Field Force and Facility Engineer Training
Abstract
Today's counterinsurgency (COIN) operations require engineer leaders to have knowledge of both the lethal and nonlethal effects that can be used on the battlefield. In Iraq and Afghanistan, engineer officers and noncommissioned officers are being asked to provide technical expertise some of them are ill-equipped to give based on the engineering educations they have received through the Officer Education System (OES) and Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES), not to mention the nonengineering-related civilian-source degrees they possess. Conjuring up a bill of materials (BOM), writing a concise yet complete and understandable scope or statement of work (SOW) for construction, and pushing the requests of the maneuver commander through the contracting and tasking processes are skills our leaders need to improve. This kind of training needs to be inserted immediately. Further, engineer leaders at all levels are being asked to provide oversight and assistance for the life support of our Soldiers through base camp and life support construction. The mission of quickly establishing and maintaining safe and secure contingency operating locations of all sizes is a task that is dumped into the engineer's lap in our current contingency operation. Facilities engineering skills to include environmental assessments, master planning, lifecycle costing, and maintenance oversight are skills that have not been stressed in our professional force. Because of the overwhelming use of and need for these skills as we continue the War on Terrorism, the United States Army Engineer School (USAES) should develop a cell that can ensure the development and maintenance of certain core competencies that our engineer leaders need to meet the challenges of this war.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA596498
Entities
People
- Erik C. Backus
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School