20th Engineer Brigade ( United States ) The 20th Engineer Brigade is a combat engineer brigade assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps of the United States Army stationed at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . 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 Bragg , the brigade deployed to Vietnam where it supported American forces for several years and a dozen campaigns . The brigade was inactivated on 20 September 1971 , as American forces withdrew from the country . Reactivated as an airborne brigade on 21 June 1974 at Fort Bragg , 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 . 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 seven engineer battalions headquartered throughout the eastern United States . The Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company ( HHC ) as well as the 27th Engineer Battalion ( Combat ) ( Airborne ) , the 307th Engineer Battalion ( Combat ) ( Airborne ) , and the 30th Engineer Battalion ( inactivation ceremony held on 2 July 2008 ) are all headquartered at Fort Bragg , North Carolina while the 19th Engineer Battalion ( Construction Effects ) is located at Fort Knox , Kentucky . The 11th Engineer Battalion is located at Fort Benning , Georgia , the 92nd Engineer Battalion is located at Fort Stewart , Georgia and the 7th Engineer Battalion ( Combat ) is located further to the north at Fort Drum , New York . The 307th Engineer Battalion , formerly assigned to the 82d Airborne Division , was reactivated effective 16 September 2010 by reflagging the existing 37th Engineer Battalion . 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 streamer s 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 Bragg , 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 . Vietnam War and aftermath . In response to the build up of U . S . forces in the Republic of Vietnam , the brigade headquarters was reactivated 1 May 1967 , at Fort Bragg and deployed to Vietnam in August 1967 . During the Vietnam War , the brigade numbered over 13 , 000 officers and enlisted men organized into three engineer groups , with 14 battalions and 31 separate companies and detachments . One of these soldiers , Al Gore , would later become Vice President of the United States . The brigade provided all non - divisional engineer support in Military Regions III and IV during eleven campaigns . Units cleared more than one - half million acres ( 2 , 000 km² ) of jungle , paved 500 kilometers of highway , and constructed bridges totaling more than six miles ( 10 km ) in length . As American forces were withdrawing from Vietnam , the brigade was inactivated 20 September 1971 . As the organization of the Army changed following Vietnam , the 20th Engineer Brigade was again reactivated at Fort Bragg , North Carolina as an airborne brigade on 21 June 1974 . Assigned as a subordinate command of the XVIII Airborne Corps , which comprised one airborne combat engineer battalion , a heavy construction battalion and four separate companies . Additionally , the 283rd Engineer Detachment ( Terrain Analysis ) provided terrain intelligence needs of the brigade ' s mission . Since that time the brigade and its subordinate units supported the XVIII Airborne Corps , fulfilling critical combat engineer , construction , topographic , and bridging missions . The brigade participated in the recovery efforts following the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 . Over 300 members of the unit were dispatched to New York State to help with recovery efforts . As requirements and the engineer force structure changed , the brigade inactivated the combat heavy battalion in 1987 and activated another combat airborne battalion . In 1989 , the 30th Engineer Battalion ( Topographic ) was added to the brigade . Over the years , the brigade has provided engineer support to XVIII Airborne Corps and other Army commands . In addition to training , it has deployed in support of operations across the entire spectrum of conflict from disaster relief to combat operations . Gulf War . The brigade was called to support the multinational response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 . The brigade grew to a 7 , 700 soldier force composed of three groups , ten battalions , four separate companies , and eight detachments in support of XVIII Airborne Corps during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm . The brigade completed 1 , 500 combat heavy battalions equivalent days of work constructing roads , airfields , heliports , ammunition / fuel / water storage points , life support areas and forward landing strips , distributed over ten million maps , trained over 5 , 000 coalition engineers , and supported the French attack on Assalman airfield . During follow - on missions the brigade destroyed over 6000 enemy bunkers and one million tons of munitions . After the Gulf War , elements of the brigade were dispatched to Haiti on a humanitarian mission . The 20th Engineer Brigade was assigned to construct base camps , improve the Haitian infrastructure , participate in humanitarian service projects , and assist with the reestablishment of public services , with a goal of improving overall quality of life within the country . Since 11 September 2001 , it has participated in repeated operations in Kosovo , Afghanistan , and Iraq . First Iraq tour . In November 2004 the brigade headquarters deployed to Camp Victory , Iraq in support of OIF 04 - 06 . The brigade grew to a size of 6 , 100 personnel in of three brigade headquarters companies , seven battalions , six separate companies and nine detachments . The brigade served as the Multi - National Corps - Iraq corps - level engineer headquarters for all echelon - above - division engineers in Iraq , providing command and control for general support combat and construction engineer missions across the country . During its deployment , the 20th Engineer Brigade patrolled 57 , 950 kilometers of roads for Improvised Explosive Device s , expanded 14 bases in support of the MNC - I basing plan ; emplaced or maintained 16 bridges ; expanded detention capacity for 6 , 000 detainees ; trained over 53 , 000 coalition soldiers on explosives hazards awareness ; reduced over 11 , 000 caches and over 80 , 000 tons of explosive munitions . Other missions included repair of an airfield known as " Key West " by light equipment elements , support of the Long Range Surveillance Detachment , 313th Military Intelligence Battalion , 82nd Airborne Division based in Zakhu , located in Iraqi Kurdistan . Another task for the Brigade was to assist British engineers in a systematic mapping of the entire nation and creating an Iraqi Geospatial Reference System , in order to make national reconstruction easier and more organized . The 20th Brigade suffered at least one casualty during its tour in Iraq , with a soldier killed by an enemy Improvised Explosive Device on 22 August 2005 in Ad Dwar when an explosive device destroyed his vehicle . During its deployment to Iraq , the Unit assumed command of several additional battalions from the Army National Guard , forcing existing formations of the unit to cope with additional responsibilities . Seemingly elements of the 107th and 507th Engineer Battalions of the Michigan Army National Guard and the 194th Engineer Brigade of the Tennessee National Guard were part of the brigade . Second Iraq tour . The brigade again deployed to Iraq for the OIF 07 - 09 rotation . This time , the brigade was headquartered in Balad , Iraq . The brigade was given Husky Mine Detection vehicle s and Buffalo mine protected carrier vehicle s for the deployment . The brigade was responsible for providing combat , geospatial and general engineering and reconstruction operations in partnership with Provincial Reconstruction Teams , Civil Service Corps , Sons of Iraq and Iraqi Army engineers , as well as training and assisting the Iraqi Army and provincial engineers in the rebuilding of the infrastructure of Iraq . As of May 2008 , the brigade had constructed 10 major bridges and destroyed or captured IED cells in nine of the country ' s provinces . During the deployment it was visited by Lieutenant General Lloyd J . Austin III , the commanding general of Multi - National Corps Iraq . The brigade was scheduled to return to Fort Bragg in the fall of 2008 , to be replaced by the 555th Engineer Brigade . This was completed during a transfer of authority ceremony on 29 September 2008 . The brigade then began redeploying to Fort Bragg , completing its return by November 2008 . A year later , in August 2009 , the brigade held a ceremony promoting dozens of its soldiers to the rank of Sergeant . Notable soldiers . Numerous soldiers who have served in the 20th Engineer Brigade have later achieved fame for various reasons , most of them having served the 20th in Vietnam . Former 20th Engineer Brigade soldiers and engineers include Chief of Engineers Robert B . Flowers , Governor of the Panama Canal Zone Harold Parfitt , Vice President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore , and Sergeant Major of the Army Leon L . Van Autreve .