Ocala Rifles

Last updated
Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry
Active1884-1919, 1939 - Present
CountryUnited States
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Branch Florida Army National Guard
TypeInfantry (formerly Artillery, Cavalry and Armor)
SizeCompany
Garrison/HQOcala, Florida
Nickname(s)Historic: "Ocala Rifles"
Callsign: "Comanche"
Engagements World War I
World War II
Iraq War
Afghanistan

Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry is a historic unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Ocala, Florida. The company dates back to 1884 with the founding of the "Ocala Rifles". Ocala Rifles was an infantry company, serving on active duty in Florida and Alabama during the Spanish American War and deploying to France with the 124th Infantry for World War I. Twenty years after the war, the company reorganized in Ocala as a battery in the 265th Coast Artillery, activating for harbor defense in January 1941 and eventually deploying to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. After World War II, the company reorganized as an infantry company, then reorganized as a tank company and then in January 1968 as Troop E, 153rd Cavalry. The Cavalry unit served for 39 years and deployed to Afghanistan before consolidating with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry from Orlando in 2007. The company has deployed to Kuwait, Iraq and most recently, Djibouti and Kenya.

124th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 124th Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment of the United States Army, represented in the Florida Army National Guard by the 2nd Battalion at Orlando, an element of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Ocala, Florida City in Florida, United States

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida, United States, which is part of the northern region of the state. As of the 2017 census, its population, estimated by the United States Census Bureau, was 59,110, making it the 49th most populated city in Florida.

Contents

Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, of Orlando, clearing the berm for Special Forces soldiers to enter into Iraq, 19 March 2003. 124th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, Florida National Guard, Crossing the Berm, Iraq, 2003.jpg
Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, of Orlando, clearing the berm for Special Forces soldiers to enter into Iraq, 19 March 2003.

World War II

Battery G, 265th Coast Artillery was organized on October 23, 1939 in Ocala and less than one year later was reorganized on April 15, 1940 as Searchlight Battery, 265th Coast Artillery. On January 6, 1941, the Battery, along with its parent Regiment, was inducted into federal service and moved to Fort Crockett, TX arriving on January 15. Elements of the 265th helped man Forts Crockett, San Jacinto and Travis in the harbor defense of Galveston until April 1942 when the 265th was ordered to Key West, FL to man Fort Taylor. The 265th arrived at Key West between April 18 and 23, 1942, and manned Key West and various outposts in the Florida Keys and South Florida until December 21, 1942 when the movement of the 265th to Fort Jackson, SC began. By January 23, 1943 all elements of the 265th had cleared Key West. On February 16, 1943, the 265th CA departed Ft Jackson for Fort Hancock, NH to defend the harbor of Sandy Hook and harbors of southern New York, arriving there February 16, 1943. On June 19, 1943, the 265th started preparing for an overseas deployment. On January 11, 1944 the 265th departed New York for Fort Lawton, WA and deployment to Alaska departing via the Seattle port of entry and arriving at Fort Greely, in Kodiak, AK on January 24, 1944. The 1st Battalion was transferred to Amchitka while the 2nd Battalion went to Adak. On July 31, 1944, the 265th CA Regiment was inactivated. [2]

Fort Crockett

Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay, thus protecting the commercial and industrial ports of Galveston and Houston and the extensive oil refineries in the bay area. The facility is now managed by the US NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, and hosts the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Laboratory, the Texas Institute of Oceanography, as well as some university facilities. The area still contains several historical buildings and military fortifications.

Fort Lawton fort in the state of Washington

Fort Lawton was a United States Army post located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acres of Fort Lawton, was given to the city of Seattle and dedicated as Discovery Park. Both the Fort and the nearby residential neighborhood of Lawton Wood are named after Maj. Gen. Henry Ware Lawton.

Fort Greely U.S. Army anti-ballistic missile launch site

Fort Greely is a United States Army launch site for anti-ballistic missiles located about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is also the home of the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), as Fort Greely is one of the coldest areas in Alaska, and can accommodate cold, extreme-cold, and temperate-weather tests depending on the season. It is named in honor of Major General Adolphus Greely.

