56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team | |
---|---|
Active | 1747 – present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry Brigade |
Role | Stryker Infantry |
Size | 4,000 |
Part of | 28th Infantry Division |
Garrison/HQ | Biddle National Guard Base Willow Grove, Pennsylvania |
Nickname(s) | "Independence Brigade" |
Motto(s) | "Strength Through Honor" "Ride the Lightning" |
Engagements | American Civil War World War I World War II Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | George C. Rickards |
Insignia | |
Combat service identification badge |
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 56th SBCT is one of nine Stryker Brigade Combat Teams in the United States Army and for many years, until the conversion of 81st SBCT, it was the only reserve component Stryker unit in the Army. It is one of five brigades of the 28th Infantry Division, and provides light infantry land assets for both federal and state active duty missions. The federal mission is to deploy on short notice as part of the 28th Infantry Division and destroy, capture, or repel enemy forces using maneuver and shock effect. The state mission of the brigade is to serve the Governor and the citizens of the Commonwealth as needed in times of natural disaster or civil unrest.
The 56th SBCT is composed of some of the oldest units in the United States Army. Units of the 111th Infantry trace their lineage back to 1747, when Benjamin Franklin first established his famed "Associators" in Philadelphia. The battalions, as well as the brigade, carry battle streamers from nearly every conflict throughout American history. [1]
The current 56th Brigade Combat team derives its numerical designation, although not its lineage, from the historical 56th Infantry Brigade. The 56th Infantry Brigade was formed in September 1917 as part of the 28th Division. The brigade, commanded in late 1918 by Arthur L. Conger, initially included the 111th and 112th Infantry Regiments. [2] During World War I it was involved in the Meuse-Argonne, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, and Ypres-Lys (field artillery only) operations. During the war, the 28th Infantry Division took a total of 14,139 casualties (KIA-2,165 ; WIA-11,974). The brigade was again part of the 28th Division from 1921 to 1941.
The current brigade traces its origins to the 111th Infantry and the Pentomic and Reorganization Objective Army Division reorganizations of the 28th Infantry Division from regiments to battle groups and finally to brigades, culminating in 1963. [3] In 1963, the brigade was formed as the 1st Brigade, 28th Infantry Division. In 1968, as part of the McNamara-inspired reorganization of the Army National Guard, it was reassigned to the 42nd Infantry Division as the 56th Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division. From 1975 it has again been assigned to the 28th Infantry Division.
The brigade was called to active duty during the Blizzard of 1996, when flood emergencies were declared by the Governors of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. During the blizzard in Philadelphia, the 56th Brigade won credit in saving over 70 lives by providing emergency medical transportation during the duration of the Governor's proclamation. [1]
In December 2000, the United States Army proposed a new reorganization. The following year, the 56th Brigade was selected as the only reserve component Stryker Brigade out of seven in the entire United States Army. The brigade was reflagged the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team on 24 October 2004 at Fort Indiantown Gap's Muir Field. [4]
On 1 September 2005 the entire Brigade Combat Team was mobilized to deploy to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, the sixth strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, slammed into the Gulf Coast. The 56th SBCT was stationed in and around New Orleans to support the relief effort for nearly a month and a half. This included a subsequent deployment to the areas damaged by Hurricane Rita, which made land fall near the Louisiana-Texas border. [1]
The brigade trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi from 19 September 2008 until November 2008 when it moved to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana until December 2008. The brigade continued training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in December 2008 and moved to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in January 2009 awaiting movement into Iraq. The 56th SBCT, based at Camp Taji, Iraq, conducted operations in the northern Baghdad Governorate, as part of Multi-National Division – Baghdad, from January to September 2009, before redeploying to Kuwait and returning home at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
56th Stryker Brigade – OIF composition
As of 2024 the brigade consists of the following units:
Ribbon | Award | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Meritorious Unit Commendation | 2009 | for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom |
The 28th Infantry Division ("Keystone") is a unit of the Army National Guard and is the oldest division-sized unit in the Department of Defense. Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklin's battalion, The Pennsylvania Associators (1747–1777). The division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917, after the entry of America into the First World War. It is today part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Maryland Army National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard, and New Jersey Army National Guard.
The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a colonel (O-6) although in some cases a brigadier general (O-7) may assume command. A brigade combat team contains combat support and combat service support units necessary to sustain its operations. BCTs contain organic artillery training and support, received from the parent division artillery (DIVARTY). There are three types of brigade combat teams: infantry, Stryker, and armored.
Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) groups the tasks of reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition conducted by the Department of Defense. RSTA supports military operations at a strategic, operational, or tactical level, either by dedicated RSTA forces or those which possess the capability.
The 213th Regional Support Group is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The 213th RSG mission is to provide command and control of the twenty-two separate Pennsylvania Army National Guard units assigned to the headquarters for operational and administrative control. This force consist of more than 1,000 soldiers from the eastern and central parts of the state. The 213th RSG is one of the two major commands in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, the other being the 28th Infantry Division (Keystone).
The Pennsylvania Army National Guard, abbreviated PAARNG, is part of the United States Army National Guard and is based in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Together with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, it is directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The PAARNG maintains 124 armories and is present in 87 communities across the Commonwealth.
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 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.
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.
M1134 Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle is a U.S. anti-tank missile carrier that is an armored fighting vehicle from the Stryker family of vehicles. As the primary tank destroyer system of the US Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), the M1134 ATGM Vehicle reinforces the SBCT's infantry battalions, reinforces the SBCT reconnaissance squadron and provides long-range direct fire. Models with the double V-hull upgrade are known as the M1253 ATVV.
The 109th Infantry Regiment is a parent infantry regiment of the United States Army, represented in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry, part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division.
The 111th Infantry Regiment, originally the Pennsylvania Militia or "Associators", were a Pennsylvania militia unit that fought in the American Revolution, composed of civilian males from the citizenry of Pennsylvania. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812. The Pennsylvania Militia often fought in conjunction with General Washington and the Continental Army along the Delaware River.
The 103rd Armor Regiment is an armored regiment in the Pennsylvania National Guard first formed in 1941. Its legacy unit, 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armor, is a subordinate command of the 55th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division.
The 107th Cavalry Regiment, Ohio Army National Guard, is a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, with headquarters at Hamilton, Ohio. It currently consists of the 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (BUCKEYE), Ohio National Guard located throughout southwest Ohio.
The Infantry Branch is a branch of the United States Army first established in 1775.
The 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, is the only direct support field artillery battalion in the only National Guard Stryker Brigade in the United States Army.
The 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is a maneuver enhancement unit aligned under the 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The 55th MEB, like all MEBs, is a self-contained, modular, and multifunctional support brigade of the United States Army with an ability to plug into operational formations commanded by corps or division commanders, to support brigade combat teams once deployed, and to conduct tactical level tasks and support. MEBs are equipped to provide command and control for up to seven battalions that are capable of owning battlespace in combat. The 55th MEB was once the 55th Heavy Brigade Combat Team "strike brigade" subordinate to the 28th ID, as the 55th MEB is today. Its headquarters is in Scranton, PA.
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 107th Field Artillery Regiment is a Field Artillery Branch regiment of the United States Army. It has been affiliated with the Pennsylvania National Guard since its formation. It appears that the regiment last formally came into existence in June 1959, when the 107th Field Artillery Battalion was reorganized as the new Regiment's 1st Battalion in line with the Pentomic (ROCID) reorganization going on at that time.