i i ~e tr M9 ~IW I MH f 5 6 9 R R L L P A A B L S 5 E v 1 d, S i a I D B s S CCBTSM m I S P C S 1 3 M T m N ~ T, n 3 I T n 9 T e c c Q C 2 2 PET P m C ! A V m G a A S I 9 0 0 r 2 U R T I 3 2 N ! E G n H 3 t F e n W , m , t H 7 0 : H R e k E a 0 r 0 0 n' e L w w r 0 : 1 1 6 4 6 6 9 1 9 9 1 4 l' 9 6 1 1 9 9 9 4 1 3 1 1 9 3 3 1 1 1 4 6 7 Ti me in 5 2 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 5 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 5 5 0 5 2 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 0 0 Minutes 0 0 0 0 0 0 O· 0 I 0 M M

, . _~ _~~ ~ _ . & . .. .._- .- ~- .,- ." f-. +--­ -- _-'_0 J::L ~- _ ---'-1 Bde -­ 2-351nf 4-41nf 1-821nf I , 1-21 Cay , ; A 1-4 FA I B 1-4 FA ! ..-1lQ.J'SJL .._ ...... ­-'.'- _ .­ •..·.N_ 0 • •• - _. ~.- -­ .. HHC Bde _ _'w_ --- -­- .- - ~. - -­ - - --­ ,,-_._­ - ,.- .1;l.Z,4§AfL __ _. ~ .- -- C 2-45 AR C 19 Sin A 22 En lIA 237 En 3-22 ADA , , 54 Chern 3/45 MP I ! 2384 CSG _oa-, .... _ •• 4_•• ­ -­ ._- ''- '~ -- ._ ­ -­ ..._--_.." ._­ -_...- ._....- .._- ---1 ] a.fyI,.g!L _. i I 42CSH -­ 2 14 MI I : I Total i :

D7 SEE I Figure 1

20 Engineer February 2000 '~I-.- - . - ­-- --­ _ ._--­ --­ - - .--­ -­ -- -- - 1 !

MS 1\ Light Data Time

Blade Team 1 A/1-34 Armor ( Pn 1) D13· 7 Infantry (Pri 2) Local Security (MR 334592) (MR 442577) 2 X 07 FRQ 394 .CS Apa che . LRP Operations with TM FRO 442, CS Baler Dog. CP 71. 2 X SEE 3. 10 x M1. FISTY 3 x M2 Apache 14 x M2 . FISIV, 30 dismounts Contact Truck - Blade Team 2 List Task Orqanizauo n of Legend for "Blocks" Blade Team Unit supported (Priority of support) (MGRS Location) Blade Team 3 NET ID or frequency call sign, planned resources requinng suppo rt

Required information in execution matrix is the unit, This document is a critical part of priority. location, frequen cy, call sign and linkup the Engineer Annex.

location, and major systems to be dug in. _ . ______I ______. .__...... ~ ...... __J

Figure 2

Step 2: Prepare an engineer work estimate. Conclusion Reco rd the time available, the number of dozers or SEEs By conducting a comprehensive EBA and implementing this ava ilable, and the brigade commander's priority for survivabil­ three-step technique, engineer survivability planners co mmu­ ity effort. PM 5-103, Surv ivability, states that maneu ver com­ nicate the critical path for exec uting the commander's priorities manders should set survivability pri ori ties based on the of force protection. The execution timeline prov ides the means enginee r's input and recommendation (which is based on an to comm and and control survivability operations through time updat ed and accurate EBA ) and mission analysis with the bri­ and space based on identification of key assets and the engi­ gade staff. It is at this point that the blocked-time matrix is ncer work estimate process. The end result is that blade utiliza­ normally devel oped. This can be avoided if units have a sys­ tion is maximized in a prioriti zed and efficient manner. By pro­ tem for accomplishin g the detailed planning necessary for pre­ tecting critical weapon and sustainment systems, the abilit y to paring a brigade-level survivability timeline. deliver comhat power and achieve mission success is dramati­ ca lly increased. No idle blades. Step 3: Prepare the survi vability execution timeline. Th is timeline (better known as the "mi ssing link") must be a SFC Horton and SF C Murray are observer/controllers at co llective effort of the engineer comm ander, the assistant bri­ the Joint Readin ess Training Center; Fort Polk, Louisiana, gade engineer, and the equ ipment platoon leader. The docu­ whe re their [o cus is to teach, coach, an d me ntor engineer ment, which is paramount to the engineer annex in the brigade leaders at all levels concerning fo rce-protection and surviv­ OPORD, is often omitted. This may cause the brigade 's force­ ability ope rations on the A rmy~\' battlefi elds. protection levels tu be substandard. Figure 2 depict s the 80 percent solution for a detailed survivability execution timeline. At a minimum . the information in the matrix should include the suppo rted unit, priority, location, frequ ency and call sign, and work estimate. As stated earlier, the timeline must be included in the maneu ver brigade and battalion base orders. When prop­ erly planned and included in the base orde r, conflicts ca n be avo ided durin g exe cution of the engineer 's survivability timeline.

February 2000 Engineer 21 Sets, Kits, and Outfits: Bridging, Diving, Lighting, and Fire-Fighting

By Alan Schlie

In the third of four articles on sets, kits. and outfits (SKO), enemy, terrain , troops. and time ava ilable (METI-T) must be the focus is on bridging, diving, lightin g, and fire-fighting handled with a delicate touch. The U.S. Army Tank-automo­ too ls. The first article discu ssed tool sets for constructio n tive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Bridge Engineer­ trades. The second article concentrated on pioneering, mine ing Di vision has been ju ggling those glass balls for a long warfare, and demo lition tools. The fo urth article willfeature time, pushin g the development of lightweight metals and lami ­ tools fo r the techni cal trades and topog raphy. nates by commercial suppliers and overcoming the dwindling manufacturing base to ensure that Army needs are met and that every promising candidate is fully explored. The research • and development work begun by the Fo rt Belvoir Research Bridging and Development Center conti nues at TACO M's Research f yo u've been around long enough to rem ember light and Development Engineer Center in Warren, Michigan. tactical raft s and the dry span with univ ersal trestles, The assault float brid ge, or ribbon brid ge (not an SKO), I th en you' ll be glad to know they've been placed in de­ was fielded in the 1970s and eventu ally replaced all float bridg­ pot stocks and are used only in the most extreme emergen­ ing assets in table of organization and equipment (TOE) units. cies. In add ition to providing a means for crossing wet and It is now being upgr aded to increase buoyancy and military dry gaps, these older brid ging sets provided a perfe ct oppor­ load class (MLC) in faster stream velocities. The assa ult float tunity for building unit cohes ion, teamwork , and esprit de bridge can be asse mbled at the rate of 2 10 feet per hour by the corps. same soldiers who deliver it to the bridge site. It carries MLC Engineers have always been expected to bridge gaps with­ 70 in curre nt veloc ities of 7 feet per min ute. Multiro le bridge out rest ricting the speed of the maneu vering element, and the companies retain the Supplemental Bridge Set for construct­ bridges are expected to handl e increasingl y heavier loads, yet ing overhead anchorage systems. involve fewer soldiers in the construct ion effort. To realize The Float Bridge Sets that have been replaced include these ex pectations. the interdependent spheres of mission, various lengths of M4T6 and MLC 60 floating brid ges, their corresponding bridge- er ect ion se ts, ferry conversion and dry -spa n se ts, light tactic al raft sets, and aluminum floating foot bridge sets. All the older bridges will be stored in set configura­ tion and available for humanitarian as well as milit ary needs. Th e M edium G ir d er B rid ge (MGB) (bridge, erection, and reinforc­ ing sets) was developed to repl ace the M2 Ba iley bridge (bridge, erecti on , cable reinforcing, and pier conversion sets) in 1972. The MOB is available in sufficient quantities for all 20 mul tirole bridge companies- only at a reduced authorizati on. Abo ut ]50 Bailey sets

Soldiers launch a 70-foot double­ double Bailey br idge by hand.

22 Engineer February 2000 A diver cuts concrete with the hydraulic chain saw , a component of the Underwater Construction Set. will remain in depot stock with another 100 bridges erected scheduled for procurement in 2000 and 200 1. Scuba Diving or stoc kpiled in numerous countries around the world. Cur­ Sets are tent atively scheduled for procurement in 2008. rent stocks of MOB sets are bein g overhauled at the rate of 10 Supporting equipment sets consist of specialized high and sets per year. The depot work includes inspection, structural low air compresso rs for tank and flask filling or supplying repair, and repainting. Twenty-eight soldiers can construct surface air, gas-analysis kits, and hyperbaric recompression 46 meters of MLC 60 MOB in 3 hours. chambers. The Special Divers Air Support System (SDASS) The Heavy Dry Support Bridge (HD SB) is being devel­ is the first of engineer diving equipment in the Force XXI oped to replace the MO B and in a limited role as a line of modernization plan that supports a modularizati on concep t. commun ications (LOC) bridge until a final design is deter­ The SDASS supports extended diving operations by acce pt­ mined for the LOC. The HDSB is a marked improveme nt ing air from any of three sources and properl y distributing it over other prefabri cated fixed bridging systems because it can to one, two, or three divers at depth s of 250 feet. It provides be constructed at the rate of 40 meters in 90 minutes by 14 constant depth monitoring of the divers by topside support soldiers and can carry MLC 96W170T. The HDSB is pro­ personnel. The SDASS also supports the recompression cham­ grammed for fieldin g in 2002. ber and is scheduled for procurement in 2004. Th e Underwater Construction Set conta ins four Diving subpackages, Each can be used independently, allow ing div­ roponency for U.S. Arm y divers resides with the En­ ing teams to tailor equipment loads based on mission require­ ginee r School. All diver s are trained at the Nav al ments. The first is a hydraulic tool package used for con­ Diving and Salv age Training Center, a jo int ser vice structing; removing debris; and cutting concrete, wood, and training command locate d in Panama City, Florida. And while metal. The second is a cutting and welding package for both diving equipment for engineers and Special Forces is simi­ surface and under water operations. Th e third is a salvage lar, the two group s have different mission requirements for package for lifting heavy debris and recovering objects weigh­ tool sets. Army divers' underwater missions involve recon­ ing up to 80,000 tons. The fourth cont ains hand tools, hard­ naissance , dem olition , hydrographic surveying , obstac le ware, and equipm ent used to locat e and mark underwater emplaceme nt, inspection, repair, light and heavy salvage, and obstacles. All components can be used in freshwater or salt­ recover y. They also co nduct dam , levee, and lock inspec ­ water to a depth of 250 feel. Procurem ent of the Underwater tions for the Corps of Engineers. Construction Set began in 1999. To acco mplish those tasks, there is a myriad of diving sets, Ancillary equipment includes 3-man reconnaissance boats supporting sets, tool sets, and ancillary equipme nt. Diver and 7- and IS-man inflatable assault boats. All are fabricated equipme nt sets allow surface-supplied divin g to depths of from neoprene-coat ed nylon fabri c ; have a rigid stern for 250 feet or self-co ntained (scuba) diving to depths of 190 mounti ng an outboard motor; and are issued with paddles, feet, thermal and physical protection, depth monitoring, reg u­ air pumps, and a repair kit. Procurement for the 15-man lating gauges, communications equipment, lights, and video boat is underw ay with additional purchases for all three recorders. Surface-Supplied Lightweight Diving Sets are beginning in 2002 . A replacement 3S-horsepower outboard

