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120th Engineer Battalion returns home

Table of Contents

  1. The Return to Oklahoma
  2. Mission Overview
  3. Unit History and Capabilities
  4. The Significance of Coming Home

OKLAHOMA CITY — Members of the 120th Engineer Battalion returned home from a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on Wednesday, May 15. The battalion had mobilized in late June of the previous year and deployed to Afghanistan in the fall, concluding a deployment that took them across some of the most challenging terrain of the long Afghanistan campaign.

The Return to Oklahoma

The homecoming of the Broken Arrow-based 120th Engineer Battalion brought together soldiers, families, and community members for an emotional reunion — one of many such moments that define the National Guard experience. For a unit that spends most of its time as part of the civilian community, returns from deployment carry a particular weight: the soldier who steps off the plane is returning not just to a military installation, but to the full fabric of their civilian life.

The unit’s return came as the broader Afghanistan mission was beginning its transition to the drawdown phase. The 120th’s deployment had placed them at the operational heart of that transition, conducting route clearance missions that kept supply lines open as other units began to consolidate and withdraw.

Mission Overview

During their deployment in southern Afghanistan, units associated with the 120th Engineer Battalion traveled extensively across the region, performing route clearance operations that scoured roads for improvised explosive devices before convoys moved through. The work was methodical, demanding, and inherently dangerous — but essential to maintaining the freedom of movement that coalition forces depended on during the drawdown.

The battalion also provided command and control for multiple engineer route clearance companies operating in the Kandahar region, coordinating the efforts of hundreds of soldiers across a wide geographic area.

Unit History and Capabilities

The 120th is trained and equipped to provide combat engineering support to forward combat elements, as well as the construction of roads, buildings, military support facilities, and aircraft support facilities. These dual capabilities — destruction and construction, clearance and building — reflect the breadth of the combat engineer mission.

The 120th’s Afghanistan deployment was not its first. The battalion had also served in Iraq, where it similarly provided route clearance and engineering support in the early years of that conflict. In 2004, the unit suffered its first combat casualty, Spc. Kyle Adam Brinlee, who was killed when the vehicle he was riding in struck an IED. His sacrifice is part of the unit’s identity and shapes the seriousness with which its soldiers approach their missions.

The Significance of Coming Home

For a National Guard unit, coming home is different from a regular Army return. Guard soldiers return to their families, their civilian jobs, and the communities where they are neighbors, coaches, and colleagues — not just service members. The transition from the operational tempo of a combat deployment to the rhythms of civilian life is both a blessing and a challenge.

The families of the 120th Engineer Battalion’s soldiers had spent months managing households, raising children, and holding down jobs while supporting their deployed family members from afar. Their resilience is as much a part of the unit’s story as any mission completed downrange.

The return of the 120th from Afghanistan closed one chapter and opened another. For the soldiers who served, the experience of a combat deployment — the bonds formed, the challenges endured, the purposes served — becomes a permanent part of their identity. For the Oklahoma communities that sent them and welcomed them back, it is a reminder of the ongoing sacrifice that keeps the nation secure.

Photos by Maj. Geoff Legler, Office of Public Affairs, Oklahoma National Guard.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the 120th Engineer Battalion return from Afghanistan?

Members of the 120th Engineer Battalion returned home from Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, following a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battalion had mobilized in late June of the preceding year and deployed to Afghanistan in the fall.

The homecoming marked the end of a deployment that saw the unit perform combat engineering and route clearance missions in some of the most challenging operational environments of the Afghanistan war.

What was the 120th Engineer Battalion's mission in Afghanistan?

The 120th Engineer Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where they served as a combat engineering unit. Their primary mission included providing command and control for route clearance companies conducting operations in the southern region of Afghanistan.

The unit is trained and equipped to provide combat engineering support to forward combat elements, as well as to undertake the construction of roads, buildings, military support facilities, and aircraft support facilities — capabilities that were essential throughout Afghanistan's long period of military operations.

Where is the 120th Engineer Battalion based?

The 120th Engineer Battalion is based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa in northeastern Oklahoma. As a component of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, the unit draws its citizen-soldiers primarily from the Tulsa metropolitan area and surrounding communities.

The battalion has a long history of service, having deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan across multiple rotations since the start of the global war on terrorism following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

What is Operation Enduring Freedom?

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began on October 7, 2001, in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. OEF involved combat operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that harbored them, eventually transitioning to a broader counterinsurgency and nation-building mission.

Oklahoma National Guard units, including the 120th Engineer Battalion, deployed multiple times in support of OEF. The operation officially concluded on December 28, 2014, when coalition forces formally ended combat operations and transitioned to Operation Resolute Support.

What types of engineering work did the 120th perform?

As a combat engineer unit, the 120th Engineer Battalion is capable of performing a wide range of military engineering tasks. During their Afghanistan deployments, the unit focused heavily on route clearance — systematically searching roads for IEDs before convoys traveled them — as well as providing command and control oversight for multiple engineer companies in the theater.

The battalion's broader capabilities include construction of roads, buildings, military support facilities, and aircraft support facilities. These skills make combat engineer units essential both in active conflict phases and during the retrograde and base closure operations that characterized the later years of the Afghanistan mission.

How did Oklahoma communities welcome the battalion home?

Homecoming ceremonies for returning National Guard units in Oklahoma have typically involved community celebrations, formal ceremonies, and the reunion of service members with their families after months of separation. For Guard members who serve part-time, returning home means resuming civilian careers and family life that were put on hold for the deployment.

The return of the 120th Engineer Battalion represented not just a military event but a community occasion — a moment for northeastern Oklahoma communities to express their gratitude for the sacrifice of those who served and to welcome back neighbors, colleagues, and family members who had been deployed in harm's way.