Deployment
It was first deployed in 1965 during the Vietnam War and also in the Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm phase during the 1991 Gulf War.
During Operation Desert Storm, the M728 CEV proved unable to keep pace due to the inability of the M60 chassis and power train to keep up with the M1A1 Abrams in the armored formations and spearheads. Many maneuver units simply left the M728 CEV behind rather than let it slow their advance. Such was also the case with the mine rake-equipped M728 CEVs. As originally anticipated, the commanders in the field planned for their use as a part of the sand bern breaching operation but decided to leave them behind once they began the pursuit and exploitation phase of the operation. In the post-war assessment, many armored unit commanders were in agreement that the engineers needed an M1 Abrams based chassis for heavy breaching and gap crossing equipment to keep pace with the Abrams. As a result of this, the M728 was no longer used by active duty units from 2000 onward (although it still is in use by the Army National Guard and Reserve). Current users include Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
Some M728 were acquired for use by the United States Department of Justice's FBI and ATF SWAT teams to conduct potentially dangerous operations. In particular, it has become associated with the 1993 Siege of Waco, Texas due to it being caught in dramatic fashion on video during the siege.
Read more about this topic: M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle