27th Engineer Battalion (United States)

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27th Engineer Battalion
27th Engineer Battalion coat of arms
Active	1918-present
Country	United States
Branch	Regular Army
Type	Engineer
Role	Forced Entry Expeditionary Engineering
Size	Battalion
Garrison/HQ	Fort Bragg
Nickname	Tiger Battalion
Motto	Omnes Res Bene Facere (To Do All Things Well)
Mascot	Tiger
Commanders
Notable commanders	LTC Leslie Sandvall (Commander at Myitkyina)
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 27th Engineer Battalion (C)(A) and its subordinate companies has often used the Fort Bragg/XVIII Airborne Corps standard of "Airborne!" for its motto.

The history of the 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT) (AIRBORNE) began on 16 January 1918 at Fort Meyer, VA, as the second battalion of the 37th Engineer Regiment. The unit entered World War I on the 10 July 1918, which its participation in the Saint Mihiel and Meuse Argonne campaigns. After the termination of hostilities, the unit was demobilized.

Twenty years later, World War II erupted, and on 14th July 1941, the 37th Engineer Regiment was reactivated at Camp Bowie, TX. The regiment was broken up in March of 1943. Its elements were then reorganized and redesignated. The lineage of the 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT) (AIRBORNE) springs from the 2nd Battalion, redesignated as the 209th Engineer Combat Battalion. The 209th disembarked at Bombay, India on 23 October 1943, and immediately set to work on the Ledo Road.

Subsequently, the 209th participated in the India-Burma Campaign. While a part of Merrill's Marauders (6th Ranger Battalion-5307th Composite), it participated in the surprise attack to seize a critical Myitkyina airfield. The battalion sustained 71 Killed in action and 179 wounded in action during the 70 day long battle. The 209th was inactivated at the conclusion of World War II, and in 1947, was redesignated as the 27th Engineer Combat Battalion.

Activated once more in 1950-1951 briefly at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and then at Ft. Campbell, KY, the unit on October 23, 1960 earned the nickname "Tiger Battalion" through its rugged field maneuvers and training. On July 21, 1966, the battalion entered the Vietnam War, serving honorably and effectively in 13 campaigns. On 31 January 1972, the battalion returned to the United States and relocated to Ft. Bragg, NC, where it became a non-divisional combat airborne engineer battalion.

On 23 August 1990, the battalion was again called upon, this time to Saudi Arabia, to support Operation Desert Shield. On the 24th of February 1991, the battalion, attached to the French 6th Light Armored Division, became the lead engineer battalion for XVIII Airborne Corps in its push up the western allied flank during Operation Desert Storm. On the 27th of March 1991, the 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT) (AIRBORNE) returned to its home at Ft. Bragg, NC.

The battalion deployed again in August of 1992 to Dade County, Florida, for hurricane Andrew relief. The battalion remained in Florida as part of Task Force All-American until 26 September 1992. The most recent deployment was in response to Operation Uphold Democracy in Port Au Prince, Haiti. The battalion deployed with the 20th Engineer Brigade from 22 September through 5 November 1994. The battalion worked with the 10th Mountain Division (Light) and established Base Camp Dragon and Castle.

The battalion colors bear a Presidential Unit Citation for action at Myitkyina Airfield, five Meritorious Unit Commendations for actions in Vietnam, one Meritorious Unit Commendation for actions in Southwest Asia, the Superior Unit award for AHAUS TAURA '90, the Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal (1st Class), and 19 campaign streamers.

In 1999, the Construction Platoon of HHC 27th ENG (C)(A) created a small memorial to its own Vietnam veterans outdoors near their mess hall in Smoke Bomb Hill, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

As of October 1999, they had the last/only Airborne well-driller detachment/platoon left in the United States Army.

Company B of the 27th is the only company in the United States Army that specializes in rough terrain airborne insertion.

In November 2001, the battalion deployed to Kosovo in support of Operations Joint Guardian. They have participated in many actions and projects in Iraq and Afghanistan since.

[edit] Known projects

Among other things, the Construction Platoon of HHC 27th ENG (C)(A) has built the following:

• A mock shoot-house for Urban actions training.
• A school, In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during the construction they not only endured Hurricane Bonnie (1998), but placed plaques for their security detail on the compound they stayed at.
• Renovated several offices in their own company.
• Built a rappel tower at a high school in North Carolina.
• Extended a runway at a municipal airport in North Carolina.