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The 58th Combat Engineer Company (CEC), the "Red Devils," provides mobility, survivability, and countermobility support to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as it performs its primary mission as the opposing force (OPFOR) at the National Training Center (NTC). This article is our response to numerous questions about the OPFOR engineers and how they fight.
To understand the doctrine of the Krasnovian engineer, it must be put into the context of how the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment fights on the NTC battlefield, which is based on former Soviet army and Warsaw Pact doctrine. However, in the words of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Commander, Colonel John D. Rosenberger, "We are a capabilities-based force. We must be a freethinking enemy in order to give rotational units the best possible training opportunity." This means that we employ our doctrinal assets using whatever method is necessary to accomplish our mission--driven by the mission, enemy, terrain, troops, and time available. Additionally, we do not hesitate to take a page from the book of any force's doctrine, including that of the United States, to achieve success. The emphasis is on integrating the engineer effort into a combined-arms operation.
During NTC rotations, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment leadership steps up one level. The regimental commander assumes the role of the 60th Motorized Rifle Division commander, with the commanders of the 1st and 2nd Squadrons commanding the 125th Guards Tank Regiment (GTR) and the 32nd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (GMRR), respectively. Fighting units on the battlefield are the 125th GTR and 32nd GMRR on alternating rotations. A motorized rifle battalion (MRB) is formed by combining an armor troop from 1/11 Armored Cavalry Regiment and an infantry troop from 2/11 Armored Cavalry Regiment. During a 125th GTR rotation, armor commanders and platoon leaders are in charge, with their infantry counterparts acting as deputy commanders. During a 32nd GMRR rotation, this is reversed.
Engineers operate somewhat differently, with the 58th CEC commander stepping up to command an ad hoc organization designated the 46th Engineer Battalion. THe 46th is composed of the 58th CEC and an allied engineer company deployed to the NTC to support the rotational training. These companies come from corps mechanized combat engineer battalions, the Army National Guard, the Army Reserves, and the...