2nd Combat Engineer Regiment ( Australia ) The 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment ( 2CER ) is an Australian Army modular engineer regiment trained for sapper / combat engineer operations . 2 CER ' s lineage is traced back to 7th Field Company ( 7 Fd Coy ) . During World War I , this unit was renowned for action during the Battle of the Somme , Menin Road and the Hindenburg Line . During World War II , it fought the Japanese at Kokoda and on Bougainville . The Regiment is located at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane , Queensland and is part of 7th Brigade , attached to Forces Command . History . World War I . The 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment traces its history back to the 4th Field Company , Royal Australian Engineers ( RAE ) , which was raised in New South Wales and then later renamed the 7th Field Company ( 7 Fd Coy ) on 20 September 1915 . The 7 Fd Coy was raised for overseas service with the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) and served with distinction in Egypt and France during World War I , where it saw action in the Battle of the Somme , Menin Road and the Hindenburg Line before returning to Australia and disbandment on 23 May 1919 . In 1921 the Australian government decided to restructure the part - time Citizens Forces units to replicate the numerical designations and perpetuate the honours of the AIF . As a result , on 1 May 1921 , the unit was re - raised as the 7 Fd Coy of the 1st Division , based in Ipswich . World War II . Due to the provisions of the " Defence Act ( 1903 ) " which precluded deploying the Militia outside of Australian territory , following the outbreak of World War II , the Australian government decided to raise an all volunteer force for overseas service , known as the Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) . During this time the units of the Militia undertook brief periods of continuous service to undertake training and other defensive tasks in Australia in an effort to improve the nation ' s defences in case of war in the Pacific . With Japan ' s entry into the war following the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya , the strategic situation worsened and units of the Militia were mobilised for war service . 7 Fld Coy was called out for full - time service in May 1942 and was eventually gazetted as an Australian Imperial Force unit . The unit served in Papua New Guinea and fought against the Japanese along the Kokoda Track and on Bougainville until the end of the war . 7 Fd Coy returned to Australia on 3 January 1946 and disbanded once again on 4 February 1946 . A second Queensland unit , the 11th Field Company , which had been based at Kelvin Grove and Toowong before the war , also saw active service in New Guinea and Bougainville during this time . Post World War II . On 19 June 1947 , a Special Survey Troop was activated for employment on the proposed Rocket Range at Woomera and then later expanded . The unit was involved in the construction of facilities for the nuclear tests conducted at Emu Claypan during the 1950s . On 11 March 1949 , this unit became the Special Construction Squadron , RAE and was renamed 7 Field Squadron ( 7 Fd Sqn ) . During the 1949 Coal Miner ' s Strike , 7 Fd Sqn supported Operation EXCAVATE to win coal in the New South Wales minefields . Korea / Malayan Emergency / Indonesian Confrontation . The unit was reassigned to 1 Field Engineer Regiment in June 1951 , before being redesignated 7 Independent Field Squadron and grouped with the 1st Infantry Brigade at Casula and Holsworthy . During this time , the unit provided the nucleus of personnel used to form the 1 RAR Assault Pioneer Platoon , which subsequently took part in operations along the Pusan Perimeter during the Korean War . In 1955 , elements of the squadron – 4 Troop – deployed to South - East Asia and participated in the Malayan Emergency . On 28 December 1958 , the unit deployed to Vanuatu to provide humanitarian support after a tropical cyclone . In June 1960 , the Australian Military Forces were reorganised along a divisional basis with the adoption of the Pentropic organisation , and 7 Independent Field Squadron ( redesignated 7 Fd Sqn ) moved to Wacol , Queensland . Between June and December 1964 , eight officers and 132 other ranks from 7 Fd Sqn deployed to Borneo during the Indonesia Confrontation to conduct tasks such as road and airstrip construction . On 1 December 1971 , Divisional Engineers reorganised into regiments and 7 Fd Sqn became part of the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment ( 2 FER ) which was allocated under command Headquarters 6th Task Force at Enoggera , Queensland . 2 FER consisted of 7 Fd Sqn , 2 Field Squadron ( 2 Fd Sqn ) , 24 Support Squadron ( 24 Spt Sqn ) and a Workshops . 17 Construction Squadron , on its return from Vietnam in late 1971 , was renamed 17 Field Squadron ( 17 Fd Sqn ) and in mid - 1973 was merged with 7 Fd Sqn , 2 FER . In August 1981 , 2 FER became 2 / 3 FER following the disbandment of 1 FER and the merging of 3 FER . 2 / 3 FER was based at Enoggera , Queensland and now consisted of 1 Field Squadron ( Holsworthy ) , 7 Fd Sqn ( Enoggera ) , 18 Field Squadron ( Townsville ) and a Workshops . In July 1987 , 35 Field Squadron and 11 Field Squadron ( 11 Fd Sqn — formerly 11th Field Company and ex - 5 FER located at Kelvin Grove ) , was brought onto the 2 / 3 FER unit status . At the time , it was the single largest regiment on the Army Order of Battle . Namibia . 