249th Engineer Battalion (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power)


caption=249th Engineer Battalion coat of arms
dates=1943-Present
country=United States
allegiance=
branch=Regular Army
Army Reserves
type=Engineer Battalion
role=
size=
command_structure=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
garrison=Fort Belvoir
current_commander=LTC Paul B. Olsen
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders=Colonel John K. Addison
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=“Black Lions”
patron=
motto=“Build, Support, Sustain”
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II Desert Storm Operation Provide Comfort Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Joint Endeavor Operation Northern Watch Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom
anniversaries=
decorations=Meritorious Unit Commendation Army Superior Unit Award (2) Order of the Day of Belgian Army for actions in the Ardennes
battle_honours=
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Distinctive Unit Insignia
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=The 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) is a versatile power generation battalion assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that provides commercial-level power to military units and federal relief organizations during full-spectrum operations. Additionally, the commander serves as the Commandant of the U.S. Army Prime Power School, the institution responsible for the development of Army and Navy power generation specialists, and as Director, U.S. Army’s Prime Power Generator Program, the organization charged with the rapid provision of Army generators to support worldwide requirements.

Motto

The battalion's motto is “Build, Support, Sustain”.

Units

*Headquarters and Headquarters Company – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
**Heavy Maintenance – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
*A Company – Fort Lewis, Washington ("Moving to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in 2008")
**1st Platoon – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
**2nd Platoon – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
**3rd Platoon – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
**4th Platoon – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
*B Company – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
**1st Platoon – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
**2nd Platoon – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
**3rd Platoon – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
**4th Platoon – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
*C Company – Fort Belvoir, Virginia ("Activation in 2008")
*Team Delta – (USAR)(Task Organization) – Providence, Rhode Island
**5th Platoon – Seattle, Washington
**6th Platoon – Attleboro, Massachusetts
**5th Platoon – Kittaning, Pennsylania
**6th Platoon – Attleboro, Massachusetts
*U.S. Army Prime Power School – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
*U.S. Army Prime Power Generator Program – Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Mission

On order, deploy worldwide to provide prime electrical power and electrical systems expertise in support of military operations and National Response Plan.

The 249th Engineer Battalion also supports other missions:

*Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) (Korea generator maintenance)
*Chinhae generator maintenance
*U.S. Army Corps of Engineers support to the National Response Plan (primarily hurricanes)
*Operation Bright Star (Egypt)
*Installation support missions

History

World War II

The Engineer Combat Battalion was constituted on 5 May 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas. The battalion was organized and under the command of only three captains. The other officers that were supplied to the unit were second lieutenants from the 1943 class of West Point. Shortly after, the battalion participated in two maneuvers in Louisiana, known as the “Louisiana Maneuvers”, there the battalion and its soldiers learned valuable lessons for war.

The 249th sailed from the United States to England in May of 1944, after equipping and preparing for combat, the unit landed on Utah Beach in August 1944 under the 1137th Engineer Combat Group commanded by Colonel George A. Morris. In October through November, the soldiers were specially trained on using the Bailey bridge in Trier, France.

Later that year on 18 December 1944, the battalion was ordered to move from the Saar River, where the unit was building a bridge, to the Ardennes, commonly called the Battle of the Bulge. Upon arriving to the front, the 249th was assigned to the 26th Infantry Division, already engaged and in defensive positions along the southeast corner of the Buldge. The battalion was used in an effort to block the German advance by deploying landmines, obstacles and establishing roadblocks.On 24 December, Brigadier General Harlan Harkness, the assistant division commander ordered the battalion to advance and secure the towns of Arsdorf and Bigonville to the north of the 26th Infantry Division, near the area of operations of the 4th Armored Division in order to relieve the occupied towns so the division could advance and attack the enemy line. Companies A and C were ordered into the town of Arsdorf where the battalion was engaged in fierce combat for two days, it was later found out that the town was never secured by the 4th Armored Division.

In February 1945, the battalion was selected for the special task to cross the Rhine River. On 19 March, the unit was assigned to the engineer task force charged to cross the Rhine at Oppenheirn. The effort was to get troops from 5th Infantry Division on assault boats across, and later construct a more stable pontoon bridge. The battalion met little resistance across the river and quickly began constructing the bridge. After an accident resulting in a raft being sunk, the battalion moved downriver to Mainz. After this bridge site was secure, the 249th was detached from the 1137th Engineer Group and was given the mission to secure and maintain the bridges on the Rhine River. In May 1945, when the war ended in Europe, the battalion was moved to Plattling, Germany where they built a camp for displaced refugees. In November 1945, the 249th Engineers was sent on their final orders to Camp Lucky Strike, near Marseilles, France and redeployed back to the United States and in turn was inactivated at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia on 27 November 1945.

