7th Engineer Brigade
The 7th Engineer Brigade deployment to Saudi Arabia brought together a huge but effective mix of engineer units. The brigade assembled men and women from National Guard Engineer Groups, combat, combatheavy and divisional engineer battalions, and topographic, bridging, well-drilling and firefighting units. Together they formed the largest engineer brigade in recent history.
Operating from its headquarters in Kornwestheim, the brigade faced the formidable task of restructure.
Building the deploying force
The brigade, led by COL Samuel C. Raines, and CSM Dennis R. Bowers, once contained 4,000 soldiers. It now consisted of three engineer group command and control headquarters, three combat heavy engineer battalions, six combat engineer battalions, two combat support equipment companies, one medium girder bridge company, three fire-fighting detachments and three well drilling detachments. This force of active, reserve and national guard units came near 9,000 men and women.
To deploy the brigade, the Army transported 260 armored personnel carriers, 200 tractor-trailers, hundreds of pieces of construction equipment and numerous other vehicles. The job required many hours of hard work, but resulted in the safe, efficient arrival of all equipment within a month of the unit deployment.
Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, 7th Engineers began missions to prepare the VII Corps' assembly areas and avenues used to move north. Brigade units constructed several base camps surrounded by nearly 400 kilometers of dirt berm, graded interconnecting roads, and built several firing ranges for corps soldiers to hone their gunnery skills.
Besides providing ranges for the divisions, the brigade constructed mock Iraqi obstacle belts where the combat engineers practiced obstaclebreaching and other war-fighting techniques. The engineer effort continued with logistic base construction critical to support the corps' movement into northern Saudi Arabia.
Mapping out the area
As the combat heavy units constructed the logistics and support bases, another engineer unit provided the corps with valuable maps. Company A, 649th Engineer Battalion produced 360,000 copies of map products and surveyed 61 artillery reference points.
Early on, the combat engineer battalions joined up with the assigned divisions and began to train for combat.
The engineers continued practicing breaching the many types of Iraqi obstacles expected on the battlefield, including mines, wire, ditches and berms.
As the corps moved into its final forward assembly areas, 7th Engineers began constructing 1,934 kilometers of dirt roads up to the IraqSaudi Arabia border.
"Berm-busting"
As the time for attack drew near, the combat engineers began "berm-busting", cutting numerous holes into the Smugglers' Berm which marked the Saudi-Iraqi border. The battalions opened 50 holes in the berm allowing the corps multiple routes into enemy territory at dawn on G-Day.
When the war started, engineers moved forward with the maneuver units, clearing enemy obstacles under fire.
Following the 2nd ACR
The 82nd Engineer Battalion supported the 2nd ACR's attack, breaching several obstacles and taking scores of enemy prisoners of war. Combatheavy units followed closely behind the maneuver units cutting new routes through the desert to carry supplies northward. Ultimately, 7th Engineer Brigade constructed and maintained more than 3,000 kilometers of main supply routes. At one point graders from the 249th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) led a 500 truck convoy as it worked. The road led to Log Base Nellingen, which the combat heavy battalions also built.
Additionally, the brigade prepared eight holding compounds for EPWs.
Following the temporary cease-fire, engineer effort continued at a brisk pace. To make supply operations easy, the brigade either built or repaired existing helipads and airstrips in the former enemy territory. Brigade soldiers fought a constant battle to keep the MSRs from crumbling under the constant use.
Furthermore, the brigade took over efforts to destroy captured enemy equipment and ordnance so that no valuable materiel would remain in the occupied portion of Iraq following redeployment. This brigade destruction cell, "Task Force Demo," ultimately destroyed 596 tanks, 661 armored personnel carriers, tons of ammunition and an enemy gunboat.
All across the battlefield, 7th Engineer Brigade battalions supported VII Corps units. That effort stands as a testimony to all soldiers of the unit and to the memories of those who died accomplishing their missions.