F~Ll1974 \JO UME: 4 NUMBE:R 3 ft\LL 1974 fE:~TURE:S 11 OPMS/ COL Carl P. Rodolph, Jr. 14 Engineer Soldier's Manual/ CPT Robert Sperberg 16 River Crossing Operations/ CPT Benjamin F. Heil, Jr. 18 Incentive Training/ LTC Charles L. Shreves 22 Engineer Center Team/ Engineer Staff 23 Partnership/ LTC Joachim K. W. lickert 26 Construction Management At Work/ CPT Lamar C. Ratcliffe, Jr. 31 Training-The Elusive Commodity/ MAJ Charles E. Gardner 34 Domestic Action/ CPT Jeffrey A. Wagonhurst 36 Geodesic Domes/ CPT John H. Robertus 38 Lighting Freedom's Frontiers/ CPT Larry L. Austin 40 Dig it Now - See You Later/ CPT Cecil Green DE: P~RT ME: NTS 1 Chief's Briefs/ History 2 Pipeline/ News Items 4 Stop 16/ Letters to the Editor 5 Engineer Interview/ Project Nimbus Moon 28 The Henry Larcom Abbot Awar / CPT Gordon T. r by, Jr. 42 Issues a d Answer / LT Joseph H. Hottes 44 ridging the Gap/ Career Notes Major General Joseph Gilbert Totten was born in New Haven. Con­ necticut, August 23. 1788. He was graduated from the US Military Academy, July 1. 1805, and appointed Second Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers. He resigned from the Army on March 31, 1806, to accompany, as secretary, his uncle. Captain Jared Mansfield, who had been appointed by President Jefferson, Surveyor General of Ohio and the Northwest Territory. Totten re-entered the Corps in 1808. where he remained until his death, April 22, 1864. He was an authority on sea coast fortifications, and as a member of the first Permanent Board of Engineers (established in 1816) he laid down principles of coast defense construction which were followed for more than a century. His service covered three wars, the War of 1812, Mexican War, and the Civil War. He served 26 years as Chief Engineer. 1838-1864. the longest on record. As Chief of Engineers during the Civil War he supervised the defensive works around Washington. On the day before he died he was brevetted a Major General by Congress "for long, faithful and eminent service". Edward B. Russell Curator. US Army Engineer Museum _,1­ _ I ·PIPELINE. PIR RIBBON BRIDGE are expected to be available unit and will solve many of th EQUIPMENT RE­ for field use in the summer of unit's training facility prob­ 1975. Cradles are expected to lems. This all-weather build­ CEIVES NEW TYPE be available concurrent with ing is large enough to permit CLASSIFICATION the bridge units under a con­ static display of most items of A faster method of launching tract for 54 of the special boat TOE equipment; use multiple the boat used for the assembly units awarded to Pacific Car sand tables, slide projectors, of the Army's new ribbon and Foundry Co., Renton, viewgraphs or film projectors; bridge has been Type Classi­ Washington. and allow all the personnel to fied as Standard. This means see and hear what's going on. the method used, along with The structure is designed to the equipment itself, is con­ PLANS AVAILABLE be built in usable phases; that sidered the most advanced and FROM OCE FOR A is, foundation and roof first; satisfactory item available to TRAINING siding and windows next; fol­ meet current military needs. lowed by a floor and utilities. It Both the new launching ENVIRONMENT can be built by non-engineer method and the ribbon bridge Do you have a place for units as a dynamic training itself were developed and commander's call and corn­ project with some construction tested by the Military Tech ­ pany training? A place where equipment and engineer sup­ nology Department at the US all the soldiers in the unit can port, particularly in fabri­ Army Mobility Equipment Re­ sit around and be close to cating and erecting the roof search and Development Cen­ equipment, sand tables, speak­ trusses. ter (MER DC), Fort Belvoir, ers, etc.: see a vehicle main­ If, this building would fill a Virginia. tained; a weapon served; gap in your unit's training pro­ Essentially a boat cradle as­ equipment repaired; first gram and you're looking for sembly, the new method per­ echelon maintenance pulled; some adventure in your train­ mits the present standard 27 tactical concepts worked out on ing, you can obtain a set of foot bridge erection boat to be a sand table? plans and bill of materials by launched directly into the Are you fighting the weather contacting the Office of Chief of water from the ribbon bridge and noise out under the trees or Engineers, Engineering Design truck transporter in a fraction trying to make the theater, Division, HQDA, ATTN: of the time required using a dayroom or messhall do? DAEN-FEE-A, Washington, crane. This enables the boat to If the answer to any of these