Soldier Armed Concertainers By Scott R. Gourley percentage of its “as-constructed” vol- by 5 feet by 95 feet (Mil 10)—options. ume before expansion and is ready for With a 3-inch mesh size on all struc- idely used in a range of force- rapid filling at its final destination. tures, the galvanized steel-wire thick- Wprotection measures from Bosnia Hesco Bastion in Leeds, England, nesses are 4 millimeter (8 Gauge) on the to Afghanistan, Concertainer defense possesses an internationally recognized smaller products and 5 millimeter (6 walls, also known as Concertainers, design patent for Concertainers. Thom- Gauge) on the large Mil 7 and Mil 10 have helped to revolutionize the way as Redfern, marketing representative designs. The wall cells are connected at U.S. forces view earth-filled protective for Hesco, reiterated several of the ben- the corners with spiral wire hinges that measures. efits in a more technical description of allow rapid expansion from the com- As described by the Defense Logis- the product line. pact, folded-storage configuration. tics Agency (DLA), “The Concertainer “HESCO Bastion Concertainer is a All options feature the 2 millimeter defense wall is a rapidly built solid unique, patented multicellular defense heavy-duty nonwoven polypropylene blast-barrier wall built from heavy- wall system,” he said. “It is made from geotextile filler in either beige or duty galvanized wire mesh lined with prefabricated Galfan-coated mild steel- green that allows them to be filled a geotextile fabric designed as a substi- wire mesh and vertical coil joints that with a range of local earth materials. tute for sandbags. The wall can be filled are lined with a nonwoven material The material selection—optimized for with any available material such as called polypropylene geotextile. Once tactical considerations, availability, sand, mud, soil [or] rock using minimal erected, Concertainer units can be transport requirements and intended manpower and a mechanical digger. filled using almost any locally avail- structure duration—can include any- The wall has been tested using small- able material. By enhancing the mass thing from concrete, crushed rock and arms fire, machine guns, mortars and and characteristics of the fill material, various soil types to field-expedient 30 mm cannon. It will also protect Concertainer units are able to with- materials such as snow. against indirect artillery fire up to stand attack from a variety of weapons According to Redfern, the Concer- 155 mm caliber. Uses include aircraft and significantly reduce harmful frag- tainer system “was conceived in 1989 and headquarters location revetments, mentation.” initially to mitigate coastal erosion bunkers, observation posts, border The Concertainer product line in- and then was introduced into military crossings and fuel installations.” cludes multiple options, designated applications by the U.K. Ministry of In addition to its protective benefits, Mil 1 through Mil 10, with sizes rang- Defence. Since then, products have the wall design provides significant lo- ing from smaller—2 feet by 2 feet by 4 been developed and comprehensively gistics advantages through a collapsible feet (Mil 2)—to large—7 feet, 3 inches tested.” design that is transported as a small by 7 feet by 90 feet (Mil 7) and 7 feet Noting that “Concertainer units have been described as the most signif- icant development in field fortification since World War II,” he said that “since the Concertainer’s first use by the mili- tary in 1991, more than 15 of the world’s leading authorities in blast mitigation and effects have performed tests using a number of different weapon systems. Concertainer units have also been developed to meet spe-

Albright cific requirements, such as bunkers with overhead protection and flood de- fenses in the mainland United States.” In the case of specialized needs, for example, the Concertainer structures have evolved from field-expedient tac- tical applications to specialized struc- Hesco Bastion/SGT Jimmy Concertainers are solid blast-barrier defense walls that can be filled with ture designs that have been “kitted” virtually any available material (including snow), can be erected rapidly, are by the DLA as U.S. Army Engineer Re- logistically efficient and are a great improvement over sandbag defenses. search and Development Center “ap-

76 ARMY I June 2010 proved fighting positions”—including The protective bar- the single-bay aboveground fighting riers are shipped flat then quickly position kit, two-bay aboveground opened and fighting position kit and aboveground rapidly filled. Origi- small observation-post kit—that come nally designed for complete with a set number of Mil 2- flood and erosion size Concertainers and plank struc- control, Concer- tural roof and roof membrane. tainers have pro- vided military force protection since esco has also developed some the 1991 Persian Hof its own structural package de- Gulf War. signs. One innovative approach in- volves personnel and material bunkers built around a standard sea container,

with the entire “containerized bunker Hesco Bastion kit” packaged inside an International in which Concertainer walls are pack- tract with the DLA is in place and has Organization for Standardization con- aged to facilitate immediate deploy- been for more than five years, ensuring tainer that has already been modified ment. One recent test highlighted by that all our products are available with a prefabricated personnel door the company demonstrated the deploy- through the military logistics chain.” and emergency escape hatch. ment of 1,000 feet of 7-foot, 3 inch-high Looking toward the future, he ad- Another available company package Mil 7 wall structure that was ready for ded, “Hesco Bastion has been involved is the Hesco Accommodation Bunker filling in less than one minute. with supplying the Concertainer unit (HAB), which was developed “as a re- “Current mission requirements and force-protection systems to all ma- sult of the ever-increasing threat to de- have led to the design and develop- jor military forces throughout the ployed personnel from indirect-fire ment of a number of unique products world since 1991, and it has continually weapons.” Formed from Mil 6-size by Hesco,” Redfern said. “RAID, for taken the lead in providing solutions to Concertainer units with a specially en- example, is a delivery system that protect forces against the changing na- gineered roof structure, HAB is de- aids the end user in speed and ease of ture of the threats faced in today’s signed to provide safe living accommo- deployment of Concertainer units, asymmetric battlespace. Hesco contin- dation for up to eight individuals with with a massive reduction in the logis- ues to progressively test and develop protection levels against weapon sys- tics burden. HAB is a protective ac- its products in a diverse range of envi- tems “up to and including large mortar commodation unit for use in expedi- ronments across the world, keeping it rounds.” tionary missions. These products are at the forefront of engineered fortifica- In parallel with the protection pack- now beginning to filter into the opera- tions and protecting both military [per- ages, Hesco has also focused on the lo- tional theater with great feedback sonnel] and civilians across the globe. gistics elements of Concertainer em- from the soldier on the ground.” New force-protection products are al- placement through the development of In terms of current program activi- ready in the pipeline for 2011.” Rapid In-theatre Deployment (RAID), ties, Redfern said that “an ongoing con- Asked to reflect on the product’s and company’s significance to the warfighter, he concluded: “The Hes- co Bastion Concertainer is the pre- mier force-protection system, a user- friendly and adaptable product that is unrivaled in the role of providing forti- fications for expeditionary missions. The focus of the company is not only to provide the military with the best pos- sible product, but also with unprece- dented technical assistance and sup- port directly to the troops on the ground.” (

The barriers can be configured in different ways to provide various levels of protection for personnel, vehicles, equipment and fa- cilities against a variety of specific threats. Hesco Bastion

June 2010 I ARMY 77