The end of the 1st Infantry Division’s legacy in Europe came closer to reality Thursday as the Division Engineer Brigade was inactivated at a ceremony in Bamberg, Germany.
As part of the Army transformation plan that will inactivate, convert or move parts of the 1st ID this year, many soldiers assigned to the brigade already have moved on at this point, said Maj. Bill Coppernoll, a 1st ID spokesman.
Some troops remained within the division, while some were stationed elsewhere in Europe, he said.
“Many others have moved on through normal attrition, the way they always have,” Coppernoll said.
The brigade’s 9th Engineer Battalion is preparing for a deployment with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, he said. The 82nd Engineer Battalion is converting in preparation to join the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, while the 1st Engineer Battalion will continue supporting the division’s 1st BCT in Fort Riley, Kan., where the 1st ID headquarters is moving this summer.
Built from elements of the 1st Engineer Battalion, the Engineer Brigade was formally activated in September 1993.
In 1996, the brigade moved to Bamberg, according to the 1st ID Web site. Less than eight months later, the brigade began peacekeeping operations in the Balkans that would last until 2003.
In 2004, the brigade went to Iraq, with some elements supporting brigade combat teams by conducting route clearance, explosive ordnance disposal and numerous patrols.
The brigade returned from Iraq in the spring of 2005.
