2nd Combat Engineer Regiment (Australia)

The 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment (2CER) is an Australian Army modular engineer regiment trained for sapper/combat engineer operations. 2 CER's lineage is traced back to 7th Field Company (7 Fd Coy). During World War I, this unit was renowned for action during the Battle of the Somme, Menin Road and the Hindenburg Line. During World War II, it fought the Japanese at Kokoda and on Bougainville. The Regiment is located at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland and is part of 7th Brigade, attached to Forces Command.

World War I
The 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment traces its history back to the 4th Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), which was raised in New South Wales and then later renamed the 7th Field Company (7 Fd Coy) on 20 September 1915. The 7 Fd Coy was raised for overseas service with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and served with distinction in Egypt and France during World War I, where it saw action in the Battle of the Somme, Menin Road and the Hindenburg Line before returning to Australia and disbandment on 23 May 1919.

In 1921 the Australian government decided to restructure the part-time Citizens Forces units to replicate the numerical designations and perpetuate the honours of the AIF. As a result, on 1 May 1921, the unit was re-raised as the 7 Fd Coy of the 1st Division, based in Ipswich.

World War II
Due to the provisions of the Defence Act (1903) which precluded deploying the Militia outside of Australian territory, following the outbreak of World War II, the Australian government decided to raise an all volunteer force for overseas service, known as the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). During this time the units of the Militia undertook brief periods of continuous service to undertake training and other defensive tasks in Australia in an effort to improve the nation's defences in case of war in the Pacific. With Japan's entry into the war following the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya, the strategic situation worsened and units of the Militia were mobilised for war service. 7 Fld Coy was called out for full-time service in May 1942 and was eventually gazetted as an Australian Imperial Force unit. The unit served in Papua New Guinea and fought against the Japanese along the Kokoda Track and on Bougainville until the end of the war. 7 Fd Coy returned to Australia on 3 January 1946 and disbanded once again on 4 February 1946. A second Queensland unit, the 11th Field Company, which had been based at Kelvin Grove and Toowong before the war, also saw active service in New Guinea and Bougainville during this time.

Post World War II
On 19 June 1947, a Special Survey Troop was activated for employment on the proposed Rocket Range at Woomera and then later expanded. The unit was involved in the construction of facilities for the nuclear tests conducted at Emu Claypan during the 1950s. On 11 March 1949, this unit became the Special Construction Squadron, RAE and was renamed 7 Field Squadron (7 Fd Sqn). During the 1949 Coal Miner's Strike, 7 Fd Sqn supported Operation EXCAVATE to win coal in the New South Wales minefields.

Korea/Malayan Emergency/Indonesian Confrontation
The unit was reassigned to 1 Field Engineer Regiment in June 1951, before being redesignated 7 Independent Field Squadron and grouped with the 1st Infantry Brigade at Casula and Holsworthy. During this time, the unit provided the nucleus of personnel used to form the 1 RAR Assault Pioneer Platoon, which subsequently took part in operations along the Pusan Perimeter during the Korean War. In 1955, elements of the squadron – 4 Troop – deployed to South-East Asia and participated in the Malayan Emergency. On 28 December 1958, the unit deployed to Vanuatu to provide humanitarian support after a tropical cyclone. In June 1960, the Australian Military Forces were reorganised along a divisional basis with the adoption of the Pentropic organisation, and 7 Independent Field Squadron (redesignated 7 Fd Sqn) moved to Wacol, Queensland. Between June and December 1964, eight officers and 132 other ranks from 7 Fd Sqn deployed to Borneo during the Indonesia Confrontation to conduct tasks such as road and airstrip construction.

On 1 December 1971, Divisional Engineers reorganised into regiments and 7 Fd Sqn became part of the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment (2 FER) which was allocated under command Headquarters 6th Task Force at Enoggera, Queensland. 2 FER consisted of 7 Fd Sqn, 2 Field Squadron (2 Fd Sqn), 24 Support Squadron (24 Spt Sqn) and a Workshops. 17 Construction Squadron, on its return from Vietnam in late 1971, was renamed 17 Field Squadron (17 Fd Sqn) and in mid-1973 was merged with 7 Fd Sqn, 2 FER.

In August 1981, 2 FER became 2/3 FER following the disbandment of 1 FER and the merging of 3 FER. 2/3 FER was based at Enoggera, Queensland and now consisted of 1 Field Squadron (Holsworthy), 7 Fd Sqn (Enoggera), 18 Field Squadron (Townsville) and a Workshops. In July 1987, 35 Field Squadron and 11 Field Squadron (11 Fd Sqn—formerly 11th Field Company and ex-5 FER located at Kelvin Grove), was brought onto the 2/3 FER unit status. At the time, it was the single largest regiment on the Army Order of Battle.

Namibia
7 Fd Sqn consisted of a Headquarters, 13th and 14th Field Troops and 24th Support Troop. In March 1989, the United Nations acting under UN Resolution 435, formed a military force—United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG)—for deployment to the war torn country of Namibia (formerly South West Africa) a protectorate of South Africa. The mission was to supervise the withdrawal of the South African Defence Force (SADF), assist those displaced by the war to return home, and to pave the way for the first 'free and fair' elections ever held in that country. The 17th Construction Squadron was mobilised for deployment and augmented by the 14th Field Troop. This contingent was sent to the northernmost part of Namibia, to an ex-SADF base at Ondangwa, in close proximity to the Angolan border for the majority of the deployment. 14th Field Troop was responsible for unexploded ordnance and landmine clearance tasks. They were deployed between March and September 1989 and handed over to elements of the 15th Field Troop, 18 Fd Sqn.

