The 130th Engineer Brigade is an engineer brigade of the United States Army headquartered in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii that provides engineering support to the United States Army Pacific. The brigade specializes in combat engineering, construction, and bridging operations.
The brigade traces its lineage back to an engineering regiment active during World War II, but the brigade itself did not see real-world action until the mid-1990s. As a part of the V Corps for most of the Cold War, the brigade was stationed in western Europe as a deterrent to a possible Soviet aggression and/or invasion. It finally saw action in 1991 when the Brigades 317th Engineer Battalion was deployed for Operation Desert Shield/Storm. The 317th provided support for the 1st Infantry Division during the ground war and its Delta Company received a Presidential unit citation. The brigade was also deployed in Operation Joint Endeavor, providing bridging assistance for the international force in the Bosnia region. Several years later, the brigade was the primary engineering component during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. With numerous difficulties, the brigade was forced to take on several unexpected missions during its year in Iraq. It saw a second tour in 2005 and a third in 2009 in which it once again was the primary engineering component in the country. The brigade deployed to Afghanistan as the Theater Engineer Brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2013 to 2014.
The brigade had a long history of supporting V Corps of United States Army Europe from 1969 until 2007, during which it was based at Warner Barracks in the Bavarian town of Bamberg, Germany. That ended when the brigade was relocated to Hawaii to support United States Army Pacific as part of a major restructuring plan of the United States Army. Reactivated in 2008, the brigade is currently based out of Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
Organization The 130th Engineer Brigade is a subordinate unit of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command which is operationally controlled by United States Army Pacific. It provides engineering assistance to United States forces stationed throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
The Brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Company is stationed at Schofield Barracks and permanently commands two subordinate battalions. The 11th Engineer Battalion located at Camp Humphreys, Korea, and the 84th Engineer Battalion located at Schofield Barracks. The total force of the brigade is approximately 1,600 personnel. As the brigade is modular in nature, it is able to take command and control of more units when deployed.
History Origins The 130th Engineer Brigade traces its lineage to the 1303rd Engineer General Service Regiment which saw action in World War II. The regiment was activated on 15 July 1943 at Camp Ellis, Illinois. It was deployed to the European Theatre where it participated in the Battle of Normandy and subsequent invasion of Germany before being transferred to the Pacific after V-E Day. The 1303rd received campaign streamers for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and the Asian-Pacific theatre. It was deactivated in Japan on 31 January 1946.
The regiment was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 130th Engineer Aviation Brigade in Japan on 8 July 1955 before being activated in September of that year. Only a few months later, this brigade was inactivated on 25 June 1956 without having seen any deployment.
On 16 June 1969, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 130th Engineer Aviation Brigade was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 130th Engineer Brigade and activated in Pioneer Kaserne, Hanau, Germany. The 130th Engineer Brigade was a consolidation of V Corps' 37th and 11th Engineer Groups into a single unit that would provide more efficient command and control. It was subsequently put under the command of V Corps, as part of United States Army Europe. The brigade received its shoulder sleeve insignia on 23 September 1969, and its distinctive unit insignia on 3 November 1969. Brigade members specially designed these with images alluding to the 1303rd Regiment's battle honors in World War II using scarlet and white, colors signifying US Army engineer units.
The brigade remained in Germany in support of V Corps for almost 25 years, on the Cold War frontline against the Warsaw Pact and Soviet 8th Guards Army. It underwent a shuffling of units as several of its battalions were reassigned elsewhere following the end of the Cold War in 1990, and it gained new battalions from units deactivating elsewhere. Though three of the brigade's subordinate battalions deployed to support Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the brigade headquarters itself remained in Germany along with the rest of V Corps. The operations were conducted by VII Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps, which had significant engineer assets of their own. Throughout the early 1990s, the brigade would continue to see units come and go from its command as they were transferred from the restructuring 18th Engineer Brigade and the deactivating 7th Engineer Brigade (United States).
