Based on a Dec. 1942 recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies, both the officers and enlisted were to compose the all-African-American unit.

[1] Intensive unit training at Fort Devens culminated in an exercise at the West Virginia Maneuver Area in October through December 1943.

The unit landed in Liverpool in January 1944, and proceeded to Henley-on-Thames where they trained on bridging operations until the invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

The 1103d earned its first of five campaign streamers during the Normandy Invasion, clearing and maintaining supply routes at Omaha and Utah beaches.

Between 1947 and 1969, the unit served at Rüsselsheim, Kaufbeuren, Ettlingen, and Karlsruhe, Germany as it contributed to the defense of western Europe during the Cold War.

While in Europe, the 555th was responsible for providing engineer support to 7th Army, including obstacle construction, route maintenance, and tactical bridging.

The group began forming in August 1991 with a nucleus of soldiers from the inactivating 15th Combat Engineer Battalion, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized).

The missions included deployments to Thailand (Exercise Cobra Gold), Texas (Joint Task Force 6), Haiti, and Alaska.

These projects included road repair and upgrades, culvert installation, and construction of bridges and demolition bunkers.

They tested gear and equipment that was being created for desert and field environments, including Hesco bastions and Sand Grids.

In January 2003, the 555th Engineer Group received orders to deploy with the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) as a member of Task Force Ironhorse to the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

Upon returning from deployment, the 555th Engineer Group was provisionally redesignated by U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) as the 555th Combat Support Brigade (Maneuver Enhancement) [CSB (ME)] at Fort Lewis, Washington on 4 October 2004.

The 557th focused mainly on construction for growing Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to house coalition forces in the future.

The 14th CEB's three support platoons led the way in several combined construction partnerships with the Iraqi Army (IA) engineers, building FOBs, entry control points, and upgrading several existing structures.

In partnership with Iraqi Army Engineers, the unit maintained assured mobility, conducted tactical construction, increased Iraqi Army capabilities, and enhanced civil capacity development in support of coalition forces and Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs).

In September 2009, the 555th Engineer Brigade returned to Fort Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord) to reset and prepare for future operations in support of the Global War on Terror.

These units included dozens of ANA route clearance and construction companies, most of which began operating independently.

The brigade helped ANA forces in fielding several Corps Engineer Kandaks, which are units trained and equipped to conduct larger-scale construction, including horizontal projects (such as building and maintaining roads) and vertical projects (such as building, expanding, or hardening military facilities).

The 555th oversaw dozens of route clearance units patrol daily along key roadways to find and eliminate improvised explosive devices emplaced by insurgents.

These patrols, intended to protect coalition and Afghan forces and the civilian population, found and removed over 300 IEDs during the deployment.