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.
Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/284727
January–April 2014 Engineer 29
teach at all the eng ineer off icer courses, including
1 hour at the Engineer Precommand Course and 3 days at
the Engineer Basic Offcer Leader Course. Steady improve-
ments, based on class critiques, lead DEI trainers to think
that they have excellent content and delivery methods.
Training consists of a healthy mix of environmental pre-
sentations, performance evaluations, and out-of-classroom
feld work. Student teams are required to produce a base
camp environmental baseline survey (EBS) and an inte-
grated waste management plan. DEI facilitators coach
the students and facilitate their training rather than just
spout information from the platform. The DEI staff uses
the tactical training base at Training Area 246 to con-
duct EBSs. This state-of-the-art base camp—also known
as the Contingency Basing Integration Technology Evalu-
ation Center—includes a 100-kilowatt solar panel array,
barracks huts with maximum insulation to reduce the
energy required for heating and cooling, energy effcient
"smart" generators, an electricity microgrid, and solar
water heaters. Once students have been on the ground at
the training area for the EBS, they have a better feel for
preparing an integrated waste management plan for the
proposed base camp. They consider proper placement for
the hazardous waste storage area, recycling area, landfll,
sanitary waste lagoons, gray water evaporation pond and,
if needed, the compost site. They complete their design as a
team and must explain and defend their solution in a 15- to
20-minute briefng.
A visit to a U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management
Command motor pool is another chance to get students out
of the classroom, and it is sometimes their frst visit to an
Army maintenance facility. This tour gives them ideas about
what systems are possible and practical in a motor pool that
welcomes sustainable practices. They get to see antifreeze
recycling, waste oil reutilization, battery maintenance, an
oil/water separator, and other ideas that can stretch dollars
and support sustainability.
Tools used in the course include Turning Point
®
technology to keep the students engaged with video
simulations developed by the U.S. Army Training and
Doctrine Command Training Brain Operations Center
at Fort Eustis, Virginia, and many components from the
Instrument Set, Reconnaissance and Surveying (ENFIRE)
kit. Students also get an Environmental Deployment Tool-
box compact disk, which reinforces the classroom train-
ing. DEI also uses the Digital Training Facility to conduct
virtual EBSs during inclement weather.
Finally, the DEI staff developed online courses that can
be accessed by Soldiers at any time. The Environmental
Offcer Course on Blackboard at