"Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink."

In recent years, especially since the attack of Hurricane Mitch on Central America, humanitarian civic operations have dramatically improved the quality of life for thousands of people in need. This aid came from international civic foundations, religious organizations, volunteers, and the U.S. armed forces. All four services use Active Component (AC) and Reserve Component (RC) service members to help refugees by constructing roads, schools, medical facilities, and housing and providing medical services and potable-water wells.

Well drilling is a viable, necessary engineer mission that provides potable-water sources for all combat, combat-support, and combat-service-support units, as well as civilians and humanitarian-support agencies. Although the Army, Navy, and Air Force all have well drillers, most of them are in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) and the Army National Guard (ARNG). The 28 well-drilling units in the U.S. armed forces are heavily employed in Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and the United States, working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (see table on page 8). To help explain the military well-drillers' world, this article addresses their roles, methods, and equipment; becoming a well driller; assignments; and issues and answers.

According to U.S. Army Field Manual 5-484, Multiservice Procedures for Well-Drilling Operations, well-drilling detachments are combat-service-support assets that are usually at the corps or theater level. The units are tasked to supplement surface-water sources in two instances: when it is unnecessary or too costly to transport volumes of water or when groundwater wells are needed as a logistical backup in case of nuclear, biological, or chemical surface-water contamination by the threat. In addition to drilling wells, the units identify and compile data on surface-water sources, compile data using drilling logs and surveys for drilling-site identification, and restrict access to contaminated or dangerous well sites and seal the holes.

Since a variety of geological formations--ranging from hard consolidated rock to soft unconsolidated sediments--may be encountered during well construction, several well-drilling methods have been developed. The most common methods are mud and air rotary drilling and down-hole hammer or percussion drilling.

Mud Rotary Drilling

This method uses a highly viscous "mud" to float the cuttings from the current drill depth to the top of the borehole. This fluid is recycled by using a series of catch sumps or mud pits and a pumping device to keep a constant flow down the drilling rod, up the hole, and out again. The mud--being based of clays, water, and other materials--also forms a filter-cake layer to provide a seal down the hole. This is the preferred method of well drilling for all the services.

Air Rotary Drilling

Similar to mud drilling, this method uses air instead of mud and is advantageous when it is inconvenient to use water for drilling. Air rotary drilling requires less time for well development but is more problematic due to its inability to support unstable geology and the frequent need to cool and lubricate the drill bit. This type of drilling requires a well-maintained compressor to produce the 3,000-feet-per-minute (fpm) minimum velocity to blow the cuttings up and out. A drilling foam may be used to enhance the air's ability to carry cuttings up and out.

Down-Hole Hammer or Percussion Drilling

This method involves crushing the teeth of the drill bit into the soil by impact. Pneumatic or compressed air is the delivery means to carry cuttings up and out. Used in extremely unfavorable conditions, such as extremely hard rock, this type of drilling is also used to drill shallow holes for loading explosives at quarries and other excavations.

The common, attainable well-drilling depth is 400 to 600 feet. A drilling system must be able to operate continuously to a 600-foot depth (threshold) or a 2,000-foot depth (objective). Geography and drilling history supports the need to go much deeper in desert regions in which groundwater levels are farther below the surface than in temperate regions. Mountainous terrain also requires a deeper drilling depth because groundwater only roughly follows topographic features, thereby making groundwater sources harder to reach. Temperate climates have a generally level topography and advantageous stratigraphies and are favorable for drilling wells less than 600 feet deep. Hilly terrain, arid climates, and poorer geology make it necessary to drill up to 1,500 feet to find water. Extremely arid areas, such as North or South Africa and Southwest Asia, typically require well depths from 1,640 feet to over 5,000 feet, depending on the water table and the degree of salinity.

The necessity of water sources, especially in desert conditions, mandates a system capable of long-term operation without failure. Drilling rigs must be equally functional despite frozen, temperate, or desert conditions because soldiers need water to survive and accomplish their assigned missions. When supporting humanitarian missions, especially following a natural disaster in which potable water is unavailable, both military and civilian personnel depend on these drilling rigs until the emergency ends or damaged utilities become operational.

Army

The current Army well-drilling and well-completion equipment consists of the 600-foot well-drilling system manufactured by the G.E. Failing Company (see Figure 1). It includes an LP-12 rotary well-drilling machine mounted on a Navistar 6 x 6 truck chassis, a support vehicle, and a lightweight well-completion kit that includes accessories, supplies, and tools. With the completion kit, a well can be drilled to a depth of 600 feet using mud, air, or a down-hole hammer with or without foam injection. With the addition of an auxiliary air compressor and a drill pipe, the 600-foot system can drill to depths of 1,500 feet and accommodate the 1,500-foot well-expansion kit. The drilling machine does not have to be modified when drilling with mud to 1,500 feet; however, additional equipment and more drill pipe are required to use the expansion kit.

