The 35th Engineer Brigade is a

combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tas ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

of the

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

based at

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

. Originally constituted as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment, the brigade has undergone several changes before reaching its current state. It deployed once during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Units within the brigade have deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Organization

As an active army national guard unit, the 35th Engineer Brigade is not a permanent formation, instead only being called upon when needed. It has a lineage to the 35th Infantry Division, which is also a part of the Kansas and Missouri Army National Guard, but it is not a part of the division at this time.35th Engineer Brigade Homepage: Subordinate Units
, 35th Engineer Brigade Staff. Retrieved 4 October 2008. The brigade currently consists of two engineer

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s as well as several other units, in addition to its

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

. These units include the

1140th Engineer Battalion 114 may refer to: *114 (number) * AD 114 * 114 BC * 114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit * 114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit * 114 (MBTA bus) * 114 ( ...

based in

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citi ...

, Missouri, the 203rd Engineer Battalion, based in Joplin, Missouri.

History

Originally constituted as the 138th Infantry Regiment in 1928,GlobalSecurity.org: 25th Engineer Brigade
Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 4 December 2008. the unit was reorganized and reconstituted several times, and did not receive its Shoulder Sleeve Insignia until 1984, and its Distinctive Unit Insignia in 1970.The Institute of Heraldry: 35th Engineer Brigade
, The Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 04-13-2008. The insignia were based on those of the 35th Infantry Division, which has been the commanding unit of the brigade through the entirety of its history. The unit was relieved on 15 April 1959 from assignment to the 35th Infantry Division; and was concurrently converted and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 101st Replacement Group. It was later reorganized and redesignated on 1 April 1963 as Combat Section, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 35th Command Headquarters, Divisional. It was converted and consolidated 16 January 1968 with the 1135th Ordnance Company. The 35th Engineer Brigade provides command and control of combat engineer units assigned to I Corps for worldwide missions. It also directs training of Missouri Army National Guards Engineer units to meet US Army readiness standards prior to mobilization. Prepares Missouri Engineer units for State Emergency Duties (SED) for various missions and provides units for task force missions to Joint Task Forces (JTF) conducting missions across the operational continuum. The 35th Engineer Brigade, was tasked in late 2000, with handling much of the planning pertaining to Operation Alaskan Road. Operation Alaskan Road is a

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Exercise, a USCINCPAC sponsored multi-year exercise spread over a seven-year period, with a US$33-million budget. The project aims to build a two-lane, 14.8-mile road with no more than a 7-percent grade across the island on Annette Island linking Metlakatla to the north side of the island. The project comes as fulfillment of a government promise that was originally made to Metlakatla, home of Alaska's last Indian reservation. Elements of the brigade saw tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005, assisting the 20th Engineer Brigade in construction and support duties. The unit deployed again to the

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

area as part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 and 2008.Multi-National Force: Iraq
Sgt. Henry Bauer, 35th Engineer Brigade. Retrieved 4 October 2008. Missions of the brigade have been widely varied, some are humanitarian in nature, others have required the training and use of the brigade's complement of

sappers A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing fie ...

. The unit was deployed to Joplin, Missouri to help secure the city in the aftermath of the 22 May 2011 EF5 tornado. During that time the unit looted the same city it was in charge of securing. According to the St. Louis dispatch. In a telephone interview, Brig. Gen. Randy Alewel, commander of the 35th Engineer Brigade, confirmed that members of his unit were involved in the looting. "We conducted an investigation and disciplinary action was imposed on those soldiers," Alewel said. But he declined to say how many soldiers were involved, the extent of the looting or what discipline they received.Mo. National Guard exempt from Sunshine Law
''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

''. Retrieved 2012-05-23

References

{{reflist

External links

35th Engineer Brigade
Engineer 035