18th Engineer Brigade (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 18th Engineer Brigade


caption=18th Engineer Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia
dates= 1921-07-29 - 1946-06-01
1947-06-15 - 1949-03-16
1954-10-25 - 1963-03-26
1965-07-16 - 1971-09-20
1977-10-21 - 1992-10-15
2004-06-06 - Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army
type= Combat Engineer Brigade
role= Combat Engineers
size= Brigade
command_structure= V Corps
garrison=
garrison_label=
equipment=
equipment_label=
nickname=
patron=
motto="Essayons et edifions"
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II
Vietnam War
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Enduring Freedom
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=
current_commander=COL Matthew H. Russell
current_commander_label=Commander
ceremonial_chief=CSM Micheal L. Buxbaum
ceremonial_chief_label=Command Sergeant Major
colonel_of_the_regiment=
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=
notable_commanders=
*John W. Morris
*Walter K. Wilson, Jr.
*Joe N. Ballard
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Distinctive Unit Insignia
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=The 18th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) is a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army. It is currently a subordinate unit of V Corps and is headquartered at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany. Soldiers of the 18th Engineer Brigade provide various supportive duties to other Army units, including construction, engineering, and mechanical work on other Army projects.

The Unit served in Europe during World War II, a fact which was included on its Distinctive Unit Insignia when the 20th Engineer Brigade received one on February 10, 1966. The four corners of the crenelated square allude to their four campaigns in World War II, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe.

The 18th Engineer Brigade later deployed to Vietnam, during the Vietnam War, where it saw six years of service and supported fourteen campaigns, building infrastructure for military and civilian projects alike. The unit participated in a massive number of road construction projects and airfield constructions, supporting numerous units and operating in areas all over Vietnam. After serving in Vietnam, the unit became attached to the United States Army's European branch, the 7th Army. It has since undertaken and completed numerous projects in support of US Army, Europe, as well as participated in the conflicts of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Organization

The US Army's 18th Engineer Brigade is a subordinate unit of V Corps, a large contingent of soldiers stationed throughout Europe. The brigade has been assigned to Europe since February 2007.Spc. Sean C. Finch [http://www.wood.army.mil/ENGRMAG/PDFs%20for%20Apr-Jun%2007/secure%20pdfs/Finch%20secure.pdf 18th Engineer Brigade Joins V Corps] , V Corps Public Affairs Staff. Retrieved on 2008-03-15] The brigade is headquartered at Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany. [ [http://www.18engineers.army.mil/ 18th Engineer Brigade Homepage] , 18th Engineer Brigade Staff. Retrieved on 2008-02-10] The brigade's current commander is Colonel Matthew H. Russell, while its Command Sergeant Major is Michael L. Buxbaum.

In addition to its Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Special Troops Battalion which are located at Campbell Barracks, two subordinate engineer battalions are permanently attached to the 18th Engineer Brigade: the 15th Engineer Battalion headquartered at Schweinfurt, Germany, and the 54th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Mechanized) headquartered at Bamberg, Germany. However, the 18th Engineer Brigade is designed to be able to command additional subordinate units while operating in a theater of operations.

History

World Wars

The lineage of the 18th Engineer Brigade can be traced back to July 29, 1921, when its predecessor unit, the 347th Engineers (General Service), was first constituted as an Organized Reserves unit. The 347th Engineers would not be activated for almost twenty years, until the United States began its military buildup following its entrance into World War II. [http://www.18thengineerbrigade.org/history.html 18th Engineer Brigade Society: Unit History] , 18th Engineer Brigade Society. Retrieved on 2008-03-02] The unit was ordered into active military service on May 6, 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.

On August 1, 1942, the unit was reorganized and re-designated as the 347th Engineer General Services Regiment. The Regiment deployed to England in February 1944. It entered combat in France on June 29, 1944 and participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns of World War II, [ [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Eng/18EngineerBrigade.htm The Institute of Heraldry: 18th Engineer Brigade] , United States Army. Retrieved on 2008-03-10] earning its first Meritorious Unit Commendation. After V-E Day, the Regiment remained on occupation duty in Germany until it was inactivated on June 1, 1946.

On June 15, 1947, the Regiment was reactivated in the organized reserves headquartered in Salt Lake, Utah, and remained there until it was again inactivated on 16 March, 1949. On October 25, 1954, the 347th Engineer General Services Regiment was re-designated the 18th Engineer Brigade for the first time and activated as a Regular Army unit at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where it remained until inactivation on March 26, 1963.

Vietnam War

The 18th Engineer Brigade was reactivated on July 16, 1965 at Fort Bragg, N.C. and prepared for deployment to Vietnam. [http://www.18engineers.army.mil/#history 18th Engineer Brigade Homepage: History] United States Army. Retrieved on 2008-02-10] The 18th Engineer Brigade entered Vietnam in September of 1965 with the responsibility for overseeing all Army Engineering operations in Vietnam until the establishment of the U.S. Army Engineer Command, Vietnam, in late 1966.

