36th Engineer Brigade ( United States ) The 36th Engineer Brigade is a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Hood , Texas . The brigade is a subordinate unit of III Corps . The unit is responsible for providing command and control to subordinate Engineer units . The unit was formerly designated as the 36th Engineer Group , and before that as the 36th Engineer Regiment . The 36th is the only unit that has been organized in all three command structures that are commanded by a Colonel in the U . S . Army ; regiment , group , and brigade . With a lineage that dates back to 1933 , the 36th Engineer Brigade saw action in the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign , and it eventually participated it the invasion of mainland Europe . Trained in amphibious assault , the brigade saw its role change several times , from combat engineers to front line infantry . It would later serve in the Korean War , earning several unit decorations . Recently , it has seen tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan . Organization . The 36th Engineer Brigade is part of III Corps , and consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company , which is located at Fort Hood , Texas and five engineering battalions : 2nd Engineer Battalion , 8th Engineer Battalion , 20th Engineer Battalion , 62nd Engineer Battalion , 326th Engineer Battalion . Additionally , the 507th Firefighting Detachment and the 557th Firefighting Detachment are also assigned to the brigade . The brigade was the first of the US Army ' s Engineer Brigades to be converted to a modular design . This means that the Brigade can be deployed and sustain itself independently , without a division or corps level command supporting it . Additionally , the brigade ' s design allows it to take command of additional units within a theatre of operations , allowing for greater versatility on the battlefield . History . World War II . The 36th Engineer Brigade was originally constituted on 1 October 1933 as the 36th Engineer Regiment and activated on 1 June 1941 at Plattsburgh Barracks , New York . During World War II the 36th Engineer Regiment consisted of nine combat engineer companies trained for amphibious assault and support operations . Because of this training , the unit ’ s distinctive insignia was designed with a seahorse on a red and white shield . The brigade was deployed to the North African Campaign in 1942 , participating in Operation Torch , where it conducted its first amphibious assault , and earning the brigade its first campaign streamer for the battle around Algeria and French Morocco . It would continue supporting Allied units as they pushed Axis forces out of North Africa during the Tunisia Campaign . The brigade would then participate in the Battle of Sicily , conducting its second amphibious landing along with the 7th Army . It would push on with the rest of the force , eventually forcing German and Italian forces off of the island . The Brigade followed in the quick invasion of mainland Italy soon after , with an amphibious assault in the Naples - Foggia area , followed closely by another landing in support of Operation Shingle , near Anzio . For fifty days , during Operation Shingle , soldiers of the brigade held of the front line and earned the distinction by the German army as “ The Little Seahorse Division ” . The unit subsequently participated in the invasion of southern France in 1944 , code named Operation Dragoon , conducting its fifth and final amphibious assault of the war . It would support Allied units through three additional campaigns up until the end of the war ; the Rhineland Campaign , the Ardennes - Alsace Campaign , and the Central Europe Campaign . Korean War . On 15 February 1945 , the unit was redesignated as the 36th Engineer Combat Group , and following World War II it reorganized at Fort Lewis , Washington . The unit was broken up , its three battalions redesignated as the 2826th Combat Engineer Battalion , the 2827th Combat Engineer Battalion , and the 2828th Combat Engineer Battalion , respectively . They then assumed separate lineage , and the Regiment itself was inactivated on 30 November 1946 in Austria . Reactivated on 5 May 1947 at Fort Lewis , Washington , the unit officially became the 36th Engineer Group on 10 April 1953 . During the Korean War , the 36th Engineer Combat Group consisted of four engineer battalions and four additional engineer companies , earning two Meritorious Unit Citation s and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation . It served in the Korean theater from 1950 until 1954 , earning nine campaign streamers while supporting other army units in numerous engineering and construction projects . During its assignment , the group was assigned to IX Corps of the Eighth United States Army . Projects that the group and its subordinate battalions completed included POW facilities , allied bases , and minefield clearing . Along with the rest of IX Corps , the group was forced back behind the Pusan Perimeter and remained stranded there until the Incheon Landings were conducted by X Corps . The group would follow IX Corps for the remainder of the Korean war . After its withdrawal from Korea , the unit did not participate in any notable campaigns until its inactivation on 30 May 1972 at Fort Lewis . It was reactivated shortly after on 1 July 1973 as the 36th Engineer Group ( Construction ) at Fort Benning , Georgia . It would see no conflicts until the start of the Gulf War . In 1989 , it participated in " Exercise Camino De La Paz , " an unscheduled exercise conducted in the first half of 1989 on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica . Present day . During the 1991 Gulf War , the 36th Engineer Group ( Construction ) fought in support of the 24th Infantry Division ’ s rapid attack to the Euphrates . The unit also deployed in support of peace enforcement missions during Operation Continue Hope in Somalia and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti . Most recently , the 36th Engineer Group ( Construction ) has twice deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom , executing a wide variety of construction missions in support of combat operations , including the construction of enemy prisoner of war camps , theater convoy support centers , and soldier life support areas . Some of the soldiers from the unit were still in Iraq as late as October 2007 . On 16 June 2006 , the unit was reorganized and redesignated the 36th Engineer Brigade . and reassigned to Fort Hood , Texas as the United States Army ’ s first modular engineer brigade headquarters . The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2007 , holding a ceremony at III Corps Headquarters , casing its unit colors in preparation for its deployment on 28 February 2007 . The brigade supports operations conducted by the 82nd Airborne Division . It is part of Task Force Rugged , and among its duties are training Afghan citizens in skilled labor and other nationbuilding operations . Most of the brigade served in Afghanistan since February 2007 , while other elements of the unit served in Iraq . While in Afghanistan , the brigade headquarters were stationed at Forward Operating Base Sharana . It also began to undertake missions against Improvised Explosive Devices , a problem which had originated in Iraq but since became more of a threat in Afghanistan .