The Value of Expeditionary Engineering in Theater Engagement and Combat Support

[thedrifter]

The Value of Expeditionary Engineering in
Theater Engagement and Combat Support

by Maj Daniel A. Miller & Capt John P. Sullivan

9th Engineer Support Battalion provided support to Operation
ENDURING FREEDOM on Basilan Island, Republic of the Philippines.
U.S. Marine Corps engineer support battalions (ESBs) are often viewed as merely components of combat service support elements. Although a key component of combat service support, ESBs can contribute to the needs of our national security beyond the traditional role of providing hygiene services, carpentry, power distribution, and limited horizontal construction. By providing rudimentary infrastructure improvements to deprived areas, they display the support of the United States and its commitment to our allies. In support of joint task forces (JTFs) during operations other than war, their ability to rapidly develop mobility and sustainment for forces in austere conditions can greatly influence the final conditions of the operation as evidenced by the model used in this article. The value of expeditionary engineering is vital and should not be overlooked when developing contingency plans.


Expeditionary engineering focuses on the requirements of the JTF commander and seeks to provide rapid initial improvements to enhance mobility and sustainment. It consists of investing the resources necessary to quickly develop a product to a standard based upon time and materials available. This flexibility in terms of the quality of construction materials by procuring materials in country provides an economic boost to the local economy and reduces shipping time and costs. The standards of construction are developed within the maintenance capability of the local government to limit deterioration.


Deliberate engineering is normally associated with contracted companies and follow-on forces of the Corps of Engineers. Their contributions to theater development, although significant, are of a slower, methodical, expensive process that provides a long-term product and achieves specific construction codes. Their efforts are directed toward a project and are often sidelined for years awaiting approval and funding. Due to stringent construction codes, material requirements, and the methodical approach to construction, deliberate engineering is conducted in the rear areas. It provides substantial facilities such as ports, roadways, and buildings that reflect U.S. construction codes and contribute to sustainment of forces after arrival and assembly operations are complete or in benign areas of operations.


The NCTG
The III Marine Expeditionary Force?s Naval Construction Task Group (NCTG) was a temporary, task organized engineer unit established specifically to complete infrastructure improvements on Basilan Island, Republic of the Philippines. Its primary mission was to improve the mobility, sustainment, and medical evacuation capabilities of JTF 510 ground forces during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM-Philippines.


The NCTG formed around 9th ESB, 3d Force Service Support Group (3d FSSG) during March 2002 with a primary focus toward horizontal construction (roads and trails) with limited vertical construction capabilities (buildings and structures), water purification, and well drilling capabilities. Under the command of the JTF 510 Marine component commander on Zamboanga, the NCTG consisted of a Marine construction company; a SeaBee construction company from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 (NMCB?4); a Marine security element (MSE) from 2d Battalion, 3d Marines; and specialists from each battalion of the 3d FSSG, totaling 340 Marines and SeaBees. Commanded by the Commanding Officer, 9th ESB, the headquarters was staffed by 9th ESB and NMCB?4 personnel. Upon arrival on Basilan, Philippine Army engineer and Navy SeaBee battalions participated in the NCTG?s efforts and worked side by side with their American counterparts. Although both resident battalions put forth significant efforts, each had limitations in equipment that provided only minimal assistance to the construction efforts.

The NCTG was also supported with worksite security by the local Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) infantry battalions. Budgeted with operations and maintenance funding, the group?s tasks were in support of U.S. forces, with tertiary benefits to the AFP and the residents of Basilan Island. The NCTG deployed aboard USS Germantown (LSD 42) on 19 April 2002, with over 22,000 square feet of equipment and supplies.


Area of Operations: Basilan Island
Basilan Island, an island of 1,379 square kilometers and 300,000 inhabitants, is located in Mindanao, Republic of the Philippines. Rampant with corruption and lacking all but the most rudimentary infrastructure, the island was a haven for three Moro Islamic Liberation Federation battalions, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), and random lawless elements. The Philippine Government declared war on the ASG in 2002 and President George W. Bush identified the group as a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda.


