82nd Engineers Take On Challenging Terrain

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Simon McTizic | U.S. Army Horizontal Construction Engineers from the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division built berms to protect and support strategic fighting positions for the AN/TPQ-53 Radar. Anti-tank ditch, vehicle fighting position, and protective berm training provides the commanders a better sense of how fast and efficiently they can emplace obstacles and fighting positions to assist in battlefield shaping plans. (U.S. Army photo by KSgt. Hwang, Jeong Hyeon 2/1D)  

41, SOUTH KOREA

09.23.2020

Story by Staff Sgt. Simon McTizic 

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

CAMP HOVEY, REPUBLIC OF KOREA - U.S. Army Horizontal Construction Engineers from the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division took on challenging terrain to train critical engineer tasks in the Republic of Korea during their rotational deployment.

Berm training began the validation process for dig capabilities for the unit in support of 2ABCT maneuver elements. The battalion must validate anti-tank ditch, vehicle fighting position, and protective berm work rates in various terrains.

“Here it’s very different, the land is rocky and broken up especially with the hills, unlike the compact terrain back in Fort Riley,” said Pvt. Kenya Williamson, a Horizontal Construction Engineer from the 82nd BEB. “Not knowing what the site looks like before we get out here doesn’t help either.”

During the training, the Soldiers built berms to protect and support strategic fighting positions for military equipment such as the M1A2 Abrams and the AN/TPQ-53 Radar.

“You might think a dirt wall isn’t important,” said Spc. Yousef Jammal, a Horizontal Construction Engineer from the 82nd BEB. “But dirt or sand is especially good for stopping low-caliber bullets, and in sudden hostile situations, it works wonders.”

Not only did experienced Soldiers participate, new faces also appeared on the training grounds. Despite being new to his position, Sgt. Kyle Tupper, a Horizontal Construction Engineer in the 82nd Bde. Eng. Bn. participated with his team leaders to gain experience and knowledge.

“So far I’ve learned how to work in a tighter area, figuring out problems and overcoming them, providing defense for vehicles and satellite dishes; just any equipment in general,” said Tupper.

To keep the 82nd Bde. Eng. Bn. proficient in their tasks, the companies continued training throughout the deployment as they executed more advanced mine clearing exercises at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex. Mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area and the engineers in the brigade have several techniques to accomplish it safely and quickly.

“The purpose of the mine clearing exercise was to
prepare our 12 Bravo Engineers, who provide engineer support inside of the breach,” said 1st Lieutenant Cameron Giles, Engineer Officer, 82nd Bde. Eng. Bn.

“So the roles of the Soldiers differ between operating the assault breacher vehicle, which is the primary machine for clearing minefields in the armored brigade, and the M2A3 Bradley for close support on the objective, conducting dismounted marking operations.”

These exercises provide the maneuver commanders a better sense of how fast and efficiently they can emplace and displace obstacles to assist in the commander’s battlefield shaping plans.

“The berms are considered a neutral object,” said Giles. “Meaning, it’s plausible the enemy could use them to their advantage. In that case, we have to breach through the berms that we made ourselves. That’s why the engineers from our battalion have to learn to play two roles: attack and defense. The Army should be set up to attack, defend, consolidate gains, and then counterattack again so making sure that we can transition between those different areas is hugely important for our training.”

In an environment like the Republic of Korea, the mountainous terrain and manmade obstacles present challenging problems for an engineer battalion. Whether they are on the defense or the offense, the engineers must understand how to protect friendly forces.

“The breach is the key to keeping our Soldiers safe,” said Sgt. Clarence Balansi, Combat Engineer, 82nd Bde. Eng. Bn. “If you do it wrong, it’s an extremely deadly operation, both for the Engineers and the Soldiers who follow behind. Hence, we can’t hesitate to think, we just have to execute what we were trained to do at a moment’s notice.”

“The completion of the two training exercises helps keep our Army ready to fight tonight,” said Balansi.

STORY BY
KPFC. CHOI SEONG MIN
AND KCPL. KWON JIN HO
2/1 ID PUBLIC AFFAIRS

• Date Taken: 09.23.2020
• Date Posted: 10.16.2020 02:15
• Story ID: 381032
• Location: 41, KR