Upgrading The Million-Dollar Hole - Normandy Training Area - Brief Article

Engineer: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers, July, 2000 by Jonathan Gano

Each year, more than 8,000 engineer equipment operators and mechanics from all services train at Fort Leonard Wood--on more than 25 different models of equipment, totaling more than 700 vehicles. The 577th Engineer Battalion conducts most of this training at the Normandy Training Area (TA) 244, also known as the "million dollar hole" because of the value of the equipment there. TA 244 is 900-plus acres that consist of 18 remote equipment operation sites with a centralized hub of maintenance bays, maintenance-training facilities, and administrative buildings.

Unfortunately, many of the post's training areas need considerable work to bring them up to standard. To correct some of the shortcomings, the 1st Engineer Brigade initiated several projects for the most heavily used areas. The main focus is on TA 244, where 16 upgrades are planned for six of the sites that require varying degrees of the same basic improvements. These remote sites consist mostly of open, graded fields used for hands-on equipment-operation training. Typically, the equipment is parked in the mud or on a slightly improved gravel surface. Some of the sites have a small temporary or semipermanent structure that is used for classroom instruction. These structures have portable latrines and trucked-in water.

These remote sites offer little in the way of protection from the elements. During cold weather, students now wait to operate equipment in tents with potbellied stoves or on uncovered bleachers. The 1st Engineer Brigade's proposed solution is to construct heated, pre-engineered buildings adjacent to equipment-operation sites. An example of such a structure is at Figure 1.

Currently, students sit on uncovered bleachers to observe training and receive safety briefings and instruction. The sunshade shown in Figure 2 would provide protection from the sun and rain.

The solution to maintenance-facility shortfalls is to erect a "K-span" structure at each site. These semipermanent, arched buildings can house four pieces of equipment for a fraction of the cost of a conventional metal structure of similar size. Figure 3 illustrates a K-span structure already in use at the grader course.

Relocating and refurbishing metal buildings from other locations on post will solve the problem of inadequate classroom space. The building in Figure 4 is large enough to accommodate two classrooms that satisfy Army design standards.

The 554th Engineer Battalion conducts a five-day field-training exercise for the Engineer Officer Basic Course (EOBC) at TA 221, also known as Fire-Support Base Thunder. This training area requires several projects to bring it to established training and safety standards. EOBC students will complete most of these projects as part of their field training. However, some of the sites need external support, such as road construction and surfacing, surveying, and abutment construction. Figure 5 shows the site plan for TA 221.

The one-station unit training units, the 35th and 169th Engineer Battalions, use TA 106 to conduct physical training, hand-to-hand combat, and end-of-cycle testing reinforcement. With some earthwork and simple construction, the area will accommodate a greater variety of training. It does not have a storage facility for training aids or an area for lane training. To expand the training opportunities of this area, a portion of the perimeter must be cleared and foxholes installed. The 1st Engineer Brigade's goal for TA 106 is to make it an all-encompassing site for basic combat training and refresher training for military occupational specialties 12B (combat engineer) and 12C (bridge crewman).

Some of these projects are within the capabilities of the 1st Engineer Brigade. However, due to the brigade's extensive training and support missions, it would take much longer to complete them using only internal assets. The 1st Engineer Brigade would like to offer the projects as training opportunities to other units, perhaps during their annual training. With prior coordination, interested units also can use the training ranges at Fort Leonard Wood. The post has reasonable billeting and mess arrangements that are available with proper coordination. Upon request, the brigade will provide a folder for each project described in this article. Units may view the bill of materials and project designs on the 1st Engineer Brigade's construction Web page at http://www.wood.army.mil/ISTBDE/construction. Contact the brigade's operations officer at (573) 596-0223 or DSN 581-0223 for more details.

Captain Gano is a training developer in the Engineer Warfighter Division of the Directorate of Training Development, MANSCEN, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Previous assignments include platoon leader and battalion maintenance officer, 40th Engineer Battalion, Baumholder Germany; and Assistant S3, 1st Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood. CPT Gano is a graduate of the United States Military Academy.