Additional equipment with the LP-12 includes casing, elevators and slips, larger drill bits, and 900 feet of additional drill steel. This machine has a 32-foot mast, three-drum drawworks assembly, rotary table, mud pump, and an air compressor. The truck engine, through a power-take-off (PTO) subdrive, powers the components of the rig. A hydraulic system operates the leveling jacks, mast-raising cylinders, and breakout cylinders. The vehicle is also equipped with attachments to tie down and lift the vehicle during transport.

For United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) missions in Central America, air drilling is commonly used because of the volcanic geology. Mud drilling can fill cracks of deep geologic formations with the mud, causing a loss of pressure and a potential collapse of the hole. In extremely volcanic rock, little progress can be made with mud drilling. The current LP-12's air compressor cannot support air drilling because of its low pounds per square inch/cubic feet per minute (psi/cfm) (350 psi/1200 cfm), which is only adequate for mud drilling. It is also extremely difficult to deploy this equipment because minor to major disassembly is necessary to make it air transportable.

Air Force

Rapid engineer-deployable, heavy-operations repair squadron-engineer (RED HORSE) units have no organic well-drilling equipment, so they commonly use rigs made by Schramm and Winter Reese. The Schramm T450MII Rotadrill is a top-head drive, truck-mounted drill rig engineered primarily for applications using combination mud rotary, air rotary, and down-hole hammer drilling methods (see Figure 2).

The truck engine provides reliable power for all hydraulic, mud, and air systems. Rugged top-head-drive rotation and efficient pipe handling mean high productivity on the job site and more time spent drilling. All functions are driven hydraulically by a PTO installed on the truck's engine, permitting a variety of mud pump, air, and accessory-system combinations. The T450MII is well suited for constructing water wells in unconsolidated formations, as well as monitoring well construction and environmental-drilling investigations using mud, air, and auger methods. One drawback to this machine is its size. Maneuverability and deployability are more of a problem because of the Schramm rig's length compared to rigs used by the Army and Navy. The Winter Reese rig is equally capable of drilling 1,500 feet, but it is scheduled to be replaced.

Navy

The Navy's current well-drilling rig is the ITWD (ISO/Air Transportable Water-Well Drill) manufactured by Ingersoll-Rand (see Figure 3). The ITWD top-head drive rig is mounted on a 4 x 4 chassis and is capable of drilling up to 1,500 feet. It has 1,530 feet of drill steel along with 90 feet of collars as part of the collateral. The rig has no air compressor, but a down-hole hammer is included along with a 5 x 6 mud pump for mud drilling. The Navy has included a Sullair 750-cfm compressor as part of the well-drilling equipment. Common site problems exist, such as drilling below 1,000 feet. In addition, the rigs have a tendency to require rebuilding after less than 3,000 hours of operation. The ITWD's best feature is maneuverability. It is very portable and can fit into tight drilling sites due to its 19-foot 3-inch length.

Most well-drilling units deploy with electric- or hand-pump well-completion kits--an essential part of every well-drilling bill of materials (see Figure 4). The kits vary in size and capacity according to the well being drilled. In areas with an adequate power supply and a water-storage facility and/or delivery system, electric pumps are used. However, in rural areas with no electricity, such as in Central America, hand pumps are installed in wells.

In the Army, well drillers are in a "low-density" military occupational specialty (MOS). They are construction-equipment operators (MOS 62J 10) whose MOS training is completed as advanced individual training (AIT) at the Maneuver Support Center, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

The problem encountered in training well drillers is in acquiring the additional skill identifier (ASI). To be eligible to receive the ASI, a soldier must be an E-5 or E-4 (P) and complete the 6-week ASI C3 course. Although the course is very well-developed and qualitative, it does not train lower enlisted soldiers effectively because it is a leadership course, and soldiers graduating from AIT have only basic experience as leaders. Soldiers with more experience who reclassify into this MOS have fewer difficulties than new soldiers reporting from AIT.

The ASI C3 course consists of the following areas of study:

• General safety.
• Groundwater location.
• Geology.
• Drilling-equipment operation (most well-drilling rigs on the market).
• Well-drilling methods.
• Water-well design.
• Well development.
• Drilling terminology, charts, and tables.
• Troubleshooting methods.

