53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

Last updated

53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team
53rd Infantry Brigade SSI.svg
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1968 – present
CountryUnited States
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg United States of America
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Type light infantry
Size Brigade
Garrison/HQ Pinellas Park, Florida
Nickname(s)"Gator Brigade"
Engagements

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.

Contents

History

Cold War and 1990s

When the 48th Armored Division was disbanded in 1968, its units in Florida became part of the 53rd Infantry Brigade (Separate). The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the non-color bearing units of the 53d Armored Brigade on 9 January 1967. It was redesignated for the 53d Infantry Brigade on 25 July 1968.

The brigade participated in hurricane relief operations in 1992 in response to Hurricane Andrew whereby the brigade was deployed for nearly two months to Miami.

The Florida Army National Guard 53rd Infantry Brigade was the first of fifteen Army National Guard enhanced readiness brigades to rotate through the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, 10–26 June 1995. Participating in the training were 65 per cent of the Florida Army National Guard. A convoy of 1,000 vehicles traveled from Miami to Panama City, Florida to be loaded on barges and shipped to Fort Polk for the National Guard Brigade training. The brigade also has a training relationship with the 82nd Airborne Division.

The U.S. Army has since eliminated the "Enhanced Brigade" program [1] of directly augmenting active duty combat arms units with Army National Guard units.

War on Terror (2001 - 2021)

Iraq 2003

The brigade's three infantry battalions were activated in late December 2002 and sent to Fort Stewart, Georgia for training. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and assumed a physical security mission in Kuwait and on the Jordan-Iraq border.

1st Battalion, 124th Infantry

Following thirty-eight days of pre-mobilization training at Fort Stewart, GA, the Miami-based 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hector Mirable deployed to Jordan where it initially served as the security force at Prince Hassan Air Base, a forward operating base for U.S. Special Operations Forces and A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft of the United States Air Force.

In late April 2003, the battalion was attached to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and deployed into Iraq by air and ground assault convoy. After consolidation at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, it moved to Ar Ramadi, the provincial capital of Al Anbar Province, where it was assigned an area of operation consisting of approximately 2,400 square kilometers and more than 350,000 Sunni Iraqi inhabitants.

While there, they provided local security and assisted in the reestablishment of the Iraqi Police and Ministerial Guard forces. The unit also conducted cordon and search operations. During one of these sweeps through the outskirts of Ar Ramadi on 20 August 2003, members of the 1–124 Infantry captured Salem Musa Ijly. Also known as Abu Inas, Ijly was a Jordanian national and member of al-Qaida, who was facilitating weapons smuggling through Iraq into Jordan and maintaining weapons stockpiles in Ar Ramadi. He was also linked to a plot to assassinate King Abdullah II of Jordan.

During its deployment, the battalion captured 511 enemy combatants; recovered 2,399 small arms, 221 mortar tubes, 4,258 mortar round and 43 RPG launchers; captured, defused or engaged 715 improvised explosive devices; processed 7,422 detainees; and, disbursed more than $1.3 million in aid for repair or construction of numerous buildings, to include two hospitals, 67 schools and 52 mosques.

The 1–124 Infantry received the Valorous Unit Award for extraordinary heroism in operations. Soldiers of the unit were presented 65 Bronze Stars (two with "V" device), 379 Army Commendation Medals (13 with "V" device), and 63 Purple Hearts. Despite serving 291 continuous days in combat operations, the unit brought home every Soldier who deployed with it.

