41st Engineer Battalion
The 41st Engineer Battalion is the organic engineer battalion in the 10th Mountain Division, XVIII Airborne Corps. Our battalion is an integral member of the division's combined arms teams and is a proven performer during operations in Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, and Florida. Equally as important, the battalion is an essential member of the Joint Contingency Force - Advanced Warfighting Experiment (JCF-AWE).
The 41st Engineer Battalion was originally constituted as the 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion and activated on 14 September 1942, at Camp Carson, Colorado. The mission of the 126th was to operate in mountainous terrain constructing tramways, cableways, suspension bridges, and mule trails.
The 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion was assigned as an element of the 10th Light Division, later designated the 10th Mountain Division. The Battalion played an active role in the Division's successful offensive in the North Apennines and Po River Valley Campaigns, which broke the Germans seemingly impregnable Gothic line. The 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion was inactivated on 21 November 1945. The Battalion was redesignated as the 41st Engineer Battalion and activated on 1 July 1948, at Fort Riley, Kansas with the 10th Infantry Division. The Battalion was inactivated on 14 June 1958, at Fort Benning, Georgia.
On 2 September 1985, the 41st Engineer Battalion was activated at Fort Drum, New York, home of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The 41st Engineer Battalion "Sappers" provide combat engineer support to the maneuver brigades of the 10th Mountain Division, as well as the Division Support Command, Division Artillery, and the Combat Aviation Brigade.
In 1991, following its return from Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the 642nd Engineer Company, Combat Support Equipment, was attached to the 41st Engineer Battalion. The 642nd provides valuable engineer equipment support to the 10th Mountain Division and the Fort Drum community and range area.
In August 1992, the 41st Engineer Battalion deployed as part of the 10th Mountain Division Task Force to southern Florida to provide disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.
In December 1992, the battalion deployed again, this time to provide humanitarian assistance in Somalia. Four of five companies deployed. Major missions included support to task force security operations, infrastructure repair, bridge building and repair, road construction, mine sweeping and clearing operations, and force protection. In March and April 1993, the battalion redeployed as a platoon from C Company deployed in support of the United Nations Quick Reaction Force (QRF). In October, A Company redeployed to Somalia as part of the force package upgrade to the QRF.
On 1 August 1994, the 95th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting) was attached to the 41st Engineer Battalion. The 95th provides fire fighting support to the 10th Mountain Division and the Fort Drum community.
On 9 September 1994, the 41st Engineer Battalion reorganized by deactivating C Company and augmenting A and B Companies each with an additional platoon. This change enhanced the habitual relationship between the division's infantry battalions and sapper platoons.
In September 1994, the battalion deployed to Haiti as part of the 10th Mountain Division Task Force (Joint Task Force 190/Multinational Force Haiti) to restore President Jean Bertrand Aristide to power. All four companies deployed and were joined by the 20th Engineer Brigade from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The 41st Engineer Battalion staff formed the nucleus of the joint engineer staff, receiving augmentation from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and other Army organizations. The primary missions were constructing basecamps, providing force protection and support to task force security operations, repairing and constructing infrastructure facilities, and building roads.
From July 1999 to March 2000, the Battalion deployed to Bosnia with the 10th Mountain Division Task Force Eagle as part of Stabilization Force 6 (SFOR6). The Battalion Headquarters peformed its wartime function as the Division Engineer Headquarters, responsible for planning and coordinating all Turkish Brigade, Norwegian/Polish Brigade, Russian Separate Airborne Brigade and U.S. Brigade Engineer and Explosive Ordinance Detachment operations in support of Multi-National Division - North. They also formed the Mine Action Center, the Base Camp Coordination Agency, and the Construction Management Cell. In September 1999, Bravo Company and 642nd CSE Company also deployed and joined the Battalion Headquarters in supporting the Dayton Peace Accords. Their missions included monitoring demining operations, performing engineer reconnaissance, and maintaining lines of communication. The division was scheduled to participate in the capstone event at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in September 2000.