February 2000 Engineer 23 motor is also sched uled for fielding in 2002. The motor is As the light sets are rev iewed, changes will be impl em ented hand-start abie, uses a gas/oil-mix fuel, is ca pable of being to make the sy stems safer and eli minate lead-acid batteries, sound suppressed, and can be restarted wi thin 10 minutes increa se the opera ting life of the batteri es by cha ngi ng the after being submerge d. An Und erwater Photogr aphy Su p­ recharging characteristics, and develop more options for re­ port Sc t , based on digital tec hnology, will enha nce the di vers charg ing/operating sources. As develop ment funds bec ome reconnaissance, inspection, and damage-assessment capabili­ available , the sets will be updated based on the military adap­ ties in the futu re. tation of so me co mm ercial products. A sen ior enlisted diver in the Materie l Bran ch of the Ma­ neuver Support Ce nter' s Directorate of Comba t Developme nts Fire- Fighting works closely with the civilia n divin g co mmunity, the Naval he multipurp ose fire -fig hting vehicle wa s procured Di vin g and Sa lva ge Train ing Center, and the item managers for use by the armed forces to pro vid e fire-fighting at TACOM Arma ment and Chemical Acquisiti on and Lo gis­ T capability for protect ion of m ilitary install ation s and tics Activity, Rock Island Arsenal, Illi nois, to modernize div ­ aircraft, whether at hom e base or the for ward tactical opera ­ ing equipment. Th e ov era ll number of diving sets needed is tion s area. T he mi litary-adapted comme rcial item (MACI) sma ll compared to other systems, but providing breath able fire -fighting ve hicl e fu nc tio ns equa lly well whe n fig hting air to-and com pleting vital underwater missions by-Army struc tural fires, combating fue l fire s, or suppressing bru sh ­ di vers req uires the best equipment that technology has to of­ fires. The M AC! rep laced all configurations of the 530­ fer and an aggres sive moderni zation plan. series fire trucks- cr ash -rescue, bru shfire , and struc tural­ fire -currently in the field. The M ACI was fie lded in 1988­ Lighting 89 and has an on- board, 750-gallon water-storage capa bility; he Engineer Sc hool is the pro ponent for temporary seating for a four- soldier crew; and a foam prop ortion er. The and porta ble illumination fo r airfi eld s and heliport s; M ACI set is currently managed by TACOM. T tents, camps, and other fac ilities; and co nst ruction A repl acem ent for the M ACI is programmed for 2003 , as­ projects. Item managers at the Co mmunica tio ns-Elec tro nics suming testing and final selection are completed by (hen . The Command , Fort M on mouth, New Jersey, ov ersee the devel­ requirement is to have an increased water- tank size ( 1/ )00­ opme nt. procurement, and fielding of mo re than 23,500 gallon), seat ing for a crew of six soldiers, a foam proportio ner, portabl e/temp or ary lighting sets that are found in all types of blackout lights, M \6 rille holders, and four-wheel drive; and he units. able to ford to depth s of 0.75 meters. It will carry a 3-cubic-feet­ Li ghting sets pro vide temporary illumin ati on for tents, per-minute air compressor for refi lling air tanks and for use ca mps, buildings, co mmand posts, tactical operation centers, with infl atable jacks. In addition, it wiJJ contai n a full set of hospitals , and othe r struc tures and facilities. El ectrical power hoses, ladders, tools, and cras h-rescue/survival equipment. is provid ed directl y by generators and/or local power grids or by rech arge able batteries. Safe ty (electrical-shock protection Summary and circui t-overload prevention ) is a primary concern alon g s stated in the first article of this series (Engineer, with the capability to red uce the light signa ture. Electrical Aug ust 1999), each soldier uses one or more sets, power distribution in biv ou ac areas is normally provided by A kit s, or outfits containing either the tools of the trade the Distributed III umination Sy stem-E lectrical compon ents or to suppo rt nume rous other tasks from field feed ing to main ­ authorized to the unit. tenance to co mmunica tion. Th e next time you discover that Special-purpose lighting se ts wi th uniq uel y designed light­ you don' t have the right tool or eno ugh too ls-or if the tool ing unit s are available for em ergency lighting of small tacti ­ doesn 't wo rk- tell your supervisor and then ca ll the M aneu­ cal air strips and landing sites and temporary lighting of 2,000 ver Suppo rt Ce nter Direct or ate of Co mbat Developments. lin ear feet of run wa y or a 200-sq uare-foot helipad for opera ­ Make your too l sets w ork for you. Send co mments to the Or­ tions under co mbat conditions. Th ese lights are ligh tweight, ganization Branch (Tom Kno lls or Alan Schlie), 320 Engi­ portable, and battery-powered; flash wi th high- inten sity hori­ neer Loop, Suite 141 , Fo rt Leon ard Wood, M isso uri 65473 ­ zo ntal and ve rtic al beams; have multicolored. in terch ange­ 8929. Telephon e numbers are co mmercial (573) 563-6191 , ab le domes; and are anchorable. DSN 676-6 I91, and fax (573) 563-5056. The e-mail address is schliea tib wood.anny.mil. III Floodlight Sets pro vide li ghting for perime ters; gua rd towers; se cur ity ; prisoner of w ar ca m ps ; logi stic sites: and Mr. Schlie is a fo rce development ana lyst with the Director­ nighttime co nstru c tion wo rk on airfields , roads, pipelines , ate of Combat Developments, U.S. Army Engineer School. A ports. or logi stics-ov e r-the- shore sites, quarries, and batch retired command sergeant major, he has served ill various plants. The Floodlight Set is plann ed fo r procuremen t be ­ cap aciti es in Europe, Korea . and CO NUS throughout his g inni ng in 2000 . career.

