27th Engineer Battalion ( United States ) The 27th Engineer Battalion ( COMBAT ) ( AIRBORNE ) and its subordinate companies has often used the Fort Bragg / XVIII Airborne Corps standard of " Airborne ! " for its motto . History . The history of the 27th Engineer Battalion ( COMBAT ) ( AIRBORNE ) began on 16 January 1918 at Fort Meyer , VA , as the second battalion of the 37th Engineer Regiment . The unit entered World War I on the 10 July 1918 , which its participation in the St . Mihiel and Meuse - Argonne campaigns . After the termination of hostilities , the unit was demobilized . Twenty years later , World War II erupted , and on 14 July 1941 , the 37th Engineer Regiment was reactivated at Camp Bowie , Texas . The regiment was broken up in March 1943 . Its elements were then reorganized and redesignated . The lineage of the 27th Engineer Battalion ( COMBAT ) ( AIRBORNE ) springs from the 2nd Battalion , redesignated as the 209th Engineer Combat Battalion . The 209th disembarked at Bombay , India on 23 October 1943 , and immediately set to work on the Ledo Road . Subsequently , the 209th participated in the India - Burma Campaign . While a part of Merrill ' s Marauders ( 6th Ranger Battalion - 5307th Composite ) , it participated in the surprise attack to seize a critical Myitkyina airfield . The battalion sustained 71 Killed in action and 179 wounded in action during the 70 day long battle . The 209th was inactivated at the conclusion of World War II , and in 1947 , was redesignated as the 27th Engineer Combat Battalion . Activated once more in 1950 – 1951 briefly at Ft . Lewis , Washington , and then at Ft . Campbell , KY , the unit on 23 October 1960 earned the nickname " Tiger Battalion " through its rugged field maneuvers and training . On 21 July 1966 , the battalion entered the Vietnam War , serving honorably and effectively in 13 campaigns , received five Meritorious Unit Commendations and the Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal ( 1st Class ) , with 19 campaign streamers for actions in Vietnam . On 31 January 1972 , the battalion returned to the United States and relocated to Fort Bragg , NC , where it became a non - divisional combat airborne engineer battalion . Components of the battalion participated in operation " Bright Star 82 " deploying to the port city of Berbera , Somalia , which is located on the central North coast of Somalia on the Gulf of Aden . Bright Star 82 included deployment of factions of the 82nd Airborne Division to the Sinia Desert in Egypt . While in Somalia the 27th performed various infrastructure improvement projects for the Somalian people . In 1983 , units of the battalion deployed in response to the Invasion of Grenada by Cuban forces . Cuban engineers blew craters in Grenada ' s airport runways . Engineers from the 27th repaired the runways , among other responsibilities . On 23 August 1990 , the battalion was again called upon , this time to Saudi Arabia , to support Operation Desert Shield . On the 24 February 1991 , the battalion , attached to the French 6th Light Armored Division , became the lead engineer battalion for XVIII Airborne Corps in its push up the western allied flank during Operation Desert Storm . On the 27 March 1991 , the 27th Engineer Battalion ( COMBAT ) ( AIRBORNE ) returned to its home at Ft . Bragg , NC . The battalion deployed again in August 1992 to Dade County , Florida , for hurricane Andrew relief . The battalion remained in Florida as part of Task Force All - American until 26 September 1992 . The most recent deployment was in response to Operation Uphold Democracy in Port - au - Prince , Haiti . The battalion deployed with the 20th Engineer Brigade from 22 September through 5 November 1994 . The battalion worked with the 10th Mountain Division ( Light ) and established Base Camp Dragon and Castle . The battalion colors bear a Presidential Unit Citation for action at Myitkyina Airfield , five Meritorious Unit Commendations for actions in Vietnam , one Meritorious Unit Commendation for actions in Southwest Asia , the Superior Unit award for AHAUS TAURA ' 90 , the Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal ( 1st Class ) , and 19 campaign streamers . In 1999 , the Construction Platoon of HHC 27th ENG ( C ) ( A ) created a small memorial to its own Desert Storm veteran s outdoors near their mess hall in Smoke Bomb Hill , Fort Bragg , North Carolina . As of October 1999 , they had the last / only Airborne well - driller detachment / platoon left in the United States Army . The 57th Sapper Company of the 27th is the only company in the United States Army that specializes in rough terrain airborne insertion . In November 2001 , the battalion deployed to Kosovo in support of Operations Joint Guardian . They have participated in many actions and projects in Iraq and Afghanistan since . Known projects . Among other things , the Construction Platoon of HHC 27th ENG ( C ) ( A ) has built the following :