Enemy threats heighten situational awareness during training

Team members were on edge as they spotted suspicious activity along their route to a checkpoint. Three vehicles along various intersections and possible chokepoints appeared to be surveying and planning attacks on the line of vehicles. As the team arrived back to its base location, those same vehicles ambushed the team in its own parking lot yesterday evening as part of an Army training exercise in...READ MORE

Special Feature -- Part 1

Santa gets combat ready with weapons training

As an architect, Alfonso Santa is used to sketching plans on paper, so his teammates would forgive him if drawing a weapon from his holster looked a bit awkward. Little did they know, and perhaps even Santa himself, that he was a natural born gunslinger. He and the 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Support Team - Main) conducted firearms...READ MORE

Special Feature -- Part 2

Professor brings insight into the Middle East

A well-known professor in military circles instructed an Army unit about Middle Eastern culture yesterday to better prepare its Soldiers and Civilians for deployment overseas. Dr. Michael Izady helped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Support Team - Main) learn about Afghanistan and its surrounding countries. He focused on the history...READ MORE

Special Feature -- Part 3

Knowing is half the battle when it comes to terrorist groups

Members of an Army unit stationed in Mississippi continued its training to better prepare for worldwide deployments. The 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Support Team - Main) spent the past two days learning more about terrorism from a global perspective and domestic outlook during their weeklong Individual Training Awareness Class (INTAC). “International terrorist groups are not a part...READ MORE

Special Feature -- Part 4

Through the armored glass, what an engineer team found there

The biggest concern people may have when driving to work is being on time. For military units deployed overseas, punctuality is the least of their worries. They face dangers unlike any other when placed behind the wheel of a vehicle. Whether an explosive device is placed inside of their car to a roadside bomb waiting to be detonated on a stretch of the road, drivers need a special set of skills that can’t...READ MORE

Special Feature -- Part 5