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APPENDIX C

Key Leaders' Responsibilities

This appendix outlines key duties and responsibilities of several of the principal leaders involved in brigade-level engineer C2. They are the--

• Brigade engineer.
• Engineer company commander.
• XO.
• 1SG.
• Communications sergeant.
• Supply sergeant.
• NBC sergeant.
• Armorer.
• Combat signaler.

The duties and responsibilities listed are a foundation of mission-essential tasks required of engineer key leaders supporting the light brigade. The DIVEN may modify the duties and responsibilities based on METT-T and the structure of the supported brigade and the supporting engineers.

BRIGADE ENGINEER

The brigade engineer is the primary engineer staff planner for the brigade commander. He is task-organized from the divisional light engineer battalion by the division engineer. The brigade engineer is responsible to the brigade commander for providing organizational focus and synchronizing cohesive engineer support for the entire brigade. As a special staff officer, he is the principal engineer advisor to the brigade commander and the rest of his staff. He is responsible for integrating specified and implied engineer tasks into the brigade plan. The brigade engineer has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that supporting engineer units are completely integrated into the brigade's mission planning, preparation, and execution. This task will be one of the most challenging and will only be successful with the full support of the supporting company commanders.

The brigade engineer's primary duty is to plan, coordinate, and facilitate the execution of engineer missions in support of the commander's scheme of maneuver. In this role, he must--

• Integrate engineer battlefield functions into future brigade plans and develop the necessary input to brigade orders, annexes, and engineer unit orders, as required.
• Make time-sensitive engineer decisions on requests from the TF engineers for recommendations for immediate tactical support.
• Train the brigade engineer cell located at the brigade main CP.
• Establish the BMEC and integrate the BREC into brigade C2 operations.
• Formulate ideas for engineer support to meet the brigade commander's intent.
• Visualize the future state of engineer operations in the brigade.
• Recommend to the brigade commander the engineer priorities of effort and support and acceptable risks.
• Determine and accurately evaluate the critical aspects of the engineer situation.
• Decide what engineer missions must be accomplished to support the brigade's current and future fights.
• Prioritize and recommend the allocation of engineer personnel, equipment, logistics, and units.
• Develop a scheme of engineer operations concurrently with the brigade maneuver COAs.
• Integrate the necessary orders and instructions into division plans and orders.
• Issue timely instructions and orders to subordinate engineer units through the brigade base order to facilitate subordinate planning, preparation, and integration.
• Monitor the execution of engineer orders and instructions by keeping track of the current fight.
• Alter the engineer plan, as required, with feedback from the maneuver battalions and engineer units.
• Interface with the DIVEN on DIVEN plans, status of brigade engineer missions, and identification of any brigade requirements for division or EAD engineer assets to support the brigade.
• Inform the brigade commander of the capabilities, limitations, and employment considerations of supporting engineers.

ENGINEER COMPANY COMMANDER

The company commander is responsible for everything the company does or fails to do. This includes the tactical employment, training, administration, personnel management, and sustainment of his company. He must fully understand the capabilities of his soldiers and the best method of how to employ them. The company commander must also understand what the light brigade and battalions are capable of and how they fight.

The company commander is the engineer executor on the brigade battlefield. He has "unit control" and command responsibility over his unit. One of his greatest challenges is maintaining an execution focus for the brigade commander while sustaining his staff-level input to the brigade engineer. He is ultimately responsible for--

• Writing the company OPORD that supports the brigade commander's intent and concept of the operation and the brigade's engineer annex.
• Providing mission-oriented C2 to his company.
• Supervising the execution of his unit's engineer support within the brigade area.
• Achieving integration with the supported brigade through his link with the brigade engineer and the brigade commander's C2 organization. (C2 assets from the company are key in facilitating this process.)
• Ensuring that an accurate and current engineer status is retained at the brigade by tracking the status of the company's missions and units and forwarding it to higher HQ, as required.
• Dividing duties among key leaders of his company. Each subordinate must know what his job is and how the company functions while executing its missions. The decentralized nature of light brigade operations dictates that the company and its subordinate units be able to function in any mission or situation with minimal guidance and control from higher HQ. Although every situation is different, the company SOP standardizes the way tasks are accomplished and facilitates execution of decentralized operations.
• Remaining focused on engineer missions rather than the method of his subordinates' execution. The company commander must not give his subordinates missions and guidance that conflict with those of the maneuver brigade and supported battalion commanders.
• Assuming the responsibilities of the brigade engineer. While he is always an advisor on his unit's capabilities, limitations, and current operational status, he normally passes this information through the brigade engineer. In the absence of the brigade engineer, the focus of the company commander is more on integrating into brigade planning and less on unit command.
• Providing mission and status reports to the brigade commander and the brigade engineer (and his immediate engineer commander) so that they may make decisions that can influence the battle.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The XO is second in command. His primary role is to help the commander direct the fight of the company and ensure its seamless integration into the brigade combat, CS, and CSS structure. His responsibilities include--

• Receiving and consolidating unit and mission reports from the platoons and submitting them to the BMEC, the brigade rear CP, and the parent engineer battalion commander, as required.
• Assuming command of the company, as required.
• Establishing and operating the company CP. This CP accomplishes two primary tasks. It facilitates the C2 process of the company and augments and synchronizes the engineer C2 organization in support of the brigade.
• Planning and supervising the engineer company CSS.
• Ensuring that PCIs are complete throughout the company.
• Planning and coordinating all logistical support with the FSB, the parent engineer battalion, and other agencies outside the company.
• Preparing or assisting in the preparation of the company OPORD, specifically focusing on paragraph 4.
• Coordinating with higher, adjacent, and supporting units. 'This function is vital when the company receives support from other units of the parent battalion (such as equipment, maintenance, or medical assets) or from corps engineers.

