18C Description
 

Special Forces Engineer Sergeant (18C). Major duties. The Special Forces engineer sergeant employs conventional and unconventional warfare tactics and techniques in combat engineering and maintains detachment engineer equipment and supplies.

Junior Special Forces Engineer Sergeant (18C3). Skill Level 3. Performs and maintains proficiency in all major duties. Performs and teaches tasks in demolitions, explosives, improvised munitions, U.S. and foreign landmines, mine/counter-mine operations, construction, field fortification, bridging, rigging, electrical wiring, reconnaissance, target analysis and civil action projects. Instructs and performs land and water navigation duties by interpreting maps, overlays, photos, charts and using standard and nonstandard navigational techniques and equipment. Plans, teaches and performs sabotage operations with standard, nonstandard and improvised munitions and explosives. Plans, prepares and conducts the target portion of the area study and conducts briefings, briefbacks and debriefings. Supervises combat engineering functions when conducting split-detachment operations and missions.


Senior Special Forces Engineer Sergeant (18C4). Skill Level 4. Performs all duties of preceding skill level. Provides tactical and technical guidance to the Detachment Commander, indigenous and allied personnel. Plans, organizes, trains, advises, assists and supervises indigenous and allied personnel on employing and Engineer Company in defensive/offensive operations and engineers in support of brigade operations. Prepares and reviews target analysis folders. Responsible for the planning, execution and supervision of cross training of detachment members in Special Forces engineering skills. When directed, conducts operational and intelligence planning, preparation, and execution of detachment missions.


18C also usually gets stuck with being the detachment S-4. Start looking for those component lists.

Good luck, gents!

TR

I have been searching to find out what a S-4 is I have only found one site and it has no mention of a S-4. Heres the siteArmy Skill Identifiers am I looking in the right direction? Thank you JF

'S' identifies a staff section in a battalion or brigade. Divisions, corps, major commands (MACOMs), and armies use 'G' identifiers, while joint commands use 'J'. The coding generally follows this convention:

• S(or G or J)-1: Personnel
• S-2: Intelligence
• S-3: Operations
• S-4: Logisitics
• S-5: Future Operations/Civil Affairs
• S-6: Communications
• S-8: Resource Management

Soldiers sometimes use the codes as slang to identify a job or task, such as calling the 18C the team S-4, as he's often responsible for keeping track of team equipment and supplies, as well as 'procurement'. ;)

Team Engineer
 

Sometimes the 18Cs get pigeon holed into the S-4 or demo role and also sorta' an extra weapons guy or pack mule.

When our team was deployed one time we have to build range facilities, bunkers, CS rooms, ect for a couple of rounds of basic training. I was the team sergeant and was also an engineer in my younger years.

I had two sergeants as my engineers, both on their first OCONUS deployment and fairly new on the team. The Captain and I laid out the training plan to them and told them what needed to be built and when. They had never done anything like that and wanted me to help them out. I told them they were the engineers, it was their job and to get it done. I told them to let me know how many people they needed and when. I kept a close eye on them for a few days but they where doing good so I cut them lose.

They took the bull by the horns, borrowed some heavy equipment from the Navy and learned to drive it as they cleared the ranges. They also lead the work details that completed the smaller, more manpower intense jobs. They kept construction just ahead of the classes plus taught thiers as per the training schedule. They kept their nose to the grind stone and learned a lot.

An Engineer can do every thing a demo man can plus a hell of a lot more.

The question an 18C has to ask himself is "Am I a Demo man or an Engineer"?

Pete

beyond the duties as a demolitionist, beyond the duties as a theater of operations construction contractor, beyond being the guy responsible for S4 functions, detachment engineers are, without a doubt, the most versatile members of any A detachment...don't believe it? just ask one...

;)

any good 18C (or 12B3/4S in my day) could pick a master lock, had bolt cutters if he couldn't, or could use an e-tool to break same lock, should he be short of equipment...the object was not always to 'steal' property, but rather to convert property...usually, someone had stuff everybody else needed (ski wax, floor wax, cleaning kits, etc) in my experience, there were some excellent hoarders in SF...and of course, since much of the stuff was either flammable or subject to inspection, things would be stored in the mop racks outside the buildings...of course, you'd be surprised at what might be left lying around motor pools, rigger sheds, arms rooms, supply rooms...often, we considered ourselves as protectors of stuff lying around...hence anything not secured would be 'adopted' by detachment engineers...

'Peterson', in the movie "The Green Berets" was obviously a sucessful engineer...of course, getting caught was not his best move, but never the less folks expected engineers to produce needed stuff from thin air, drawing minimal attention to themselves....

that's why i had one set of fatigues with a Forscom patch and a cap with a 39th Engineer crest... :D

Don't forget the most important thing. Who's in charge of the opfund? :D