Combat Engineer Equipment: Achilles Heel in the Offense

摘要

There is some question whether or not US Army combat engineers have the equipment necessary to provide mobility support to offensive operations as would be found in Air Land Battle. The current status of engineer equipment and its shortcomings are described. Recent trends in research, developmemt and acquisition of engineer equipment to provide counterobstacle and countermine support on the battlefield are discussed. The inability of engineeers to obtain the priority and funds needed to modernize their equipment is attributed to a general lack of understanding and appreciation of the necessity of engineer support in the offense. To counter this condition the need to retain the initiative in the offense, the nature of the Soviet threat, and weaknesses in realistic combat engineer combined arms training are cited. The conclusion is that weaknesses in combat engineering equipmemt can be overcome only with support of the other combat arms who must carefully weight the risks incurred during offensive operations if engineer equipment does not complement the modernize systems of the combined arms team. (Author)