page_title: 9th Engineer Battalion (United States)
section_title: The Balkans
hierarchical_section_title: 9th Engineer Battalion (United States) / History / The Balkans
caption_attribution_description: English: 1ST PLATOON AND ELEMENTS OF THE A&amp;O PLATOON, B COMPANY, 9th ENGINEER BATTALION, AVLB INSPECTION AT CAMP DEMI, BOSNIA 1996 ZOS
context_page_description: The 9th Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army that deploys to designated contingency areas and conducts combat and/or stability operations in support of a brigade combat team. It is a divisional mechanized combat engineer unit, composed of three line companies and a headquarters company. Its mission is to provide assured mobility, counter-mobility, general engineering, and survivability support with well trained sappers ready to deploy anywhere at any time. The unit's history spans service in 1917 in the US southwest, World War II in France and Germany, multiple deployments to the Balkans, and multiple deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is most famous for the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine River. As of 18 May 2015, the battalion exists as the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, GA under 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
context_section_description: The battalion was reactivated as part of the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany on 5 April 1996.  In October 1996, the battalion (minus Charlie Company) deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team as part of the covering force for Operation Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard. The battalion was split between Camp Demi and Camp Dobol. The battalion provided Engineer Support, supervising former warring factions (FWF) in the clearance, proofing, and marking of minefields. The battalion conducted extensive bridge, route, and minefield reconnaissance missions, destroyed weapons caches, served as a direct peacekeeping force, and breached at least one minefield unilaterally at Dr. Pepper Bypass at Omerbegovaca. The Battalion manned Checkpoint 34A (Jusici, Bosnia) alongside Russian soldiers in January 1997. The battalion was replaced by elements of the 82nd Engineers out of Bamberg, Germany, (Blue Babes) and returned to Ledward Barracks in Schweinfurt in April 1997. For its actions in Bosnia, the battalion was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award.
  The 9th Engineer Battalion was deployed to the Balkans as part of Kosovo Force (KFOR) during Operation Joint Guardian II in June 1999 under Task Force Falcon.  It was the first U.S. battalion to stand up at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The Companies operated in several villages which included Gnjilane, Cernica, Uglari, Podgrađe, and Stansior. Missions conducted included route reconnaissance, unexploded ordnance (UXO) reconnaissance, bunker busting, bunker building, checkpoint operations, obstacle construction, rebuilding an elementary school, and securing Pristina Airfield for President Bill Clinton's first visit to Kosovo. Reported accomplishments included six cordon & search missions, ten obstacle emplacement missions, three obstacle repair missions, 189 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) incident responses, ten post blast analyses, eight vertical construction projects, over 40 kilometers of road improvement, donated over 100 boxes of toys to three sponsored schools, and over 200 escort missions. The battalion returned to Schweinfurt in December 1999, and returned for a second tour in Kosovo from May to November 2002.  In August and September 2003, Alpha Company deployed to Bosnia in support of Task Force 1–18's Dynamic Response Exercise.
caption: 9E Soldiers inspect an AVLB crossing in the Bosnia Zone of Separation (ZOS), 1996
exif: {}