Special Engineer Detachment

The Special Engineer Detachment (SED) was a US Army program that identified enlisted personnel with technical skills, such as machining, or who had some science education beyond high school. Those identified were organized into the Special Engineer Detachment, or SED. SED personnel began arriving at Los Alamos in October 1943. By August 1945, 1800 SED personnel worked at Los Alamos.^[3] These troops worked in all areas and activities of the Laboratory, including the Trinity Test, and were involved in overseas operations on Tinian.

9812nd Special Engineer Detachment [1]
Manhattan Project Shoulder Patch
Active	May 22, 1943 to June 1946(?) [2]
Country	United States
Branch	Army
Size	334 on May 22, 1943, 1800 at peak in September 1945
Garrison/HQ	Los Alamos Laboratory, Oak Ridge
Engagements	World War II Manhattan Project
Commanders
Notable commanders	Captain William A. Fogg Captain William A. Barger

An article released by the Atomic Heritage Foundation wrote that; "After the war, many went back to school and became successful scientists in their own right—including Val Fitch, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980."^[4]