32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

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32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team
32nd infantry division shoulder patch.svg
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1967-present
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
TypeLight infantry
Garrison/HQ Camp Williams, Wisconsin
Nickname(s)"Red Arrow" (Special Designation) [1]
"Les Terribles" (as World War I division)
Motto(s)"Forward"
Engagements Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Red Arrow") is an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) in the United States Army National Guard. [1] It was formed from the inactivated 32nd Infantry Division in 1967. It is the largest unit in the Wisconsin National Guard. [2]

Contents

History

M-60A1/A3 Patton main battle tanks are lined up in the staging area at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, Port of Baltimore, after being offloaded from the vehicle cargo/rapid response ship USNS Antares (T-AKR-294). The tanks were used by the 32nd Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) (Separate), Wisconsin Army National Guard, during Exercise REFORGER '86. M-60 tanks at dock REFORGER 86.jpg
M-60A1/A3 Patton main battle tanks are lined up in the staging area at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, Port of Baltimore, after being offloaded from the vehicle cargo/rapid response ship USNS Antares (T-AKR-294). The tanks were used by the 32nd Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) (Separate), Wisconsin Army National Guard, during Exercise REFORGER '86.

Formed in 1967 from the inactivated 32nd Infantry Division, the Red Arrow Brigade consisted of three battalions of light infantry as well as support and engineer units. The 32nd's shoulder patch, a line shot through with a red arrow, originated in the division's tenacity in piercing German lines during World War I that no other army could breach. It then became known as the Red Arrow Division. [3] After 1967 the brigade was a separate brigade of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, not part of any larger infantry division.

In April 1971, the brigade was converted to a mechanized brigade and became the 32nd "Red Arrow" Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Mechanized). In 1984–85 the brigade included 2–127 Infantry (Mech); 1–128 Infantry (Mech); 1st Battalion, 632nd Armor Regiment; 1–120 Field Artillery; Troop E, 105th Cavalry; and the 32nd Engineer Company. [4] In January 1986 the 32nd Brigade participated in REFORGER '86. The entire brigade deployed from Wisconsin, with all of its equipment, to Germany.

In October 1996, the brigade lost its separate status and became a divisional brigade, assigned to the 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division. The 34th Division had its headquarters in Minnesota.

On 1 October 2001, the brigade was reorganized as the 32nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Light). [5] This resulted in the 32nd Brigade becoming a separate formation once again, no longer attached to the 34th ID. On 23 January 2003 about 100 soldiers from various 32nd "Red Arrow" Infantry Brigade units reported for active duty for service as Task Force Red Arrow in support of Operation Noble Eagle. Task Force Red Arrow supplemented security for two years at three of Wisconsin's airbases, the 440th Airlift Wing in Milwaukee, the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee, and the 115th Fighter Wing in Madison.

The brigade was reorganized again in September 2007 as the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. With this change the 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment was reorganized as a cavalry reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition unit, known as the 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment.

Units 2015

32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (32nd IBCT) consisted of the following elements in 2015: [6]

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Units deployed to Iraq in 2004–05

First Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment

Second Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment

Second Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment

A Company Camp Navistar, Al-Abdali, Kuwait.
B Company Camp Victory, Kuwait, then Camp Virginia after its closure.
C Company Camp Buehring, Udairi Range, Kuwait, Ali Al-Salim airbase L.S.A.
D Company Camp Virginia, Kuwait. HHC at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

First Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)

Units deployed to Iraq in 2009

In September 2008, the entire 32nd Brigade and six other related units received mobilization orders directing their return to Iraq. This would be the largest operational deployment of Wisconsin National Guard forces since World War II. [12] They began training and preparing for deployment in January 2009. The brigade completed three weeks of training at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in Florida on 30 January 2009, prior to activation. [13]

The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team prepares for deployment in February 2009. Flickr - The U.S. Army - Wisconsin Army National Guard.jpg
The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team prepares for deployment in February 2009.

