863rd Engineer Battalion
engineer battalion of the US Army first formed in 1942
The 863rd Engineer Battalion is an engineer battalion of the United States Army first formed in 1942. The 863rd participated in World War II.
Organization
The battalion is a subordinate unit of the 372nd Engineer Brigade. As of January 2026 the battalion consists of the following units:
863rd Engineer Battalion, in Darien (IL)
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 863rd Engineer Battalion, in Darien (IL)
Forward Support Company, 863rd Engineer Battalion, in Darien (IL)
317th Engineer Company (Engineer Construction Company — ECC), in Homewood (IL)
372nd Engineer Company (Vertical Construction Company — VCC), in Pewaukee (WI)
469th Engineer Company (Combat Engineer Company — Infantry) (CEC-I), in Machesney Park (IL)
483rd Engineer Platoon (Area Clearance), in Elwood (IL)
485th Engineer Company (Vertical Construction Company — VCC), in Arlington Heights (IL)
609th Engineer Detachment (Concrete Section), in Milwaukee (WI)
966th Engineer Company (Engineer Construction Company — ECC), in Milwaukee (WI)
237th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — Fire Truck), in Sturtevant (WI)
336th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — Fire Truck), in Sturtevant (WI)
482nd Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — HQ), in Sturtevant (WI)
628th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — Fire Truck), in Sturtevant (WI)
750th Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — Fire Truck), in Sturtevant (WI)
923rd Engineer Detachment (Fire Fighting Team — Fire Truck), in Sturtevant (WI)
Lineage and honors
Constituted 15 July 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 1st Battalion, 922nd Engineer Regiment, Aviation
Activated 1 August 1942 at Geiger Field, Washington, as the 1st Battalion, 922nd Engineer Aviation Regiment
Redesignated 1 February 1942 as the 863rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
Inactivated 15 June 1946 in the Philippine Islands
Allotted 18 February 1949 to the Organized Reserve Corps
Activated 24 March 1949 with headquarters at Chicago, Illinois
(Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve)
Inactivated 17 January 1955 at Chicago, Illinois
Redesignated 18 August 1959 as the 863rd Engineer Battalion
Activated 1 October 1959 with headquarters at Aurora, Illinois
Campaign participation credit
World War II
New Guinea
Leyte
Luzon
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Inherent Resolve
Decorations
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered 17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945
Valorous Unit Award, Medal awarded to 863rd Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy) for its performance in support of Task Force Strike, 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Division throughout RC-South, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom; from 20 June 2010 to 15 April 2011.
Controversy
Operation Enduring Freedom
Controversy briefly erupted shortly after ending operations in Afghanistan (August 2011) when the 863rd Engineer Battalion was accused of abandoning one of its attached subordinate units to adverse weather conditions during the demobilization process in order to allow its organic personnel not to be inconvenienced by Hurricane Irene.
The public source identifies “863rd Engineer Battalion” as engineer battalion of the US Army first formed in 1942. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around 863rd, Engineer and Battalion.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4644892. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1942, 2026, 1946 and 1949.
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This entry incorporates text from “863rd Engineer Battalion” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.