As an Army National Guard unit, the 35th Engineer Brigade is under the command of the governor of Missouri in peacetime, but can be called upon when needed by the president.

The 35th Engineer Brigade was originally organized as the Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment at St. Louis, Missouri, on 17 July 1928.

[6] The 35th Engineer Brigade, was tasked in late 2000 with handling much of the planning pertaining to Operation Alaskan Road.

The project comes as fulfillment of a government promise that was originally made to Metlakatla, home of Alaska's last Indian reservation.

[7] The unit deployed again to the Baghdad area as part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 and 2008.

In a telephone interview, Brigadier General Randy Alewel, commander of the 35th Engineer Brigade, confirmed that members of his unit were involved.

He stated that, “We conducted an investigation and disciplinary action was imposed on those soldiers.” However, Alewell declined to say how many soldiers were involved, the extent of the looting, or what discipline they received.