555th Engineer Brigade (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=555^th Engineer Brigade


caption=555th Engineer Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia
countryUnited States of America
allegiance= Federal
type=Brigade
branch=Regular Army
dates=February 1943 - Present
specialization=Engineer Brigade
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garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto=|colors=
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The 555th Engineer Brigade is a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Lewis, Washington. The brigade is a subordinate unit of I Corps.

History

The 555th Engineer Brigade was first constituted 1 February 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1103d Engineer Combat Group and activated 25 February 1943 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Sailing for England from Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in January 1944, the 1103rd was assigned to the First United States Army in preparation for the Normandy invasion.

During the invasion of Normandy, the unit was assigned to the Third Army and crossed the English Channel during the period June 20-22, 1944. The 1103rd earned its first 5 battle stars landing, clearing and maintaining supply routes at Omaha and Utah beaches.

Transferred to General George S. Patton's First Army in August 1944, the 1103rd's mission included rear area support and security of captured bridges on the Loire River. As operations continued eastward, the 1103rd Engineers provided bridging for assault river crossings and breached the massive, cubicled Metz forts, enabling the allies to reduce severe enemy resistance there. In February 1945, the 1103rd supported the Ninth Army in the Ruhr cleanup on the northern sector, and proceeded to the Rhineland with XVIII Airborne Corps for the remainder of the war.

The 1103d Engineer Combat Group was inactivated 8 May 1946 and reactivated 20 January 1947 at Russelheim, Germany. On 5 March 1947, it was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment , 555th Composite Service Group. On 7 March 1949, it was further redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 555th Engineer Combat Group and allotted to the Regular Army on 16 February 1951. Finally, on 1 April 1953, it was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 555th Engineer Group (Combat).

Between 1946 and 1969, the unit saw duty at Kaufbeuren, Ettlingen and Karlsruhe, Germany. The 555th was inactivated on 25 June 1969. Personnel and equipment from the group joined with the 540th Engineer Group to form the 7th Engineer Brigade (VII Corps).

The 555th Combat Engineer Group was reactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington on 16 January 1992. The group began forming in August 1991 with a nucleus of soldiers from the inactivating 15th Combat Engineer Battalion, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized). The arrival of the 7th Engineer Brigade soldiers and equipment in October and December 1991 completed the group organization. The 864th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) and the 73rd Engineer Company (Assault Ribbon Bridge) were the first units assigned to the Group on 16 November 1991. The 87th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighters) and the 54th Engineer Detachment (Topographic) were assigned on 16 January 1992. The 14th Combat Engineer Battalion (Corps) (Wheeled) moved from Fort Ord, CA to Fort Lewis upon closure of Fort Ord and joined the group on 16 October 1993.

In January 2003, the 555th Combat Engineer Group received orders to deploy with the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) as a member of Task Force Ironhorse to the CENTCOM AOR in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Arriving in country on 11 April 2003, the group was immediately diverted to the seaport in Kuwait where they pushed forward more than 7,000 vehicles in less than one month while simultaneously conducting reception, staging, onward movement, and integration activities in Camp New Jersey, Kuwait. Moving into Iraq in late April, the Group established its Headquarters at Forward Operating Base Speicher, in Tikrit, Iraq. Since arriving, the Group has been decisively engaged providing assured mobility, force protection, and essential life support to all brigades in the task force, as well as spearheading efforts to help Iraqi's rebuild Iraq. Currently, the Group's footprint covers Task Force Ironhorse's entire area of operations, consisting of over convert|35000|sqmi|km2 of North Central Iraq.

During OIF, the Group served as the Headquarters of the Task Force Able, which was compromised of more than 3,000 engineers from the Regular Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. Task Force Able consisted of the Group Headquarters, the 5th Combat Engineer Battalion (Corps) (Mechanized), the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion (Corps) (Wheeled), the 223rd Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), the 565th Combat Engineer Battalion (Provisional), the 229th Construction Support Equipment Company, the 285th Construction Support Equipment Company, and the 463rd Firefighting Detachment.

Redeploying to Fort Lewis in March 2004, the 555th was redesignated the 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (Provisional) on 4 October 2004. The 555 MEB's mission is to conduct assured mobility, survivability, and general engineer support to a maneuver Task Force in order to sustain lines of communication, provide force protection, life support, and facilitate restoration of infrastructure.

On 6 October 2005, the Brigade headquarters deployed back to North Central Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom IV, attached to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in MND-North. From 11 October 2005 to 29 September 2006, the Triple Nickel and subordinated units provided assured mobility, troop construction, training to Iraqi Army engineers, base closure support, and munitions clearance to Task Force Band of Brothers in all five provinces of Northern Iraq. The Headquarters of the Triple Nickel redeployed to Fort Lewis in October 2006.

The brigade was scheduled to be inactivated and replaced by the 130th Engineer Brigade. But with the Army’s recent authorized increased end strength the 555th remains on active duty as a modular engineer brigade. The 130th Engineer Brigade became part of U.S. Army Pacific on June 16, 2007 and is scheduled to stand up in Hawaii in 2008. [http://www.lewis.army.mil/555/ 555th Engineer Brigade Homepage: History] , 555th Engineer Brigade Staff. Retrieved 04-10-2008]

Organization

The unit is composed of:
* Headquarters & Headquarters Company
* 1st Engineer Battalion, (Fort Riley, KS)
* 4th Engineer Battalion, (Fort Carson, CO)
* 5th Engineer Battalion, (Fort Leonard Wood, MO)
* 14th Engineer Battalion, (Fort Lewis, WA)
* 94th Engineer Battalion, (Fort Leonard Wood, MO)
* 864th Engineer Battalion (Heavy), (Fort Lewis, WA)

References

External links

* [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Eng/555EngineerBrigade.htm The Institute of Heraldry: 555th Engineer Brigade]
* [http://www.lewis.army.mil/555/ 555th Engineer Brigade Homepage]