Fighting as Engineers
Abstract
A contemporary operating environment forces today's leaders to truly be flexible and adaptive and to take initiative in completing all assigned missions. My own experience as a combat engineer company commander in Iraq reinforced the need to be able to adapt accounting for the enemy, the terrain, and the mission to the full spectrum of combat requirements. Engineer Soldiers and their leaders, uniquely skilled and equipped, must be prepared to execute combat operations to include traditional engineer tasks in an urban environment and, when required, to put down the shovel and pick up the rifle and fight as engineers. Much of my own experience in Iraq was in fighting as an engineer. Field Manual (FM) 7-8, Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad, served as a solid foundational document during predeployment training and on-the-ground mission preparations. This manual provides the necessary information, laid out in a very comprehensible format that can be adapted to fit almost any situation. Two additional references that are useful are FM 3-06.11, Combined Arms Operations in Urban Terrain, and Army Training and Evaluation Program (ARTEP) 71-1-MTP, Mission Training Plan for the Tank and Mechanized Infantry Company and Company Team. Engineer companies must be capable of conducting urban combat operations such as raids and cordon-and-search missions. Both are complex and require dedicated planning and focused mission rehearsals before execution. Enabling tasks for these operations include hasty- and deliberate planning processes, knowledge and understanding of the rules of engagement (ROE), direct-fire planning tools, distribution of graphics, and communications procedures that feed a common operational picture to enable true situational awareness. As engineers prepare to conduct these missions, the tasks listed in the table below become required training.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA596531
Entities
People
- Matthew Louvet
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School