Engineer

JAN-APR 2014

Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.

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Engineer 9 of the region in which one's unit will operate is critical to the success of a continental U.S.-based Army. Conventional-force companies learned much over the past 12 years as they executed missions historically reserved for special forces. War is fun- damentally a human endeavor, and understanding the people involved is critically important. Com- pany commanders cannot now ignore the hard- won lessons of their predecessors by ignoring one of the special forces' key tasks of understanding the operational environment. Those who meet this intent and enforce standards during this training will ensure that we pay those lessons forward to the next generation. D uring peacetime, the Army is continuously engaged in shaping the global environment to promote stability and partner nation capabilities. We do this for several reasons—the most important of which is maintaining peace in pursuance of American national security interests. Where has already broken out, engagement helps keep it contained and may even lead to a peaceful resolution. By helping to build partner capac- ity and trust, forward-engaged Army units greatly add to regional and global stability. Moreover, by building strong relationships of mutual trust, we facilitate access and set the conditions for success in any future combined operation in a particular region or country. But what are shaping operations, and how are they executed at the company level? Shaping operations are defned as those operations, occurring at any echelon, that create or preserve conditions for the success of the decisive operation. Thus, engagement by regionally aligned forces positively shapes the environment in which the Army oper- ates throughout the range of military operations. This aligns with the notion of the "strategic corporal," which recognizes that in the information age, the actions of individuals and small groups can have widespread impact well beyond what was intended at the time. Every action has a reaction, and it is necessary for junior offcers to be aware of the role their Soldiers and units play in the over- all strategic goals of our Nation. As part of regionally aligned shaping operations, the Army will employ a careful mix of rotational and forward- deployed forces, develop relationships with foreign militar- ies, and conduct recurring training exercises with foreign partners to demonstrate the Nation's enduring commitment to allies and friends. Where we share mutually benefcial interests with an ally, the Army enhances that partner's self-defense capacity and improves its ability to serve as a capable member of a future military coalition. More-capable allies generate a stabilizing in their regions, tend- ing to reduce the need for American military interventions over time. Shaping operations do not end with planned training engagements by forward-deployed units. Other actions that the units, or even small groups of individual Soldiers, take can have a shaping effect. Those actions will run the gamut from brigade- or division-size assistance after a natural disaster, to a single act of kindness to a foreign student in an Army school who later rises to high levels in his nation's armed forces. All of the specifc activi- ties that we conduct which have a shaping effect should convey to our intended audiences the clear message that, while we are committed to peace, our Nation pro- tects its friends and defends its interests. Instilling this understanding among our Soldiers and junior noncom- missioned offcers (NCOs) is one of the vital roles that company grade offcers play in the execution of strategic landpower. But there is a caveat. What may be the standard for us is not necessarily useful or welcome with our host nation partners. So, shaping also entails tailor- ing our delivery of security assistance to our counter- parts in ways appropriate for their culture and mili- tary capabilities. Company commanders can gain great A U.S. Army engineer speaks with soldiers from the 33d Light Infantry Battalion, Republic of Georgia. A Soldier with the 591st Engineer Company provides over- watch security for U.S. Air Force explosive ordnance disposal personnel outside an Afghan Border Police checkpoint. January–April 2014 EN Cone.1.indd 12 3/24/2014 2:15:51 PM

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