249th Engineer Battalion (United States)
249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) | |
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CSM Pierre Crescimbeni | |
Insignia | |
Distinctive unit insignia |
The 249th Engineer Battalion (United States) is a versatile power generation battalion assigned to the
Motto
The battalion's motto is "Build, Support, Sustain!".
Units
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- Heavy Maintenance Section – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- A Company – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
- B Company – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- C Company – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- D Company – (USAR) – Providence, Rhode Island
- 1st Platoon – Cranston, Rhode Island
- 2nd Platoon – Cranston, Rhode Island
- 3rd Platoon – Cranston, Rhode Island
- 4th Platoon – Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- U.S. Army Prime Power School– Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Mission
On order, deploy worldwide to provide prime electrical power and electrical systems expertise in support of military operations and the National Response Framework.[1]
The 249th Engineer Battalion also supports other missions:
- Operation Enduring Freedom
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- THAADPower Support
- JLENS Power Support
- Intelligence and Security Command(INSCOM) (Korea generator maintenance)
- Operation Bright Star (Egypt)
- Chinhae generator maintenance
- Limited Installation support missions
- Task Force SAFE Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers support to presidentially declared disasters
History
As a combat engineer battalion
World War II
The 249th
The 249th sailed from the United States to England in May 1944, after equipping and preparing for combat, the Unit landed on Utah Beach in August 1944 under the 1137th Engineer Combat Group commanded by Colonel George A. Morris. In October through November 1944, the soldiers were specially trained on using the Bailey bridge in Trier, France.
Later that year on 18 December 1944, the Black Lions were ordered to move from the
On 24 December 1944, Brigadier General Harlan Harkness, the assistant division commander, ordered the battalion to advance and secure the towns of Arsdorf and Bigonville to the north of the 26th Infantry Division, near the area of operations of the 4th Armored Division, in order to relieve the occupied towns so the division could advance and attack the enemy line. Companies A and C were ordered into the town of Arsdorf where the battalion was engaged in fierce combat for two days. It was later learned that the town had never been secured by the 4th Armored Division.
In February 1945, the battalion was selected for the special task of crossing the
Post World War II
In late 1954, the Black Lion Battalion was withdrawn from the Reserves and assigned to the Regular Army. In February 1955, it was activated and assigned to
As a prime power battalion
In 1994, the battalion was reactivated and designated as the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power), stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA.
9/11
Immediately after the attacks on the
Global War on Terrorism
The 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) provides oversight on all coalition operating base power projects in Iraq (
Hurricane Katrina
The 249th deployed teams to the Gulf Region under
There were three 42" mobile pumps staged and two 42" and two 30" pumps were placed at the sheet pile closure. Sewer & water board, electric utility and the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) were completing pump house inspection. When the pumps began operation, a 40-foot-wide opening was made in the sheet piling to allow water to flow out of the canal.
Worldwide
Through the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the 249th soldiers provide contracting officer technical representation on projects throughout the world.[9][10]
Lineage
- Constituted 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion
- Activated 5 May 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas
- Inactivated 28 November 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
- Redesignated 23 March 1948 as the 442d Engineer Construction Battalion and allotted to the Organized Reserves
- Activated 8 April 1948 with headquarters at Ames, Iowa
- (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve)
- Inactivated 22 May 1950 at Ames and Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Redesignated 25 June 1952 as the 249th Engineer Construction Battalion
- Redesignated 9 December 1954 as the 249th Engineer Battalion; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army
- Activated 9 February 1955 in Germany
- Inactivated 15 October 1991 in Germany
- Activated 16 November 1994 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Honors
Campaign participation credit
World War II
- Northern France
- Rhineland
- Ardennes-Alsace
- Central Europe
Southwest Asia
- Defense of Saudi Arabia
- Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
- Cease-Fire
Decorations
- Cited in the Order of the Day of the Ardennes
- Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991
- Army Superior Unit Awardfor 25 Aug 92 – 28 Oct 92
- Army Superior Unit Award for 1994–1995
- Army Superior Unit Award for 1995–1996
- Army Superior Unit Award for 2005 (Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, & Wilma)
- Army Superior Unit Award for 2011-2012
See also
- United States Army Corps of Engineers
- Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
- Army Nuclear Power Program
References
This article incorporates public domain material from 249th Engineer Battalion lineage and honors information as of 1 March 2004. United States Army Center of Military History.
- ^ "249th Engineer Battalion History". 249th Engineer Battalion History. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ "249th Engineer Battalion Responds to Terrorist Attacks" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2007.
- ^ Prime Power Lights Up Anaconda by Sgt. KaRonda Fleming, Public Affairs Office
- ^ TF SAFE improves electrical safety in Iraq by Joan Kibler Archived 24 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Training prepares 249th for six-month Iraq duty by Julie LeDoux, Fort Belvoir Eagle Archived 25 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Soldiers Power Up Peace in Iraq, Afghanistan by SSG Michael Carden
- ^ Power Surge, 249th Engineer Battalion Responds to Electrocutions in Iraq by LTC Paul B. Olsen, P.E.
- ^ Hawaii medical team deploys Archived 22 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff
- ^ 249th Engineer Battalion Soldiers and IMA Provide Emergency Backup Power to Hawaii Wastewater Treatment Plant, by Sergeant First Class Christopher P. Woolley and Major Paul B. Olsen, P.E., Public Works Digest, July–August 2004, p. 40. Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 249th Engineers Respond to California Wildfires, by SSG Scott Yeager[permanent dead link]
- ^ "249th Engineer Battalion lineage and honors information as of 1 March 2004". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
External links
- Official 249th Engineer Battalion website
- Official U.S. Army Prime Power School website
- Description of the Coat of Arms and Distinctive Unit Insignia
- Bridge to the Past: 249th Engineer Battalion from Combat to Prime Power by COL John K. Addison, Retired
- Prime-Power Considerations for Engineer Planners, by Captain Geoff Van Epps Archived 10 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Reflections on Building Great Engineers, COL Paul B. Olsen Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine