Flame Battalion of the Thirtieth Regiment Engineers." Throughout the Army they are known as the "Hell Fire Boys." In reality training consisted mostly of close order drill, marching, inspections and guard duty. The U.S. Army had no men with chemical warfare experience, no weapons or agents to train for offensive chemical warfare, and no gas masks or other protection to train for defensive chemical warfare. On 24 December 1917, the first two companies of the Regiment deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), still with no equipment or training for chemical warfare. World War I Once in France, companies A and B reported to the British Special (Chemical) Brigade and received training in offensive chemical warfare with Livens projectors and Stokes mortars. Five platoons completed a five-week training course and began offensive operations under supervision of the Special Brigade on 2 March, only 93 days after formal organization. During this period the 30th Engineers participated in the largest gas attack of the war, consisting of 4,000 Livens projectors. On 22 May 1918, the Regiment began combat operations as an independent American unit. The 30th Engineers won three campaign streamers – Flanders 1918, Lys, and Lorraine 1918 which are still carried on the battalion colors today. On 13 July 1918 the Regiment was re-designated as the 1st Gas Regiment. In its first campaign (Aisne-Marne) the front was very fluid. Gas weapons were considered static and of little use when positions were changing frequently. Therefore, the Regiment was assigned to road repairs and the men performed this task with such excellence that they were praised by the I Corps Commanding General for “maintaining practically the entire line of communication upon which the advancing Divisions were dependent” which was “of first importance” to the success of the campaign. Meanwhile, officers and picked weapon squads demonstrated to American combat commanders the effectiveness of their gas weaponry. This began a tradition still demonstrated by the Red Dragons today: gaining trust and confidence by excelling at onerous, off-mission work, and using persuasion and education to ensure their chemical capabilities are used most effectively. For their second campaign (St. Mihiel) they were assigned all along the American front, supporting eight infantry divisions. Confounding the view that gas weapons were static, members of the Regiment began carrying their Stokes mortars along with the advancing infantry to assist by taking out enemy machine gun positions