First off, fully read the suggestion. “most cases will impede friendlies more than enemies” is really not the case. The original post even states that spawn points should be moved more to the sides, for the specific purpose of not impeding teammates spawning in.
Secondly, if your argument is “they stop our retreat”, then you are going against what you are preaching. You say everyone should be up front, point blank range every time, and if so, then you shouldn’t be retreating.
Third, and most importantly, take heed of the expression “sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war.” If you want to be up front fighting to hold every inch, that’s on you. I for one know the power of setting up good defenses. If solid defenses are put in place, its FAR easier to hold that next objective more effectively. So even if the engineers take the time to set up defenses rather than fight up on front objective, they may be the reason that the next objective is where you win.
As far as “people don’t know how to build effective defenses” maybe because they don’t have the experience to see what works and what doesn’t. Trying to put up hasty defenses in the middle of a firefight doesn’t really help with that. In comparison, getting the time to set them up properly might first help with placement, and secondly let them learn from their mistakes. Trust me, a dedicated engineer will find a vantage point to see how their defenses fare, in order to build better the next time.
Regarding the repeated comment “a single explosive pack will break half the fortifications”:
First off, if the defenses are set well, then NO, they won’t.
Secondly, if the assault squad players are pushing as hard as they try to say they are, the explosive packs are more likely going to be used against infantry, rather than fortifications.
Third, the more fortifications they break up front with explosive packs, means they no longer have the explosive pack to use against infantry. A sandbag breaks due to absorbing the hit from a pack? So? The guys on the other side are still alive.
Fourth, if the engineers do their job correctly, there should still be shooting positions to use: cracks between sandbags or the slit in the upper part of a sandbagged window are EXTREMELY effective. If people make use of these, most of the people tossing packs won’t get close enough.
Lastly, barbwire placed in trenches is more durable than most people actually realize. Unless the pack lands in the trench, or right on the edge of it, the barbwire will stay intact. Combining this with Czech hedgehogs on THEIR side of the trench creates an EXTREMELY strong barrier. It funnels them in, stops them from jumping across as easily, and is actually very resistant to explosive packs.
All in all, engineers are very necessary, and the fortifications can be the make or break of a game.