The 6th Engineer Support Battalion (6th ESB or 6th EngSptBn), is an

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

. The battalion is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and falls under the command of the 4th Marine Logistics Group.

Current and Former Units

* Headquarters and Service Company – Portland, Oregon * Bridge Company A –

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, Michigan (Disbanded) * Bridge Company B –

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jers ...

, Pennsylvania (Disbanded) * Bridge Company C – Millington, Tennessee (Disbanded) * Bulk Fuel Company A –

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, Arizona ** Det 1 – Fort Lewis, Washington ** Det 2 –

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

, California * Bulk Fuel Company B – Wilmington, Delaware **Det 1 – Green Bay, Wisconsin * Bulk Fuel Company C –

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...

, Arizona * Engineer Support Company –

, Michigan * Engineer Company C – Millington, Tennessee

History

World War II

The Battalion was activated on 1 November 1944 at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

as the 6th Engineer Battalion, 6th Marine Division. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, they participated in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

and the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

(August–November 1945). In October 1945, they were redeployed to

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

, China. The battalion was deactivated 26 March 1946.

1957–1975

The Battalion was reactivated on 1 November 1957 at Swan Island, Portland, Oregon as the 3rd Engineer Battalion of the Marine Corps Reserve. On 1 July 1962, they were redesignated as the 5th Engineer Battalion.

1976–1997

Redesignated again on 31 May 1976 as the 6th Engineer Support Battalion (6th ESB), 4th Force Service Support Group. Elements of the battalion participated in

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in Southwest Asia from January until April 1991.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

2003

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, 6th ESB was responsible for fueling coalition forces as they moved northward through

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and were entrenched in combat during the

Battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of the Marines of Regimental Comb ...

. They also provided purified water supplies to the Marine Corps desert and urban encampments during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Iraq's worst sandstorm in 20 years, Reserve Marines of the 6th ESB, along with active duty Marines of 7th ESB and 8th ESB Bulk Fuel Companies, constructed the longest fuel line in the history of the Marine Corps.

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

of the 6th ESB were awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation for "extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy" during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2004–2005

Continued support in 2004 to 2005 was given by Engineer Support Company from Portland, Oregon (reinforced by Detachment 1 Bulk Fuel Company A from Fort Lewis, Washington, Tucson, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona), and Bridge Company A from Battle Creek, Michigan. During this time Engineer Support Company was re-designated as Combat Service Support Company 113 (CSSC-113). Missions during this time included base operations in over a dozen different locations and resupply convoys during Operation Phantom Fury in November 2004. Four

were killed in action during this tour. Bridge Company A was attached to the US Army's 155th Engineer Group and rebuilt and maintained bridges all over South/Central Iraq. Their most significant repair mission was to repair a highway bridge at Checkpoint 34A (South of Camp Striker) on Main Supply Route Tampa during early November, 2004. It had been damaged by VBIED attacks in order stop the flow of Multi-National Force - Iraq supplies and reinforcements to

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

during their campaign against the insurgency there. Projected to take 7 days to repair, Bridge Company A repaired the bridge, while under enemy fire, in less than 32 hours

Operation Enduring Freedom

2011–2012

From July 2011 to Feb. 2012 (OEF 11–2), over 100 Marines from the 6th ESB and individual augments of 6th Communications Battalion deployed as Engineer Company attached to Combat Logistics Battalion 6 to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, during

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. The majority of the company was based out of Camp Leatherneck, with small detachments of Bulk Fuels and Utilities Marines supporting more than a dozen sites throughout the Area of Operations. Combined teams from the engineer, motor transport, and heavy equipment platoons conducted extensive construction projects and road repairs for

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and special operations units throughout the northern half of

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

. Charlie Company was attached to 8th Engineer Support Battalion in 2012, and took over for the Marines in CLB-6.

2012–2013

From 2012 to February 2013, 200 Marines from various units in the battalion, supported by individual augments from 6th Communications Battalion, deployed under the title of Engineer Company Bravo. The company integrated into Combat Logistics Battalion 2, serving in a similar role as the OEF 11-2 deployment.

References

;Notes : ;Web
Official website
{{US Marine Corps navbox 4th Marine Logistics Group ESB6