U.S. Army Engineers: 250 Years of Building Strong

By U.S. Army Engineer School Senior Leaders

Article published on: June 17, 2025

Read Time: < 5 mins

“It’s impossible, says pride. It’s risky, says experience. It’s a dead-end, says reason. ESSAYONS, LET US TRY, whispers the heart!” This 19-century poem written originally in French by William Arthur Ward captures the essence of the Engineer Regiment as it began on June 16th 1775, the spirit that drives it today, and the fortitude that carries it into the future. Since the first fighting that led to the birth of our Nation, proudly displayed as our first battle streamer on our Army colors, “Lexington 1775,” Engineers were there! The Engineer Regiment’s story is woven into every battle streamer since then and continues as we support the call of our Nation at home and abroad as part of the combined arms team. Much of our heritage, including the term Sapper, come from the French engineers that trained and guided us during our fight for independence. Our most famous engineer hero and inspiration of our Regimental Medal was from France, LTC Francois Louis T. de Fleury. He led Americans in the stunning recapture of Stony Point on the Hudson River on July 15th, 1779 and is the recipient of the first medal struck by the Continental Congress that reads in Latin, A Memorial and Reward for Courage and Boldness — Fortifications, Marshes, Enemies Overcome.

MG(R) Bryan Watson remarked after the U.S. Army Engineer School’s Regimental Week and 250th Birthday Celebration at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in April 2025, that the battlefield skills, uniforms, and equipment of today’s Engineer Regiment are entirely different from those of our forefathers and their forefathers; much has changed. What has not changed is the cunning ingenuity, dogged tenacity, and steel courage of the Engineer Soldier. We remain steadfast throughout 250 years of history and epic changes, as these attributes were forged in the very beginning to withstand time. We celebrate our lineage by recounting the breadth of our missions from mapping the Northwest Passage, to construction of the Panama Canal, cutting firebase into the jungles of Vietnam, to assisting the people of Lahaina Hawaii and Southern California put their lives back together in the aftermath of the recent wildfire. Our lineage captures the undaunted spirit and courage of the Engineers clearing the wreckage from the tragic fall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, clearing mines ahead of maneuver forces on the beachhead of Normandy in WW II, burning the colors in the face of the enemy at Kunu-Ri in Korea, and clearing the routes of Improvised Explosive Devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers consists of two parts, the Corps and the Engineer Regiment. The Corps is a team of over 35,000 dedicated Civilians and Soldiers delivering engineering solutions around the world. At home, the Corps manages all inland waterway systems and military construction. Abroad they manage military construction projects and support engineering efforts in over 130 countries. The Engineer Regiment consists of over 80,000 uniformed Engineers; over half are National Guard, over a quarter are U.S. Army Reserve, and the remaining are Active Duty. These technical and tactical experts across the Total Army provide Combat, General, and Geospatial Engineering to commanders at all echelons with over 20 Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) – 13 enlisted, four Non-Commissioned Officer, 2 Warrant Officer, and one officer (with a lot of help from the 919A and 91L engineer maintainers!). These Sappers, mappers, builders, bridgers, divers, fire fighters, and power providers are the heart of our Regiment and bring their expertise to bear to solve the toughest problems facing our maneuver commanders and our Nation.

The Operational Environment around the world is demanding that we Engineers continue to draw on the successes of the past while transforming to meet the needs of the combined-arms team today at all echelons. To support maneuver commanders at the tactical level, Task Force Engineers are honing their expertise at Engagement Area Development and Combined-Arms Breaching. Engineer Squad Leaders are supporting a maneuver Company Team. Engineer Platoon Leaders and Platoon Sergeants are supporting maneuver Task Forces. Engineer Company Commanders and First Sergeants are supporting maneuver Brigades. And Battalion Commanders and Command Sergeant Majors are supporting Divisions. Expertise, updates to individual and collective training, modernized leader development and organizational changes are underway to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s armed conflict. Engineer doctrine is also rapidly improving starting with FM 3-34 Engineer Operations and will continue this year through multiple ATP revisions and the publishing of ATP 3-34.10 Engineer Platoons that will include key chapters from the famous ‘Engineer Bible,’ TM 3-34.85 Engineer Field Data.

Organizations are modernizing too to best support Army Divisions. Engineers have developed concepts for phasing in Human-Machine Integration units that can leverage remote breaching and unmanned systems to breach more effectively in support of maneuver while reducing risk to lead elements. Active duty Engineer Brigades across our Army are using operational funds to experiment with cutting edge technology in the spirit of Continuous Transformation, the Chief of Staff of the Army’s initiative to modernize quicker. Industry, Academia, Army Futures Command, and our seven laboratories across the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center are developing and testing technology to improve our effectiveness in remote construction equipment, robotic breaching, and remote rafting operations. At the lowest level, Engineers are innovating and developing solutions to increase speed and effectiveness while reducing risk, like 12C bridgers who developed an automated means to release bridge bays and boats from the Common Bridge Transporter. This increased the speed of raft and bridge construction while reducing risk to the Soldiers.

The Engineer Regiment celebrates 250 years of steadfast service to our Nation and Army; 250 years of evolution and revolution; 250 years of doing whatever it takes to support the maneuver commander; 250 years of Engineer lineage unfaded by time. All of it underpinned by the extraordinary promise of new generations of women and men who will don our Castles and vow to carry the Regiment’s DNA into the next 250 years!