1st Combat Engineer Regiment (Australia)
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The 1st Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER) is a
combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tas ...
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
. Based in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
and attached to 1st Brigade, it is a Regular Army unit of the
Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, b ...
and is tasked with providing mobility and counter mobility support.


History

1 CER was raised on 1 March 1993, built around 1 Field Squadron RAE, itself raised from 1st Field Engineer Regiment (1FER) in July 1981 at
Holsworthy Barracks Holsworthy Barracks is an Australian Army military barracks, located in the Heathcote National Park in Holsworthy approximately from the central business district, in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The barracks is part of ...
, in Sydney.''1st Combat Engineer Regiment Adopts Sapper Cericky'', ''Australian Sapper 2003'', p. 35 1 Field Squadron, draws lineage from 1 Field Company that was raised as part of the
First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...
during World War I. The regiment moved from Sydney in late 1999 to
Robertson Barracks Robertson Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in the Northern Territory of Australia within the suburb of Holtze in the Municipality of Litchfield about east of the Darwin city centre. The barracks were built during the 1990s. Th ...
, Darwin. 2 Troop, 1 Field Squadron was deployed to East Timor during this time as part of INTERFET. In April 2000, 1 Troop, 1 Field Squadron replaced 2 Troop and began its six-month deployment in support of 6 RAR. The pro-Indonesian Militia reorganized, rearmed, and returned to harass the peacekeeping operations during this time. 1 Troop conducted road repairs, water purification, and constructed strong points throughout the Australian AO. In October 2000, 1 Troop was relieved by 3 Troop, 9 Field Squadron. In late 2002, 73 personnel were used to form a Battalion Engineer Group to attach to
5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) (5/7 RAR ECH was a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory and formed part of the 1st Bri ...
(5/7 RAR) for a deployment to East Timor as part of the
United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor The United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor (UNMISET) lasted from 20 May 2002 to 20 May 2005, when it was replaced by United Nations Office in Timor Leste (UNOTIL). It was established when East Timor became an internationally recognised ind ...
(UNMISET).Brownlie, ''5th/7th Battalion Engineer Group'', pp. 12–14 Among the duties performed by the engineers, above aiding 5/7 RAR, included the provision of humanitarian aid, construction of infrastructure for the East Timorese law enforcement agencies, and provision of supplementary infantry patrols. From April to August 2003, elements from 1 CER were deployed as part of Operation Relex II.Wright, ''Report on Operation Relex II'', p. 11 The sappers alternated between land-based training and periods embarked on
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
vessels assigned to Relex, where they aided Navy personnel in boarding and searching
Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel Suspected Irregular Entry Vessel (SIEV) was the operational term used by the Australian Defence Force and Australian Coastwatch for maritime vessels which appear to be attempting to reach Australia clandestinely. The legal context was of ves ...
s (SIEVs), boat handling, and other duties. During this deployment, personnel from 1 CER were involved in boarding and detaining SIEV 13, and the subsequent transfer of those aboard to the
Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (Christmas Island IRPC) or commonly just Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre, is an Australian immigration detention facility located on Christmas Island in the Indian Oce ...
. Also in 2003, 1 CER was granted approval to use the
Sand Goanna The sand goanna (''Varanus gouldii'') is a species of large Australian monitor lizard, also known as Gould's monitor, sand monitor, or racehorse goanna. Taxonomy John Edward Gray described the species in 1838 as ''Hydrosaurus gouldii'', noting ...
(''Varanus Panoptes'') as a mascot. From late 2006 to mid-2007, a third of 1 CER was deployed to
Tarin Kowt Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
, Afghanistan, as the 1st Reconstruction Task Force, the Australian contribution to a Dutch-led
Provincial Reconstruction Team A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRT ...
.''Sapper Sitrep: 1st Combat Engineer Regiment'', ''Australian Sapper 2007'', pp. 20–21 During this deployment, the remainder of 1 CER carried out a heavy training schedule. In late 2008, personnel from 1 Field Squadron and 23 Support Squadron were sent to Afghanistan on an eight-month deployment as part of the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, during which Corporal Michael Anthony Cole was awarded the Order of Australia Medal.''Sapper Sitrep: 1st Combat Engineer Regiment'', ''Australian Sapper 2008'', pp. 14–17 The rest of the regiment was involved in training and trials of the
PackBot PackBot is a series of military robots by Endeavor Robotics (previously by iRobot), an international robotics company founded in 2016, created from iRobot, that previously produced military robots since 1990. More than 2000 were used in Iraq and ...
military robot Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots designed for military applications, from transport to search & rescue and attack. Some such systems are currently in use, and many are under development. History Broa ...
(the Scout and Explorer variants) for Australian use. In July 2009, 1 CER and 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment served as the
opposing force An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. T ...
during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2009. In January 2005, the 9 Field Squadron Group provided Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Support in response to the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck off Western Sumatra on 26 December 2004. During this period, members of the regiment provided critical engineering support including water purification to the local population of Banda Aceh. The efforts of the Squadron group led to them being recipients of a Chief of the Defence Force gold level Commendation.


Structure

The regiment's current consists of a headquarters element, two field squadrons, a support squadron and an operational support squadron: *1st Combat Engineer Regiment Headquarters - Robertson Barracks, Darwin NT *1 Field Squadron - Robertson Barracks, Darwin NT *9 Field Squadron - Robertson Barracks, Darwin NT * 23 Support Squadron - Robertson Barracks, Darwin NT * Operational Support Squadron - Robertson Barracks, Darwin NT


Citations


References

* * * * * * * {{Refend Engineer regiments of Australia Military units and formations established in 1993 Military units in Northern Territory