Infantry and Engineers Integrated in Training
Story by Cdt. Meghan Drysdale
The sound of exploding doors and shouting Soldiers echoed across Fort Devens, Mass as troops from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment and the 182nd Combat Engineer Company (Sappers), 101st Engineer Battalion operated in a joint training exercise on May 15-16, 2025.
This was the first time these units conducted breaching operations together. The Soldiers worked in conjunction to plan and practice various tactics that they could use during joint operation missions, so they can become a more lethal fighting force.
The engineering company involved in this training is specifically known as The Combat Engineer Company – Infantry (CEC-I), which is primarily focused on training, planning, and executing missions in support of the infantry. Their specialty is focusing on mobility and countermobility, with mobility ensuring our Soldiers can get where they need to be and complete the job they need to. Countermobility is ensuring that the enemy can’t, with methods such as digging trenches, laying minefields, and implementing wire obstacles. These fields of expertise provide opportunities for the engineers to be very creative.
“Our job is to open breaches for the infantry, create obstacles so that our infantry is better protected, and create strong survivability positions so they can fight better and last longer,” said 1st Lt. Jason Sullivan, 182nd CEC-I executive officer. “We like to focus primarily on breaching, since it hits all the core functions of what a combat engineer does”.
In the past, training similar to this was done individually by each unit, and notionally would mention what the other roles would be doing. Training together fills gaps and enables units to be better prepared for future missions.
“So we would breach a door, and notionally state the infantry moves in at that point forward,” said Sullivan. “But today, with this exercise, we are starting to bring it together. It is no longer conceptual, but it is real, live practice.”
The nature of combat can be very chaotic. This training helps soldiers build familiarity and muscle memory, so they can know where they need to be and what needs to be done. This contextualizes where they fall within a formation of a blend of MOS’s and teaches teamwork on a greater level.
“You could take a squad of combat engineers and attach them to an entire company of infantrymen,” said Sullivan. “This weekend’s training was as close to the real deal as we have ever been. These infantry soldiers had never put their hands on detonation cord or explosives before.”
For the infantrymen, they found the training just as interesting and beneficial as the engineers did.
The engineers would have one or two infantrymen go up with them and learn how to set up the explosive on the door. Following this, they would then be shown how to detonate it and breach the area. This new skill allows the infantrymen to use explosives instead of physically breaching a door. Lastly, they file into the building and clear it.
“My genuine favorite part of this training has been the breaches,” said Spc. Robert Barry, 182nd CEC-I, who has been a sapper for nearly four years. “They are a fun time, and require a lot of violence of action, and good energy is always going around.”
The importance of accountability and Soldier safety is important during training like this.
“Working with the infantry was great and it was definitely a learning experience.” said Cadet Aeden Kerr with the 182nd CEC-I, “In regards to coordinating with multiple units, while also tracking supplies distribution, soldier headcount and more.”
“I plan on branching as a Combat Engineer.” Said Kerr “This weekend I learned more about how to keep track of safety and management. This has aided me with personal development, and learning how to coordinate with different units while still managing aspects of my own.”
Soldiers from both units hope that this training is the beginning of a long standing working relationship that will endure for years to come.
“Combat engineers will always be implemented in the infantry,” said Sgt Michael Nizantowski, 182nd CEC-I, team leader. “So it is good to have that solid relationship together, so if the time comes where we have to go down a range, we are familiar with each other and be able to complete a mission successfully,” said Nizantowski.
By always training as they fight, Soldiers will be prepared for any situation they encounter. For the Massachusetts Army National Guard to be most effective, crosstraining between units and sharing viable skills can ensure we continue to be our best, strongest and most lethal fighting force possible. This training helped prove that.
