European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 25, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over Here a a it o f a Ita is Vas a. X. Al # / amp Ili Ali ill Pili poll m let it it it a amps John Millar rolling past a fake town at the Grafe Wohr training area members of the 58th combat engr co create a smoke screen with their combat Engineer  unit wants to get up to Speed by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau. Grafe Wohr West Germany a the 58th combat engr co is afraid the Reagan defense buildup May have passed it by. The unit attached to the 11th army Cav regt is responsible for getting the regiments state of the Art my tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles Over or through Man made and natural obstacles. A build and destroy that a our Job a said sgt. Edgar Rodriguez a combat Engineer squad Leader with the company. Combat engineers also dig tank ditches put in temporary roads Lay mine Fields Cut Landing zones build fighting positions and More. And one of the mainstays of those jobs is the combat Engineer vehicle a Catchall of engineering equipment mounted atop an m60 series tank Chassis. Unlike the mis and other equipment fielded during the Reagan years the vehicle has been around Tor More than two decades. Combat engineers still swear by its equipment which includes a Winch and Boom a Bulldozer Blade and a snub nosed 165mm gun that fires rounds made of High explosive plastics capable of blowing up Bridges and demolishing Small buildings. It looks like a tank sounds like a tank but its not a tank a said staff sgt. Stephen Torok a Cev commander with the company. U mics ave tie speech of a tank at East not i Ltd i Abrams which can cruise along at close to 45 Mph. A Cev tops out at less than 30 Mph 1st sgt. Billy Scott said. A a they la run off and leave  r i at cause concern among tankers who engineers even More today than when the m6u was in its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, said on Imand sgt. Maj. William Briggs the top enlisted Man m the regiments third Squadron. Back then Ury Arr it or unit had at least one tank fitted with a of t f01&Quot t0 a craters Ard Knock Down a every company had the available equipment to make a Cut into a Riverbank and create a fording site a Briggs said. A we done to have Bulldozer Blades on my tanks a and that makes the aging Engineer vehicles a More important to the Engineer Mission today than they were five or 10 years  the engineers have similar Speed problems with the armoured vehicle launched Bridge which is used to help tankers Over craters anti tank . Right now we re 20 years behind these other  a 1 St sgt. Billy Scott streams and other obstacles. The vehicle which is also based on the old m60 series tank Chassis has a folding Bridge Section mounted on top. A we can Span a 60-foot Gap and Cross mis and just about anything the army has a staff sgt. Charles Rodgers said. He said an obstacle can be bridged a in three to five minutes in Ideal  but under those Ideal circumstances the bridging vehicles would stay close enough to the tankers to be of help within two to three minutes. In Light of keeping up with the m1 a that Pace is a Challenge. With a faster Chassis Quot we could be just that much More capable get there much  Scott said. Quot but right now we re 20 years behind these other  there Are indications that the army does no to plan to make the same mistake twice. According to Pentagon officials future combat Engineer equipment will be based on the same Chassis As the next generation of Battle tank and infantry vehicles meaning engineers will be Able to keep up in a fight. The drawback that next generation Isnit due out until the year 2000. For the time being said Faith Faircloth. A spokeswoman for the army a Materiel come. Quot we arc constantly improving what we  such improvements May one Day include a new Chassis for the Cev. Which engineers said still has Quot tremendous  Quot nothing in be seen on the drawing Board conies close to replacing  said command sgt. Maj. James e. Skellion. With the 18th engr brigade in Karlsruhe. With an my Chassis the Cev could play an important role on the Battlefield of the future he said. Due out in the near future is the m9 armoured combat earthmover. Or Ace. According to officials at the . Army Engineer training Center at fort Leonard Wood. To. The Ace is a tracked Earth mover that can be transported by air and can keep Pace with modern infantry and Armor vehicles. Like the combat Engineer vehicle the Ace can bulldoze haul and Grade As Well As make obstacles River crossing Sites and fighting positions. Also new is the Small emplacement excavator a four wheel drive Mercedes powered tractor that can reach speeds of 55 Mph. The excavators now being fielded Are designed to replace the army s Fleet of John Deere backhoes. Which had to be transported from Job to Job by truck. Engineer officials say the excavator is getting Quot a lot of troop  on a recent exercise at Grafe Wohr. Pfc. James Marshall was racing around in one of the new excavators one of three assigned to the 58th. The tractor which has an american made cab and Backhoe atop the Mercedes powertrain features such extras As a Hydraulic powered Chain saw. Pavement breaker and two jackhammers. But most important Marshall said it can keep up with an m1