9th Engineer Battalion (United States)

9th Engineer Battalion
9th Engineer Battalion coat of arms
Active	1917–1945 1952–1991 1996–2013 2015--Present
Country	United States
Branch	US Army Corps of Engineers
Type	Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB)
Garrison/HQ	Fort Stewart, GA
Nickname(s)	Gilas; 9E
Motto(s)	"Asistiremos" (Spanish: We will assist); "First to Cross!"
Anniversaries	Crossing of the Ludendorff Bridge 7 March 1945
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 9th Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army that deploys to designated contingency areas and conducts combat and/or stability operations in support of a brigade combat team. It is a divisional mechanized combat engineer unit, composed of three line companies and a headquarters company. Its mission is to provide assured mobility, counter-mobility, general engineering, and survivability support with well trained sappers (combat engineers) ready to deploy anywhere at any time. The unit’s history spans service in 1917 in the US southwest, World War II in France and Germany, multiple deployments to the Balkans, and multiple deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is most famous for the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine River. As of 18 May 2015, the battalion exists as the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion (9th BEB) in Fort Stewart, GA under 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

The crest was approved by the Department of the Army and the 9th Engineer Battalion on 27 July 1967. All the symbols reflect the battalion's initial service in the southwest United States. The wreath under the Gila monster is the Corps of Engineer wreath. The Gila monster represents service along the Gila River and the southwest desert from 1917-1920 (added to the insignia in 1925). The ship anchor and oars are the Coat of Arms from 9E's original parent unit, the 2nd Battalion Mounted Engineers. The horse head represents service as Mounted Engineers (1917-1941) and Armored Engineers (1941-1945). The wavy chevron running across the shield represents service along the Rio Grande from 1917-1920. The lone star on the bottom represents service in Texas from 1917-1921. The motto "Asistiremos" was added in 1925, meaning "We Will Assist" in Spanish.

The battalion was constituted 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion Mounted Engineers. They were organized 21 May 1917 at Camp Newton D. Baker, El Paso, Texas, and redesignated the 9th Engineers (Mounted) in July 1917. The 9th spent its first years in El Paso while serving at Camp Stewart, Texas.