Operation Joint Endeavour
From December 1995 to January 1996, all units in the brigade, except the 320th Engineer Company (Topographic), deployed to Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. The 320th Engineer Company deployed their topographic surveying platoon the following year. The 130th Engineer Brigade was tasked with building an assault bridge over the Sava River. Despite severe flooding conditions around the river and international pressure against such a structure, the brigade sent its units to begin work on the bridge. In December 1995, the 502nd Engineer Company deployed to Zupanja, Croatia and placed the historic ribbon bridge over the river. This bridge, at was the longest assault floating bridge in military history. The company operated 24-hours a day for three months crossing critical traffic in support of Task Force Eagle and NATO's Implementation Force. The company also assisted in the construction of a second bridge over the Sava River in Brčko-Gunja. The 502nd Engineer Company redeployed in May 1996, with a rafting section remaining at Slavonski Brod to support the force restructuring of Task Force Eagle. The 130th Engineer Brigade would go on to construct seven fixed bridges in support of the operation. During the deployment, the brigade was also tasked with creating and maintaining maps and overlays of the area of operations. It would produce over 300,000 such maps. The 130th Engineer Brigade was also tasked with repairing and maintaining much of the Task Force's infrastructure.
The brigade returned to Germany after the operation was complete. Throughout 1998–2002 it would train with German engineers, including German units from Lahnstein and Speyer, as well as the German Engineering School. The brigade also set up marksman competitions with German units, to give US soldiers the chance to earn the German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship, the German Sports Badge, and other badges. Over 2,500 of these badges would be earned by soldiers of the 130th over the years that it served in Germany. It also trained extensively in bridging operations at rivers throughout Germany. In summer of 2000, the brigade participated in a joint engineering exercise in Moldova with US Navy Seabees and the 505th Engineer Brigade of the North Carolina Army National Guard. The exercise was the first ever conducted in Moldova and featured numerous training scenarios as well as the construction of a medical clinic. Several other such exercises were conducted in nations throughout Europe including Albania, Romania, Georgia, Latvia, Bulgaria and Macedonia. They also performed annual humanitarian missions to Poland, working on community projects around the country with the assistance of Polish Armed Forces every September, as a training exercise.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The 130th Engineer Brigade mobilized for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was commanded by Colonel Gregg F. Martin.Degen et al., p. 532. As preparations were being made for Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 130th Engineer Brigade was placed in charge of the largest engineering force in the theater. This included seven different engineering battalions as well as several separate group and company-sized elements.Degen et al., p. 474. Units of the brigade were then deployed to Kuwait in early 2003, along with much of V Corps' staff.Degen et al., p. 101. They would provide command and assistance for the 3rd Infantry Division, 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division as they crossed the border to Iraq and attacked to the capitol region of Baghdad from the south.Degen et al., p. 87. Coupled with the landings of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team to the north, the operation would see the US Forces surround and destroy Iraqi forces in and around the capitol.Degen et al., p. 78.
The first obstacle facing the brigade was "the berm", a 10-kilometer-deep defensive obstacle complex that spanned Iraq's border with Kuwait.Degen et al., p. 104. The berm consisted of large tank ditches, berms of dirt, electrified fencing, and razor wire. It was decided that the 3rd Infantry Division's Brigade Combat Teams would breach this berm in eight locations and move through. The 130th Engineer brigade analyzed the berms and provided a layout of them to coalition forces.Degen et al., p. 105. The 130th Engineer Brigade then conducted the actual breaches in late March, using CEV, armored combat earthmovers to build roads for tracked vehicles, while armored vehicle-launched bridges set up for wheeled vehicles.Degen et al., p. 106. The 130th worked with Kuwaiti engineers to breach the berm in 12 places, and the 3rd Infantry Division's Brigade Combat Teams moved through, starting the Iraq War.Degen et al., p. 107. After combat forces moved through, the brigade and the Kuwaitis then sealed off ten of these breaches to prevent Iraqi forces from using then, leaving two open for US forces that followed from the 82nd and 101st.
After the breach, the 130th moved into Iraq. They provided support for the divisions as they advanced along the path to Baghdad. When a large sandstorm grounded aviation and large dust clouds became a problem, the brigade repurposed oil for use in dust abatement around airfields, allowing the 101st's fleet of AH-64 Apaches to take off and engage Iraqi ground forces on 24 March.Degen et al., p. 192. Retreating Iraqi units detonated many bridges to slow the 3rd Infantry Division's advance. The 130th Engineers conducted rapid repairs to allow the brigades to continue to move through.Degen et al., p. 206. The brigade supported combat elements moving through An Najaf, clearing roads and pathways of debris and obstacles to allow rapid movement through the city.Degen et al., p. 270. The 565th Engineer Battalion built the "birthday bridge" – the longest float bridge constructed in a combat theatre with a span of 580 meters – over the Tigris River in Tikrit on Saddam Hussein's birthday, 28 April 2003.