- Details
- Hits: 1087
In this U.S. Army photo, Specialist Dennis Egloria, a combat engineer from the 18th Engineering Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment drives a robot through a simulated street searching for explosives at the National Training Center, California.
National Training Center, CA. (June 28, 2022). We have become all too familiar with the term Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and the terrible carnage they have wrought on our troops. According to the humanitarian group Action On Armed Violence, there were an estimated 172,000 casualties worldwide from IEDs in the past decade (IEDs Past, Present & Future, Overton 2020). Beginning with the first roadside bomb attack in Iraq in 2003, these devices have killed or wounded over 21,000 American servicemembers.
Facing this threat is America’s combat engineers.
The first recorded use of IEDs begins with the invention of gunpowder by the Chinese in the 9th century. Looking for a life extending elixir, the Chinese instead discovered an explosive substance they could pack into tubes to hang outside the walls of their forts. When an enemy reached their gates, someone would light the fuse and, bang, no more enemy.
During the Civil War, IEDs were employed by Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862. Realizing the Union Army was about to overrun their position, the rebels cleverly buried munitions under the Union front causing numerous casualties and also allowed the Confederates to escape.
- Details
- Hits: 809
In this U.S. Army photo, Specialist Richard Rodriquez of the 475th Engineering Company from Ponce, Puerto Rico, conducts construction operations while guarded by Sergeant Norbert Prats during a combat support exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett, California. The 475th has a proud history of fighting America’s battles from Normandy, France on D-Day to battles in northern France and the Ardennes-Alsace region. In 2007, the unit moved to Puerto Rico where these engineers stand ready to serve when their country needs them.
Fort Hunter Liggett, CA. (July 1, 2022). In this real-life scenario, an infantry unit manages to liberate an airfield from enemy hands but predictably most of the roads and facilities have been reduced to rubble. That’s when commanders call in the combat engineers.
Combat engineering battalions not only deal with explosives, but they are also highly skilled construction teams able to rapidly build airfields, construct housing and repair ports and bridges. One platoon, for example, is dedicated to the building trades, including carpentry, plumbing and electricity while another handles heavy equipment jobs using steam rollers, back-hoes, road graders and large cranes.
Engineers can quickly repair roads, clear obstacles, and create infrastructure in a matter of days, tasks that would take a civilian crew weeks to accomplish.
- Details
- Hits: 1034
Camp Lejeune, N.C. (June 30, 2022). Combat Engineers are called “Sappers”, a name derived from the French word “sappe” (spadework or trench) and became connected with military engineering during the 17th century when attackers dug covered trenches to approach the walls of a besieged fort.
In today’s land warfare, combat engineers have two primary missions, clear the way for our forces to advance or emplace obstacles to kill or slow the enemy.
Read more: BUILDING BRIDGES, CLEARING MINEFIELDS ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF COMBAT ENGINEERS
- Details
- Hits: 841
In this photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Samms, commander of the 10th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division leads his soldiers in recovering an M69A2 Line Charge during a training exercise at the 7th Army Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. Unlike their Revolutionary War comrades, these soldiers have sophisticated explosive devices like these to slow an enemy’s advance.
Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. (July 1, 2022). America’s Combat Engineers trace their history to Valley Forge and the terrible winter of 1778 under the command of General George Washington. Drawn from the ranks of artillery units, these soldier’s use of explosives often turned the tide of battle. In those days, engineers dug tunnels deep under enemy fortifications, setting off massive explosions that could then be exploited by the infantry. Today’s combat engineers perform much more sophisticated tasks using instruments the Revolutionary War soldier could scarcely imagine.
U.S. Army Combat Engineers must pass a rigorous 19-week course at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri while the Marines operate their own slightly shorter version at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Students learn basic demolitions, defusing explosive hazards, constructing obstacles, building bridges, and reconstructing ports and airfields.
Read more: FROM VALLEY FORGE TO AFGHANISTAN, COMBAT ENGINEERS LEAD THE WAY
- Details
- Hits: 674
Guest Article / Commentary / Editorial
From SupportOurTroops.Org
By Jim Spearing, (SSG, Ret.), Media Relations
"These are the times that try men's souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country…” ~~ Thomas Paine, Founding Father & American Patriot
As we gather to celebrate our independence, we should remember the words of Founding Father Thomas Paine who warned America to beware the “Summer Soldier”, the half-hearted sort who rejoices in the sunlight of freedom but shrinks when the dark clouds of war appear.
Remarkable fact: less than one percent of Americans currently serve in our active-duty military.
You read that right. Less than one percent.
Critics of our military bemoan public dollars spent on these brave Americans yet cheer other expenditures.
So, just who are these brave few who volunteer to defend our way of life?
According to Life As A Private, a study by the Rand Corporation, commissioned by the U.S. Army (Todd C. Helmus, et.al.), the most frequent reason given by new recruits as to why they joined was “Family”, followed by a call to duty, a perception of honor to serve in uniform, and finally a sense of adventure. The last reason given was pay.
- Details
- Hits: 664
Washington D.C. (June 20, 2022). In America’s War for Independence, one major factor that helped defeat the British was disunity. Sentiment in the British Empire was decidedly mixed about the war with many feeling that fighting the colonists was like battling their own brothers and sisters. This was not a problem for the colonists.
While the English soldier swam in a sea of local patriots, hostile to his presence, Continental soldiers enjoyed the support of the people who were united in their disdain for the English and a desire to rule themselves. This cohesion proved crucial to maintaining morale during the dark days of the war and it was flagging motivation that eventually sank the British invaders.
But, America paid a heavy price.
- IT’S INDEPENDENCE DAY 2022! THANK THE TROOPS!
- REVOLUTIONARY WAR’S DAVID V. GOLIATH
- THE “FLOWER OF OUR YOUTH”
- “CITIZEN SOLDIERS” WON OUR INDEPENDENCE THEY ARE ON DUTY TODAY
- AMERICA ALMOST DIDN’T HAPPEN… DECLARING INDEPENDENCE WAS A GAMBLE.
- THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE… WHAT HAPPENS TO MILITARY DOGS WHEN THEY RETIRE?