24 Engineer February 2000 Engineer Safety Anny Safety • Halcing the Difference in Todays Hission

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Bill Ramer and Fred Fanning · rmy Safety Augmentation Detachment (ASAD) per­ Herzegovina. Using these personnel was a critical element from sonnel are an essential piece of the Total Army safety the time they began training until they reported for duty. Since A and can be a pri celess add ition to any deployment each unit makes a choice about where its safety program is mission-whether for war, peacekeeping, or training. The key established in the command structure, ASAD training stresses is to know whom they are and how to get them on your team. the need for adapting operational safety to the command struc­ The information in this article will help engineer unit conunand­ ture and the constantly chan ging operational environment. They ers and staff officers prep are and execute missions by identify­ work for the unit or task-force commander, and their bottom line ing a source for safety support. is protecting the soldier and thereby protecting the force. In the fall of 1995, the Dayton Peace Agreement on Bosnia­ The utility of AS ADs is seen best in their ability to provide Herzegovina was moving toward approval. A NATO­ a comma nd with operational military safety personn el with field commanded multinational military Implem entation Force (IFOR) experience. They do not imp lement the unit sa fety program­ would mon itor and help ensure compliance with the agreement they enhance and sustain it. They provide safe ty staff officers on military aspect" and fulfill certain supporting roles. at the brigade , division , and corps levels. Statistics indi cate In Bos nia- Herzegovina, an Ame rican Army general com­ that soldiers in Operation Joint Guard were actually safer in manded both the Multina tional Division No rth and Task Fo rce thea ter than in their res pective garrisons in German y and Eagle. Included in the div ision were a Nordic-Polish Brigade, a CONUS. Seventy -five percent of the Army 's casualtie s are "self­ Rus sian Brigade, a Turki sh Brigade, and an American Brigade inflicted " through accidents. ASAD per sonn el are the only staff and Aviation Regiment. This multinational mission had unique office rs whose sole focus is reducing these incident s and sus­ requirements, and civilian safety personn el played an impor­ taining the ground combat power available to the ground com­ tant role in helping commanders and leaders implement a safety mander. They are proud to have been there. The Task Fo rce program th at supported the requirements. However, there we re Eagle motto says it all: Protect the soldier, protect theforce! not enough of these personnel to cove r all areas and to stay on If commanders arc interested in ASAD suppo rt for their next the job for the hours, days, and month s that they were needed. mission, operation, or training event , it is essential that they M ost en gineer units do not have their own organic civilian understand the program and the support tha t can be provid ed. safety personnel, and it maybe difficult to obt ain support from An official requ est must be sent through the chain of comma nd the civilian safety personnel ass igned at div ision and corps to the FORSCOM Safety Offi ce. It is also essential that the unit level s. Th e solution for Task Force Eagle was Army reservists Reserve Liaison Officer be involved. There are specific requi re­ from the Arm y Safety Augmentation Det aclunent. ments for which ASAD support can be used , and in some in­ ASAD personnelare individual mobilization augmentees with stances a presidential call-up mu st occur before support ca n be the U.S. Army Reserve. They are officers and warrant officers provided. In addition, in som e cases there may be cos ts in­ assigned to the U.S . Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Safety curred by the un it for this suppo rt. The best approach is to Office . Th ese personnel recei ve basic training and education in outl ine the specific requ irements of the unit and make a form al tactical and ope rational safety. request to the FORSCOM Safet y Office to provide the costs and availability of ASAD personn el. For Operation s Joint En­ ASADs bring to an operation the experience of their military de avor and Joint Guard , th e time and effort spe nt getting background from active duty, reserv es, and National Guard. ASADs approved and on the ground were well worth it. Since they arc still active soldiers, their perspective is focused on the needs of their fello w soldie rs as well as the need to E-mail comments or questions [email protected]. support the mission. Their training helps to focus. this effort or call him at (573) 596-0116. and join with the civilian safety per sonnel (when available) and the ongoi ng safe ty program of the deployed unit. This tie-in is Lieutenant Colonel Ramer was• a member ofthe A,my Safety critical and will allow the ASAD to join an already-formed team Augmentation Detachment in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He served and contrib ute to the effort to improve hazard identification and as a safety officer with the 1Sf Armored Division and the 1st control-measure implement ation. Inf antry Division. ASAD s have served during Operation s Joint Endeavor, Joint Fred Fanning, a certified safety professional, is safety di­ Guard , and Desert Storm, as well as operations in Haiti and rector ofthe Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, Somalia. ASA D personn el in Bosnia-Herzegovina , Croatia, and Missouri. He served as safety director f or the U.S Alm y V Hunga ry pro vided continuous -operati onal safety support to Corps during the fir st two and one-halfyears ofthe Stabili za­ U.S . forces traveling to and from and operating in Bosnia- tion Force operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

February 2000 Eng ineer 25 Ohio Engilleers Get IIStick TInle" at Selfridge: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship Continues