Because the Navy is the proponent for water-well-drilling education for all three services, the ASI C3 course is taught at Port Hueneme, California, at the U.S. Naval Construction Training Center. There are no mobile training teams for RC soldiers at alternate locations.

Where are military well drillers going? The best answer is...everywhere! (See table on page 8.) Despite doctrinal policy stating that well drillers are a combat-service-support asset to corps or theater operations, these personnel are being used for installation and local-municipality support in CONUS and humanitarian aid OCONUS.

SOUTHCOM conducts an annual Nuevos Horizones (or New Horizons or NH) exercise, which provides valuable services to Central and South America and the Caribbean. During this exercise, soldiers from all four services not only receive important training but also provide much-needed end products--such as schools, clinics, latrines, roads, and wells--for the host nation. Military well drillers have been valuable assets to thousands, if not millions, of people in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.

In July 2000, staff officers from the 416th Engineer Command, Darien, Illinois, and the 439th Engineer Battalion, Bismarck, North Dakota, joined forces and hosted a well-drillers conference in Bismarck. The first of its kind, this conference was the start of a now widely distributed network of expertise and support from the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The ultimate goal of the conference was to bring to the forefront issues regarding personnel, training, and equipment.

Geologists and hydrogeologists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Technical Engineering Center provided several excellent courses of study for drillers and their support personnel. In addition, valuable planning and advice was provided by the Maneuver Support Center, the U.S. Army Reserve Command, and the Naval Construction Training Center. As a result of the conference, and through help from the U.S. Army Engineer School, well drillers from all services now have online resources where they can study, share ideas, and ultimately bring themselves onto the theatre commander's radar screen as an invaluable asset. The Web site is http://www.wood.army.mil/warrior/Well.htm

One issue discussed at the conference was the military's need for a new drilling rig that is self-contained and skid-mounted, with support and completion modules. The support or "tender" module should contain or transport all necessary tools, bits, pumps, casings, and drilling-support tools. The completion module should support mud, air, or percussion drilling, to include power-generation and air-compressor capacity for drilling 1,500 to 1,800 feet. The separate major components should be portable, air transportable, and easily assembled or disassembled. When downloaded and assembled at a drilling site, the major components should be capable of completing or sealing a well without the need for external support. Drilling rigs produce wells despite sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rock. Casings and screens make it possible to produce well water despite loam, clay, and sandy soils. Currently, there is no command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) information-exchange requirement associated with well-drilling rigs.

Well-drilling units are a valuable asset--both at home and abroad. To increase the value added of the engineer role as well drillers, leaders at all levels need to consider the following:

• Development of equipment supporting mobility constraints.
• Mobile training that supports the geographic dispersion of soldiers across the entire RC force.
• Lack of knowledge regarding bills of materials and geological data necessary for water-well drilling.

One Army engineer officer involved with well drilling in New Horizons 2001-Guatemala said about drillers: "The people in this region of the world can build structures well enough, but they cannot approach the long-term, quality-of-life improvement provided by U.S. military well drillers. In this area, as in most, water is life."

Army

Legend for Chart:

A - Drilling Detachments Unit/Location
B - Drilling Detachments Branch
C - Missions Past
D - Missions Present
E - Missions Future

     A                        B       C
                                        D
                                          E

38th Engineer Detachment     AC       Haiti; Panama;
Fort Bragg, North Carolina            Fort Bliss, Texas;
                                      North Carolina

                                        Guatemala

                                          To be determined

247th Engineer Detachment    ARNG     Stones Ranch Military
New London, Connecticut               Reservation,
                                      Connecticut

                                        Stones Ranch Military
                                        Nicaragua
                                        Connecticut; Honduras

                                          Nicaragua

257th Engineer Detachment    ARNG     Honduras
Phoenix, Arizona

                                        California

                                          Nicaragua

269th Engineer Detachment    ARNG     Camp Blanding, Florida
Live Oak, Florida

                                        Camp Blanding, Florida

                                          Camp Blanding, Florida

322d Engineer Detachment     USAR     Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
Kings Mills, Ohio

                                        El Salvador;
                                        Fort Gordon, Georgia

                                          El Salvador

328th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Organized TY01
Montgomery, Alabama

                                        MOSQ, ASI C3;
                                        North Dakota

                                          Belize

334th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Organized TY01
Montgomery, Alabama

                                        MOSQ, ASI C3;
                                        North Dakota

                                          Belize

425th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Pine Ridge Indian
San Antonio, Texas                    Reservation,
                                      South Dakota

