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In March 1997, the 10th Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, conducted its annual Skybridge Focus field training exercise in preparation for deployment to the National Training Center. During this exercise, squads were qualified using Table VIII from the battalion's newly developed Engineer Qualification Tables (EQTs). 1 Engineer equipment crew certification was integrated into the EQT sapper training. This was the first time the unit used this qualification method, and we saw dramatically improved results.
Inspired by the success of armor and infantry gunnery tables (and previous combat engineer vehicle [CEV] gunnery tables) and the need for an organized method of sapper qualification, the 3rd Infantry Division Engineer Brigade introduced EQTs to the brigade's engineer battalions. These tables link existing programs such as the MTP, marksmanship training, and engineer battle drills into a sequential battle-focused qualification process. They build from individual tables through platoon live-fire tables and roughly correspond to armor and infantry gunnery tables.
The proficiency of squads and platoons was previously tested through exercise evaluations (EXEVALs) based on fragments of the mission training plan (MTP) and local drills. However, these EXEVALs were not well standardized or systematically resourced, tasks were not arranged or tested in an ascending degree of complexity, and individual tasks were not specifically grouped to be practiced before squad or platoon tasks. No program exists to justify a standard package of resources that can be accurately projected through the Standards-in-Training Commission (STRAC). Adequate amounts of ammunition and demolitions are rare, and most posts do not have areas large enough for demolitions training. There is no priority for logistical requirements for training engineers, because we do not have a system that speaks the same language to our maneuver brothers. These conditions do not facilitate quality engineer training. All this changes when individual units are given priority, because they train under a system of qualification tables recognized by installation and unit commanders.
Execution of EQT VIII
Exercise Skybridge Focus was the test bed for EQT VIII, and it provided significant evidence of EQT
success. Eighteen squads from six line platoons were qualified on EQT VIII tasks. Four of those squads received 100 percent first-time GOs and were rated as "Killer Squads."
Sapper squads and assault and obstacle crews performed mobility, countermobility, or...