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The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778.[1] The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that develops a wide variety of engineering skills including: combat engineer, bridging, construction, geospatial, topography, diving, and firefighting.

Quick Facts Active, Country ...
United States Army Engineer School (USAES)
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Active1778 – present
CountryUnited States United States
Allegiance United States Army
BranchRegular Army
TypeTRADOC school
RoleGenerate military engineer capabilities for the U.S. Army
Garrison/HQFort Leonard Wood
Motto(s)Essayons (Let Us Try)
ColorsScarlet and White
Commanders
CommandantColonel Stephen Kolouch
Command Sergeant MajorCSM Zachary Plummer
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USAES defines its mission as:

Synchronize and integrate the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leader Development, Personnel, and Facilities (DOTMLPF) domains to ensure the Engineer Regiment is prepared to provide engineer support now and into the future.[2]

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History

As with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Engineer School traces its roots to the American Revolution. General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge, dated 9 June 1778 read "3 Captains and 9 Lieutenants are wanted to officer the Company of Sappers. As the Corps will be a SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, it opens a prospect to such gentlemen as enter it...." Shortly after the publishing of the order, the "school" moved to the river fortifications at West Point. With the end of the war and the mustering out of the Army, the school closed. However, the Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers was constituted a military school and was reopened at the same location in 1794. For four years it constituted a school of application for new engineers and artillerymen. Closing in 1798, due to a fire which destroyed many facilities, the engineers were without a school for three years.

In 1801, the War Department revived the school, and Major Jonathan Williams became its superintendent. Less than a year later, Congress authorized the Corps of Engineers and constituted it at West Point as a military academy. For the next 64 years, the Military Academy was under the supervision of the Corps. Although the curriculum was heavily laced with engineering subjects, the Academy commissioned officers into all branches of the service. Following the American Civil War (1861–1865), supervision of the Academy passed to the War Department.

When the Engineer Battalion took station at the Fort at Willets Point (later renamed Fort Totten) in 1866, Engineer leaders saw the opportunity to develop a school oriented exclusively to engineers. From 1868 to 1885, an informal School of Application existed; its first commander was Major Henry Larcom Abbot, who developed the Army's first modern underwater minefield system there. Part of this effort involved the creation of the Essayons Club. This was an informal group which met during the winter months and presented professional engineer papers. In 1885, the School of Application received formal recognition by the War Department. In 1890, the name was changed to United States Engineer School.

In 1901, the School moved from Willets Point to Washington Barracks in Washington, D.C., and was renamed the Engineer School of Application. This name lasted only a few years. In 1904, the name was changed back to the Engineer School. The Engineer School remained at Washington Barracks for the next 19 years, although it closed from time to time because of a shortage of officers, or national emergencies. In 1909, certain courses associated with the field army moved to Ft. Leavenworth, and the Army Field Engineer School opened in 1910. That school, a part of the Army Service Schools, closed in 1916. The First World War forced a closing of the Engineer School as the instructors and students were needed to officer the expanding engineer force. The school resumed its instruction in 1920, but at a different location. Washington Barracks was transferred to the General Staff College and the Engineer School moved to Camp A. A. Humphreys, south of Mount Vernon, in Virginia. This was a World War I camp built on land acquired by the War Department in 1912. The original name for the tract was Belvoir. In 1935, Camp Humphreys was renamed Fort Belvoir.[3]

After 68 years, in 1988, the home of the Engineer School was moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri "due to a shortage of land for training at Fort Belvoir" [3] The move also allowed engineer training of officers, warrant officers and enlisted to be conducted in the same location.[4]

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USAES and Engineer Regiment symbology.

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The distinctive insignia for the U.S. Army Engineer School was approved by the War Department on June 27, 1929. It had been used on diplomas and stationery since 1924. Scarlet and white are the colors of the Engineers. Scarlet represents the shared heritage with the Artillery. From 1794 to 1802, the Engineers were part of the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. White is the traditional color of the Infantry. Its use on the shield reflects the Engineers’ secondary mission of fighting as infantry. Above the shield is the “Lamp of Knowledge”. The lamps represents the Engineer Schools mission to train and educate.[5]

Under the shield is the motto of the Engineers-Essayons. It is a French term which means “Let us strive”, “Let us try”. The use of this term reflects the contributions of French Engineers to the Nation’s struggle for independence and the influence of the French Engineers on the early development of the Corps.

