The 20th Engineer Brigade is a combat engineer brigade assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army stationed at Fort Liberty. Although the brigade was identified as an airborne unit, not all of its subordinate units were airborne qualified—despite the airborne tab as part of the unit patch. Soldiers of the 20th Engineer Brigade provide various supportive duties to other Army units, including construction, engineering, and mechanical work on other Army projects.
Though its predecessor units have lineage that dates back before the American Civil War, the formation was not formally designated as the 20th Engineer Brigade until its activation on 16 August 1950, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Deploying overseas in November 1952, it supported construction projects in southwestern France until its return to the US on 10 September 1954. From then until its inactivation on 12 December 1958, it provided support to XVIII Airborne Corps.
Reactivated on 1 May 1967, at Fort Liberty, the brigade deployed to Vietnam where it supported American forces for several years and a dozen campaigns. The brigade was deactivated on 20 September 1971, as American forces withdrew from the country.
Reactivated as an airborne brigade on 21 June 1974 at Fort Liberty, NC, the unit has since seen numerous overseas tours, including to Kuwait during the Gulf war, Kosovo, Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, and Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. It has also independently conducted various humanitarian missions in the United States and in other nations throughout the world.
Organization
The 20th Engineer Brigade currently consists of five engineer battalions headquartered throughout the eastern United States. The Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) as well as the 27th Engineer Battalion are headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina while the 19th Engineer Battalion (Construction Effects) is located at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The 92nd Engineer Battalion is located at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
The 307th Engineer Battalion, formerly assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, was reactivated effective 16 September 2010 by reflagging the existing 37th Engineer Battalion. In 2014 the 307th was transferred to the 3d Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The insignia was originally authorized on 30 June 1967. It was amended on 14 January 1975 to add the blue and white "Airborne" tab. The tab is part of the unit insignia and does not indicate whether an individual soldier is Airborne-qualified. Parachute wings on an individual soldier indicate Airborne-qualification. While the brigade headquarters was on jump status, some subordinate elements were not.
On 16 September 2009, the brigade's Airborne status was terminated and the "Airborne" tab on the brigade's shoulder sleeve insignia was removed.
History
Lineage
The lineage and honors of the 20th Engineer Brigade date back to the American Civil War. First designated as the Battalion of Engineers on 3 August 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. Though it was not officially designated as the 20th Engineer Brigade during all of these wars, the Brigade received campaign participation credit for all of these campaigns, and has numerous campaign streamers for what its previous incarnations did during these conflicts.
On 16 August 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. Comprising 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 Liberty, North Carolina, on 10 September 1954. From that time until its inactivation on 12 December 1958, the brigade provided engineer support to the XVIII Airborne Corps.