Under the command of Colonel C. Craig Cannon, the Brigade prepared for deployment to Vietnam. The Advance Party of the 18th Engineer Brigade arrived at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Air Base on September 3, 1965. Three days later, Brigadier General Robert R. Ploger assumed command of the Brigade. Within two weeks, the Brigade Headquarters at Tan Son Nhut was fully operational. It had been preceded by the 35th Engineer Group, which built Cam Ranh Bay on a peninsula of sand and in a hostile environment. The brigade assumed responsibility for I Corps and II Corps in the northern part of South Vietnam. The 937th Engineer Group (Combat) at Qui Nhon was assigned to the Brigade in June 1966.

Its initial activities centered around rapid development of the port facilities, ammunition dumps, base camps and airfields necessary to support the build-up of US combat forces rapidly deploying to Vietnam. During its initial construction phases it also provided support for combat search and destroy missions and defensive operations with the 101st Airborne Division near Ninh Hoa and the 4th Infantry Division at Pleiku.

An ammunition storage area was completed at Cam Ranh Bay on January 18, 1969. It took two years for the Brigade to build this complex, which covered over convert|191700|sqft|m2. English Airfield was completed on March 21, 1969 near Qui Nhon. The runway of this field was convert|3600|ft|m long, convert|60|ft|m wide, and was complete with a 150—foot by 150—foot turn around area.

On May 3, 1969, Brigadier General John W. Morris assumed command of the Brigade. Soon afterwards, Brigade engineers finished construction of a cold storage warehouse at the Qui Nhon Support Command, the first of its kind in Vietnam. Construction of the Tandem Switch Building at Vung Chau Mountain was also completed about this time. This convert|4000|sqft|m2|sing=on building housed almost USD|1 million dollars of communications equipment. During the summer months of 1969, Brigade engineers completed the convert|200000|oilbbl|m3|sing=on capacity Air Force tank farm at Cam Rahn Bay, after laying over convert|12000|ft|m of pipe to complete the project.

The beginning of 1970 saw the initiation of the 18th Engineers Brigade’s Operation Last Chance, a program of command emphasis and organization for motivation and success of that years engineer operations. The goals of the program were to maintain primary missions of the combat support as well as insure the completion of the many projects planned for the 1970 construction operations.

February 1970 saw the completion of a project begun in the summer of the previous year at Qui Nhon that replaced a temporary floating steel dock with a more permanent structure which could accommodate six ammo barges at once. The port of Qui Nhon became one of the few supply points where ammunition for the First and Second Military Regions could be handled in bulk quantities simultaneously. [http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0510120 Senior Officer Debriefing Report] , Office of the US Army Adjutant General. Retrieved on 2008-03-15] Prior to the completion of this new facility, the handling of ammunition there had to take place in other areas, near public housing and fuel storage depots.

On May 3, 1970, Brigadier General Henry C. Schrader assumed command of the 18th Engineer Brigade. Shortly after this, the most difficult stretch of the roadway that the Brigade had ever undertaken—the 27 kilometer stretch of National Highway QL-11 South in the central highlands region known as Tây Nguyên, commonly referred to as the "Good View Pass", was completed. This road had been carved out from a dangerous mountain pass to a national road in less that one year.

The Lines of Communication Program, which represents the most significant contribution that the 18th Engineer Brigade had made to the economic growth of Vietnam, consisted of about 1,500 kilometers of road upgrade from 1967 to 1972. After a slow start in the beginning of this work, the Brigade finished some 560 kilometers of highway reconstruction, and improvement in 1970 and another 450 kilometers were scheduled for completion in 1971 by Brigade units.

In conjunction with the Brigade efforts on the Lines of Communication Program, 18th Brigade engineers was involved in a program of affiliation with ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) engineers. In addition to continuous training programs which the Brigade established to train ARVN equipment operators, the engineers of the 18th provided technical assistance and logistical support to several projects undertaken by the Vietnamese Army, most notably in the construction of the convert|3600|ft|m|sing=on bridge at Tuy Hoa. Upon its completion and opening on February 13, 1971, this bridge became the longest overpass of its type ever constructed in the Republic of Vietnam. It would be one of 77 such bridges that the Brigade would construct in the country.

In support of the XXIV Corps, the 18th Brigade mounted what was described as the "most ambitious engineering effort in Vietnam" at the end of January 1971. The Brigade engineers pushed a roadway across the rugged terrain of the northern Quang Tri Province to the Laotian border and constructed a convert|3200|ft|m|sing=on by convert|60|ft|m|sing=on airfield in little more than a month at Khe Sanh. This construction effort was part of Operation Dewey Canyon II.

On September 20, 1971 the Brigade was inactivated. Over the six years that it served in Vietnam, the 18th Engineer Brigade was involved in 14 of 17 campaigns, earning four Meritorious Unit Commendations.

