| 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team | |
|---|---|
 Shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Nickname(s) | Jersey Blues (Special Designation) [1] |
The 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Jersey Blues" [1] ) was an infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army National Guard of New Jersey. It was headquartered at the Lawrenceville Armory.
The 50th Brigade Combat Team was the major unit of the New Jersey Army National Guard. The headquarters was located in Lawrenceville, NJ. The 50th Brigade Combat Team had two light infantry battalions, one field artillery battalion, one cavalry squadron, a special troops battalion, two MP companies, and a support battalion. Its nickname "Jersey Blues" dates back to the 17th century with the earliest units serving in both the French and Indian War (see book titled 'Colonial Tribulations') and Rev. War.
The brigade's lineage can be traced back to several different units starting with the 50th Armored Division. This unit was disbanded on 1 September 1993 and the division was reduced to the 50th Armored Brigade which was subordinate unit to the 42nd Infantry Division. [2] This unit consisted of the 2d Battalion, 102d Armor; the 5th Squadron, 117th Cavalry; the 113th Infantry; the 114th Infantry; the 3d Battalion, 112th Field Artillery; and the 250th Support Battalion. All units of the 50th Brigade were equipped with dated equipment such as M1IP Abrams main battle tanks, M113A1 armored personnel carriers and M109A5 self-propelled guns. The 50th Armored Brigade existed up until 2007–2008 when the brigade was upgraded and converted to a brigade combat team under the Army's new modularity program.
The 50th Armored Brigade took part in several homeland security missions after 11 September 2001. It also participated in several Global War on Terror missions before converting in 2008. The 1st Battalion, 114th Infantry took part in the Sinai Multi-National Force and Observers (MFO) Security Mission and was deployed for six months in 2004. The 2d Battalion, 102d Armor and the 2d Battalion, 113th Infantry deployed to Guantanamo Bay Cuba and served with the Joint Detention Operations Group as part of JTF-JDOG V. Battery B, 3d Battalion, 112th Field Artillery (augmented by soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 117th Cavalry) deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II as an "In Lieu Of" Military Police Company. Batteries A and C deployed to Germany in 2004 as provisional Military Police companies. In October 2005 elements of the brigade were activated for Operation Hurricane Katrina relief in the city of New Orleans. The 2d Battalion, 102d Armor and the 1st Battalion, 114th Infantry were called to active duty and the combined unit shipped to Louisiana to provide security for FEMA. The brigade arrived at Belle Chase Naval Air Station and from there was forward deployed to the New Orleans Convention Center. From there the elements of the 42nd Infantry Division sent teams to various parts of the city on various missions of security ranging from roving patrol to security escort for the New Orleans Fire Department and various other relief agencies. In 2006, and again in 2007, the brigade sent composite teams from across its component units as embedded trainers and advisors for the Afghan National Army.
The force structure of the Brigade was changed in 2008 when the conversion to the 50th IBCT occurred. The new force structure consisted of 1st Squadron, 102nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Battalion (Light), 114th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion (Light), 113th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery Regiment, the Special Troops Battalion and the 250th Brigade Support Battalion. Equipment was mostly brought up to current Army standards and all armor assets were relinquished.
In June 2008, 26 company-sized elements of the 50th IBCT were mobilized and trained at Fort Bliss, Texas, before being separately deployed to Iraq for the 2008–2009 rotation of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The deployment of these 50th IBCT, under the command of Colonel Steven Ferrari elements brought the total number of NJ National Guard Soldiers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to over 3,200. [3] [4] The 50th IBCT units were mobilized for one year, including stateside training and "boots on the ground" in theater. The 50th IBCT units conducted a variety of important missions in Iraq. Pre-mobilization training began in 2007 and took place in New Jersey and Fort Indian Town Gap, Pennsylvania, with further OIF-specific preparations conducted at Fort Bliss, TX. Originally slated to deploy to Iraq in 2010, the 50th IBCT units deployed earlier to compensate for the changes needed to comply with new Department of Defense (DoD) policies. Earlier in 2007, the DoD had reduced the amount of time units spend overseas in a combat theater, which in turn shifted mobilization schedules and required earlier deployments than anticipated. The units of the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were welcomed home by family and friends with a parade through Trenton, NJ on 12 June 2009, after almost a year-long tour of Iraq. The brigade units, led by their commander, Colonel Steve Ferrari, were welcomed by Governor Jon Corzine.
The force structure of the Brigade was changed again in 2015, in accordance with the Army's latest Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) for IBCTs. The new force structure consisted of a third infantry battalion, the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts. Additionally, the 50th Brigade Special Troops Battalion was converted to a Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB), designated as the 104th BEB.