By Rae Higgins ports fans have long known about with infrastructure maintenance, which Charlie Company, based in Youngstown, the famous Michigan-Ohi o State includes housing, morale, welfare, and and its Detachment l out of Camp Perry; Sfoo tball rivaJry. But there's no ri­ recreational activities . and Batta lion Headquarter s Support valry between units at Michigan 's Company, from Hamilton, and its De­ Selfridge Air National Guard Base and Mission tachment I from Felicity. the Ohio Army National Guard's 216th he 2 16th's mission is to provide This past year's stint at Selfridge was Engineer Comba t Battalion (Heavy). In general engineering with limited especially challenging for the 216th to fac t, there 's reason to chee r bec ause T mobility, co untermobility, and sur­ pl an because the maj ority of the military units headqu artered in both vivabi lity tasks. Its soldiers must con­ battalion's personnel were called up to states joined forces in 1998 to begin a struct, repair, and maintain supply routes, assist with hurricane relief opera tions in comprehensive , ongoing quality-of-life landin g strips, buildings, structures, and Nicaragua. In addition, 50 soldiers from project that continues to be mutu ally utilities. As an organization of citizen-sol­ Alpha Company were deployed to Ko­ beneficial. For the seco nd year, soldiers diers, the unit provides these services both rea. Hence, the annu al trainin g team from the 2 J6th reported for two weeks to the people of Ohio and to the nation. could not be identified (from the afore­ of annual training at Selfridge beginning According to TACOM's National mentioned units) until the first day of in late July. Guard adviser, hosting the unit's annual trainin g. The battalion held daily train­ The U.S. Army Garri son-Selfridge, train ing is a major mutual endeavor. Not ing meetings to ascertain how to over­ which is a business clement of the Tank ­ only does Selfridge gain new facilities at come the obstacles that cropped up and automotive and Armaments Command a minimal cos t, but the Ohio Army Na­ forge d ahead with the work at hand. (TACO M)-Warren, is one of the active tional Guard receives valuable trainin g as duty units at Selfrid ge. Despite the fact well. Annual Training '99 that Selfridge is an Air National Guard Units from the 216th that reported to base, it is home to soldiers, sailors, air­ the U.S. Army Garrison-Selfridge for An­ nnual Training '99 built upon men, marines, coastguardsmen, and their nual Training '99 included Alpha Com­ the eng ineers ' 199 8 project , families. The Army garris on is charged pa ny, he ad qu artered in Chillicothe : A which centered chiefly on

26 Enginee r February 2000 "vert ical work"-building five picnic pa­ vilions in a park along one of Selfridge' s shoreline areas. The project in 1999 was more com­ prehensive, however. as the units got to really roll up their sleeves and focus on " horizontal" work . Th eir goal was to build a recreational vehicle campsite in the park. In all, the 216th 's soldiers racked up some good stick time, indeed. Their ma­ jor accomplishments included installing nearly 1.500 feel of6-inch water main to deliver water to 30 recreational vehicle campsites; emplacing two fire hydrants to satisfy fire codes; placing base-course materials in the main road to the sites When complete, this shoreline area will be home to a recreational vehicle camp­ and a vehicle turnaround; and grading site complete with electrical and water hookups. the campsite area. According to the Garrison - Selfridge project, the plumbing teams con sisted of had j ust retu rned from Nicaragua, said comm ander, the garrison provided the about 20 carpenters who cros s trained that annual training rota tions provide battalion with $37.000 worth of materials as plumbers. opportunities for soldiers to gain cru­ and received $110,000 worth of construc­ The 64 soldiers who participated in the cial experience. These types of projects tion work this year. Selfridge Annual Training '99 came from provide realistic traini ng for tasks the When completed, the recreational ve­ all walks of civilian life-among them stu­ unit might encounter on the battLefield . hicle park will be open to active duty ser­ dents, plumbers, corrections officers, and vice members,retirees,National Guard and business owners. Whatever their civilian The Benefits Reserve members, Department of Defense profession, they were all motivated for an­ he Selfrid ge-Ohio Na tional civilians,and eligiblefamily members.The nual training and eager to work and leam . Gu ard partnership proved to park will be managed by the Directorate On e sergea nt who had previously be a win-w in situatio n an y of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, and T spent seven years on active duty logged way you look at it. The battalion worked officials hope it will become a money­ her first annual training with the National projects that have real-world application making operation. 1f the park is success­ Guard at Selfridge. The veterinary tech ­ on the battlefiel d, so it maintains readi­ ful, Selfridge officials will consider build­ nician said she learned a lot while in ness by sharpening soldiers' skills. The ing more recreational vehicle campsites. Michi gan, such as survey ing, driving garrison and the Selfridge community A rustic campground project might even trucks, and laying pipe. As one of the as a whole not only get new or impro ved be in the works. few women participating in the annual facilities and a significant qualit y-of-life The measurement ofan exercise such training, she said that today's Army of­ upgrad e, but they also get them for a as this is the kind of training soldiers fers more opportunities for women than bargain. It was great training for the Ohio get. The exercise increased the overall when she was on active duty. The Bos­ Guard engin eers and great savings for readiness of the battalion by giving sol­ ton native said she and the other women the government and it gave folks great diers an opportunity to hone their mili­ in the battalion were doing the same kind facilities to enjoy. tary occ upatio nal specialty skills. De­ of work and received the same kind of Bo Schembec hler, the University of spite the less-than-ideal circumstances treatment as their male counterparts. Michigan's fabled former gridiron skip­ at the outset, in the end it all paid off. A loader operator from the Headquar­ per, and legend ary ex-Ohio State foot­ Heavy equipment operators received a ters SUPP0l1 Company, a private residen­ ball coach Woody Hayes wouldn 't even lot ofstick time, and the troops were not tial construc tion worker in civilian life, argue with that. III only able to pull vehicle maintenance but was able to spend all-important time us­ also to cross train and increase the skill ing his loader to fill c-ton trucks with dirt proficiency of junior enlisted soldiers. that the dozer operators had dug, moved, Rae Higgins is Q civilian public Cross training is an essen tial element of or cleared. He emphasized that it is al­ affairs specialist assigned to Head­ the battalion's work. It became especially ways good trainin g for the unit when­ quarters, U.S. Army Tank- automotive important because the annual trainin g ever you can get on your equipment. The and Armaments Command, Warren, team was "piecemealed" together due site noncommissioned officer in charge Michigan. to th e Nica ragua mi ssion. For thi s agreed. The 16-year Guard veteran, who