D.C. 20314. keep pace with the 20 feet per questions causes you irritation, minute assembly time of the makes you see red, or revivies actual bridge modules which bitter memories, then READ are launched from the trans­ ON. The Office, Chief of Engi­ MINIATURE TORCH porters directly into the water. neers may have a dynamic DEVELOPED BY Use of the cradle assembly answer to your problem. It's a MASSTER brand new self help company reduces the boat launching or RESEARCHERS retrieval time from 30 to ap­ training facility to satisfy most proximately two minutes. This units' needs. Accidents and emergencies, a Iso means the el i m ination of a The Office, Chief of Engi­ such as a car wreck or many 20 ton crane and the number of neers has contracted to Clark, combat situations, often re­ personnel reduced from six to Nixsen and Owens, Architects quire a cutting torch to burn three. and Engineers, to design a 40 ft through tangled masses of The ribbon bridge is now in x 40 ft x 20 ft high structure metal. production under a $10 million which will be added to the Now, researchers at MAS­ contract with Consolidated Army's Functional Component STER (Modern Army Selected Diesel Electric Division of System (AFCS). The structure Systems Test, Evaluation and CON D E X Corporation, Old will accommodate all of the Review) are examining a new Greenwich, Connecticut. Units personnel in a company-size Miniature Thermal Bar Torch 2 INE. PIPELINE. at has a greater cutting combat-ready state. emergency rescue tool in such power than the familiar Also, the oxyacetylene torch things as car wrecks where oxyacetylene torch. has an approximate heat range victims are trapped inside. The new torch was developed of 6000 degrees, whereas the Any ambulance, police car, by the Land Warfare Labora­ mini torch can effectively op­ fi re truck or rescue veh ic1e tory at Aberdeen Proving erate high above this range. could easily carry one of more Grounds, Maryland, and the The mini torch does leave a of these torches and be pre­ MASSTER testing is putting much rougher cut than oxyacet­ pared for any type of emer­ the torch through it paces in lene. but this is understandable gency cutting operation. typical field situations with since it has greater heat level The MASSTER tests of the soldiers from the 2d Armored and melts more material torch include timed tests for Division at Fort Hood. faster. mobility, speed of operation The torch has such a high and assembly. Soldiers from Although the mini torch has burn temperature that it can the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry, innumerable possibilities as a cut through concrete, stainless of the 2d Armored Division military implement, the de­ steel, earthen materials and were trained to operate the velopers see it as a needed tool other items that the oxyacety­ torch and used it on a variety for humane operations. lene torch cannot penetrate, or of materials, including steel has trouble penetrating. The torch can operate off any l-beams, armor plating, hell­ For example, the mini torch type oxygen container and copter bodies, concrete and can cut through eight inches of could be feasibly handled as an earth. armor plating in 39 seconds, which could be significant in rescuing men from a damaged tank or armored personnel arrier when time is a critical actor . There are great possibilities that the mini torch could be used in non-explosive demoli­ tion roles. It could be an effec­ tive tool to replace thermite or other explosives to destroy bridges, vehicles or such things as concrete field fortifications. The greatest advantage of the mini torch is that is can be handled by one man. It can be parachuted into an area for clandestine operations, and it can be lit and operated on land or in the water without prior preheating or special prepara­ tion. On the other hand, the oxyacetylene torch requires a preheating period prior to op­ erations, it is bulky, unless operated from a truck, it re­ quires at least two men to operate it, and it cannot be iara chuted into an area in a Sir: settled on land that is about as neer Brigade commanded by I have read several issues of worthless as the Black Hills Brigadier General Daniel P. your magazine and find it to be are beautiful. Woodbury_ very informative in many Most of the Black Hi lis is US As the Engineer Battalion is areas , however, I feel the ar­ Forest Service land; what little in the lineage of the 1st Engi­ ticles seem to avoid the area of private land there is is almost neer Battalion, I read the new equipment under develop­ universally owned by the white article with much interest and ment.