Suffering from lack of security and order, murders, kidnapping, and extortion were common occurrences on Basilan Island for 30 years. Health care, education, and commerce were lacking, most significantly in the southern regions of the island where the population is predominantly Muslim. Transportation was comprised of Jeepney?s (small buses), motorcycles, bicycles, and the occasional water buffalo.


With the AFP facing a lack of mobility due to deteriorated roads and ports, criminal elements participated in kidnapping for ransom, charged ?taxes? on people and goods traveling through communities, and led an ongoing separatist campaign focusing on independence from the Republic of the Philippines.


One national highway circles the perimeter of the island and provides the only land access to the southern region. Concrete in the north, the highway turned into a deteriorated dirt road for 60 kilometers encircling the southern perimeter. Erosion had rendered the highway impassable during the rainy season and made the average speed less than 10 miles per hour in a HMMWV during the remainder of the year. Contracts had been awarded three times to improve the perimeter road, but minimal work was completed due to mishandling of funds and the fear of attack from lawless elements. Three road construction workers were murdered in 1999 which made civilian contracting for road improvements impossible.


The U.S. Army special operations forces (ARSOF) were engaged in training and advising the AFP battalions throughout the island. The special forces teams were virtually isolated from their battalion headquarters due to the lack of infrastructure. All movements were conducted tactically as the ASG conducted frequent ambushes and robberies of civilians and AFP soldiers along chokepoints in the roads, creating an even larger separation of the Muslim communities in the south and the predominantly Christian communities in the north. The limited economy was further stifled as the movement of goods (unrefined rubber, coconuts, and coffee beans) from farm to market was impaired and expensive.


The NCTG established a headquarters collocated with an AFP brigade headquarters. A Marine construction company, reinforced with an MSE platoon established a camp 40 kilometers to the southeast of the headquarters with the task of conducting road improvements to the south and west. A SeaBee construction company, reinforced with an MSE platoon, established a camp to the southwest of the headquarters and was tasked with constructing road improvements to the south and east. The goal was for the companies to meet in the middle in less than 90 days.

Tasks Accomplished
Due to the hostile, underdeveloped environment, the use of expeditionary engineering with military security was the only viable option for achieving the JTF commander?s mobility and survivability requirements. From 25 April through 16 July 2002, the following projects were completed:


? Sixty kilometers of the national highway were improved. Travel around the island could not be completed in 1 day prior to the deployment of the NCTG. The roads had significantly deteriorated to the extent that the AFP could not effectively react in a timely manner to the actions of lawless elements or reinforce company-level positions. Special forces? convoys were slow and exposed to aggressor actions when transiting between team positions. Upon completion of the project, the travel time from one special forces company to one of its teams was reduced from 90 minutes to 35 minutes. Upon redeployment of the NCTG, the travel time around the entire island had been reduced to just 4 hours.
? Twenty-one kilometers of roadway were improved with all-weather surfaces that connected special forces teams to the national highway.
? A 1,076 meter, preexisting runway was reestablished and certified for C?130 operations. The airfield was constructed by U.S. Navy SeaBees in 1946 but had lapsed into a state of decay. The airfield was cleared and widened over a 2-week construction period and now serves as the only operational airfield on the island. The airfield serves as the primary insertion means for AFP quick reaction forces from Luzon. Four C?130s landed on the airfield prior to the departure of the NCTG.
? Various berms, ranges, fighting positions, and an ammunition supply point were created for the ARSOF teams.