2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry

The Orlando-based 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, deployed along the southern Iraq border and a 20-man detachment from Charlie Company, 2–124th was the first coalition unit into Iraq, providing security and quick-reaction force for Special Forces. During their brief stay at the Jordanian Air Base, the unit conducted security operations, physical fitness training, and honed their combat skills. [2]


3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry

The northern-Florida based 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, provided security and reconnaissance support to the air defense artillery elements supporting I MEF and TF Tarawa during the initial invasion, though initially only companies Alpha and Charlie deployed. Elements engaged in combat operations near Nasiriyah and Salman Pak. Subsequently, they were reassigned first to 3rd Infantry Division and later 1st Armored Division, where they were rejoined by the rest of the battalion, to provide security and stabilization operations in downtown Baghdad's Adhamiya and al-Mansour administrative districts. During this time, elements of the battalion conducted QRF operations with ODAs from 19th Special Forces Group. Despite taking some casualties from IEDs and hostile fire, the battalion rotated back to the United States and demobilized in 2004.

Afghanistan 2005–2006 and Iraq 2006–2007

In 2005, more than 2,400 soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade deployed to Afghanistan as part of the international coalition's Joint Task Force Phoenix, where they helped train the Afghan National Army. During their deployment, the task force saw eleven Afghan kandaks (battalions) graduate from Kabul Military Training Center, adding more than 7,000 soldiers to the Afghan National Army. [3]

In June 2006, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry deployed to Mosul, Iraq for a one-year tour conducting stability operations and combat patrols. The unit worked in conjunction with elements of the 25th Infantry Division, United States Special Forces, and Company H, 121st LRRS.

In late 2005, the 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry began preparing for conversion to a cavalry squadron to serve as the brigade's RSTA squadron; this was completed in 2007 and they were redesignated 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry.

Kuwait and Iraq 2010

In January 2010, the 53rd Infantry Brigade was activated for service in Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The brigade mobilized at Fort Hood, Texas, and beginning in late February, began deploying to Kuwait. Although originally scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, [4] in 2008, the brigade learned that their mission had shifted from Infantry operations in Afghanistan to convoy security in Iraq.

The 53rd IBCT standing in formation just before deployment to Kuwait and Iraq 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, mobilized at Fort Hood, TX, one day prior to deploying to Kuwait and Iraq, March 2010.jpg
The 53rd IBCT standing in formation just before deployment to Kuwait and Iraq

The brigade's primary mission was to provide convoy security for logistical convoys moving in and out of Iraq. The 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry – the Hurricane Battalion – conducted medium and long haul missions from their base in Camp Buehring, Kuwait, while the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry – the Seminole Battalion – conducted short haul missions from their base in Camp Virginia, Kuwait. The 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry "Darkhorse" conducted security force missions in Northern Kuwait at Camps Buehring and Virginia as well as at Khabari Crossing in Kuwait. Bravo Troop, 1–153rd Cavalry was stationed at Camp As-Sayliyah, Qatar. [5] The brigade headquarters element conducted administrative operations from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

In a ceremony on 5 November 2016, the 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry Regiment of the Alabama Army National Guard was re-patched to denote its attachment to the 53rd IBCT. [6]

2020 and beyond

In November 2021, 160 soldiers of the 53rd IBCT, to include the brigade commander, were mobilized to active duty under Title 10 USC orders and forward deployed to Ukraine to advise and mentor Ukrainian military forces as part of Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine. In this capacity, the 53rd IBCT element was named Task Force Gator. In early February 2022, just prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 53rd IBCT element was ordered out of Ukraine by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and repositioned elsewhere in Western Europe, continuing a training mission with NATO partner nations. [7] In August 2022, the Task Force Gator element of the 53rd IBCT returned home to Florida and demobilized back to traditional National Guard status. [8] [9]

Order of battle

The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is headquartered at the C. W. "Bill" Young Armed Forces Reserve Center in Pinellas Park, Florida and consists of three infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, a field artillery battalion, a brigade engineer battalion, and a brigade support battalion which are located in both Florida and Alabama:

