4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company Installs Modular Protective System

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Philip Benezue adjusts a base plate while several Soldiers put side panels on the frames.  

10.19.2008

Courtesy Story

555th Engineer Brigade

By 2nd Lt. Andrey Takhtovich
Platoon Leader, 370th Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion

AL AMARAH, IRAQ - On Aug. 13, 2008, 4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company, 555th Engineer Brigade, became the first unit in the U.S. Army to install the Modular Protective System. The system was erected at the Al Sheeb point of entry, east of Al Amarah, Iraq. The MPS provides an alternative form of force protective to HESCOs and T-wall barriers. One-hundred meters of the MPS was emplaced at this site to serve as the interior force protection perimeter of a temporary combat outpost. When used effectively and to its strengths, the MPS will become a useful force protection option for Department of Defense.

Designed as an alternative to HESCOs, the MPS consists of two parallel 10-foot high walls separated by five feet and held together by truss metal frames. The walls are secured to steel frames that sit on the base plates. The structure is hollow due to the truss-designed interior framing. The MPS can make 90-degree turns and easily allows for breaks in the wall to enable entrances and exits.

Although its primary purpose is to repel small-arms fire, the structure appears sturdy enough to hinder shrapnel from indirect fire and static vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices with less than 20 pounds of explosives. HESCO barriers have proven they can withstand small-arms fire and shrapnel from indirect fire, but they have a severe advantage in halting suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. The MPS should not be used as part of the exterior perimeter on Forward Operating Bases where SVBIEDs are a threat.

The MPS is packaged in pallets, each pallet forming ten feet of the barrier. A standard 20-foot milvan fits eight pallets of the MPS. In an effort to reduce transportation requirements, 4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company removed the blocking, bracing and packing around the MPS. The Platoon tried to consolidate 16 pallets into one milvan, but it would not fit. In the process, the Platoon realized that the manufacturer purposely loaded pallets inside the milvans in such a way as to allow the emplacer to "pull" pallets out one at a time. This is the same concept as dropping off HESCOs at intermittent intervals for proper erection.

The MPS has several advantages and disadvantages when compared to other forms of Force Protection. When compared to the ease of transporting HESCO barriers, the MPS is at a severe disadvantage. 400 meters of HESCOs can be hauled on one Palletized Load System truck, compared to 25-meters of the MPS. Only two T-wall barriers can fit on a PLS trucks, with each one providing one meter for the perimeter. 4th Platoon used two PLS trucks, each with a trailer, to move four milvans containing a total of 100 meters of the MPS to the Al Sheeb point of entry.

Some issues with the MPS occur during the preparation stage. After the milvans are put on the ground by a crane, a Bobcat with a forklift attachment is needed to transport the pallets to the emplacement line.

Conversely, the milvans can be left on the PLS truck if a Skytrak forklift is utilized. The Skytrak forklift can reach inside the milvan to retrieve the pallets while a Bobcat has to be able to drive into the milvan. If using a Bobcat, the frames, tied down to the outside of the pallet, should be removed to allow for easier transport of the 1,800-pound pallet. The operator can pick up the frames on his next trip to the emplacement line.

Private 1st Class Joseph Sinyard, Sapper in 4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company notes, "You have to be very careful when moving the pallets with a Bobcat because its weight is close to the maximum a Bobcat can pick up."

Without a forklift, the Soldiers have to move each piece of the MPS to the emplacement line, which almost doubles the erection time.

The emplacement of the MPS is the strength of its concept: a platoon of Soldiers can install the system using only the included socket wrench. 4th Platoon used a few extra tools: a line-level for the base plates, engineer tape to mark the initial base-level height, a crowbar to open one face of the pallets, and a few hammers to secure the frames in their proper position. HESCOs and T-wall barriers require heavy equipment to be properly filled and/or moved. On the other hand, only manual labor and simple tools are necessary for the emplacement of the MPS.

4th Platoon task organized into five teams for the MPS emplacement process. The first team placed the base plates five feet apart on the ground and adjusted their height with a socket wrench. Lightweight metal frames were then placed on the base plates by the second team. After the third team placed Z-bars along the bottom of the frames, the fourth team secured e-glass and fortacrete panels into the Z-bars. Retaining straps were then connected along the interior of the structure by the fifth team. The platoon leader and platoon sergeant served as safety officers and as a quality assurance / quality control team.

The platoon erected a 75-meter section in three hours with hourly 10-minute rest periods. Consideration such as the weather (in this case, 105-degree Fahrenheit heat) and body armor must be planned into the work rate. Leaders can plan construction times according to their particular situation and experience levels based off rehearsals.

Sgt. Philip Benezue, non-commissioned officer in charge of the base plate emplacement team, says, "The base plate positioning and height adjustment is the most crucial step. It sets the table for a consistent finished product with no gaps between panels."

The most physically-exhausting step of the construction is the installation of the panels. "My team was moving the roughly 50-pound panels from the pallets to the frames all day. Strong Soldiers are needed for this kind of work, and we took regular breaks to rest the Soldiers," says Staff Sgt. Dustin Cosper, squad leader in 4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company and leader of the panel installation team.

The final product has several flaws that need to be addressed. An eight-inch gap along the bottom of each frame remains vulnerable, which could allow shrapnel from indirect fire or flash fire from a VBIED to injure Soldiers on the protected side. This gap also allows garbage and debris to be sucked into the interior. An easy solution is to emplace sandbags at the bottom to close that gap. The top of the system is open, inviting trash (water bottles, MRE bags, etc.) into the system's interior. A mesh top or cargo net can be utilized to solve this problem.

The ends of the system are also open. The platoon used two Z-bars and four panels to cover up the open ends of the constructed sections. The Platoon Sergeant of 4th Platoon, Staff Sergeant Charles Rei, says "We took several common sense suggestions from the Al Sheeb First Sergeant to improve the MPS once it was installed."

Despite these pitfalls to the MPS, the strength of the MPS is the ease with which it can be constructed and deconstructed, allowing future use and reuse. The steps for the deconstruction process are the same as the emplacement/construction process, but in reverse. The time factor is also the same for the breakdown of the MPS, but more time will be needed towards the end for the repacking of the pallets into the milvans. 4th Platoon left the milvans with the empty pallets on site at Al Sheeb, thus permitting easy consolidation of the system as needed.

4th Platoon, 370th Engineer Company constructed the MPS at a temporary combat outpost. Due to the resources needed to deliver the system on site, HESCOs would have been a more preferred Force Protection measure. HESCOs should be used as force protection instead of the MPS on bases to be occupied for longer than six months. Since T-wall barriers are usually emplaced after a hasty perimeter has been set up, they are not recommended for short-term locations. If units are required to secure short-term locations such as voting sites, the MPS would be a good option.

"I can see engineers being called upon to construct and deconstruct the system as needed throughout Iraq as the enemy threat continues to decline," says Pvt. 1st Class Zachary Black, another of the 4th Platoon Soldiers who installed the MPS.

After the elections, Soldiers could deconstruct and secure the MPS from the site. In short, the MPS is an advantageous form of force protection over HESCOs only when securing short-term locations.

The Modular Protective System provides a valuable and flexible Force Protection option for commanders in an environment where immediate security is needed. This alternative form of force protection must be considered for future use in ambiguous environments where the need for permanent force protection is not required or a viable option.

• Date Taken: 10.19.2008
• Date Posted: 10.19.2008 21:37
• Story ID: 25227