AEA, with the generous support of our members, provides or sponsors several award recognition programs to benefit soldiers and civilians in the Corps of Engineers community.
de Fleury Medal
The de Fleury Medal honors and recognizes those individuals who have provided significant contributions to Army Engineering. The medal also emphasizes the history, customs, and traditions of the Corps of Engineers community.
The medal is named for a French Engineer Francois Louis Tesseidre de Fleury, a French engineer who served with the American Army in its fight for independence from Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress appointed de Fleury a captain of engineers, and he quickly proved himself through courage under fire. On October 1,1779, de Fleury was praised for his valor by the men who had penned the Declaration of Independence and who would later sign the Constitution. For his intrepid behavior, the Continental Congress ordered that a medal be struck in his honor.
The de Fleury Medal is the highest award for professional excellence in the Engineer Regiment. There are four orders of the medal — Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Steel. The Gold de Fleury medal is normally awarded only to a single individual each year and is the highest honor. The Steel de Fleury Medal is awarded annually to several junior soldiers and civilians within the Engineer Regiment based on input from senior Commanders and their Sergeants Major. While the award is not part of the U.S. Army awards system, it may be worn at official Regimental functions.
The Essayons Award honors spouses of members of the Engineer Regiment who have made significant voluntary contributions to the morale, welfare, and spirit of engineer units and organizations. The criteria for nominations are: (1) the nominee should be the spouse of an engineer Soldier or engineer DOD civilian; (2) the nominees spouse should be a member of AEA; (3) the nominee should be a spouse who has voluntarily provided significant contributions and support to the Engineer Corps, engineer units, engineer families, and/or multiple communities; (4) most importantly, the spouse must possess qualities that set the individual apart from other Engineer Corps spouses or their peers.
Spouses of military and civilian personnel from the Active Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard are eligible. Spouses of retired individuals are also eligible. Approval for this award is the Chief of Engineers, Deputy Chief of Engineers, Commandant U.S. Army Engineer School, Assistant Commandant U.S. Army Engineer School, and Engineer Brigade Commanders.
Caterpillar Silver de Fleury Medal
This award recognizes members of the Regiment who retired from service between 1945 and 1975.
Caterpillar provides financial support to this program..
Army Combat Engineer Sergeants (ACES) Award
This award recognizes the best Engineer Squad Leader/Section Sergeant in every Engineer Battalion, Separate Engineer Company/Detachment — Active, National Guard and Reserve component. JCB provides financial support to this program.
Super Sapper Award
This award recognizes the Best Engineer Junior Ranking Soldier in each battalion or separate company size unit in the force. AEA and BAE Systems sponsor these awards.
OCS Hall of Fame
Any graduate of Officer Candidate School (OCS) who attains the rank of colonel or higher and served as an Engineer or is awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, or Medal of Honor is eligible for induction into the Engineer OCS Hall of Fame. The AEA helps administer this program in coordination with the Army Engineer School.
Awards from the Army Engineer School
AEA recognizes and promotes awards made by the Army Engineer School at our annual Castle Ball and publishing the recipients in the Army Engineer Magazine and AEA Daily. These include:
- The Flowers Award for Best Sapper Team recognizes to the best team in the annual “Best Sapper” competition held at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Teams of two come from throughout the force and undergo a rigorous multi-day series of competitive events that require demonstration of the highest level of physical fitness, mental stamina and ability to successfully perform a large number of combat and other engineer tasks. The award is represented by a bust of LTG (Ret) Robert Flowers, the 50th Chief of Engineers, and the person most responsible for the recognition of Army Sappers in relation to other high skill areas such as Ranger and Special Forces. AEA and BAE Systems support this award.
- The Best Warrant Officer Award recognizes annually the top Engineer Warrant Officer in the Army (Active and Reserve Components). Kipper Tool provides support to this program with a plaque-type memento.
- The Best Civilian Award recognizes annually the best civilian in the Engineer Regiment. This award is sponsored by LTG (Ret) John W. Morris.
- The Van Autreve Award recognizes the Engineer Soldier of the Year in the Army active and reserve components. The award is named to honor former Sergeant Major of the Army Leon Van Autreve.
- The Best Platoon Leader Award recognizes the top Engineer Platoon Leaders in the Army (Active and Reserve Components).
Information pertaining to nomination procedures can be obtained by contacting the Engineer Personnel Proponency Office at 573.563.4087.
