The brigade was first organized as the 1st Provisional Brigade, a Regular Army unit, at Syracuse, New York, on 11 August 1917. It was redesignated as the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Division on 22 September, a day after the latter was constituted.[5]
The division spent the winter of 1917–18 training with French and Scottish veterans. Though judged unprepared by French tacticians, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was committed to combat in the spring of 1918 in a desperate attempt to halt a German advance toward Paris. Major General Edward Mann Lewis Commanded the 3rd Brigade as they deployed to reinforce the battered French along the Paris to Metz road. The Division first fought at the Battle of Belleau Wood and contributed to shattering the four-year-old stalemate on the battlefield during the Château-Thierry campaign that followed.
On 28 July 1918, Marine Corps Major General Lejeune assumed command of the 2nd Division and remained in that capacity until August 1919, when the unit returned to the US. The division went on to win hard-fought victories at Soissons and Blanc Mont. Finally the Indianhead Division participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive which ended any German hope for victory. On 11 November 1918 the Armistice was declared, and the 2nd Division entered Germany, where it assumed occupation duties until April 1919. 2nd Division returned to U.S. in July 1919.
The 2nd Division was three times awarded the French Croix de guerre for gallantry under fire at Belleau Wood, Soissons, and Blanc Mont. This entitles current members of the division and of those regiments that were part of the division at that time (including the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments) to wear a special lanyard, or fourragère, in commemoration. The Navy authorized a special uniform change that allows hospital corpsmen assigned to 5th and 6th Marine Regiments to wear a shoulder strap on the left shoulder of their dress uniform so that the fourragère can be worn.
The division lost 1,964 (including USMC: 4,478) killed in action and 9,782 (including USMC: 17,752) wounded in action.
Interwar years
Upon returning to the United States, the division was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, at San Antonio, Texas as one of three divisions to remain intact and on active duty for the entire interwar period. At this time, Major General Edward Mann Lewis was placed again in Command, this time not only of the Division, but of the Eighth Corps Area. It remained there for the next 23 years, serving as an experimental unit, testing new concepts and innovations for the Army. The 2nd Division stationed at Camp Bullis and Fort Sam Houston, Texas was the first command reorganized under the new triangular concept of organization theory of warfare, which provided for three separate regiments in each division.
In the summer of 1954 the 2nd Infantry Division was transferred from Korea to Fort Lewis, Washington, where it remained for only two years, until being transferred to Fort Richardson, Alaska in August 1956. On 8 November 1957, it was announced that the division was to be deactivated. However, a few short months later, in the spring of 1958, the Department of the Army announced that the 2nd Infantry Division would be reorganized at Fort Benning, Georgia, with personnel and equipment of the 10th Infantry Division returning from Germany. Fort Benning remained the home of the new 2nd Infantry Division from 1958 to 1965, where they were initially assigned the mission of a training division. To improve combat readiness, in March 1962 the 2ID was designated as a Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) unit. Following this the division became engaged in intensified combat training, tactical training, and field training exercises, in addition to special training designed to improve operational readiness.
In 1963, the division was reorganized as a Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD). Three Brigade Headquarters were activated, including the 3rd Brigade, and Infantry units were reorganized into battalions.
Back to Korea
2nd US Infantry Division 1989
As a result of the formation of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) at Fort Benning in 1965, the 2nd Infantry Division's stateside unit, along with 11th Air Assault Division's personnel and equipment, were merged to form a new formation, and the existing 1st Cavalry Division in Korea took on the title of the 2nd Infantry Division. Thus the division formally returned to Korea in July 1965. From 1966 onwards the Korean DMZ Conflict (1966–69) increased. On 2 November 1966, soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry Regiment were killed in an ambush by North Korean forces. In 1967 enemy attacks in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) increased, as a result, 16 American soldiers were killed that year.
In 1968 the 2nd Infantry Division was headquartered at Tonggu Ri and responsible for watching over a portion of the DMZ.[11] In 1968 North Koreans continued to probe across the DMZ, and in 1969, while on patrol, four soldiers of 3d Battalion, 23d Infantry were killed. On 18 August 1976, during a routine tree-trimming operation within the DMZ, two American officers of the Joint Security ForceArchived 15 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine were axed to death in a melee with North Korean border guards called the Axe Murder Incident. On 21 August, following the deaths, the 2nd Infantry Division supported the United Nations Command in "Operation Paul Bunyan" to cut down the "Panmunjeom Tree". This effort was conducted by Task Force Brady (named after the 2nd ID Commander) in support of Task Force Vierra (named after the Joint Security Area Battalion commander).
Congress adopted the Nunn-Warner Amendment to the 1989 Defense Appropriation Bill, which ordered a reduction in U.S. troop strength in Korea from 43,000 to 36,000 by the end of calendar year 1991. As a result, on 16 September 1992, the 2nd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade was inactivated at Camp Howze.