Following the Force Structure Review in 1991, 2/3 FER was broken into 1, 2 and 3 Combat Engineer Regiments (CERs) with 2 CER being raised first on 24 November 1991 and remaining at Enoggera. 2 CER is also the oldest of the CERs. 2 CER now became part of 7th Brigade and comprised 7 Combat Engineer Squadron (7 CE Sqn), 20 Engineer Support Squadron (previously 20 Divisional Engineer Support Squadron) and 11 Operational Support Squadron (logistic support and workshops). During the Ready Reserve experiment of the 1990s, 2 CER increased its establishment of Reserve members.

Sydney Olympics
2 CER next underwent a change during 1999, when it was assigned the task of forming and commanding the new Joint Incident Response Unit (JIRU), in support of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as part of Operation GOLD. The unit was split, with the majority of personnel moving to Holsworthy to form the JIRU (and subsequently the new Incident Response Regiment [IRR]), leaving a small Headquarters element and 7 CE Sqn in Enoggera. In July 2001, the Regiment underwent a force structure review which saw the unit grow in strength once again. 2 CER became a fully integrated unit consisting of a Regimental Headquarters, an Operational Support Troop (Catering Section, Q Store and Workshops), 7 CE Sqn (Reserve), 11 CE Sqn (Regular) and 20 Support Troop (Integrated).

East Timor
From April–October 2001, a composite engineer troop was deployed to support the 4 RAR Battalion Group in East Timor and undertook a wide variety of construction and combat engineering tasks along the border between East and West Timor. During November 2003 – June 2004, 2 CER supported the 6 RAR Battalion Group (AUSBATT IX) in East Timor. 2 CER subsequently led an independent Company Group in support of a multi-national United Nations Security Force as part of Operation SPIRE during the period December 2004 – June 2005. This force conducted a wide variety of support engineering and combat service support tasks in support of other United Nations forces deployed to the country. 2 CER elements returned to Timor Leste in the 8/9 RAR Timor-Leste Battle Group from January– October 2010, as part of Operation ASTUTE.

Banda Aceh
In December 2004, elements of 2 CER were deployed to provide humanitarian assistance in Banda Aceh (Operation SUMATRA ASSIST) after a tsunami was experienced within the Indonesian region and South West Pacific rim. 2 CER engineers provided civil military liaison support, cleared debris, recovered human remains, provided clean water and assisted with the humanitarian effort.

Afghanistan
2 CER deployed Squadron or larger size groups to Afghanistan's Orūzgān Province on four occasions as part of Operation SLIPPER. 2 CER(-) deployed as Reconstruction Task Force-2 over March – October 2007. 2 CER deployed a Combat Engineer Squadron Group as part of the 750 strong 6 RAR Task Group (also known as Mentoring Task Force-1) over February-October 2010, and subsequent Squadron Groups to the 8/9 RAR Task Group (MTF-4) and the 3 RAR Task Group (MTF-5) in 2012. 2 CER personnel were deployed in a wide variety of roles including training and mentoring members of the Afghan National Army, and undertaking route clearance, high-threat search, construction tasks and infantry missions. The Regiment suffered three soldiers killed in action and over 20 soldiers wounded in action.

Queensland floods
In January 2011, in the aftermath of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, 2 CER deployed throughout Brisbane and the surrounding region to assist with recovery and cleanup as part of Operation Queensland Flood Assist. 2 CER deployed elements to Bundaberg during the 2013 Queensland floods, notably building a military bridge over a flood-damaged highway bridge to re-open the Isis Highway over the Burnett River.

Other missions
Throughout its history, individual members of the unit have also been involved in operations in Cambodia, Somalia, Pakistan, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands and Bougainville, and support to police during the several Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM). In addition to its military role, 2 CER also works closely with the local Queensland community in times of emergency. This was demonstrated in November 2008 following the worst storms in Brisbane since 1985 when 2 CER co-ordinated the large scale Defence-assisted relief efforts.

Planning for the future
In 2012, 2 CER became the largest combat engineer unit in the Australian Army. The Regiment has an Army Reserve Combat Engineer squadron in addition to its Regular Army component. The Regiment will receive new barracks in 2014 as part of the Australian Army's Enhanced Land Force (ELF) initiative.

2 CER has an official Bond of Friendship with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa, Canada.

Composition

 * Regimental HQ
 * 2 Combat Engineer Squadron
 * 10 Troop
 * 11 Troop
 * 7 Combat Engineer Squadron
 * 12 Troop
 * 13 Troop
 * 14 Troop
 * 11 Combat Engineer Squadron (Army Reserve)
 * 27 Troop
 * 28 Troop
 * 29 Support Troop
 * 24 Support Squadron
 * Plant Troop
 * Construction Troop
 * Resources Troop
 * Emergency Response Troop (based at the Army Aviation Training Centre, Oakey)
 * Operational Support Squadron
 * Workshops
 * Q-Store