? A vessel landing ramp capable of accepting a landing craft tank for daily resupply of U.S. forces was constructed by an advance party. This ramp was also used in the offloading and back loading of the NCTG via utility landing craft.
? Seven helicopter landing zones (HLZs) were constructed near ARSOF team locations. These HLZs greatly increased the security of the team locations and provided enhanced mobility to the AFP.
? Three commercially manufactured bridges were emplaced over deteriorated river crossing sites that were not capable of supporting 5-ton trucks. The bridges, two Bailey bridges and one British bridge, were installed in 3 weeks to provide access to ARSOF teams.
? One nonstandard culvert bridge was built from locally procured construction materials. This bridge replaced a preexisting bridge that was impassable during the rainy season.
? One deteriorated pier was reconstructed to create the only means of resupply by sea for the U.S. forces on the west side of the island. The pier was built on existing concrete pylons and now supports commercial fishing.
? Twelve Southeast Asia huts were constructed at ARSOF locations to support billeting and classroom instruction.
? Four fresh water wells were developed at ARSOF locations. Marine engineers provided potable water from reverse osmosis water purification units for SeaBee well drilling operations. The wells, each in excess of 220 feet in depth, provide the only potable water sources in each location. The wells also support the AFP and local communities.

The Impact of Expeditionary Construction at the Operational Level


? Credibility of the AFP. The AFP were highly visible in their roles as engineers and infantrymen during the deployment. AFP infantry battalions augmented force protection on the worksite and during convoys. AFP engineers were integrated into construction projects that provided a visual display of the U.S. support to the AFP and their actions against insurgents.
? Community economic stimulus. Of $3.6 million of expenditures, $2.4 million was put into the poverty-stricken areas of the island with over 2,000 civilians benefiting as employees of the NCTG. Contractors, truck drivers, laborers, laundry women, and cooks benefited economically from the deployment. The largest industry created was aggregate production. Nine thousand three hundred cubic meters of aggregate were made by hand throughout the island in support of the NCTG. Known as ?Tink, Tinks? because of the sound of their hammers hitting rocks, hundreds of impoverished people were given the opportunity to earn a few pesos by making aggregate. Additionally, the seeds of economic prosperity were further sown as public transportation maintenance costs plummeted and transit time for exchanging commercial goods was reduced as a result of an improved road system. Many people questioned the wisdom of providing income to possible insurgents in Muslim communities. By the end of the deployment, however, many new houses were under construction in the impoverished communities funded by money earned by making aggregate for the NCTG.
? Mobility. A significant accomplishment of the NCTG was the enhanced safety provided by the improved national highway. The reduction of natural hazards and ambush points greatly improved the mobility of the military and civilian population. Many inhabitants of the northern portion of the island were able to visit their families in the south for the first time in several years. The national highway improvements greatly increased the interactions between the communities that will further serve to reduce the isolation of the south and its terrorist networks.
? Security. Each of the horizontal construction projects provided access for reinforcement of military forces to locations selected by the supported commander. This capability greatly reduced the ASG?s freedom of movement and their access to their support networks. The enhancement of the AFP?s mobility provided an increased presence in the small communities and a visual deterrence that subsequently promoted stability and security.
? Health. Before the arrival of the NCTG, the ARSOF teams were drawing water from streams for hygiene. The NCTG completed four wells in support of ARSOF. The wells now support the AFP and local communities on an island that experienced an average of two deaths per day due to contaminated water.

Conclusion
Expeditionary engineering provides a means to support mobility, security, and sustainment of forces where other means of infrastructure development are not feasible. It influences military capabilities, provides a display of support to host nations, and is an enabler to our allies with weakened economies. Although all of the construction projects completed during our deployment were in support of the JTF?s ground forces, the work accomplished by the NCTG did further damage to the roots of terrorism than may be apparent at face value. The NCTG?s efforts adversely affected the factors that create an environment conducive to the advent and growth of terrorism: government instability or ineffectiveness, isolationism, and poverty. Working hand in hand with resident AFP engineer units, the NCTG made significant progress in increasing the legitimacy of the national government and minimizing the relevancy of resident terrorist groups. (See Figure 1.) Expeditionary engineering is a viable option in many underdeveloped, hostile environments that produces great operational returns on a small, tactical-level investment.

>Maj Miller is the Operations Officer, 9th ESB.


>>Capt Sullivan is the Engineer Support Company Commander, 9th ESB.



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Sempers,

Roger