The XO has a secondary role as the brigade rear engineer. In this role, he accomplishes those tasks required to integrate and synchronize the engineer support for rear-area operations, such as--

• Monitoring rear-area engineer operations.
• Anticipating unit-specific, future engineer requirements.
• Executing engineer unit sustainment and coordinating future unit-sustainment needs with the brigade rear CP and the FSB.
• Providing engineer expertise in the brigade rear area and coordinating directly with all brigade rear-area CS and CSS elements.
• Working closely with the brigade engineer to facilitate brigade-level engineer C2.

FIRST SERGEANT

The 1SG is the senior NCO and usually the most experienced soldier in the company. He is the commander's primary tactical advisor and expert on individual and NCO skills. He assists the commander in planning, coordinating, and supervising all activities that support the unit mission. He operates where the commander directs or where his duties require him. His responsibilities include--

• Being involved early in the planning process to provide quality control in the execution of engineer missions and logistics operations.
• Checking on soldiers' welfare as a second set of eyes for the commander. He may be located with the company commander, on a secondary engineer effort, or in any of the CPs to ensure smooth engineer operations.
• Executing and supervising routine operations.
• Enforcing the tactical SOP.
• Planning and coordinating training.
• Coordinating and reporting personnel and administrative actions.
• Supervising supply, maintenance, communications, field hygiene, and MEDEVAC operations.
• Ensuring that CSS priorities are requisitioned and replenished.
• Monitoring logistical statuses and submitting reports to the company XO and the brigade rear CP, as required.
• Supervising, inspecting, and observing matters designated by the commander. He may observe and report on the status of obstacles or survivability within the brigade or range cards within the company.
• Assisting and coordinating with the XO, preparing to assume his duties, as required.

COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT

The communications sergeant is the company expert and advisor on all aspects of tactical communications. He is responsible for--

• Ensuring that the company's radios and telephone assets are in working condition and providing communications down to the platoons.
• Supervising the operations, maintenance, and installation of organic wire and frequency modulated (FM) communications. This includes sending and receiving radio traffic and making required communications checks.
• Supervising the company CP, to include relaying information, monitoring the tactical situation, establishing the CP security plan and radio-watch schedule, and informing the commander and subordinate units of significant events. These actions are an essential component of the dual functions of the company CP in providing unit-and brigade-level engineer C2 support.
• Performing limited troubleshooting of organic communications equipment.
• Providing the link between the company and the FSB for maintenance of communications equipment.
• Supervising all aspects of communications security (COMSEC) equipment, to include requesting, receiving, training, maintaining, securing, and employing related equipment and materials.
• Receiving, accounting for, and distributing signal operation instructions (S0I).
• Advising the commander in planning and employing the communications systems.
• Preparing or assisting in the preparation of paragraph 5 of the OPORD, based on the commander's guidance.

SUPPLY SERGEANT

The supply sergeant is under the direct supervision of the 1SG but must ensure that the company CP is kept informed of the status of all critical supply items. His responsibilities include--

• Requesting, receiving, issuing, storing, maintaining, and turning in supplies and equipment for the company.
• Coordinating requirements with the 1SG and supporting units within the FSB.
• Monitoring the tactical situation together with the communications NCO.
• Anticipating logistical requirements and assisting in the operations of the company CP. Chapter 6 has a more detailed discussion of the CSS requirements.

NBC SERGEANT

The NBC sergeant works with the 1SG and commander in planning and conducting NBC operations. He is located in the company CP. He assists the communications NCO and supply NCO in monitoring the tactical situation, CP operations, and security. He is responsible for--

• Organizing and training the company's NBC teams and supervising the execution of assigned tasks, as required.
• Supervising the maintenance and employment of the company's NBC equipment.
• Relaying NBC reports, advising the commander on areas of contamination, and maintaining the radiation status chart.

ARMORER

The armorer may operate at the company CP to support continuous CP operations. His duties include--

• Performing organizational maintenance on the company's small arms.
• Evacuating weapons to the DS maintenance unit in the FSB.
• Assisting the supply sergeant.

COMBAT SIGNALER

The combat signaler may also operate at the company CP to support continuous CP operations. He is responsible for--

• Operating and performing maintenance on communications equipment as directed by the communications sergeant.
• Assisting in the preparation of the OPORD by copying the overlays and building sand tables.
• Acting as the commander's radio/telephone operator (RTO), as required.