7 Fd Sqn consisted of a Headquarters , 13th and 14th Field Troops and 24th Support Troop . In March 1989 , the United Nations acting under UN Resolution 435 , formed a military force — United Nations Transitional Assistance Group ( UNTAG ) — for deployment to the war torn country of Namibia ( formerly South West Africa ) a protectorate of South Africa . The mission was to supervise the withdrawal of the South African Defence Force ( SADF ) , assist those displaced by the war to return home , and to pave the way for the first ' free and fair ' elections ever held in that country . The 17th Construction Squadron was mobilised for deployment and augmented by the 14th Field Troop . This contingent was sent to the northernmost part of Namibia , to an ex - SADF base at Ondangwa , in close proximity to the Angolan border for the majority of the deployment . 14th Field Troop was responsible for unexploded ordnance and landmine clearance tasks . They were deployed between March and September 1989 and handed over to elements of the 15th Field Troop , 18 Fd Sqn . Following the Force Structure Review in 1991 , 2 / 3 FER was broken into 1 , 2 and 3 Combat Engineer Regiments ( CERs ) with 2 CER being raised first on 24 November 1991 and remaining at Enoggera . 2 CER is also the oldest of the CERs . 2 CER now became part of 7th Brigade and comprised 7 Combat Engineer Squadron ( 7 CE Sqn ) , 20 Engineer Support Squadron ( previously 20 Divisional Engineer Support Squadron ) and 11 Operational Support Squadron ( logistic support and workshops ) . During the Ready Reserve experiment of the 1990s , 2 CER increased its establishment of Reserve members . Recent operations . Sydney Olympics . 2 CER next underwent a change during 1999 , when it was assigned the task of forming and commanding the new Joint Incident Response Unit ( JIRU ) , in support of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as part of Operation GOLD . The unit was split , with the majority of personnel moving to Holsworthy to form the JIRU ( and subsequently the new Incident Response Regiment [ IRR ] ) , leaving a small Headquarters element and 7 CE Sqn in Enoggera . In July 2001 , the Regiment underwent a force structure review which saw the unit grow in strength once again . 2 CER became a fully integrated unit consisting of a Regimental Headquarters , an Operational Support Troop ( Catering Section , Q Store and Workshops ) , 7 CE Sqn ( Reserve ) , 11 CE Sqn ( Regular ) and 20 Support Troop ( Integrated ) . East Timor . From April – October 2001 , a composite engineer troop was deployed to support the 4 RAR Battalion Group in East Timor and undertook a wide variety of construction and combat engineering tasks along the border between East and West Timor . During November 2003 – June 2004 , 2 CER supported the 6 RAR Battalion Group ( AUSBATT IX ) in East Timor . 2 CER subsequently led an independent Company Group in support of a multi - national United Nations Security Force as part of Operation SPIRE during the period December 2004 – June 2005 . This force conducted a wide variety of support engineering and combat service support tasks in support of other United Nations forces deployed to the country . 2 CER elements returned to Timor Leste in the 8 / 9 RAR Timor - Leste Battle Group from January – October 2010 , as part of Operation ASTUTE . Banda Aceh . In December 2004 , elements of 2 CER were deployed to provide humanitarian assistance in Banda Aceh ( Operation SUMATRA ASSIST ) after a tsunami was experienced within the Indonesian region and South West Pacific rim . 2 CER engineers provided civil military liaison support , cleared debris , recovered human remains , provided clean water and assisted with the humanitarian effort . Afghanistan . 2 CER deployed Squadron or larger size groups to Afghanistan ' s Orūzgān Province on four occasions as part of Operation SLIPPER . 2 CER ( - ) deployed as Reconstruction Task Force - 2 over March – October 2007 . 2 CER deployed a Combat Engineer Squadron Group as part of the 750 strong 6 RAR Task Group ( also known as Mentoring Task Force - 1 ) over February – October 2010 , and subsequent Squadron Groups to the 8 / 9 RAR Task Group ( MTF - 4 ) and the 3 RAR Task Group ( MTF - 5 ) in 2012 . 2 CER personnel were deployed in a wide variety of roles including training and mentoring members of the Afghan National Army , and undertaking route clearance , high - threat search , construction tasks and infantry missions . The Regiment suffered three soldiers killed in action and over 20 soldiers wounded in action . Queensland floods . In January 2011 , in the aftermath of the 2010 – 2011 Queensland floods , 2 CER deployed throughout Brisbane and the surrounding region to assist with recovery and cleanup as part of Operation Queensland Flood Assist . 2 CER deployed elements to Bundaberg during the 2013 Queensland floods , notably building a military bridge over a flood - damaged highway bridge to re - open the Isis Highway over the Burnett River . Other missions . Throughout its history , individual members of the unit have also been involved in operations in Cambodia , Somalia , Pakistan , Rwanda , the Solomon Islands and Bougainville , and support to police during the several Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ( CHOGM ) . In addition to its military role , 2 CER also works closely with the local Queensland community in times of emergency . This was demonstrated in November 2008 following the worst storms in Brisbane since 1985 when 2 CER co - ordinated the large scale Defence - assisted relief efforts . Planning for the future . In 2012 , 2 CER became the largest combat engineer unit in the Australian Army . The Regiment has an Army Reserve Combat Engineer squadron in addition to its Regular Army component . The Regiment will receive new barracks in 2014 as part of the Australian Army ' s Enhanced Land Force ( ELF ) initiative . 2 CER has an official Bond of Friendship with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa , Canada .