                                        El Salvador
                                        (tentative)

                                          Guatemala

484th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Organized TY01
Montgomery, Alabama

                                        MOSQ, ASI C3;
                                        North Dakota

                                          Belize

747th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Guatemala
Missoula, Montana

                                        Camp Grafton,
                                        North Dakota

                                          ASI C3/Central America
                                          (tentative)

775th Engineer Detachment    ARNG     Tennessee/California/
Jackson, Tennessee                    Kentucky; Honduras

                                        Campo, California

                                          Camp Shelby,
                                          Mississippi

916th Engineer Detachment    USAR     Guatemala;
Bismarck, North Dakota                El Salvador

                                        Camp Grafton,
                                        North Dakota

                                          ASI C3/Central America
                                          (tentative)

Air Force

Legend for Chart:

A - Drilling Detachments Unit/Location
B - Drilling Detachments Branch
C - Missions Past
D - Missions Present
E - Missions Future

     A                        B       C
                                        D
                                          E

307th RED HORSE,             AF-RC    El Salvador; Guatemala;
Detachment 1                          Panama; Rosebud Indian
Barksdale AFB, Louisiana              Reservation, South
                                      Dakota; Haiti; Belize;
                                      Honduras; Texas

                                        Gillis Long Facility,
                                        Carville, Louisiana

                                          To be determined

307th RED HORSE              AF-RC    El Salvador; Guatemala;
Kelly AFB, Texas                      Panama; Rosebud Indian
                                      Reservation, South
                                      Dakota; Haiti; Belize;
                                      Honduras; Texas

                                        Gillis Long Facility,
                                        Carville, Louisiana

                                          To be determined

819th RED HORSE              AF-RC    Bolivia
Malmstrom AFB, Montana

                                        Nebraska;
                                        Malmstrom Missile
                                        Field, Montana

                                          Colorado

820th RED HORSE              AF-RC    Peru; Nicaragua; Korea;
Nellis AFB, Nevada                    Belize; Nellis AFB Range

                                        Guatemala;
                                        Nellis AFB Range

                                          Europe;
                                          Nellis AFB Range

823d RED HORSE               AF-RC    El Salvador; Nicaragua;
Hurlburt Field, Florida               Panama; Haiti

                                        Paraguay;
                                        Jamaica

                                          El Salvador

Navy

Legend for Chart:

A - Drilling Teams Unit/Location
B - Missions Past
C - Missions Present
D - Missions Future

     A
                              B                     C
                                                    D

3d Naval Construction Battalion, 31st Naval
Construction Regiment, Port Hueneme,
California

                     Haiti; Jamaica; El       Sasebo; Japan;
                     Salvador; Thailand;      Indonesia; Bosnia;
                     Honduras; Crete          Jamaica

                                              To be determined

2d Naval Construction Battalion, 20th Naval
Construction Regiment, Gulfport, Mississippi

                     Souda Bay, Crete;
                     Guatemala;               Bosnia
                     Honduras, Jamaica

                                              El Salvador

DIAGRAM: Figure 1. LP-12 well-drilling machine and support truck used by the Army

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 2. T450MII Rotadrill used by the Air Force

DIAGRAM: Figure 3. ITWD drill used by the Navy

DIAGRAM: Figure 4. Standard electric well-completion kit

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): During the New Horizons 2000 exercise in Guatemala, soldiers from the 425th Engineer Detachment used the LP-12 drilling rig to set up the final well casing for a project in Panarama.

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Soldiers from the 820th RED HORSE use a Navy ITWD drill at Porvenir, in Guatemala, during New Horizons 2000.

1. Field Manual 5-484, Multiservice Procedures for Well-Drilling Operations, 8 March 1994.
2. Charlie Brown, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District.
3. Laura Waite, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District.
4. Jim Smith, Maneuver Support Center, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, ORD for Well Drilling ACAT IV, dated 21 February 2001.

~~~~~~~~

By Tim Scarbrough, Captain and Paula Lang, Captain

Captain Scarbrough is an active-duty project engineer for the 416th Engineer Command, Darien, Illinois. Previously the 416th's public affairs officer, he is the point of contact for issues on military water wells, alternative construction technology, theatre construction-management systems, and training management

Captain Lang is an active-duty assistant S3 and well-drilling subject-matter expert for the 439th Engineer Battalion, Bismarck, North Dakota. Previously the 439th's S6 officer, she is also the point of contact for issues on military water wells.

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