37th Engineer Battalion ( United States ) The 37th Engineer Battalion ( " Eagle Battalion " ) was an airborne combat engineer battalion in the United States Army , and a subordinate unit of the 20th Engineer Brigade and XVIII Airborne Corps , based at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . The battalion is notable in that it was the only battalion , of any kind , in the history of the United States Army to have entered combat as both an officially designated amphibious and airborne unit ( though the Glider Infantry Regiments of the 11th Airborne Division conducted amphibious assaults in World War II ) . Unit History – World War I ; World War II . The 37th Engineer Battalion was first activated on 16 January 1918 , as 1st Battalion , 37th Engineer Regiment , whose primary function was electrical and mechanical engineering . During World War I , the battalion participated in the Battle of Saint - Mihiel and the Meuse - Argonne Offensive as a member of the American Expeditionary Force . Following the war , the 37th Engineer Regiment was inactivated in March 1919 . Reactivated in January 1941 , the regiment underwent mobilization and training in several locations , and was eventually broken up on 18 March 1943 , into the 1106th Engineer Combat Group , the 209th Engineer Combat Battalion , and the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion ( Amphibious ) . The 37th Engineer Combat Battalion was subsequently assigned to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade and participated in Operation Overlord , landing with the initial waves on Omaha Beach . For its performance , the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm . After the Invasion of Normandy , the battalion spent several months on the beach unloading troops and equipment , clearing roads , and repairing port facilities . For this , the battalion received the Meritorious Unit Commendation . Later , the battalion was detached from the 5th Engineer Special Brigade and moved through Belgium and the Netherlands , supporting the Allied advance . The battalion entered Germany in March 1945 , where it remained until its return to the United States in November of that same year . The following month , the battalion was again inactivated . Timeline since World War II . 28 October 1954 – redesignated as 37th Engineer Battalion ( Combat ) . 17 December 1954 – activated in Germany . 31 December 1958 – inactivated . 16 August 1987 – reactivated at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade . 13 October 1990 – deployed to Saudi Arabia ( Operation Desert Shield ; Operation Desert Storm ) . 27 September 1994 – deployed to Haiti ( Operation Uphold Democracy ) . 11 May 2001 – elements attached to the 11th Engineer Battalion and deployed to Kosovo ( Operation Joint Guardian ) in support of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) . 22 September 2002 – deployed 20 soldiers from Vertical and Light Equipment platoons to Kuwait ( Operation Enduring Freedom ) in support of the Combined Joint Task Force at Camp Doha . Redeployed to Fort Bragg on 22 March 2003 . Deployed soldiers received Joint Service Medals and Joint Meritorious Unit Citations ( permanent ) . 22 March 2003 – deployed to Northern Iraq ( Operation Iraqi Freedom ) in support of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) . For its actions in Iraq , the battalion received the Meritorious Unit Commendation ( 1st Oak Leaf Cluster ) . 10 March 2006 – deployed to Afghanistan ( Operation Enduring Freedom ) in support of Combined / Joint Task Force 76 , 10th Mountain Division ( Light Infantry ) and formed Task Force Eagle , the first US , Joint and Coalition Engineer Task Force in the CJOA . In addition to standard engineer operations , the battalion repeatedly engaged Taliban and other enemy forces and is credited with over 105 enemy killed . Redeployed to Fort Bragg on 11 March 2007 . The Battalion lost a First Sergeant Christopher C . Rafferty in support of ( Operation Enduring Freedom ) . He was fatally injured while coordinating a response to a mortar strike July , 21st 2006 in Sharana , Afghanistan . The Battalion held a ceremony on Rafferty Field named in his honor after their redeployment back to Ft . Bragg . http : / / www . arlingtoncemetery . net / ccrafferty . htm http : / / paraglideonline . net / 092310 _ news1 . html On 5 June 2009 – deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The battalion served as an echelon above BCT unit assigned to the USF - I EN BDE , operating throughout Iraq with missions focused in northern and western Iraq primarily in support of the 1st BCT , 25th Infantry Division and the 3d BCT , 2d Infantry Division in Diyala , the 1st BCT , 82d Airborne Division in Al Anbar and the 3d Squadron , 4th Cavalry Regiment and 1st Battalion , 28th Infantry Regiment in Salah ad Din provinces . The battalion formed the basis of Joint Task Force Eagle Headquartered at Joint Base Balad and composed of over 1000 soldiers and airmen . JTF Eagle elements were also based at Forward Operating Bases Warhorse , Al Asad and Ramadi . The Joint Task Force included the 887th Engineer Company ( Support ) , Fort Campbell , KY ; 50th Engineer Company ( Multi - Role , Bridge ) , Fort Leonard Wood , MO ; the 739th Engineer Company ( Multi - Role , Bridge ) , Granite City , IL ; Terrain Team , 70th Engineer Company ( Topographic ) , Schofield Barracks , HI ; Air Force Detachment 6 ( TACON ) ; Facilities Engineer Team 2 ( DS ) ; 732d Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron and 266th Military Police Company ( OPCON ) , Manassas , VA . Joint Task Force Eagle ' s mission focused on partnering with Iraqi Army engineers , building capacity , IED defeat operations , construction , bridging , general engineering , and security . The colors of the 37th Engineer Battalion were inactivated again effective 16 September 2010 when the unit was reflagged as the 307th Engineer Battalion ( Airborne ) , formerly assigned to the 82d Airborne Division and nicknamed " The Injuneers . " One company of special consideration is the 618th ESC ( ABN ) , nicknamed “ The Nasty 618th ” . The 618th ESC ( ABN ) is the most decorated company associated with the 307th EN BN ( ABN ) . The " Nasty 618th " has accompanied the 307th EN BN ( ABN ) on every major deployment in recent history .