Hurricane Katrina

The 249th deployed teams to the Gulf Region under Joint Task Force Katrina, working with contractors, and local and state entities to assess, they helped install and maintain emergency generators at critical facilities. [ [http://starbulletin.com/2005/08/31/news/story2.html Hawaii medical team deploys, Star-Bulletin staff] ] By 5 September 2005, the 17th Street Canal breach was closed. Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters had dropped over 200 sand bags, with approximately 125 sandbags breaking the surface of the water. After the emergency is over, plans called for the canal to be drained and the wall repaired.

There were three 42" mobile pumps staged and two 42" and two 30" pumps were placed at the sheet pile closure. Sewer & water board, electric utility and the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) were completing pump house inspection. When the pumps began operation, a 40-foot-wide opening was made in the sheet piling to allow water to flow out of the canal.

Lineage

*Constituted 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion

*Activated 5 May 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas

*Inactivated 28 November 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia

*Redesignated 23 March 1948 as the 442d Engineer Construction Battalion and allotted to the Organized Reserves

*Activated 8 April 1948 with Headquarters at Ames, Iowa

*(Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve)

*Inactivated 22 May 1950 at Ames and Council Bluffs, Iowa

*Redesignated 25 June 1952 as the 249th Engineer Construction Battalion

*Redesignated 9 December 1954 as the 249th Engineer Battalion; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army

*Activated 9 February 1955 in Germany

*Inactivated 15 October 1991 in Germany

*Activated 16 November 1994 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Honors

Campaign Participation Credit

World War II

# Northern France
# Rhineland
# Ardennes-Alsace
# Central Europe

outhwest Asia

# Defense of Saudi Arabia
# Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
# Cease-Fire

Decorations

*Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990-1991

*Army Superior Unit Award for 1994-1995

*Army Superior Unit Award for 1995-1996

*Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for actions in the Ardennes

ee also

*U.S. Army Prime Power School
*Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
*Fort Belvoir
*U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

References

* [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/branches/eng/0249enbn.htm 249th Engineer Battalion lineage and honors information as of 1 March 2004]
* [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Eng/249EngineerBattalion.htm Description of the Coat of Arms and Distinctive Unit Insignia]

External links

* [http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/249en/ Official 249th Engineer Battalion website]
* [http://www.belvoireagle.com/index.php/news-articles/prime_power_battalion_switches_command/ Prime Power Battalion switches command by Melinda Rodriguez, Fort Belvoir Eagle]
* [http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/bridge3.htm Bridge to the Past: 249th Engineer Battalion from Combat to Prime Power by COL John K. Addison, Retired]
* [http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/03/30/2479-prime-power-lights-up-anaconda/ Prime Power Lights Up Anaconda by Sgt. KaRonda Fleming, Public Affairs Office]
* [http://www.ima.army.mil/sites/pw/digest/PWD_JulyAug.pdf?bcsi_scan_988BB6C0F4FBF0F3=0&bcsi_scan_filename=PWD_JulyAug.pdf 249th Engineer Battalion Soldiers and IMA Provide Emergency Backup Power to Hawaii Wastewater Treatment Plant, by Sergeant First Class Christopher P. Woolley and Major Paul B. Olsen, P.E., "Public Works Digest", July-August 2004, p. 40.]
* [http://www.wood.army.mil/engrmag/PDFs%20for%20Jul-Sept%2003/Van%20Epps.pdf Prime-Power Considerations for Engineer Planners, by Captain Geoff Van Epps]
* [http://pps.belvoir.army.mil/ Official U.S. Army Prime Power School website]
* [http://www.wood.army.mil/ENGRMAG/Disaster%20Relief%20PDFs/Pung.pdf 249th Engineer Battalion Responds to Terrorist Attacks]
* [http://www.wood.army.mil/ENGRMAG/PDFs%20for%20Jul-Sept%2006/Pinchasin-Boyette.pdf Powering the Forces by Captain E.S. Pinchasin and Captain J.S. Boyette, September 2006]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/09/army_corps_battalion_generates_power/ Army Corps Battalion Generates Power by Thomas Farragher, Boston Globe, 9 September 2005]