February 2000 Engineer 27 Past in Review The and

By DJ: James W Dunn he U.S. Army Co rps of En gi­ neers did not build the Panama Canal. It was built by the Isth­ mian Canal Commission (ICC), which was authorized by the Spooner Act and appointed by the President of the United States. How ever, Army eng inee rs be­ came involved in the U.S. interest in building a ca nal in 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant, stimulated by the open ­ ing of the Suez Canal in 1867, ordered the U.S. Navy to conduct surveys ofpos­ sible canal routes in Ce ntra l Amer ica. The Na vy reported to an Interoceanic Can al Commission whose membership inclu ded Chief of Engineers Bri gadier General Andrew A. Hum phreys. Th e United States was following the path of earlier Sp ani sh interest in the The spillway. looking north from the west wall. Foundations fo r valve and possibil ity of a canal trade route some ­ cofferdam piers are in the foreground. where in Ce ntra l America. Spanish ex­ plorer Vasc o de Balboa walked across his family in 1852 to his assignment with Wh ile th e Fren ch str uggled in the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific the 4th Infantr y Regim ent in Oregon. Panama, the United St ate s M ar iti me Ocea n in 1513, and in the midd le of the After studying the Navy sur vey re­ Canal Co mpany-whic h included re­ 16th century a Spanish Catholic priest, ports in the earl y 1870 s, Pre sident tired General George B. McClellan, who Fath er Francisco de Gornara. wrote a Grant's Interoceanic Canal Commission had entered the Corps of Engineers upon book about a canal in either Nicaragua concluded that the Nicaragu a route was his gra d ua tio n from We st Point in or Panama. However, it was not until the better than Panama becau se of the high 1846-obtained a concession to build a 18th century that the Spanish conducted cost of a lock canal thro ugh the Isthmus canal in Nicaragua. Several attempts in surveys of potential routes. In 1787 Tho­ of Panama and the threat of yellow fe­ the 1880s and 1890s resulted in failure mas Jeffer son , th e U .S. minist er to ver and malaria there. However, before due to high costs and the inability to hire France, made an un successful attempt the Unite d States co uld ge t start ed. a re liable wo rk for ce. Th e U.S. and [ 0 obtain those sur vey reports. Ferdi nand de Lesseps, builder of the French failures indicated that private From the middle of the 19th century, Suez Canal, formed a French company industry could not succeed alone; an in­ the United States made increasing use to build a sea-level canal in Panama. The terocean ic ca na l in Centra l Am eri ca of the Panam a isthmus as sett lers moved Universal Interoce anic Canal Company needed government support. to the new lands gained in the Me xican began work in Februa ry 1881. and by In 1895 President Gro ver Cleveland War, and gold seeke rs rushed to the Cali­ midsummer the first yell ow feve r and appointed a thr ee-m ember Nicaragua forni a mining sites. In 1850 a U.S . com­ malaria cases were reported. There were Canal Board to study and compare the pan y obtained the right to build a rail­ 125 deaths in 1882 and 420 in 1883. By two rout es- Panama and Nicaragua. road ac ross Panam a and com pleted a 1889 de Lesseps' co mpany was bank­ . The Ludl o w Commission . named for one -track lin e in 1855. Amo ng those rupt, and work on the canal came to a Army engineer member Lieutenant who crossed from the Atlantic to the halt ; the cost of a sea-level canal was Colonel William Ludlow. recommended Pacifi c in those mid-1 9th century years too high, and the yellow fever and ma­ continued study of the Nicaragua route . was Captain Sam Grant, when he moved laria threat Vi as too grea t. To do so . in 1897 Presid ent William

28 Engineer Februarv 2000 McKinley appointed a Nicara gua Canal Commission, It included Professor Lewis M. Haupt of the University of Pennsylva­ nia. who graduated from West Point in 1867 and entered the Corps of Engineers. and Army engineer Colonel Peter C. Hains. That commission also rec om­ mended Nicaragua. The U.S . interest in Nicaragua con­ cerned the French company, which still held the de Lessep s' concessi on to build REPUBLIC a canal in Panama and was interested in OF selling it to the United States. In ]896 the French hired a New York lawyer, PANAMA Willi am Nelson Cromwell, as a lobbyist for their renamed New Pan ama Canal Company. He , in turn, hired retired Army engineer Brigadier General Henry L. Abbot as a technical expert. Abbot wrote a report citing the advantages of a lock canal in Panama over a sea-level canal in Nicaragua. Th e Spanish-American War illus­ OF trated to the American publi c the need for so me type of canal in Central America when it to ok th e battle ship Oregon more than 60 days to go from San Francisco [ 0 the Caribbean by way of Cap e Horn . In December 1898 , the French mad e an official appr oach to the United States ahout buying the conces­ sion rights of the New Panama Canal Company. To sort this all out, Congress appro ­ priated $1 million to fund an Isthmian Canal Commission [0 recomm end either Panama or Nicaragua as the route for an interoceanic canal. Th e ICC included Haupt and Hains from the previous com­ Map of the Panama Canal Zone mission and Army engineer Lieutenant harbors, a shorter route, and an operating Colonel Oswald H. Ernst. When the No­ purchase of the New Panama Canal railroad-he also got the New Panama vember 1901 report recomm ended Nica­ Company for $40 milli on, purchase of a Can al Company to revalue its assets at ragua because it was cheaper than Panama zon e in Panama for construction of a $40 million. That made Panama cheaper (the New Panama Canal Compan y val­ canal, and set up a seve n-member presi­ than Nicaragua, and an amended TCC re­ ued its assets at $lOOmillion ), the French dential-appointed Isthmian Canal Com ­ port in Janua ry ]902 recommended the mission to build the canal. In the March hired Philippe Bunau-Varil1 a to support Panama route. Cromwell's lobbying efforts in the United 190 3 Hay-Herran Treaty , the United States. Bunau-Varil1a was a French engi­ With that rep ort Senator John C. States and Co lomb ia (w hich o wned neer who had worked for de Lesseps in Sp ooner success fully sp on sored an Panama) agreed on the purchase price Panama and was a shareholder in the New amendment to turn a Nicaragua bill into for (he French company and payment of Panama Canal Company. While Bunau ­ a Panama bill. The Spooner Act, signed $10 milli on by the Unit ed States to Co­ Varilla talked about the advantages of into la w by President Th e od ore lombi a for the right to build a canal in Panama over Nicaragua- such as better Roosevelt on 28 June 1902, auth orized Panama . By Aug ust that treaty was a

