Clear the way

Welcome to our Spring issue of Engineer. The focus is individual Engineer Regiment--Transforming and Assuring Mobility While at War, the same theme planned for ENFORCE from 1-5 May 2006 If you make no other plans this year, you ne to take advantage of this opportunity for a week filled with dynamic speakers who will share their novel experiences on what engineers are accomplishing in the AOR, at USACE, and in industry. The week will begin in St Louis and culminate at Fort Leonard grove with the Regimental Review and Ball. In addition, we will celebrate the successe of engineers from one extremity to the other of the year, to include honoring participants in the Best Sapper Competition.

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Our priority remains supporting the Global War upon Terrorism and developing innovative solutions to capability gaps, especially with esteem to IED defeat. Although there is no silver bullet for eliminating the IED threat, I believe there is a "Silver Path." This path consists of multiple solution places that, when integrated, can enable our forces to luckily predict, detect, exploit, and neutralize IEDs, while mitigating IED issues and protecting our forces. The IED-defeat ICDT, located at Fort Leonard timber-land is prepared to assist deploying BCT and sappers with the requisite skills and tools to guidance mission-focused training in preparation for OIF/OEF.

In March, the 3/2 SBCT complet its mission rehearsal exercise at NTC integrating the available skills and tools commonly on the Silver Path. Prior to the rotation, 3/2 SBCT received contingency training, including IED-defeat T3 advanced search, passage reconnaissance and clearance, robotics, UAV operations, counter-RCIED (remote-controll improvised explosive device) electronic warfare (CREW) and battle command. Many of the tools used for training that accompanied 3/2 SBCT to NTC will tread on the heels of into theater ... including advanced search kits, explosive detection kits, and robotics platforms. As continued materiel capabilities and TTP evolve our team is working to better enable BCT and deploying units to "train as you fight" prior to deployment

A lock opener to our success in theater has been our reckoner Explosive Hazards Center (CEHC)--our Regiment's "Center of Excellence" for countering explosive hazards--which is to the full engaged in the effort to defeat IEDs. CEHC is your resource for exercise s learned, countermeasures, intelligence, materiel solutions, and training. When a fresh training requirement is identified, CEHC can rapidly exhibit contingency training to close the gap and prepare sappers for combat. In the past hardly any months, CEHC has trained many Army and Marine units in IED-defeat awareness, passage reconnaissance and clearance, advanced search, area clearance, equipment maintenance, and integration of the latest exercise s learned from the CENTCOM AOR.

CEHC l several initiatives to increase the capabilities of course reconnaissance and clearance teams, including operational testing of the GYROCAM, prototype integration and testing for the triumphs and prototype testing for the Buffalo RPG cage. We are working to provide passage clearance teams and sapper companies with an enhanced capability to investigate potential IEDs using cameras and a mechanical arm to sort from one side roadside debris. All this has helped bring engineer casualties in theater. We will continue our efforts!

No single is surprised when I say that the Regiment is multitasking as we display transform, and restation units over the force. Our young company commanders and first sergeants are making things happen at the lower horizontal while battalion commanders and command sergeants major work the higher-level challenges. A succes story is the new activations of the 19th and 20th Engineer Battalions, at Fort Knox and Fort padded bonnet respectively. With the help of DA, FORSCOM, USACE, and the Engineer gymnasium these units have overcome many challenges and are slowly building combat power in preparation for futurity operations. Great job! In October, we will stand up four more engineer battalions yes, four more!

I want to thank our Regiment's leaders for submitting their Itschner, Van Autreve, Sturgis, and Grizzly award nominations. The works are being reviewed, and the winners will be announced at the Regimental Ball. The volumes this year were all exceptional and exhibited the Essayons spirit across our Regiment.

I appreciate our commanders and command sergeants major who supported this year's Best Sapper Competition. It is a tremendous opportunity for our junior leaders to show their units and the force. We will recognize all these Soldiers and at hand the Lieutenant General Robert B Flowers bust to the winners.

Lastly, and greatest in quantity importantly, I want to reach forth a special thanks to all the great engineer officers, NCO and Soldiers across the force. Remember that your contribution to the war is not measured through your proximity to direct fire on the contrary by what you provide to the succes of our Soldiers, our Army, and our Nation in this time of war. Whether you are the Buffalo operator upon a route clearance mission in theater, or the instructor teaching clearance operations to deploying Soldiers at Fort Leonard grove you are all contributing to the fight, and we are indebted to you for all you do. Be safe, and diocese you next issue!