The first unit of the brigade to reach New Guinea was the 563rd Engineer Boat Maintenance Battalion, which arrived at Milne Bay on 14 October 1943; the rest of the brigade followed in December 1943 and January 1944. The brigade became widely scattered, and never operated as a single unit, but Ogden retained control using a special radio net. It participated in the landings at Talasea, Aitape, Lingayen, and Borneo and Mindanao. The brigade returned to the United States on 20 December 1945, and was inactivated two days later.