February 2000 Eng ineer 29 dead issue, as Colombia wanted more from acting chief engineer Major Black of the Panama Canal. As a member of than $10 million from the United States in July 1904, but he resigned a year later. the Army General Staff, Major Goethals and some of the $40 million going to He was fearful of the yellow fever threat had accompanied Secretary of War Wil­ the French comp any. and attracted by a better-paying job in liam Howard Taft to the Canal Zone in Fearful that the United States would the United St ates. Railroad en gin eer 1905 to recommend sites for coast de­ go to Nicaragua, Panamanians interested John Stevens- an executive with the fense fortifications. in having the canal built across the isth­ Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Rail ­ In 1907 Goeth als was 47 years old mus approac hed Bunau-Varilla. Acting road- replaced Wallace and arrived in and had almost 30 years experience as as their represen tativ e, Bunau-Varilla Pan am a in Jul y 1905 . He remain ed an officer in the Corps of Engineers. talked with officials in Washington and longer than Wallace and was successful Up on graduation from West Point in then promised the Panaman ian s U.S. in building a solid infrastructure that 1880, he entered the Corps and began a support in the eve nt of a revolt and break included worker and family quarters. His career of river-and-harbor and lock-and­ with Colombia. After an almost blood­ railroad exc avatio n system functioned dam construction work on the Ohio and less revolt on 3 November, Panama de­ like a conveyor belt with the trains car­ Tennessee Rivers, canal work at Muscle clared itsel f a republic on 4 November. ryin g the dirt from the steam sho vels Shoals, and coast defen se con struction In the early morning of 6 No vember, directly to the dump sites. work in New England. Army engineer Major Willi am M. Black, Stevens was ready to dig in 1906, but Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in at the requ est of the Panamanians, raised the type of cana l- sea-Ievel or lock­ March 1907. Goeth als took with him to the nag of the new republic over the city remained a question. Walla ce had rec­ Pan am a as members of the ICC two of Colon. ommended a sea-level canal, but Stevens oth er Army engineer s. Majors David Major Bl ack and Army en gineer favored a lock canal. A 13-member board Gaillard and William Sibert. Both were Lieutenant M ar k Brook e we re in of co nsulting engineers recommended , members ofthe West Point class of 1884. Panama as representatives of the ICC to by an 8-5 margin, a sea-level canal, but Gailiard was serving on the General Staff study and rep ort on the New Panama the ICC accepted the minority report for with Goethals and had experience in Canal Company in anticipation that Co­ a lock canal written by retired Army en­ river-and-harbor work, while Sibert had lombia woul d agree to the Hay-H enan gineer Brigadier General Hen ry L. Ab­ a river-and-canal work background. bot. The plan President Roosevelt signed i Treaty. Both engineer officers remained Goethals placed Army engineer Ma­ into law in June 1906 called for a canal' in Panam a into] 904, with Black as act­ jor Harry F. Hodges in charge of the ICC with three locks on the Atlantic side, ing chief engineer and Brooke signing I offi ce in Washington, D.C., where he three on the Pacific side, and a lake in for transfer of the New Panama Canal ! could use Corps personnel throughout the middle created by dammin g the Company property to the United States the United States to help select and in­ Chagres River at Gatlin. on 4 May ] 904. spect equipment to be sent to the Canal Bunau- Varilla, as Panamanian envoy Stevens never gal very far with this Zone. Goethals initially organized the to the United States , signed the Hay­ plan bec ause he resigned in February canal work by type, putting Gaill ard in Bunau-Varilla Treaty on 18 November ]907. His stren gth was as a railro ad con­ charge of excavation and dredging ]903. The United States purchased from struction engineer, and by 1907 the and ass igning Siber t to lock- and -dam Panama a 10-mile zone across the isth­ conveyor-belt-type railroad system was co nstruction. in place. What awaited Stevens was hy­ mus for $10 million and S250,00 0 annu­ After several months of observation, draulic engineering: the design of dams ally, guaranteed Panama's independence Go ethal s was re ad y to make so me and locks and the large-scale use of con­ from Colombi a, and paid the French $40 changes. In late 1907, he moved the two crete. That was not his strength, but it million for the New Panama Canal Com­ Sosa Hill locks on the Pacific side in­ certainly was the strength of Army en­ pany. After Panama ratified the treaty in land to Miraflores because of the threat gineers in the U.S. Army Corps of En­ December 1903 and the U.S. Senate did of naval bombardmen t. He brought gineers. Thu s, it was to the Corps that so in February 1904, Pr esid ent Hodges to Panama as assistant engineer President Roo sevelt looked to get some­ Roosevelt-as required by the Spooner in charge of lock design and repl aced one who could not quit. Act- named a seve n-member ICC to him in Washin gton with Army engineer build the canal. The ICC included Colo­ On 18 Februar y, Roose velt sum­ Maj or Frank C. Boggs. He widened the nel Hains and Lieutenant Colonel Ernst. moned Army engineer Major George bottom width of the CuJebra Cut, a The first ICC chief engin eer was John W. Goe thals to the White House for channel through the Culebra Mountain F Wallace. who was a railroad engi neer an interview and . on 26 February, he in the Continental Divide, from 200 to and general manager of the Illinois Rail­ announced that Goe thals was going to 300 feet ; and, on the recommendation road when he took the job to build the , Pan ama as chairma n of the ICC and of the Navy, increased the lock widths canal. He arrived in Panama to take over i chief engineer to complete construction from 100 to ]]0 feet.

