M Camp Abbot, Ore., May 27, 1944
ABBO T ENGINEER
Page Nine
Depict Soldiers in the Making
j Year Show Engineer Activities
Mass boxing is an established part of the engineer training pro
gram at Camp Abbot. This picture shows trainees slugging it out
with anybody who gets in the way. Mass boxing develops hand-to-
hand combat technique and at the same time plays a vital part in
physical development.
■ .earning to tie anenor hitches, sheet bends, mooring mtcnes, square knots and bowlines is a small
but important part of the ( amp Ahlmt engineer training program. Above photo shows the first station
of the rigging application course. These men are lying anchor hitches. The entire course is composed
of five stations, through which the trainee travels, hoisting himself to the tops o f towers, climbing
rope ladders, and making lines secure by fashioning various types of knots.
Booby traps might be found anywhere, as the above photograph
suggests. Trainees here are locating (raps previously secreted by
other trainees. Once a trap is discovered, disarming it is routine
matter. Trainees at this station are given thorough training with
booby traps and anti-personnel mines.
The technique of ambushing a tank with rifle grenades Is demon
strated in the altove photo. The Camp A bind training schedule
calls for a complete course in defense against mechanized attack.
In this form of combat, the soldier must take a position very near
the tank in order to destroy it.
Often enemy airfields are bombed heavily before being captured, necessitating hasty repairs »hen
"Ur forces move in. These engineer trainees at 1 amp Abbot are shown ‘aying a landing strip. Iztng
sheets of metal lath are used to provide an even surface. The same method is employed in the con
'»ruction of new fields.
This photograph shows ( amp Abbot trainees engaged in ti e con
struction of a ponton bridge similar lo the one engineers were
cited for building in a few hours to hasten the Sicilian advance,
after ( .erman units had destroyed all bridges in the path of the
American forces. The time element is a vital factor in the building
of bridges in combat areas.