Air Force Civil Engineers have yet again answered the call to deliver engineer support capability by standing up the 356th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Group at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The activation of the 356 ECEG was marked by a ceremony on August 11, 2023.
Established by the Pacific Air Forces Commander, the 356 ECEG will have two subordinate squadrons, the 356th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron and the 513th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer Squadron, as an echelon-above-wing organization to operate in a hub and spoke method. The 356 ECEG will support all PACAF engineer requirements across the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, execute theater campaign operations, and activities and investments through the theater security cooperation program by working with allies and partners. As a Direct Reporting Unit to PACAF, and in partnership with the Numbered Air Forces, Joint Region Marianas, and the 36th Wing, the ECEG will help posture the theater for Pacific Deterrence Initiative and Agile Combat Employment operations.
The 356 ECEG is a new designation of the previously inactivated 356th Combat Support Group which saw action at Nakhon Phanom Airfield, Thailand, in 1975. Comprised of Active Duty, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard Airmen who are part of either the Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, or the Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron, the mission of ECEG is to build combat projection platforms and deliver integrated base response recovery capabilities.
"The 356 ECEG is committed to deliver direct engineer support capability to the United States Pacific Air Force,” said Colonel Kenneth Joseph, 356th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Group Commander.
The 356 ECEG is the first theater engineer group assigned to the Indo-Pacific in support of U.S. Air Forces since World War II when the 927th Engineer Aviation Regiment was established on Guam to support the U.S. Army Air Corps. The 927 EAR had two subordinate battalions under its command, the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion and 804th Engineer Aviation Battalion, who were responsible for the restoration, construction, and sustainment of critical infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific theater.
The Engineer Aviation Battalions proved the air forces required their own organic capability during World War II which paved the way for the birth of the United States Air Force in 1947. U.S. Air Force Engineers were built on a legacy and are engineering for the future. The 356 ECEG continues that legacy in the Pacific and joins a proud heritage.