To complete the 2nd Infantry Division with a third brigade, the 3d Brigade, 1st Armored Division, and an associated 'slice' of the division's supporting units from Bad Kreuznach, Germany, was to be returned home and stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. However, when the move was completed in September 1994, the 4,000 3rd Brigade soldiers (still part of the 1st Armored Division) were separated from their new parent division. As a result, they were organized as a split-based brigade combat team (BCT).
On 29 March 1995, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Lewis, effectively 'reflagged' from the 3d Brigade, 1st Armored Division. It was composed of the 1-23 Infantry, 1-32 Armor, 1-33 Armor, 1-37 Field Artillery, 168 Engineer, the 296th Forward Support Battalion, and Charlie Battery 5-5 Air Defense Artillery. Other sources have 16 April 1995 as the official reactivation date.
From November 2003 to November 2004, the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team deployed from Fort Lewis, Washington in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the sands of Iraq the 3rd Brigade Stryker Brigade Combat Team proved the value of the Stryker brigade concept in combat and logistics operations.[12]
U.S. soldiers take cover during a firefight with insurgents in the Dora section of Baghdad 7 March 2007
From June 2006 to September 2007, the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team deployed from Fort Lewis, Washington in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the 3rd Stryker Brigade's second deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom their mission was to assist the Iraqi security forces with counter-insurgency operations in the Ninewa Province. Following a second RIP (Relief in Place) with 172nd SBCT, the BDE split between the bridge proper and 1st BDE, 1st CAV DIV. The respective units were based out of Balad, Taji, and Greater Baghdad. The bulk of the 46 soldiers that were killed in action during the deployment, occurred during this time frame.
On 1 June 2006 at Fort Lewis, Washington the 4th Brigade, 2d Infantry Division was formed. From April 2007 to July 2008 the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team was deployed in as part of the surge to regain control of the situation in Iraq. The brigade assumed responsibility for the area north of Baghdad and the Diyala province. 35 soldiers from the brigade were killed during the deployment.
From October 2006 to January 2008, the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed from Fort Carson, Colorado in support of the Multi-National Division – Baghdad (1st Cavalry Division) and was responsible for assisting the Iraqi forces to become self-reliant, bringing down the violence and insurgency levels and supporting the rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastructure. 43 soldiers from the brigade were killed during the deployment.
SSG Christopher B. Waiters of 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 23 October 2008 for his actions on 5 April 2007 when he was a specialist. Shortly after, SPC Erik Oropeza of the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team[13] Thus the division will be credited with the 17th and 18th Distinguished Service Cross awardings since 1975.
3rd Brigade deployed to Iraq 4 August 2009 for the brigade's third deployment to Iraq, the most of any Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT).
War in Afghanistan
Spc. Justin Heimsoth (left) and Sgt. Chris Hagen fill sandbags for a machine gun position during Operation Southern Fist in Afghanistan's Spin Boldak district, 29 Sept. 2012. Both soldiers are infantrymen with the 2nd Infantry Division's 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment.
On 17 February 2009, President Barack Obama ordered 4,000 soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan, along with 8,000 Marines. Soldiers are being sent there because of the worsening situation in the Afghan War. These soldiers were deployed in the southeast, on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. During deployment, 35 soldiers were killed in combat, two others were killed in accidents, and 239 were wounded.[15] In July 2010, the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team was inactivated and reflagged as the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The brigade's Special Troops Battalion was also inactivated and reflagged and the rest of the subordinate units were reassigned to the reactivated 2nd SBCT.[16]
3rd SBCT deployed in December 2011 and served in Afghanistan for one-year. 16 soldiers from the brigade lost their lives during the deployment.[17][18] They were joined by their sister Stryker brigade, the 2nd SBCT in the spring[19] 2nd Brigade returned around December 2012 and January 2013 having lost eight soldiers during deployment. The 4th Stryker BCT also deployed to its first deployment to the country in fall 2012 and returned in summer 2013 having lost four soldiers.[20]
Casing of the Colors
On 5 September 2015, the Army retired the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division flag, and the unit was re-designated as the 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.[21]
The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) is a combined arms division of the United States Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps under U.S. Army Forces Command. Its current organization includes a division headquarters and headquarters battalion, two armored brigade combat teams, one aviation brigade, a division artillery, a sustainment brigade and a combat sustainment support battalion along with a maneuver enhancement brigade. The division has a distinguished history, having seen active service in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Global War on Terror. The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 61 members of the 3rd Infantry Division, making the division the most honored in the Army.
The 2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead") is a formation of the United States Army. Since the 1960s, its current primary mission is the pre-emptive defense of South Korea in the event of an invasion from North Korea. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division, with 10,000 of them stationed in South Korea, accounting for about 35% of the United States Forces Korea personnel. Denoted the 2nd Infantry Division-ROK/U.S. Combined Division (2ID/RUCD), the division is augmented by rotational Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) from other U.S. Army divisions.
