Appendix D

TYPES OF ENGINEER UNITS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS1

Combat Battalion, Army or Corps
(TOE 5-35D)

Thirty-three officers, 586 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, three combat companies. Authorized a minimum of light equipment (two cranes, three graders, three scooploaders, and seven dozers) . This unit was capable of forward area construction, obstacle preparation and removal, demolition work, and fighting as infantry. The battalion was 100 percent mobile.

Combat Battalion, Army or Corps
(TOE 5-35E)

Thirty-nine officers, 755 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, four combat companies. This unit differed from the TOE 5-35D battalion in the addition of the fourth combat company and a significant amount of light equipment. The battalion was authorized three cranes, four graders, thirteen scooploaders, one sixteen-cubic-foot concrete mixer, and ten dozers. The headquarters company was sometimes authorized a vertical construction section as a special augmentation. The basic capabilities of the battalion were the same as those of the TOE 5-35D battalion. The battalion was 100 percent mobile and was air transportable in heavy aircraft.

Construction Battalion
(TOE 5-115D)

Thirty-one officers, 850 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, engineer equipment and maintenance company, three engineer construction companies. This unit provided for basic general construction of buildings, structures, roads, airfields, bridges and pipelines, paving operations, and reconstruction of major facilities. Equipped with twenty-four scrapers, thirteen dozers, six con­

1 Engineer units in Vietnam operated under many tables of organization and equipment and modified tables of equipment. The information provided in this appendix is based on the tables of equipment that most nearly represent the typical situation.

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crete mixers, eight cranes, one 75-tons-per-hour crusher, nine graders, and considerable vertical construction machinery, the battalion possessed both a vertical and horizontal capability. The battalion was also authorized a direct support maintenance section. The unit was 95 percent mobile.

Construction Battalion
(TOE 5-115E)

Thirty-eight officers, 867 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, engineer equipment and maintenance company, three engineer construction companies. This battalion was generally similar in capabilities and organization to the 5-115D construction battalion with the exception of a reduction in the number of authorized scrapers (twenty-four to twelve) and the deletion of the maintenance capability for ordnance vehicles from the direct support maintenance section. The unit was 87 percent mobile.

Engineer Battalion, Airmobile Division
(TOE 5-215T)

Thirty-eight officers, 582 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, three combat engineer companies. The battalion, organic to the airmobile division, provided direct support to tactical elements in removal or emplacement of obstacles and fortifications, construction of bridges, fords, culverts, and airfields for medium cargo aircraft, and fought as infantry when required. The battalion was equipped with lightweight and sectionalized earthmoving equipment (four sectionalized scrapers, forty-two 3/4-ton dump trucks, six sectionalized graders, four sectionalized combination grader scrapers) and was 100 percent air transportable with Army aircraft.

Engineer Battalion, Infantry Division
(TOE 5-155E)

Forty-six officers, 901 enlisted men. Headquarters and headquarters company, four combat engineer companies, bridge company. The battalion, organic to the infantry division, was capable of construction and repair of bridges, roads, airfields, emplacement or removal of obstacles and fortifications, dry gap and float bridging, and fighting as infantry when required. This unit was equipped with 560 feet of aluminum balk (floor pieces) float bridge, twelve dozers, four cranes, four graders, and twelve scooploaders. The basic vehicle within the battalion was the five-ton dump truck (fifty-eight authorized). The unit was 100 percent mobile.

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Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Engineer Brigade,
Army of Corps or Engineer Brigade (Construction)
(TOE 5-101E)

Twenty officers, 64 enlisted men (Army), or 34 officers, 110 enlisted men (construction). This unit provided the overhead necessary to command and coordinate the activities of subordinate engineer groups and battalions. When organized as an army or corps brigade, the unit was augmented by personnel to staff the appropriate engineer section. When organized as a construction brigade, the unit was authorized additional engineer planning and design personnel. In its army or corps organization it was capable of controlling two or three combat groups; in the construction organization, three to four construction groups. In either configuration, the unit was authorized two utility helicopters.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Combat Group
(TOE 5-52D)

Twenty-five officers, eighty-six enlisted men. This unit provided the overhead for command and control of three to six combat battalions. The emphasis within the unit rested with planning and coordinating combat support activities. The unit was not authorized an engineer design section. It was 100 percent mobile and was authorized six fixed wing aircraft and six helicopters (four observation, two utility) .

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Construction Group
(TOE 5-112D, TOE 5-112E)

Twenty officers, seventy-eight enlisted men. This unit provided the overhead for command and control of three to five construction battalions. The unit also possessed the capability to design, plan, and supervise construction of routes of communication, buildings, airfields, minimal petroleum storage facilities, and minimal port facilities. In the 5-112D configuration the unit was authorized both an operations and an engineering section and two aircraft. In the 5-112E organization, the unit was authorized only a combined engineer operations section. It was authorized three utility helicopters.

Construction Support Company
(TOE 5-114D)

Six officers, 158 enlisted men. This unit, organized with quarrying, asphalt paving, and specialized equipment support capabilities,

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provided general support to combat and construction battalions engaged in earthwork and surfacing operations. The unit possessed direct support maintenance capability for its organic equipment. The unit was 50 percent mobile.

Dump Truck Company
(TOE 5-124D)

Four officers, 104 enlisted men. Equipped with forty-eight five­ton dump trucks, the company provided haul support to units engaged in moving gravel, sand, dirt, and crushed stone. The unit was 100 percent mobile.

Light Equipment Company
(TOE 5-54E)

Eight officers, 207 enlisted men. This unit provided equipment support to engineer combat battalions and produced aggregate through company quarrying operations. The company was authorized six cranes, nine graders, four scooploaders, two concrete mixers, nine eighteen-cubic-yard scrapers, and four dozers. The unit was 100 percent mobile.

Port Construction Company
(TOE 5-129D)

Thirteen officers, 208 enlisted men. This company was capable of supporting port construction and rehabilitation and beach construction. Provided with a variety of marine equipment and authorized a diving section, the unit was capable of operations on both land and water. The unit was 50 percent ground mobile.

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page updated 19 June 2003

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