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The castle symbolizes the classical role of Engineers as those who build fortifications and those who breach their walls. The castle has been used by the Corps since 1840, when it was adopted as a device on the uniform of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy.

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Organization

The U.S. Army Engineer School is composed of Headquarters staff, the Directorate of Training and Leader Development, the Directorate Of Environmental Protection and Management, 1st Engineer Brigade, the Counter Explosive Hazards Center and the Engineer Personnel Development Office.

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Visual representation of the U.S. Army Engineer School structure

Command

As of 2024, the Commandant of the U.S. Army Engineer School is Colonel Stephen Kolouch. The Regimental Command Sergeant Major is CSM Zachary Plummer. The Regimental Chief Warrant Officer is CW5 Willie Gadsden Jr.

Commandants

More information Image, Name ...
ImageNamePeriod of Office
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Colonel Jonathan Williams1802–1812
Brigadier General Joseph Gardner Swift1812–1817
Brigadier General Sylvanus Thayer1817–1833
Brigadier General Rene' E. De Russy1833–1838
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Major General Richard Delafield1838–1845 & 1856–1861
Brigadier General Henry Brewerton1845–1852
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Colonel Robert Edward Lee1852–1855
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Major General John G. Barnard1855–1856
Captain Pierre G. T. Beauregard1861
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander H. Bowman1861–1864
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Major General Zealous B. Tower1864
Brigadier General George Washington Cullum1864–1866
Major James C. Duane1866–1868
Major Henry Larcum Abbot1868–1886
Major Cyrus B. Comstock1886–1887
Major William R. King1887–1895
Major William T. Rossell1895
Major John G. D. Knight1895–1901
Major William M. Black1901–1903
Major Edward Burr1903–1906
Major Eben Eveleth Winslow1906–1907
Major William Campbell Langfitt1907–1910
Major William Jones Barden1910–1913
Major Joseph Ernst Kuhn1913–1914
Major William Preston Wooten1914–1916
Major Gustave Rudolph Lukesh1916
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Major General Mason Mathews Patrick1916–1917 & 1921
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Colonel William Wright Harts1917
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Colonel Henry Jervey1917
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Colonel Frederic Vaughn Abbot1917–1918
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Colonel Richard Park1918
Brigadier General Charles William Kutz1918
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Colonel Jay Johnson Morrow1919
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Major General Clement A. F. Flagler1919–1920
Brigadier General William Durward Connor1920
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Colonel Meriwether Lewis Walker1920–1921
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Major General Mason M. Patrick1921
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Colonel James Albert Woodruff1921–1924
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Colonel Harry Burgess1924
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Colonel Sherwood Alfred Cheney1924–1925
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Colonel Edward Murphy Markham1925–1929
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Colonel Edward Hugh Schulz1929–1933
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Colonel George Redfield Spalding1933–1935
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Colonel Laurance V. Frazier1935–1936
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Colonel Julian Larcombe Schley1936–1937
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Colonel Thomas Mathew Robins1938–1939
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Colonel James Alexander O'Connor1939–1940
Brigadier General Roscoe Campbell Crawford1940–1943
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Colonel Xenophon Herbert Price1943–1944
Brigadier General Edwin H. Marks1944
Brigadier General Gordon Russell Young1944
Brigadier General Dwight Frederick Johns1944–1945
Brigadier General Patrick Henry Timothy Jr.1936–1937
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Major General Francis B. Wilby1945–1946
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Colonel Willis Edward Teale1946–1947
ThumbMajor General William Morris Hoge Jr.1947–1948
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Major General Douglas Lafayette Weart1948–1951
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Major General Stanley Lonzo Scott1951
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Major General A. W. Pence1951–1954 (Died in office)
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Major General Louis W. Prentiss1954–1956
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Major General David H. Tulley1956–1958
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Major General Gerald E. Galloway1958–1960
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Major General Walter K. Wilson Jr.1960–1961
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Major General Stephen R. Hanmer1961–1962
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Major General Lawrence J. Lincoln1962–1963
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Major General William F. Cassidy1963–1965
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Major General Frederick J. Clarke1965–1966
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Major General Robert F. Seedlock1966–1967
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Major General Arthur William Oberbeck1968
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Major General George H. Walker1968–1969
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Major General William C. Gribble Jr.1969–1970
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Major General Robert R. Ploger1970–1973
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Major General Harold R. Parfitt1973–1975
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Major General James A. Johnson1975–1977
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Major General James L. Kelly1977–1980
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Major General Max W. Noah1980–1982
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Major General James Neal Ellis1982–1984
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Major General Richard S. Kem1984–1987
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Major General William H. Reno1987–1988
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Major General Daniel R. Schroeder1988–1991
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Major General Daniel W. Christman1991–1993
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Major General Joe N. Ballard1993–1995
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Major General Clair F. Gill1995–1997
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Major General Robert B. Flowers1997–2000
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Major General Anders B. Aadland2000–2002
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Major General Robert L. Van Antwerp Jr.2002–2004
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Major General Randal Castro2004–2006
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Major General William H. McCoy2006–2007
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Brigadier General Gregg Martin2007–2008
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Colonel Robert A. Tipton2008–2009
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Brigadier General Bryan G. Watson2009–2011
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Brigadier General Peter “Duke” DeLuca2011–2013
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Brigadier General Anthony C. Funkhouser2013-2015
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Brigadier General James H. Raymer2015 - 2017
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Brigadier General Robert F. Whittle Jr.2017 - 2019
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Brigadier General Mark Quander2019 - 2021
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Colonel Daniel H. Hibner2021–2022
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COLONEL JOSEPH C. “CLETE” GOETZ II2022-2024
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COLONEL STEPHEN J. KOLOUCH2024-present
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Regimental Command Sergeants Major