The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade, a division sustainment brigade, and a division artillery.
The 25th Infantry Division is a United States Army division based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. The division, which was activated on 1 October 1941 in Hawaii, conducts military operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Its present deployment is composed of light infantry and aviation units. Tropic Lightning soldiers regularly train with other U.S. military branches to practice and maintain joint operations capabilities. The climate and terrain of the Pacific region demands Tropic Lightning soldiers be able to operate in physically demanding and harsh environments. In 2014, the division opened the Jungle Operations Training Center—the first such school in the Army since the closing of the old Jungle Warfare School at Fort Sherman, Panama Canal Zone. Joint operations and training with partner states herald a new chapter in the history of Tropic Lightning—America's Pacific Division.
The 9th Infantry Regiment ("Manchu") is a parent infantry regiment of the United States Army.
The 172nd Infantry Brigade was a light infantry brigade of the United States Army stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska and later moved its headquarters to Grafenwöhr, Germany. An active duty independent brigade, it was part of V Corps and was one of five active-duty, separate, brigade combat teams in the U.S. Army before its most recent inactivation on 31 May 2013.
The 24th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African American soldiers.
The United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard soldiers. FORSCOM was created on 1 July 1973 from the former Continental Army Command (CONARC), who in turn supplanted Army Field Forces and Army Ground Forces.
The 1st Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army that draws its lineage from a line of post American Revolutionary War units and is credited with thirty-nine campaign streamers. The 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry is assigned as support to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and to furnish the enlisted garrison for the academy and the Stewart Army Subpost. 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment is an infantry component serving with the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington.
The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continuous identification with a single regiment, and to increase a soldier's probability of serving recurring assignments with their regiment. The USARS was intended to enhance combat effectiveness by providing the opportunity for a regimental affiliation, thus obtaining some of the benefits of the traditional regimental system.
Below is an estimated list of the major units deployed within the Multi-National Force – Iraq and other United States military units that were operating in Iraq under the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) in 2009, during the Iraq War.
The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division ("Raiders") is an inactive Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) of the United States Army. The brigade was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington on 1 June 2006 by reflagging the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. The 4th Stryker Brigade had the distinction of being the last U.S. Army combat brigade to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The brigade deployed three times in support of the War on Terror, to Iraq from 2007–2008 and from 2009–2010, and to Afghanistan from 2012–2013 before deactivating in March 2014.
The reorganization plan of the United States Army was implemented from 2006 to 2016 under the direction of the Brigade Modernization Command. This effort formally began in 2006 when General Peter Schoomaker was given the support to move the Army from its Cold War divisional orientation to a full-spectrum capability with fully manned, equipped and trained brigades; this effort was completed by the end of 2016. It has been the most comprehensive reorganization since World War II and included modular combat brigades, support brigades, and command headquarters, as well as rebalancing the active and reserve components.
The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812.
The 20th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment. Currently only the 5th Battalion of the 20th Infantry still exists. Stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and part of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, 5-20 Infantry was one of the original battalions selected to take part in the testing and fielding of the U.S. Army's then-new Stryker vehicle. During the Vietnam War, elements of the regiment carried out the My Lai massacre.
The 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team is a modular mechanized infantry brigade of the United States Army National Guard based in Washington, Oregon and California. On 9 July 2015 it was announced that the 81st Brigade would convert from being an Armored BCT to a Stryker BCT.
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The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 28th Infantry Division, also known as the Independence Brigade, is a brigade combat team of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and has its headquarters located at Horsham Air Guard Station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
The 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment is the field artillery battalion organic to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division. Originally organized in 1916, the battalion has seen combat service in World War I, World War II, Korea, and the Global War On Terror. Most recently deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The Automatic Battalion has earned, 14 campaign streamers and at least 8 unit awards. The battalion is currently at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
↑ In World War I, there was only one type of division in the US Army, the infantry division, and all divisions were called simply "Division".
↑ Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle. General Data LLC. pp.29–30. ISBN0-9720296-4-8.
↑ Stanton, Shelby (2006). World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946. Stackpole Books. p.77. ISBN0-8117-0157-3.
↑ Stanton, Shelby, Vietnam Order of Battle: A Complete Illustrated Reference to the U.S. Army and Allied Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1961–1973, Stackpole Books 2006, p. 340–341 where a divisional order of battle in Korea can be found.
↑ Cox, Matthew (7 February 2009). "Spc. earns DSC for heroism during ambush"(News Article). Army Times. Army Times Publishing Company. Retrieved 14 February 2009. Two days after arriving to the unit on 10 Dec.,he was told he would receive the DSC
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