 | This article'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2013) |
| 36th Engineer Brigade | |
|---|---|
 36th Engineer Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1933–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Role | Combat engineering |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | III Armored Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Hood,Texas |
| Engagements | World War II Korean War Gulf War Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom |
| Decorations | Meritorious Unit Commendation[1] Five Awards; Korea 1953, Korea 1954, Southwest Asia 1990–1991 Republic of KoreaPresidential Unit Citation (Korea 1950–1952), Iraq 2005–2006, Afghanistan 2007–2008 |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
| Combat Service Identification Badge |  |
The36th Engineer Brigade is acombat engineerbrigade of theUnited States Army based atFort Hood,Texas. The brigade is a subordinate unit ofIII Armored Corps.[2]
The unit is responsible for providingcommand and control to subordinate Engineer units. The unit was formerly designated as the 36th Engineer Group, and before that as the 36th Engineer Regiment. The 36th is the only unit that has been organized in all three command structures that are commanded by aColonel in the U.S. Army;regiment, group, andbrigade.
With a lineage that dates back to 1933, the 36th Engineer Brigade saw action in theNorth African Campaign and theItalian Campaign, and it eventually participated it the invasion of mainland Europe. Trained inamphibious assault, the brigade saw its role change several times, from combat engineers to front lineinfantry. It would later serve in theKorean War, earning several unit decorations. Recently, it has seen tours of duty in bothIraq andAfghanistan.
The 36th Engineer Brigade is part ofIII Armored Corps, and consists of aHeadquarters and Headquarters Company, which is located atFort Hood, Texas and three Engineer Battalions:[3] 5th Engineer Battalion,20th Engineer Battalion, and the62nd Engineer Battalion.[4]
The brigade was the first of the US Army's Engineer Brigades to be converted to a modular design.[5] This means that the Brigade can be deployed and sustain itself independently, without adivision orcorps level command supporting it. Additionally, the brigade's design allows it to take command of additional units within a theater of operations, allowing for greater versatility on the battlefield.[6]
The 36th Engineer Brigade was originally constituted on 1 October 1933[7] as the 36th Engineer Regiment and activated on 1 June 1941 atPlattsburgh Barracks, New York.[5] During World War II the 36th Engineer Regiment consisted of nine combat engineer companies trained foramphibious assault and support operations. Because of this training, the unit's distinctive insignia was designed with aseahorse on a red and whiteshield.[5]
The brigade was deployed to theNorth African Campaign in 1942, participating inOperation Torch, where it conducted its first amphibious assault, and earning the brigade its firstcampaign streamer for the battle aroundAlgeria andFrench Morocco.[5] It would continue supporting Allied units as they pushedAxis forces out of North Africa during theTunisia Campaign.[7]
The brigade would then participate in theBattle of Sicily, conducting its second amphibious landing along with the7th Army. It would push on with the rest of the force, eventually forcing German and Italian forces off of the island. The Brigade followed in the quick invasion of mainland Italy soon after, with anamphibious assault in the Naples-Foggia area, followed closely by another landing in support ofOperation Shingle, nearAnzio. For fifty days, during Operation Shingle, soldiers of the brigade held 7 miles (11 km) of the front line and earned the distinction by the German army as "The Little Seahorse Division".[5]
The unit subsequently participated in the invasion of southern France in 1944, code namedOperation Dragoon, conducting its fifth and final amphibious assault of the war.[5][8] It would support Allied units through three additional campaigns up until the end of the war; theRhineland Campaign, theArdennes-Alsace Campaign, and theCentral Europe Campaign.[7]
On 15 February 1945, the unit was redesignated as the 36th Engineer Combat Group,[7] and following World War II it reorganized atFort Lewis,Washington. The unit was broken up, its three battalions redesignated as the 2826th Combat Engineer Battalion, the 2827th Combat Engineer Battalion, and the 2828th Combat Engineer Battalion, respectively. They then assumed separate lineage, and the Regiment itself was inactivated on 30 November 1946 in Austria.[7]
