1st Combat Engineer Regiment ( Australia ) The 1st Combat Engineer Regiment ( 1 CER ) is a combat engineer regiment of the Australian Army . Based in the Northern Territory and attached to 1st Brigade , it is a Regular Army unit of the Royal Australian Engineers and is tasked with providing mobility and counter mobility support . History . 1 CER was raised on 1 March 1993 around the 1st Field Squadron RAE , itself raised in July 1980 at Victoria Barracks , Sydney . The regiment moved from Sydney in late 1999 to Darwin . 2 Troop , 1 Field Squadron was deployed to East Timor during this time as part of INTERFET . In April 2000 , 1 Troop , 1 Field Squadron replaced 2 Troop and began its six - month deployment in support of 6 RAR . During this time the pro - Indonesian Militia re grouped , re - armed and returned to harass the peace keeping operations . 1 Troop conducted road repairs , water purification , and constructed strong points throughout the Australian AO . In October 2000 , 1 Troop was relieved by 3 Troop , 2nd Field Squadron . In late 2002 , 73 personnel were used to form a Battalion Engineer Group to attach to 5th / 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment for a deployment to East Timor as part of the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor ( UNMISET ) . Among the duties performed by the engineers , above aiding 5th / 7th Battalion , included the provision of humanitarian aid , construction of infrastructure for the East Timorese law enforcement agencies , and provision of supplementary infantry patrols . From April to August 2003 , elements from 1 CER were deployed as part of Operation Relex II . The sappers alternated between land - based training and periods embarked on Royal Australian Navy vessels assigned to Relex , where they aided Navy personnel in boarding and searching Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel s ( SIEVs ) , boat handling , and other duties . During this deployment , personnel from 1 CER were involved in boarding and detaining SIEV 13 , and the subsequent transfer of those aboard to the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre . Also in 2003 , 1 CER was granted approval to use the Sand Goanna ( " Varanus Panoptes " ) as a mascot . From late 2006 to mid - 2007 , a third of 1 CER was deployed to Tarin Kowt , Afghanistan , as the 1st Reconstruction Task Force , the Australian contribution to a Dutch - led Provincial Reconstruction Team . During this deployment , the remainder of 1 CER carried out a heavy training schedule . In late 2008 , personnel from 1st Field Squadron and 23rd Support Squadron were sent to Afghanistan on an eight - month deployment as part of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force , during which Corporal Michael Anthony Cole was awarded the Order of Australia Medal . The rest of the regiment was involved in training and trials of the PackBot military robot ( the Scout and Explorer variants ) for Australian use . In July 2009 , 1 CER and 5th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment served as the opposing force during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2009 . In October 2009 , the 1st Field Squadron Group provided Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Support in response to the magnitude 7 . 6 earthquake that struck off Western Sumatra on 30 September 2009 .