Post Vietnam

On October 21, 1977 the 18th Engineer Brigade was reactivated at Karlsruhe, Germany. For 15 years, the Brigade served as the principal construction brigade for the United States Army, Europe and 7th Army. During this period, the Brigade performed numerous construction, rehabilitation and renovation missions in military communities and training areas of the 7th Army. These included an extensive range upgrade of the Grafenwohr Major Training Area in the early 80's and the construction of the Range 23 complex at the Wildflecken Major Training Area in 1989 and 1990. Additionally, the Brigade was responsible for providing topographic support to the European Theater.

In 1990 and 1991, during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the 18th Engineer Brigade provided rail and sea deployment support to the VII Corps and, in addition, deployed a Combat Heavy Battalion and Topographic Company to support VII Corps operations in Southwest Asia. In April 1991, the Brigade Headquarters, along with a subordinate Combat Heavy Battalion, deployed to Zakho, Iraq in support of Operation Provide Comfort. While there, the Brigade coordinated all engineer efforts of a Joint and Combined engineer force providing construction and relief support to the Kurdish refugees. The 18th Engineer Brigade was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for its action during Operation Provide Comfort. As part of the reduction of forces in Europe, the Brigade was inactivated on October 15, 1992.

Present day

On October 18, 2002 the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army approved the USAREUR and 7th Army Concept Plan to activate the Theater Army Engineer Brigade (TAEB). Today, the 18th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) marks the return to service of the only active duty TAEB. The unit was officially reactivated on June 6, 2004 [ [http://18thengineerbrigade.org/18threact.html 18th Engineer Brigade Reactivation Information] , 18th Engineer Brigade Society Staff. Retrieved on 2008-03-15] [http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/eng/0018enbde.htm Lineage and Honors, 18th Engineer Brigade] , United States Army. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.]

The 18th Engineer Brigade was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in April 2005. Its primary areas of operation were in and around Bagram, Kandahar, and Sarana, among other locations. The commander of the Brigade, Colonel Matthew H. Russell issued a memorandum to all soldiers that "preventable accidents" were the largest source of personnel and material losses during the deployment, enforcing a new safety policy throughout the brigade intended to prevent these from occurring. [Col. Matthew Russell [http://www.18engineers.army.mil/Publications/18Engr_Policy-025_Safety.pdf Commander's Memorandum: 19 September, 2006] , Commanding Officer, 18th Engineer Brigade. Retrieved on 2008-03-15]

In 2007, the 18th Engineer Brigade was reassigned to V Corps, taking the place of the 130th Engineer Brigade, which returned to the United States. Some of the 130th's units either merged or were reassigned to the 18th Brigade. During this time, the unit participated in road work, construction of Forward Operating Bases, and other activities that enhanced training readiness in and around Campbell Barracks.

In 2008, the unit was notified of another upcoming deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It commands three to five engineer battalions in Multinational Division - North. The battalions support individual Brigade Combat Teams of other units in "Task Force Iron," a combat group led by the 1st Armored Division, another V Corps unit. They are working to rebuild Iraqi infrastructure, with the cooperation of Iraqi engineers, including construction of roads, airfields, and land moving. [ [http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/03/04/7736-18th-engineer-brigade-survey-teams-provide-real-world-expertise-while-training-for-iraq-deployment/ 18th Engineer Brigade survey teams provide real-world expertise while training for Iraq deployment] , Dave Melancon, US Army Europe Public Affairs. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.] The unit cased its colors on April 29, 2008, formally signifying the beginning of its deployment to Iraq. [ [http://www.army.mil/-images/2008/04/29/15032/ Brigades set up Task Forces to take care of Soldiers, Families during deployments] , United States Army Image Gallery. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.]

Honors

Unit decorations

Campaign streamers

Notable soldiers

Several soldiers of the 18th Engineer Brigade have gone on to achieve further notability. Three soldiers from the 18th Engineer Brigade have gone on to serve as Chief of Engineers, the head of the US Army's Corps of Engineers, this is the highest number of Chiefs of Engineers to come from a single engineer brigade. These three soldiers include Lieutenant Generals Joe N. Ballard, [ [http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/coe4.htm#52 Portraits of Chief Engineer Joe N. Ballard] , United States Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.] John W. Morris, [ [http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/coe4.htm#47 Portraits of Chief Engineer John W. Morris] , United States Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.] and Walter K. Wilson, Jr.. [ [http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/coe4.htm#43 Portraits of Chief Engineer Walter K. Wilson, Jr.] , United States Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved on 2008-03-15] In addition to commanding the brigade during the 1987-1990 timeframe while it was stationed outside of Karlsruhe, FRG (Federal Republic of Germany, now simply "Germany"), LTG Ballard had also commanded a company in one of the brigade's subordinate battalions, the 864th Engineer Battalion, during its earlier years in Viet Nam.

References

External links

* [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Eng/18EngineerBrigade.htm The Institute of Heraldry: 18th Engineer Brigade]
* [http://www.18engineers.army.mil/#history 18th Engineer Brigade Homepage]