More information Image, Name ...
ImageNamePeriod of Office
SGM Frederick W. Gerber1867–1875
SGM A.M. Wagner1961–1962
SGM G.F. Humphreys1962–1964
SGM M.H. Philips1964–1966
SGM A.M. WagnerJan-Mar 1966
SGM M.H. Philips1966-1968
SGM Harry W. DawsonMar-Jul 1968
CSM Griffith A. Jones1968–1969
CSM M.H. Philips1969–1971
CSM H. Salazar1971–1973
CSM Adriano W. Benini1973–1975
CSM Robert G. Cady1975–1977
CSM Lucion L. Cowart1977–1979
CSM Frederick J. Eisenbart1979–1981
CSM Marvin L. Knowles1981–1982
CSM Orville W. Troesch Jr.1982–1984
CSM C.T. Tucker1984–1986
CSM M. Lee1986–1988
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CSM Acie Gardner1986–1991
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CSM W. E. Woodall1991–1992
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CSM Richard N. Wilson1992–1993
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CSM Roy L. Burns1993–1996
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CSM Julius Nutter1996–1997
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CSM Robert M. Dils1997–1999
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CSM Arthur Laughlin1999–2000
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CSM Robert R. Robinson II2000–2002
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CSM William D. McDaniel Jr.2002–2003
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CSM Clinton J. Pearson2003–2008
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CSM Robert J. Wells2008–2011
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CSM Terrence W. Murphy2011–2013
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CSM Butler J. Kendrick Jr.2013 - 2015
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CSM Bradley J. Houston2015 - 2017
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CSM Trevor C. Walker2017 - 2018
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CSM Douglas William Galick2019 - 2020
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CSM John T. Brennan2020 - 2023
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CSM Zachary Plummer2023 - Present
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Regimental Chief Warrant Officers

More information Image, Name ...
ImageNamePeriod of Office
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CW5 Robert K. Lamphear2007–2011
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CW5 Scott R. Owens2011 - 2015
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CW5 John F. Fobish2015 - 2017
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CW5 Jerome Bussey2017 - 2019
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CW5 Dean A. Registe2019 - 2023
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CW5 Willie Gadsden Jr.2023 - present
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Engineer

The school published Engineer (ISSN 0046-1989), a professional bulletin.

See also

References

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