Engineers, Combat

Mobility

Mobility is the ability of military forces to maneuver from position to position on the battlefield while retaining the capability to fulfill their primary mission. The overall objective of mobility operations for combat engineers is to ensure and maintain freedom of movement for maneuver units. In mobility operations, combat engineers are required to perform the following tasks:

Countermobility

Countermobility is accomplished by reinforcing natural terrain through the construction of obstacles to disrupt, delay, or destroy the enemy. The primary objective of countermobility operations is to slow or redirect the enemy, increase time for target acquisition, and increase weapon effectiveness without affecting the movement of friendly forces.

[Page 516]In countermobility operations, combat engineers are required to perform the following tasks:

Survivability

Survivability is the ability of personnel, equipment, and facilities to continue to operate within the wide range of conditions faced in a combat environment. Survivability includes those aspects of protecting personnel, weapons, and supplies by employing good tactics, continuing fortification of existing bases, deception, camouflage, and constructing fighting and protective positions. Survivability operations will not completely eliminate vulnerability to fires on the modern battlefield or the effects of weather, but they can limit losses by reducing exposure to enemy weapons and the weather. In survivability operations, combat engineers are required to conduct the following tasks:

General Engineering

Although construction and general engineering missions are understood to be a distinct subset of military engineering and not a primary responsibility of engineers assigned to combat units, combat engineers are able to perform some general engineering tasks. Activities such as vertical construction, concrete work, and expeditionary airfield construction are performed as missions dictate, but combat engineer capabilities to perform such tasks are often limited by their training and equipment and are designed only for temporary duration. General engineering is typically characterized by high standards of design, construction, and detailed planning and preparation, and it is performed by specially trained troops, such as those in Naval Mobile Construction Battalions or “Seabees.” General engineering normally serves more than just combat troops (e.g., logistical units), and the majority of tasks are performed in the rear area. In addition to some of the general engineering and construction missions listed above, combat engineers may be required to perform or assist in the construction of standard and nonstandard bridging, roads and airstrips, and soil stabilization projects.

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