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) – Miramar, Florida
Company A – Ft. Pierce, Florida
Company B – Cocoa, Florida
Company C – Miami, Florida
Company D – West Palm Beach, Florida
HHC – Orlando, Florida
Company A – Leesburg, Florida
Company B – Sanford, Florida
Company C – Ocala, Florida
Company D – Eustis, Florida
HHC – Talladega, Alabama
Company A – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Company B – Pelham, Alabama
Company C – Cullman, Alabama
Company D – Calera, Alabama
Forward Support Company – Oxford, Alabama
Headquarters and Headquarters Troop – Panama City, Florida
Troop A – Bonifay, Florida
Troop B – Pensacola, Florida
Troop C – Tallahassee, Florida
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery – Lakeland, Florida
Battery A – Dade City, Florida
Battery B – Winter Haven, Florida
Battery C – Ocala, Florida
HHC – Tallahassee, Florida
Company A (Engineer) – Lake City, Florida
Company B (Engineer) – Quincy, Florida
Company C (Signal Network Support) – Pinellas Park, Florida
Company D (Military Intelligence) – Pinellas Park, Florida
Detachment 1, Company D (Unmanned Aerial Systems) – Camp Blanding, Florida
HHC – St. Petersburg, Florida
Company A (Distribution) – Pinellas Park, Florida
Company B (Maintenance) – Tampa, Florida
Company C (Medical) – Pinellas Park, Florida
Company D (Forward Support) – (1-153rd Cavalry Squadron) – Chipley, Florida
Company E (Forward Support) – (753rd Engineer Battalion) – Quincy, Florida
Company F (Forward Support) – (2-116th Field Artillery Battalion) – Bartow, Florida
Company G (Forward Support) – (1-124th Infantry Battalion) – Miramar, Florida
Company H (Forward Support) – (2-124th Infantry Battalion) – Haines City, Florida

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)</span> Military unit

The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team in the United States Army National Guard. It was formed from the inactivated 32nd Infantry Division in 1967. It is the largest unit in the Wisconsin National Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Army National Guard</span> Component of the US Army and military of the state of Florida

The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. Federal coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. The Florida Army National Guard was composed of approximately 10,000 soldiers. The main state training grounds is Camp Blanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraq War order of battle, 2009</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team</span> Military unit

The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a modular infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana. Currently the brigade is part of the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Army National Guard</span> Component of the US Army and military of the state of Georgia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division</span> One of three basic maneuver units of the 1st Cavalry Division, US Army

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team</span> US Army National Guard light infantry brigade

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)</span> Military unit

The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a modular infantry brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard. One of the oldest units in U.S. Army history, the lineage of the 48th Infantry Brigade can be traced back to 1825. It is one of few units in the US military that also saw service as a unit of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Today, the 48th IBCT is part of the U.S. Army's "Associated Units" program where it is aligned under the 3rd Infantry Division, a combined arms combat maneuver unit of the Regular Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">151st Cavalry Regiment</span> United States Army cavalry regiment from 1947 to 2015

The 151st Cavalry Regiment was a United States Army cavalry regiment represented in the Arkansas Army National Guard by 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Warren, Arkansas, an element of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 1st Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment , is an infantry battalion of the Arkansas Army National Guard, headquartered at Malvern, assigned to the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The 1–153rd has deployed companies in support of the Multi-National Security Force to Bosnia and to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Southern Watch. 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry has twice deployed as a battalion for Operation Iraqi Freedom, once from 2004–05 and a second time in 2008. The battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for the period, 17 March 2004 – 23 March 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment was a United States infantry battalion, headquartered at Warren, Arkansas, assigned to the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Arkansas Army National Guard until it was deactivated on 5 September 2005. The history of the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry as an individual battalion begins with the reorganization of the 39th Infantry Division in 1967 and the creation of the 39th Infantry Brigade (Separate). For history of the 3rd Battalion prior to 1967, see 153rd Infantry Regiment and 39th Infantry Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th Brigade Support Battalion (United States)</span> Military unit

