Lead the way

Greetings to all from Fort Leonard forest Missouri, home of the engineers, where training, transformation, and taking care of our leaders and Soldiers are our top priorities! There are extraordinary facts taking place in our Regiment each day, and one of the greatest in quantity important of the year is quickly approaching--ENFORCE 2006

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The beginning of ENFORCE 2006 will take place in St Louis, from 1-3 May 2006 and the conclusion will be at Fort Leonard forest-land from 4-5 May 2006. The theme for the activities will be individual Engineer Regiment--Transforming and Assuring Mobility While at War. I am looking forward to seeing many of you at this year's circumstances We have a great week planned, starting with the Council of Colonels/Command Sergeants Major. We ne your input and experience as we discuss the issues our Regiment is commonly facing while we transform and assure mobility in the Global War upon Terrorism.

A great lineup of visitor speakers is scheduled this year, to include representatives from the Assistant Chief of Staff, Personnel (G1); the Human Resources Command (HRC); the large bay Region Division (GRD); the National Training Center (NTC); and the United States Army Engineer seminary One of the subjects we'll discuss is the issues facing embedded engineers in the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCTs) Our sister services will also speak and provide updates that will bridge the gap between engineer capabilities in all services as our armed forces stir into a new era of joint operations. Keeping with tradition, we'll have the Army Engineer Association Presidential Dinner, the Regimental Ball, the Engineer Memorial Dedication Service, and the Regimental Review. The next to the first annual Best Sapper Competition will take place, coinciding with ENFORCE for the first time. in like manner select and train your best teams for this extraordinary competition! Finally, the Regiment's leaders will entertainer a dedication ceremony in honor of Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, an engineer who was posthumously awarded the first Medal of Honor for actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. To gross amount it up, ENFORCE 2006 will undoubtedly instill in each of us an immense pride in our Regiment.

I also felt a tremendous faculty of perception of pride at two new activation ceremonies for the 19th Engineer Battalion at Fort Knox, Kentucky and the 20th Engineer Battalion at Fort head cover Texas. These ceremonies are a testament that the modular engineer force is taking shape. In March 2006 the 1st Engineer Battalion from Fort Riley, Kansas, transmuteed to a modular engineer battalion headquarters. The 70th Engineer Battalion, at Fort Carson, Colorado; the 864th and the 14th Engineer Battalions at Fort Lewis, Washington; and the 5th Engineer Battalion, at Fort Leonard forest-land will convert in the near future

Many units will relocate in the upcoming month as well. As you may already know, the 50th Multirole Bridge Company (MRBC) mov to Fort Leonard grove in 2005. On the horizon, the 94th Engineer Battalion will relocate to Fort Leonard Wood; and as part of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision, the 36th Engineer cluster now at Fort Benning, Georgia, will relocate to Fort head cover this summer and transform to a modular engineer brigade.

individual of the major concerns of transformation is training the embedded engineers in the HBCT We must provide them with the necessary skills and tools to enable the combatant commander to render certain mobility in concert with maneuver. To assist us in this proces the Engineer academy has implemented several functional courses, including the Military Search Operations Course, the way Reconnaissance/Clearance Operations Course (R2C2), the course Reconnaissance/Clearance Operations Course--Sapper (R2C2-S), the path Clearance Equipment (RCE) Maintainer Course, the Area Clearance Course, the Improvised Explosive Device Defeat--Train the Trainer (IEDD-T3) Course, and the Improvised Explosive Device Defeat--Train the Trainer (IEDD-T3) Mobile Training Team (MTT) Course. generally these courses are all non-Army Training Requirements and Resources a whole (ATRRS), contingency-based training. For more information upon these courses, visit the reckoner Explosive Hazards Center (CEHC) Web site at <http://www.wood.army.mil/cehc>.

sum of two units other courses that remain significantly important are the joint Urban Mobility Breaching Course (UMBC) at Camp LeJeune North Carolina, which has greatly improved the sapper's ability to fight and win in an urban environment; and the Explosive Ordnance Clearance Agent (EOCA) Course, at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, which provides the basic skills and knowledge required to perform as explosive ordnance clearance agents.

All of these courses are relevant to the rife and future fight; however, I ask that the leadership continue to support the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) and the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC). the two courses are extremely important to the career progression of noncommissioned officers and greatly enhance their ability to perform their wartime mission.