20th Engineer Brigade
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| 20th Engineer Brigade | |
|---|---|
 20th E.B. Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |
|
| Active | |
| Country | USA |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Brigade |
| Role | Combat Engineers |
| Part of | XVIII Airborne Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Bragg |
The 20th Engineer Brigade is assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps.
[edit] The Patch
The castle is representative of the Engineer Branch insignia and its base is pointed in reference to the brigade's combat requirements of victory. The tower also represent the headquarters of the brigade.
The white areas, simulating carpenter squares, point in the four cardinal directions of the compass and are grouped around the castle alluding to the engineer combat and construction functions it serves. The four areas specifically refer to the headquarters basic mission of command, operational planning, operational supervision and coordination of activities.
The tower and white areas also simulate heavy construction (buildings, compounds, fortifications, bunkers, revetments, runways, roads, etc.) and on being placed on a square allude to the establishment of bases.
In addition, the four white areas also resemble the letter "V" for victory and the Roman numeral five (V) four of which make "20", the numerical designation of the brigade.
The spaces between the carpenter's square suggest a saltire which takes the shape of a letter "X". The saltire represents the lines of communication between the four areas of the basic mission. A saltire is the brigade symbol used on military maps.
The 'Airborne' arc above the patch was authorized for wear in the 1980's by qualified and non-qualified Parachutist soldiers. Prior to this time only holders of the Parachutist Badge were allowed to wear the blue Airborne arc.
[edit] Mission
The mission of the 20th Engineer Brigade is to be ready to provide rapid engineer support in response to any worldwide contingency mission. It has participated in 33 campaigns and earned 5 unit commendations. It's motto is Building Combat Power.
[edit] History
The lineage and honors of the 20th Engineer Brigade date back to the Civil War. First designated as the Battalion of Engineers on August 3, 1861, the battalion participated in 10 campaigns during the Civil War. Since that time, unit designations have changed many times as predecessors of the 20th Engineer Brigade have served in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Expedition, World War I and World War II.
On August 16, 1950 the brigade was first designated as the 20th Engineer Brigade and activated at Camp Leonard Wood, Missouri. It deployed overseas to France in November 1952 and established headquarters in Croix Chapeau. Comprised of two battalions and six separate companies, the brigade provided engineer construction support to the Base Section of the European COMMZ in southwestern France. In August 1954, it redeployed back to the United States and was activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on September 10, 1954. From that time until its inactivation on December 12, 1958, the brigade provided engineer support to the XVIII Airborne Corps.
In response to the build up of U.S. forces in the Republic of Vietnam, the brigade headquarters was reactivated May 1, 1967, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and deployed to Vietnam in August 1967. During the Vietnam conflict, the brigade numbered over 13,000 officers and enlisted men organized into three engineer groups, with 14 battalions and 31 separate companies and detachments. The brigade provided all non-divisional engineer support in Military Regions III and IV during eleven campaigns. Units cleared more than one-half million acres (2,000 km²) of jungle, paved 500 kilometers of highway, and constructed bridges totaling more than six miles in length. As U.S. forces were withdrawing from Vietnam, the brigade was inactivated September 20, 1971.
As the organization of the Army changed following Vietnam, the 20th Engineer Brigade was again reactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as an airborne brigade on June 21, 1974. Assigned as a subordinate command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, comprised of one airborne combat engineer battalion, a heavy construction battalion and four separate companies. Additionally, the 283rd Engineer Detachment (Terrain Analysis) provided terrain intelligence needs of the brigade's mission. Since that time the brigade and its subordinate units have supported the XVIII Airborne Corps, fulfilling critical combat engineer, construction, topographic, and bridging missions. As requirements and the engineer force structure changed, the brigade inactivated the combat heavy battalion in 1987 and activated another combat airborne battalion. In 1989, the 30th Engineer Battalion (Topographic) was added to the brigade.
Over the years, the brigade has provided engineer support to XVIII Airborne Corps and other Army commands. In addition to training, it has deployed in support of operations across the entire spectrum of conflict from disaster relief to combat operations. Most recently, the brigade was called to support the multinational response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The brigade grew to a 7,700 soldier force composed of three groups, ten battalions, four separate companies, and eight detachments in support of XVIII Airborne Corps during Operations Desert Shield and Storm. The brigade completed 1,500 combat heavy battalions equivalent days of work constructing roads, airfields, heliports, ammunition/fuel/water storage points, life support areas and forward landing strips, distributed over ten million maps, trained over 5,000 coalition engineers, and supported the French attack on Assalman airfield. During follow-on missions the brigade destroyed over 6000 enemy bunkers and one million tons of munitions.
The brigade currently consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Airborne), the 37th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Airborne), and the 30th Engineer Battalion (Topographic) based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Brigade also consists of the 19th Engineer Battalion (Construction) at Fort Knox, Kentucky and is re-activating the 326th Engineer Battalion (Combat) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and the 7th Engineer Battalion (combat) at Fort Drum, New York. Since September 11, 2001, it has participated in repeated operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