39th Brigade Support Battalion is an element of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), of the Arkansas Army National Guard. The battalion is headquartered at Hazen, Arkansas. The 39th Support Battalion was constituted on 2 November 1967 from existing units in central Arkansas and assigned to the 39th Infantry Brigade with headquarters in Hazen. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 206th Field Artillery Regiment, at Hazen was reorganized and re-designated as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 39th Support Battalion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (United States)</span> Military unit

The 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops Battalion was headquartered in Conway, Arkansas and was an element of the Arkansas Army National Guard. On 15 September 2018, the 39th Special Troops Battalion was reflagged as the 239th Brigade Engineer Battalion, an element of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">124th Infantry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 124th Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment of the United States Army, represented in the Florida Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion headquartered in Miramar and 2nd Battalion at Orlando. The two Battalions are elements of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">299th Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 299th Cavalry Regiment, formerly the 299th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Koa Squadron", is a unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard. It was established in 1923 from the old 2nd Hawaiian Infantry Regiment, and it served during World War II as part of the 24th Infantry Division. The name "Koa" comes from the Hawaiian word for "Warrior", and is currently headquartered in Hilo, Hawaii. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 299th Infantry were federally activated in 1968 to support the United States Army Pacific during the Vietnam War. More recently 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry Regiment deployed to Iraq and again after being re-flagged in 2007 as 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">153rd Cavalry Regiment</span> Military unit

First Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment "Darkhorse" is an element of the Florida Army National Guard, headquartered in Panama City, Florida with units throughout the Panhandle. It was formerly 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry and officially converted to cavalry on 1 September 2007 when the 53rd Infantry Brigade converted from a "separate brigade" to the brigade combat team structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor's Guards (Florida)</span> Military unit

The Governor's Guards is a historic unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Tallahassee, Florida. Its current designation is Troop C, 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry. The unit has one of the oldest continuous lineages in the Florida National Guard. In 1857, Captain John Parkhill, his brother Samuel M. Parkhill, and Theordore Brevard, Jr. formed a mounted company of "Leon Volunteers" to fight in the Third Seminole War, where John Parkhill was killed in action. John Parkhill's cousin, Captain George W. Parkhill and his brother, Richard C. Parkhill formed a new company called the "Governor's Guards" circa 1859-1860 which later changed its name to "Howell Guards" and fought with the Second Florida Infantry during the Civil War. After the war, the company reorganized as "Governor's Guards", a local militia company, under the command of Captain Alexander Moseley and have had a near-continuous lineage henceforth. The Governor's Guards served as an infantry unit for most of its existence, including in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Iraq War and the Global War on Terrorism. The unit consolidated with the Franklin Guards, a detachment in Apalachicola and since 2007 has been Charlie Troop, a dismounted infantry reconnaissance troop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team</span> New Jersey National Guard formation

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 Brigade Combat Team is the major unit of the New Jersey Army National Guard. The 44th Brigade Combat Team has three light infantry battalions, one field artillery battalion, one cavalry squadron, an engineer battalion, and a support battalion.

References

  1. Brinkerhoff, John (21 August 1996). "The Army National Guard and Conservation of Combat Power". Parameters. 26 (3): 4–16. doi: 10.55540/0031-1723.1785 .
  2. Mejia, Camilo (2007). Road From Ar Ramadi . New York: The New Press. pp.  19–36. ISBN   978-1-59558-052-8.
  3. "New commander to lead Florida's 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team". Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office. 3 April 2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  4. House, Billy (3 December 2007). "Florida Guard Headed to Afghanistan in 2009". Media General News Service. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  5. Senger, Dustin (26 April 2010). "153rd Cavalry Soldiers shift to Qatar mission". Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 Bryant, Aaron (5 November 2016). "Alabama National Guard battalion re-patched under 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team". DVIDS. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  7. "Florida National Guard troops ordered out of Ukraine by SECDEF". 19 February 2022.
  8. "Florida National Guard returns to Clearwater after training soldiers in Ukraine for nearly a year". 25 August 2022.
  9. "Florida National Guard returns home from Ukraine". YouTube .