In February 2009 the entire BCT, consisting of 3,200 Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers, was activated along with six supporting units outside the brigade. They were given a send-off on 17 February 2009 at the Alliant Energy Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin. The soldiers reported to Fort Bliss in elements of 400–600 soldiers by 1 March to complete preparations for a one-year deployment. Sgt. Pete Smoczyk and Col. Tommy Makal, two World War II veterans who served in the 32nd Infantry Division during World War II when it was last called up for overseas combat duty, also marched out with the brigade. Spc. Marissa Hendriks, Smoczyk's granddaughter, deployed to Iraq with the unit. [14]

The units activated were:

2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment (2-127th IR)

Detachment 1, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry – Clintonville
Detachment 1, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry – Ripon

1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment

Detachment 1, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry – Abbotsford
Detachment 1, Company B, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry – Rice Lake
Detachment 1, Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry – Onalaska

1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery

Wisconsin Rapids

Special Troops Battalion, 32nd Brigade Combat Team

Detachment 1, Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 32nd Brigade Combat Team – Merrill

132nd Brigade Support Battalion

Detachment 1, Company A, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion – Elkhorn
Detachment 1, Company D, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion – Madison
Detachment 1, Company E, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion – Appleton
Detachment 1, Company F, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion – Eau Claire
Detachment 1, Company G, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion (1-G-132nd BSB) – Wisconsin Rapids

The six additional units mobilized which augmented the 32nd Brigade Combat Team had a combined authorized strength of about 1,050 soldiers in 10 Wisconsin communities. Units mobilized with the 32nd BCT were:

Detachment 1, 32nd Military Police Company – Oconomowoc
Detachment 1, 829th Engineer Company – Richland Center
Detachment 2, 829th Engineer Company – Ashland
Detachment 1, 1158th Transportation Company – Black River Falls

Headquarters deployed to Ukraine in 2019-2020

In October 2019 the brigade headquarters and other augmentation personnel were activated and deployed to Ukraine to take over operations as the head of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine headquartered at Yavoriv Combat Training Center. [15] The unit was located just outside the village of Starychi in Lviv Oblast. Adopting the name Task Force Juvigny (pronounced "Juv-in-yay") the soldiers sustained base operations and served as advisors to the rotational units coming to the CTC for training before they were deployed to the war in Donbas. They also took part in a number of local outreach programs and charity activities as well. After a quarantine period due to the COVID-19 pandemic they returned home and were demobilized in September 2020. [16]

2024 LSCO simulation, JRTC

The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Johnson [17] were the venue for a month-long National Guard exercise involving 5000 soldiers in June 2024. Live-fire training, and simulated force-on-force engagements in a large-scale combat operation (LSCO) involved the entire 32nd IBCT, as well as soldiers from other states and countries, as a readiness exercise for the National Guard. [17]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Special Designation Listing". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  2. "Official site of Governor Tony Evers".
  3. "Remembering Wisconsin's citizen soldiers" . Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  4. Isby and Kamps 1985, 384.
  5. "'Back to the future' for new, lighter 32nd infantry brigade", National Guard, 2001.
  6. "32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team". Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  7. "Celebrating the Red Arrow: Wisconsin National Guard begins campaign to honor World War I soldiers". 3 February 2017.
  8. "'Red Arrow' gains back historic Michigan infantry battalion - Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs". Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  9. "126th Regimental Association April 2017 Newsletter".
  10. "Wisconsin Army National Guard re-organizing units, armories". Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  11. "Coat of Arms". Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  12. "Defense.gov News Article: Wisconsin Guard Gets Order for Largest Deployment Since WWII". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  13. "About CBJTC - Department of Military Affairs". Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  14. Jones, Meg (17 February 2009). "Wisconsin Guardsmen get emotional send-off". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  15. Saathoof, Jared. "Red Arrow Soldiers in Ukraine for multinational mission". Website of the National Guard. U.S. Army National Guard. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  16. Larson, Vaughn. "Wisconsin Guard unit returns from Ukraine". Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. WDMA. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  17. 1 2 Staff Sgt. Katie Volkman, Wisconsin National Guard (6 Jun 2024) Wisconsin Guard brigade begins major training exercise 32nd IBCT is main unit in 5000-troop exercise for large-scale combat operations (LSCO)

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See also