1st Combat Engineer Battalion (1st CEB) Merchandise

"The Super Breed" -

The 1st Combat Engineer Battalion (1st CEB) was formed on 24 February 1941 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Marine Division to be a specialized unit to conduct shore party operations during amphibious assaults, and to provide close combat engineer support to the Marine infantry.

They were re-designated on 12 January 1943 as the 1st Battalion, 17th Marines and again on 30 June 1944 as the First Engineer Battalion. The battalion participated in combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal, Eastern New Guinea, Battle of New Britain, Battle of Peleliu and the Battle of Okinawa. 

The battalion took part in combat operations during the battles of the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon-Seoul and the Chosen Reservoir during the Korean War.

During the Vietnam War the 1st Engineer Battalion supported 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the 1st 5th and 7th Marines in combat operations from July 1965 through April 1971, operating from Qui-Nhon, Chu-Lai and Da-Nang, the most famous of which was Operation "Starlight" conducted August 1965.

The battalion participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Southwest Asia from August 1990 until March 1991. The battalion has participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2003 until the present. The battalion headquarters and 3 engineer companies were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 as part of the NATO counterinsurgency offensive in the Helmand Province, to Musa Qal’eh in 2010, and returned again, 2011 and 2013.