Joint Engineer Support to the Warfighting CINCs

Abstract

Engineers are a key component for executing the National Security Strategy's imperative of engagement by helping to "shape" the international environment, "respond" to the full spectrum of crises, and "prepare now" for an uncertain future. Although Army, Air Force, and Navy engineers have provided complementary support in operations since World War II, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and peace keeping and humanitarian assistance operations in the 1990s have demonstrated a greater need to execute joint engineer operations. While joint engineer training and doctrine have made great progress in helping the Services to work more closely together and to define responsibilities, there is still a lack of joint engineer planning on the CINC's staff. One reason is the Services' differences in scope of engineering support: civil (general) engineering for Navy and Air Force, while the Army and Marine Corps also encompass combat engineering. Another is the lack of General Officer-level joint engineer headquarters or staff to conduct early planning. Both the Army and Navy have major commands that execute the Services' military construction (MILCON) programs and provide environmental and other engineering services: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the Army and Air Force and Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) for the Navy and Marine Corps. These commands execute their missions through subordinate engineering divisions. This project will analyze historical examples and Service engineer capabilities and recommend that each Geographical Unified Command be supported by an Army or Navy engineering division. As the CINCs' Engineers, these division commanders, with their civilian and active and reserve component military staffs, should be responsible for peacetime engagement, smaller scale contingency (SSC), and major theater of war (MTW) engineering planning and support.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 2000
Accession Number
ADA377954

Entities

People

  • Roger A. Gerber

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil Engineering
  • Civil War
  • Command And Control
  • Construction
  • Engineers
  • Environmental Protection
  • Governments
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Market Economy
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Second World War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Facility/Structural Engineering.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies