USAF Officer Earns Army Elite Sapper Tab
by U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Aidan Thompson
August 2, 2024 In the predawn stillness of the forest, the ground offers little comfort as a makeshift bed. The chill seeps through the thin layer of your tarp and sleeping bag, reminding you that rest is a luxury. The last three hours felt like a fleeting moment, yet the weight of exhaustion is undeniable. As you hoist your gear, every muscle protests, but there’s no time to dwell on fatigue. The mission demands movement, and sheer determination propels you forward.
Such is the life of a warrior in the U.S. Army Sapper Leadership Course, where combat engineers are forged through relentless field training exercises. From May 14 to June 14, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Orrin Donaldson, 87th Civil Engineer Group civil engineer officer, persevered through the arduous course to become one of the few Airmen to earn the elite combat engineer tab. 
June 27, 2024 - U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Orrin Donaldson, 87th Civil Engineer Group civil engineer officer, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey with his uniform now with his well-earned elite Army Sapper 'combat engineer' tab. The Sapper course is a 28-day crucible where participants train to be the experts in their career field, learning skills in mobility, counter mobility and survivability. (Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aidan Thompson.)
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“Sapper School is the Army’s ‘Premier Engineer Leadership course.’ I tell people it's Ranger School for engineers,” Donaldson said. “Only seven Airmen have ever graduated from Sapper School.”
The Sapper course, located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, bolsters confidence and encourages those attending to push forward even when conditions are not in their favor. Course attendees are tasked with completing in-class instruction, where they are graded based off of their learned knowledge. Subjects include air operations such as sling loading, helicopter capabilities, drop zone establishment; mobility & counter-mobility through obstacle identification, emplacement and urban breaching. This 28-day crucible strengthens engineers’ flexibility and special training to provide the task force with the tools to overcome insurmountable odds.
“‘If I can do all that, what can’t I do?’ That’s a sentence I want every one of my Airmen to be able to say,” Donaldson said. “The course instills a level of resilience and confidence in its graduates you can’t get from home station training.”
The Sapper course utilizes timed practical exercises to teach attendees how to overcome physical obstacles including the fabrication of an A-frame system to haul equipment up a cliff, creating a poncho raft out of rucksacks and conducting wet gap crossing with a one-rope bridge; participants also were tasked with crafting and emplacing various breaching, shape and crater charges.
Leading up to the course, Donaldson was mentored by U.S. Army Master Sgt. Derrick Baker, 315th Brigade Engineer Battalion. Baker, a Sapper Leader course graduate, helped to prepare Donaldson for rappelling techniques, water and mountaineering operations as well as general Army knowledge and etiquette.
“The Sapper Leader Course is to the engineer regiment as Ranger school is to the infantry. It just adds another level to standard combat engineers for the Army,” Baker said. “Focusing more on the Army’s engineering units such as airborne and air assault, mainly in mobility, counter mobility and survivability.”
The course closes with a large hands-on field training exercise that implements all the battle drills and engineer techniques learned throughout the course. The attendees use their skills as engineers to plan and successfully execute a raid, ambush or reconnaissance mission in the Mark Twain National Forrest.
The Sapper course demands participants to push themselves beyond their limits, training our warfighters to be more prepared during an era of Great Power Competition. The GPC’s concept of reoptimization prepares the joint force for high-end conflicts in a new security environment and a rapidly evolving character of war.
“I believe in the future fight Air Force engineers will have to perform in combat engineer roles” Donaldson said. “I did it because I wanted to be ready for the next fight. I don’t know that you can ever truly be ‘ready,’ but I do know I am much more ready to be cold, tired, hungry and still do my job.” Our Valiant Troops | I Am The One | Veterans | Citizens Like Us U.S. Air Force | Air National Guard | U.S. Air Force Gifts | U.S. Department of Defense |
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