The Corps Engineer Battalion in Contingency Operations

Corps engineer battalions have acquired more responsibility to provide support across the spectrum of conflict in the areas of mobility, countermobility, survivability, and general engineering. The various organizational designs of corps engineer units limit their capability to provide support in all four areas. The central research question asks: Is the proposed echelons above division engineer battalion design a better one for active and reserve component corps engineer forces to respond in a contingency? The method of evaluation is an adaptation of the seven characteristics of the Army Transformation Force: agility, deployability, lethality, responsiveness, survivability, sustainability, and versatility. The research evaluates the engineer units deployed under the current force structure in their ability to accomplish engineer support requirements (based upon the Army Facilities Components System) for a two-division peacekeeping deployment to Africa. The study then examines the ability of a hypothetical engineer force built around a proposed multifunctional corps engineer battalion design in the same operation. It also compares the two forces in personnel, equipment, and structure using the objective tables of organization and equipment. The force built around the proposed multifunctional battalion design is superior in all seven characteristics and has pronounced advantages in agility, deployability, responsiveness, survivability, and versatility.