The 588th Engineer Battalion Today
Update: On 18 June, 1998, LTC Edward Cardon took over command of the 588th Engineer Battalion from departing LTC Marc Hildenbrand. We sincerely thank Marc and his staff for their gracious help and support, and especially for hosting the very First 588th Alumni Reunion.
God Speed, and All the Best.
Army Engineers Complete first Bradley Gunnery
Alpha Company, 588th Engineer Battalion completed its first Bradley Gunnery, and set the standard for the Corps of Engineers. The Wolfpack Engineers made history on 19 May when they became the first engineers to conduct Bradley Live Fire Gunnery. A Company completed Bradley Tables V and VI on Pilot Knob Multi-use Range, 19 through 21 May., and then moved to Sugarloaf Multi-use to complete Tables VII and VIII, 26 - 29 May. Beyond all expectations, these outstanding crews qualified on Bradley Table VIII the first time, (Q1). This was not easy task considering that these same crews just went through 18 days of Bradley New Equipment Training (NET), 1- 24 April.
The first unit of its kind, Alpha Company leads the Corps of Engineers into the 21st Century. For more than a decade, mechanized combat engineers have struggled to keep pace with the M1A2 tank, and M2A2 equipped combat teams. Spurred by an initiative from the U.S Army Engineer School, and Engineer Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Alpha Company, 588th Engineer Battalion became the first engineer unit to field and use the M2 in training.
Alpha Company received nine M2A0 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles in February 1998 while most of the company and battalion was deployed to the National Training Center. Upon return from NTC, the company completed 18 days of new equipment training provided by 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment NET Team. Following NET training, The Wolfpack deployed to support 1-67 Armor Battalion's Company/Team Lanes, 27 April - 8 May. During Company/Team Lanes, A Company crews and squads performed breaching and obstacle emplacement missions out of their Bradleys. The M2 has less inside storage space than their older M113A2 Personnel Carriers, but drastically increases the speed, maneuverability, survivability, and firepower of combat engineers on the battlefield.
Alpha Company's new organization includes four M2s per platoon, and one for the company commander. The platoon leader and sergeant both fight from their Bradleys, but with out additional dismounted soldiers. Each platoon has two squads fighting out of two M2s. The squad leader commands the squad from the Bradley commanders position in the turret. A team leader directs the actions of himself and three others once they dismount the vehicle to perform engineer missions. In the defense, the squad leader directs the actions of the squad on the ground during obstacle siting and emplacement.
Alpha Company continues to evaluate the Bradley as an engineer platform. In August, the Wolfpack deploys to the National Training Center with the 299th Engineer Battalion, and 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. The lessons learned throughout Alpha Company's NTC Trainup, Gunnery, and NTC rotation, will be applied to future fieldings of the Bradley Engineer Fighting Vehicles.
( Article by CPT Robert J. Bayham, Commander, Alpha Company, 588th Engineer Battalion)
ARCHIVES
As you may have noticed from the Reunion page, the 588th Engineers is indeed alive and well at Fort Hood, Texas.. Thank You Captain Bayham for the unit history, the crest info, and especially for forwarding alunmi email. A lot has changed in the Army in the last 27 years, but one thing for sure, a welcome message from the current commander is a nice start ...
Subject: Thanks
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 16:06:14 -0500
From: "Hildenbrand, Marc LTC--4ID 588 ENG" hildenbram@hood-emh3.army.mil
To: "Jon" 588th@mendonet.com
CC: "Bayham, Robert CPT--4ID ENG" bayhamr@hood-emh3.army.mil
Jon,
I am the current battalion commander of the 588th En Bn. I just wanted
to say THANKS to you for your interest in getting the 588th alum
association up and going. We are part of a GREAT battalion, and I
appreciate your continued interest in and love for the 588th. I look
forward to meeting you in person.
Thanks again Jon!
Very respectfully,
Marc Hildenbrand
And from Captain Bayham:
Subject: RE: 588th Engineer Battalion Alumni Organizer
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 1997 21:25:49 -0500
From: "Bayham, Robert CPT--4ID ENG" bayhamr@hood-emh3.army.mil
To: "webmaster@mendonet.com" webmaster@mendonet.com
Great to hear from you Jon.
I think we can get something going here. Do you know of any 588th
alumni group out there? If not maybe we can start one. We are very
proud of the 588th's history, and especially the former members such as
yourself. We had a former member visit the 588th at Ft Hood this
summer. His name was Casey. That was either his last or first name, I
cannot remember. Everyone in the battalion shook his hand in formation,
and thanked him for his service to the battalion and the nation. He was
later taken to our battalion conference room to see the old colors. We
have the old battalion colors framed with a plaque dedicating it to the
memory of the present and past members of the battalion. You are part
of that legacy. I will be part of that legacy. Keep up the
correspondence. If you have more photo's, please send them. I will
print them out at high resolution and have them added to the battalion
history files. Please provide a narrative on who is in the photo if
known, where it was taken at, and the approximate date of the photo.
Great talking with you, and I hope to hear from you soon. Did you guys
have the Lonestar motto back in Vietnam? Lonewolf 6.
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