Upon your first day as an Engineer Officer in the US ARMY, you’re never sure where you will end up. All of your training as a cadet or Officer Candidate has led to your opportunity to be a Platoon Leader. What you don’t know is what kind! Will you take on a vigorous 12B Combat Engineer Platoon? Will you join one of the few Route Clearance Companies still operating in the US Fleet? Or will you become the next commander for the only Active Duty Mine-Dog Detachment in The Army? The engineering branch is so broad that you must be ready for any of these scenarios and prepared to learn a lot quickly as the Army continues to march along.

Another great opportunity that you may have as an Engineer Officer is to work with 12C MOS Soldiers within a Multi-Role Bridge Company (MRBC)! These formations have over 180 Soldiers who are challenged with being able to individually deploy globally to support multi-national maneuver forces attempting land and water crossing operations. But what does that entail? 12C MOS Soldiers are trained on numerous skills and have a broad job description. As a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in an MRBC, I will give you the Top 5 opportunities that were given to me while serving in one of these electrifying companies.

5. ARCOW Bridge Building

As a bridging Platoon Leader, your Platoon may be tasked with building an ACROW Line of Communication Bridge (LOC-B). These bridges can be built to the permanent state and support most military traffic. ACROW bridges are utilized throughout the world spanning dry and wet gaps to support military and civilian traffic. Not all Bridging Platoons are outfitted with these versatile bridges, but it is a skill that all of your soldiers will be trained on leaving AIT.

4. Improved Ribbon Bridge

The most well-known, and most trained on task, is getting on the fast-moving water and building the IRB! Bridging Platoons compete against each other and improve their proficiency in joining the various components that make up the bridge. As a PL, take the time to get on the water, OPERATE the Bridge Erection Boats (BEB), throw some ropes around with your Soldiers, and understand their jobs as bridge Crew Members. This will go a long way!

3. Dry Support Bridge

One of my most memorable experiences as a Platoon Leader was finally getting the chance to see my Dry Support Bridge (DSB) fully constructed! This piece of equipment was not exercised as much as I would have wished, but when given the chance, we took full advantage! Watching a DSB get constructed is as close to a Transformer as you’re going to get. DSBs are capable of spanning short gaps up to 46 meters and can be trafficked by civilian and military tracked vehicles. Maintenance is a challenge, but trust me, it's worth it!

2. Route/Site Repair

Although I was ecstatic to be a Bridging PL, my job would have been almost impossible without my sister Support Platoon. Support was responsible for all the maintenance of vehicles throughout the company. They are tasked with repairing all bridging sites to a feasible standard, and they never turned down the unorthodox 12N jobs. Support Platoon is the backbone of MRBCs and they would not be able to complete their mission without it.

1. Traveling

When I made the decision that I was going to join the service, one of the main things I was excited to do was travel. Serving within an MRBC for two years I was able to explore Europe as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer, all while training with my Company! I was given the opportunity to sharpen my tactical skills with allied countries and make history as we joined our bridging equipment in multi-national Wet-Gap Crossing Exercises. These Opportunities occur year-round and MRBCs are the star of the show! If you are lucky enough to be a part of an MRBC, I’d say your odds are high to experience something similar.

The culture within a Multi-Role Bridge Company is one of its own. A lot of Engineers hear about MRBCs because as I stated, they are the star of the show and are one of the military's greatest assets, but they don’t really know what goes on outside of the classroom they heard about them in.

A lot more can be said about these great formations, but I challenge you to go see them for yourself. Maybe you too can play your role in a Multi-Role Bridge Company.