7TH ENGR BDE COMMANDER REPT VOL 18A

File: 970815_sep96_decls58_0024.txt
Page: 0024
Total Pages: 49
Subject = 7TH ENGR BDE COMMANDER REPT VOL 18A                             

Parent Organization = ARCENT      

Unit = VII CORPS   

Folder Title = 7TH ENGR BDE-COMMANDER REPT-VOL 18A -FORWARD AND COMMANDERS PERSPECTIVE                         

Document Number =          1

Box ID = BX000313








          Every tactical area was an armed encampment. No one moved
          unchallenged. Passwords were repeated countless times
          identifying "friendliest. Perimeters were manned around the
          clock. Our threat was Iraq Special Forces. Our mission was to
          defend and ensure they made no penetrations. Tired eyes were
          ever vigilant.

               Word arrived of Scud attacks. We cheered the success of
          Patriot missiles as they knocked down the Scuds. Our chemical
          alarms went off for unexplained reasons and we set records
          donning protective masks. In other areas, other units broke into
          wartime chemical protection suits. This happened frequently.
          The threat increased as did our vulnerability to Scud attacks.
          We started taking the small white pills -- nerve agent antidote.
          Side effects were minor nausea, diarrhea, and increased
          heartbeat. If exposed to chemicals the pills would enhance the
          atropine we all carried for self inoculation. Chemicals are
          deadly and no one doubted their ability to self administer the
          large needles to thigh or any other location.

               The air bombardment continued -- the largest in history.
          Alerts continued and the weather deteriorated. The proverbial
          Saudi winter weather dumped its annual rainfall and then some in
          a very small period. Everything flooded. Tents, bunkers, and
          sleeping bags became muddy. The once dusty horizon became a sea
          of water and mud. Everywhere we walked there was water. The
          ever present dust turned to mud -- mud that was tracked
          everywhere. Floors were either covered in water or thick layers
          of mud. The cold dampness penetrated everything. Continued
          alerts coupled with miserable weather produced extra stress.
          Soldiers slept in damp clothes ready to roll out and crawl to
          bunkers. Days were foggy and overcast. Nights were
          unpenetratedable blackness. Moods turned sour. But, throughout
          this bleak period soldiers never faltered in their duties. The
          staff continued to operate and frequent meetings were conducted
          in chemical protective mask. The war moved closer as isolated
          events began occurring nearer to our location. Overhead the air
          continued to be filled night and day with aircraft going North,
          later returning South. Unseen through the fog, they still
          brought cheers and words of encouragement.

               Engineers continued to react by quickly moving heavy
          equipment, digging tank ditches, fighting positions, and
          restructuring the battlefield. Combat training intensified.
          Sounds of demolitions; minebreaching charges, blasting of wire,
          bunkers, and trench obstacles could be heard frequently. Tanks
          equipped with giant plows, mine rakes and rollers practiced
          breaching techniques over and over. Combat engineers rehearsed
          battle drills to a fine precision.

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