Reactivated on 5 May 1947 atFort Lewis,Washington,[7] the unit officially became the 36th Engineer Group on 10 April 1953.[7] During the Korean War, the 36th Engineer Combat Group consisted of four engineer battalions and four additional engineer companies, earning twoMeritorious Unit Citations and theRepublic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.[5][8] It served in the Korean theater from 1950 until 1954, earning nine campaign streamers while supporting other army units in numerous engineering and construction projects, including rebuilding the Han river bridge just outside Seoul.[7] During its assignment, the group was assigned toIX Corps of theEighth United States Army.[9] Projects that the group and its subordinate battalions completed includedPOW facilities, allied bases, andminefield clearing.[9] Along with the rest of IX Corps, the group was forced back behind thePusan Perimeter and remained stranded there until theIncheon Landings were conducted byX Corps. The group would follow IX Corps for the remainder of the Korean war.[10]
After its withdrawal from Korea, the unit did not participate in any notable campaigns until its inactivation on 30 May 1972 at Fort Lewis.[7] It was reactivated shortly after on 1 July 1973 as the 36th Engineer Group (Construction) atFort Benning,Georgia.[7] It would see no conflicts until the start of theGulf War. In 1989, it participated in "Exercise Camino De La Paz," an unscheduled exercise conducted in the first half of 1989 on theOsa Peninsula ofCosta Rica.[11]
During the 1991 Gulf War, the 36th Engineer Group (Construction) fought in support of the24th Infantry Division's rapid attack to the Euphrates. The unit also deployed in support of peace enforcement missions duringOperation Continue Hope in Somalia andOperation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. Most recently, the 36th Engineer Group (Construction) has twice deployed to Iraq in support ofOperation Iraqi Freedom, executing a wide variety of construction missions in support of combat operations, including the construction of enemy prisoner of war camps, theater convoy support centers, and soldier life support areas.[5] Some of the soldiers from the unit were still in Iraq as late as October 2007.[12]
On 16 June 2006, the unit was reorganized and redesignated the 36th Engineer Brigade.[7][8] and reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas as the United States Army's first modular engineer brigade headquarters.[5] The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom in 2007, holding a ceremony at III Corps Headquarters,casing its unit colors in preparation for its deployment on 28 February 2007.[13][14] The brigade supports operations conducted by the82nd Airborne Division. It is part of Task Force Rugged, and among its duties are training Afghan citizens in skilled labor and other nationbuilding operations.[15] Most of the brigade served in Afghanistan since February 2007, while other elements of the unit served in Iraq.[16] While in Afghanistan, the brigade headquarters were stationed atForward Operating Base Sharana. It also began to undertake missions againstImprovised Explosive Devices, a problem which had originated in Iraq but since became more of a threat in Afghanistan.[17][18]
| Ribbon | Award | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation | 1950–1952 | for service in Korea |
 | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1953 | for service in Korea |
| Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1954 | for service in Korea |
| Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1990–1991 | for service in Southwest Asia |
| Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2005–2006 | for service in Iraq |
| Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2007–2008 | for service in Afghanistan |
| Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2010–2011 | for service in Iraq |
| Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| World War II | Algeria-French Morocco (withArrowhead) | 1942 |
| World War II | Tunisia | 1942–1943 |
| World War II | Sicily (with Arrowhead) | 1943 |
| World War II | Naples-Foggia (with Arrowhead) | 1943 |
| World War II | Anzio (with Arrowhead) | 1943 |
| World War II | Rome-Arno | 1944 |
| World War II | Southern France (with Arrowhead) | 1944 |
| World War II | Rhineland | 1944–1945 |
| World War II | Ardennes-Alsace | 1944–1945 |
| World War II | Central Europe | 1945 |
| Korean War | UN Offensive | 1950 |
| Korean War | CCF Intervention | 1950 |
| Korean War | First UN Counteroffensive | 1950 |
| Korean War | CCF Spring Offensive | 1951 |
| Korean War | UN Summer-Fall Offensive | 1951 |
| Korean War | Second Korean Winter | 1951–1952 |
| Korean War | Korea, Summer-Fall 1952 | 1952 |
| Korean War | Third Korean Winter | 1952–1953 |
| Korean War | Korea, Summer 1953 | 1953 |
| Gulf War | Defense of Saudi Arabia | 1991 |
| Gulf War | Liberation and Defense of Kuwait | 1991 |
| Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan (CSES) | 2002–2003 |
| Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraq | 2006–2007 |
| Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan | 2007–2008 |