From Vietnam to Beyond the Cold War: The Evolution of U.S. Army Engineer Forces, 1973-1991

This study describes and analyzes the evolution of force structure and organizational focus within the troop side of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the end of the Vietnam War through today. The purpose is to understand what changes have taken place, why they occurred, and what the future implications of these charges are in the post-Cold War security environment. The scope of the study is limited primarily to US Army combat and construction engineer forces. From the end of the Vietnam War to the end of the Cold War, the Engineers have changed their force structure and organizational focus from essentially a construction orientation to a predominantly combat engineering, or sapper, focus, From WWII through the end of Vietnam, the Army's requirement for the Engineers was construction. After Vietnam however, a number of important Army changes caused the relative value of combat engineering to increase, while the perceived need for construction forces dropped. As a result of this changed environment, today's Engineers are better prepared than ever to provide close combat tactical support for maneuver forces, but have lost much of their construction capability, a diminishing operational asset which will play an increasingly important role in both regional wars and peacetime engagement.