In response to the Western Front-like stalemate seen in the Ukraine war, the U.S. Army is getting innovative. Sean Shields, commander of the 20th Engineer Brigade, joins host Tom Spahr to discuss his unit’s “Sand Hills Project,” an initiative born from observing the mobility challenges faced by Ukrainian forces. The project’s goal is to figure out how to breach modern, complex obstacle belts and restore maneuver to the battlefield, all while keeping soldiers out of harm’s way. To achieve this, the project utilizes cheap, expendable, and scalable robotic ground and air vehicles to overwhelm and reduce enemy defenses. This is part one of a two-part series about the 20th Engineer Brigade.
It’s the great guidance you can get from a commander: figure it out, fail fast, continue learning, and let’s produce the capability that’s going to get sappers out of the breach.
Go check out the podcasts Sean mentioned:
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Sean Shields is a U.S. Army colonel and the commander of the 20th Engineer. As a career engineer officer who previously led the 5th Battalion, 4th Security of Forces Assistance Brigade, and the 54th Engineer Battalion, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Sean deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan 4 times and several times Eastern Europe as an adviser. He also supported the recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina in 2010 and in 2024, after Hurricane Helene. He is a native of Carlisle, PA, and is a graduate of the AY24 Resident Program at the U.S. Army War College.
Thomas W. Spahr is the DeSerio Chair of Theater and Strategic Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. He is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and holds a Ph.D. in History from The Ohio State University. He teaches courses at the Army War College on Military Campaigning and Intelligence.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: U.S. Army Col. Sean R. Shields, commander, 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, converses with civilian mechanical engineers during Sandhills Project 3.0 at Fort Liberty, N.C., July 10, 2024. Sandhills Project 3.0 demonstrates and experiments with current capabilities in obstacle intelligence, and obstacle neutralization/reduction.
Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Spc. P S Bailey Whilden