30 Engineer February 2000 Goethals reorganized construc­ tion res po nsibility on a geographic basi s. Maj or Sibert got the Atl antic Division fro m the ocea n throu gh the Gatun Lock s to the Gatun Dam, and Major Gaill ard got the Centra l Di­ vision of G atu n L ake and th e Cul ebra Cut. Syd ney Williamso n, a Corp s civi lian engineer who had worked with Goethal s in Tenn essee and New England, go t the Pacific Divisi on fro m the P edr o M iguel Lock throu gh the Miratlores Locks to the ocean. Goe thals divided each di vision into districts, with a sup er­ intendent of con stru ction in charge, and he orga nized his headquarters into sections responsible for design, buil din gs and eq uipment, and sur­ vey and personnel. Si m ilar to the Co rps sys tem , design and general The 55 Panama in Culebra Cut, near Empire. on a trip southward through the pl anni ng came from the headquar­ canal. ters while the detail s were left to the di visions. Sydn ey Williamson as co nstruc tion su­ December 1913 of a brain tumor, and in Construction of the Gatun Dam be ­ pervi sor and Army engineer Major Eben April 1915 President Woodrow Wil son gan in 1907. Th e l.5-mile earthen dam , E. Wil son the design engi neer, construc­ ren amed Culebra Cut as Gaillard Cut in with a con crete spillway in the middle, tion began that year on three forts on his hon or. crossed the Chagres Ri ver to create a the Atlantic side and two on the Pacific. Th ere wer e re wards and hon ors for 164-square-mile lake as part of the ca­ In 1912 the Ch ief of Engin eer s orga­ all for co mpleting the canal. highlighted nal. Lock constr uction be gan in 1909, ni ze d a sec tio n in hi s o ffice under by the March 1915 promotion s of George with Army eng ineer M aj or Ja mes P. Goethal's son , A rmy engineer Lieuten­ W. Goeth als and Harry F. Hodges to Jervey supervising masonry work of the ant George R. Goe thals, to oversee for ­ major general and William Siber t to triple locks. In 191 2 Army engineer tification co nstruction in the Canal Zone . brigad ier genera l. However, for the Army Lieutenant Frede rick Mears co mpleted Th e first Atlantic fort wa s operational engineers, the greatest reward over the relocation of the Panama railroad re­ in 1914 and the first on the Pacific side years proved to be not only that they had quired by the creation of Gatun Lake. in 1916. By the tim e the United States completed co nstruc tion of the ca nal bu t The ca nal was near completion in 1913, entered World War I, the re were nine op­ that they had built a ca nal for the centu­ when ste am shovels wo rking from both erational forts at each end of the cana l. ries . A t the end of the 20th century, the ends of the Culebra Cut met in May and With the cana l read y to open, an April Pan am a Cana l was still operating as a Gatun Lake began to fill in Jun e. In Sep­ 1914 exe cutive order abolished the ICC vital link in world co mme rce. tember a trial lockage at the Gatun Loc ks and established the Panam a Ca nal with D r. Dunn is a historian in the Office resulted in th e tug Gatun rising from the George W. Goethals as the first gover­ of History, U.S. Army Corps of Engi­ lowest chamber to the lake in 1 hour and nor of the Cana l Zone. Although the start neers, Alexan dria , Virginia. 51 mi nutes. The c ana l wo u ld h ave of the war in Euro pe overshadowe d it, opene d in 191 3 but [or slide s in the the ca nal officially open ed on 15 A ugust Culebra Cut. when the liner Ancon passed fro m the Fortification of the Canal Zone was A tlantic [0 the Pac ific side. While most Su ggested Reading only partially completed by 19 13. Th e of the Army engi neers who had worked Ger stl e M ack, The Land D ivided; Hay-Buana-Varilla T reat y gave the on the canal were there in 1914, one wa s David Mc Cullough, The Path Between Unite d States the rig ht to fortify the missing. Li euten an t Colonel Da vid the Seas. zone, but it was not until I9 11 that DuBose Ga illard left Panama in 1913 Congress appropriated the fun ds to be­ to seek medical attention in the United gin fo rt ific atio n construction. Wi th States. He died in Baltimore on 5

February 2000 Engineer 31 PERSCOM ·· Not e s By Sergeant Major Theressa Fillmore

..~ . When Can I Retire? " . . " .> particular IniliiMy occupational speci~tyd'vlOS) or skill and ex- here are several misconceptions 'in the field' about peds them to fulfill their commitment by serving in that MOS or .' the ability to retire , at will, w.h~n . first .eligible (20 .'. skill.for a sp<":Citlc amount of time. Unexpected requests for re­ T'. years);'Many senior nO ;lc olilJni ~'si~~~lofficer's belie·ve;:·. ··ti re~ en t wou l~.: result ill the Army trying to get another soldier and unde~stand ~~IY so: th ~t6 n ce'th ~5': : r~~~hi 9' y;~ai1' 6f ac ti ~e .•. '} r~~ ned e arl I~r :~.ancxpected . in order tocarry on the mission. service, they should have no problem'gettin:g a. r~ t ! re m e~i · .re ~ ~, . ' Ti~e ht·d~a·de. Solilie'rspromoted'to sergeant f~t class,mas­ quest approved.::. .'~.' .:.' ' ~.: ".' -,: ter sergeant;',and sergeant major incur ~two ~ year service obliga-

According 'to Army Reg:ui ation "635 ~2bo ; En iis t~d ·j)e ;so it- -v> i()!1 ..Th·is .obligationis from.the effeCii~e date of thepromotion nel, paragraph.Jf~4 ,' \' a sbl ~:i e~ ' of th~ ~Regul

32 Engineer February 2000 "".: ..

Eng ine e~ 33