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58th Engineers Bridge Brigade Gap

1st Cavalry Division

By Pfc. Matthew McLaughlin
10th Mnt. Div. Public Affairs

     CAMP VICTORY, Baghdad, Iraq- Soldiers from the 58th Combat Engineer Company from Fort Irwin, Calif., are supporting numerous battalions in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Commandos), 10th Mountain Division. The engineers provide vital assets to the Commandos, said Col. Mark Milley, 2 BCT commander. "The 58th Engineers provide us tactical mobility as well as being fully trained in infantry tasks," he said.
     Platoons from the 58th Engineers are divided amongst infantry battalions in the BCT to provide them engineer support, said 1st Sgt. Elmo Leichenauer 58th ENG first sergeant. "We are a regimental asset," he said. "We re-organized to provide engineer capabilities to the battalions."
     First platoon is working with 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, ensuring bridges and roads are capable of carrying the mechanized infantry's tanks and equipment. "One bridge may be able to carry a donkey cart and the other may carry an M-1 Abrams Tank," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Armstrong, 58th ENG operations officer. "We'll make sure a bridge or road meets the military load class and can carry a tank across it,"
     Soldiers from 2nd Platoon are working with 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, providing similar engineer support and ensuring the security of Iraqi bridges. During the Iraqi National Conference, 2nd Platoon Soldiers secured important bridges, ensuring the event was not overshadowed by insurgent attacks, Leichenauer said. 
     The Assault and Obstacle Platoon are currently providing security at Camp Victory North. They are also conducting maintenance on the engineers' vehicles and other combat tasks, said Sgt. Keshone Peyton, 58th ENG.  "Soldiers are doing lots of gate guard, watching bridges, patrols, lots of cool stuff," Peyton said. "They are things we all want to do."
     All platoons are ready to provide infantry units with their expertise, Armstrong said. "We do a lot of route reconnaissance, route clearing, making sure the roads are clear of [improvised explosive devices]," he said. "Our M-113 Armored Personnel Carriers also provide armored capabilities to infantry units."
     Peyton said the engineers are eager to conduct operations in support of 2nd BCT. "Everyone wants to go out and patrol," he said. "We just have to pay attention and stay safe at all times."
The combat operations are a welcome change of pace from months of training and preparation for operations, Leichenauer said. "They're glad to be working again," he said. "We were doing classes in camp for a long time. Now that they're out there doing patrols, they're pretty excited." Spc. Harold Hoffman, 58th ENG, said his unit is well-suited for combat operations with infantry units. They provide engineer capabilities as well as an infantry mentality.  "Everyone's first [job] is infantry," he said. "We're engineers secondly, Soldiers first."