On 15 June 2017, the 50th IBCT was reflagged as the 44th IBCT.
Meuse-Argonne 
Northern France 
The Rhineland 
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe 
Joint Meritorious Unit Award 
Meritorious Unit Commendation 
The 36th Infantry Division ("Arrowhead") also known as the "Panther Division", the "Lone Star Division", "The Texas Army", and the "T-patchers", is an infantry division of the U.S. Army and part of the Texas Army National Guard. The 36th Infantry Division was first organized during World War I (1914–1918) from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guards. After the war, the division was reformed as an all-Texas unit, and was called to service for World War II (1937–1945) on 25 November 1940, was deployed to the European Theater of Operations in April 1943, and returned to the Texas National Guard in December 1945.
The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Sunset") is an element in the Oregon Army National Guard. Headquartered at Camp Withycombe, Clackamas, Oregon, it was part of the 7th Infantry Division based at Ft. Carson in Colorado. The brigade traces its lineage back to the 41st Infantry Division.
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Jordan, Syria, Germany, Kosovo, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Egypt. The Guard has also deployed to help with the recovery from Hurricane Irma in Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hurricane Maria in Florida and Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) squadrons are a type of unit in the United States Army. These are cavalry squadrons, and act at the squadron (battalion) level as a reconnaissance unit for their parent brigade combat teams. These RSTA squadrons continue on the Recondo legacy of the Vietnam era Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP), however, compared to the LRRPs they are often assigned additional non-reconnaissance responsibilities such as battlespace ownership.
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 112th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Sixteenth Pennsylvania, is a unit in the Pennsylvania National Guard which can trace its lineage back to before the American Civil War.
The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993.
The Georgia Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Georgia National Guard, administratively part of the Georgia Department of Defense. It consists of more than 11,100 citizen-soldiers training in more than 79 hometown armories and regional facilities across the state. Georgia’s Army Guard is the sixth largest in the nation and includes combat, combat support and combat service support units.
The 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Buckeye) is an infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army National Guard with the brigade headquarters, cavalry squadron, field artillery battalion, engineer battalion, one infantry battalion, and support battalion stationed in Ohio, one infantry battalion and military intelligence company stationed in Michigan, and a third infantry battalion stationed in South Carolina. The headquarters of the 37th IBCT traces its lineage and honors back to the headquarters of the 37th Infantry Division.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division is a combined arms armored brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Cavazos, TX. Major equipment includes the M1A2SEP Tanks, M2A3 & M3A3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M109A7 Paladin howitzers, and M1114 up-armored Humvees.
The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) ("The Vermont Brigade") is an Army National Guard light infantry brigade headquartered in Vermont. It was reorganized from an armored brigade into an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) as part of the United States Army's transformation for the 21st century. The 86th IBCT utilizes the Army Mountain Warfare School, co-located at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont, to train in individual military mountaineering skills so the entire brigade can be skilled in such warfare. This large conventional unit level mountain warfare capability had been lost when the 10th Mountain Division deactivated after World War II. This left the 86th IBCT as the only mountain warfare unit in the U.S. military whose soldiers were trained in mountain warfare, with individual soldiers being graduates of Ranger School, the Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School, and the Army Mountain Warfare School instead of entire units that specialized in such tactics. "The Vermont Brigade" configured itself to be such a unit.
The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Empire") is an infantry brigade combat team of the New York Army National Guard, one of the brigades that make up the 42nd Infantry Division.
The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team of the Florida Army National Guard. The 53rd Infantry Brigade is the largest National Guard unit in the state of Florida. The brigade was one of fifteen enhanced readiness brigades, designed and trained to support active duty divisions. The brigade includes 32 units in Florida and Alabama with 4,166 authorized personnel.
The 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a modular infantry brigade of the United States Army National Guard of Indiana. It is headquartered in Lawrence Readiness Training Center, on the grounds of Fort Benjamin Harrison.
The 102nd Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army first established in 1921. It has seen service in the Second World War, including in Normandy and at the Battle of the Bulge, in Iraq 2008–2009, in Jordan and Somalia in 2019, plus many exercises and Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Maria relief. Its tradition of service is carried on today by the 1st Squadron 102nd Cavalry Regiment.
The 113th Infantry Regiment is an Infantry regiment of the New Jersey Army National Guard. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812.
The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division is an Iowa Army National Guard unit headquartered in Boone, Iowa.
The 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a brigade combat team unit of the Texas Army National Guard, part of the 36th Infantry Division.
The 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team of the New Jersey National Guard. It is headquartered at the Lawrenceville Armory in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, United States. The 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is the major unit of the New Jersey Army National Guard. It consists of three light infantry battalions, a field artillery battalion, a cavalry squadron, an engineer battalion, and a support battalion.