Post World War II

The unit reorganized after WWII as Company E, 124th Infantry in September 1948 in Ocala and then converted in 1955 as Company C, 187th Tank Battalion. In January 1968 the unit reorganized as Troop E, 153d Cavalry with 2d and 3d Armored Cavalry platoons stationed in Gainesville. [3] The Gainesville platoons later became Detachment 1, Troop E. [4] The Gainesville unit had been established post-WWII as Company G, 124th Infantry on May 10, 1948, then redesignated Company B, 187th Armor before becoming the Troop E Detachment. [5] [6] In October 1977, the Gainesville detachment consolidated with Troop E in Ocala. [7]

Global War on Terrorism

Troop E was mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan in 2005.

Troop E, circa 2005-06 before the unit deployed to Afghanistan. E Troop, 153rd Cavalry, 2006.jpg
Troop E, circa 2005-06 before the unit deployed to Afghanistan.

On September 1, 2007 Troop E consolidated with a unit formerly based out of Orlando to create Company C, 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry. The 53d Infantry Brigade (Separate) went through a massive reorganization to become a Brigade Combat Team during 2006 to 2007. The Brigade lost its one reconnaissance troop, and converted one of its infantry battalions into a full reconnaissance squadron. Company C, 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry from Orlando had been constituted on July 1, 1979. The company, under command of Captain Jerry B. Glass, had served in Jordan and Iraq during the build up and invasion, and on the night of 19 March 2003, Company C assisted Special Forces units cross into Iraq by breaching the berms bordering Iraq and Jordan. The company was later stationed in Baghdad and was redeployed and released from active duty in April, 2004. The two companies were consolidated in Ocala and designated Company C, 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry.

Company C, and their parent unit, 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry and almost the entire 53d Infantry Brigade Combat Team mobilized under Title 10 orders on 2 January 2010 and moved to Fort Hood, Texas for nearly two months of training. In the first week of March the troop arrived at Camp Virgnia, Kuwait. Company C conducting convoy escort missions into Iraq for the ten month deployment. The company redeployed and demobilized at Fort Stewart, GA in December, 2010.

Company C, under command of Captain Ryan Knopfle, mobilized with its parent battalion in August 2015, training at Fort Bliss for just over one month and deploying to Djibouti where one platoon was attached to Company A, 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry. Company C (-) deployed from Djibouti to Kenya to provide security for the remote Camp Simba on Manda Bay. Company C and the 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry were sent to Fort Bliss in May thru June 5, 2016 to demobilize and release from active duty.

Unit designations

See also

The Escambia Rifles are the historical forerunner of Company B, 146th Signal Battalion of the Florida Army National Guard. They trace their history back to 1873.

Suwannee Rifles

The 868th Engineer Company "Suwannee Rifles" is a unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Live Oak, Florida. The company has one of the oldest continuous lineages in the Florida National Guard, starting out as an independent company of infantry in 1884. During its first 71 years, the Suwannee Rifles served as an infantry company and deployed as Company E, 124th Infantry during World War II. After WWII the unit reorganized again as infantry, then as an armor company for thirteen years, and since December 1968 the Suwannee Rifles has been an engineer company.

The Franklin Guards was a unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Apalachicola. The company was founded in 1836 by Captain Abraham K. Allison as the Franklin Volunteers and fought in the Second Seminole War under General Richard K. Call's battalion of volunteers. The Territorial Legislature incorporated the company as the "Apalachicola Guards" on March 14, 1843. This act formalized their relationship with the territorial governor and afforded them territory-funded arms and equipment. During the American Civil War, the Apalachicola Guards mustered into service as Company B, First Florida on April 5, 1861. After the war, the company reorganized as Franklin Guards, under the command of Captain Robert Knickmeyer and Lieutenant William Orman. The Guards served as an infantry unit for most of their existence, including in the Civil War and World War I. The Guards had reorganized into an engineer company after World War I and deployed as such to the Pacific Theatre with the 31st Infantry Division in World War II. After the end of World War II, the company became an artillery and then infantry company of the 124th Infantry. It served with that unit until 1963 when it became part of the 261st Engineer Battalion as an armored engineer company. In 1968 it was reorganized into two platoons of Company C of the 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry, and two years later became Detachment 1 of the Company. After transferring to Company A in 1998, it consolidated with the company in 2007 to become Troop C, 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry.

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Company A, 146th Signal Battalion is a unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. The company dates back to 1887 with the founding of the "Metropolitan Light Infantry". For its first 68 years the unit served as an infantry company and deployed as Company F, 124th Infantry during World War II. After WWII the unit reorganized again as infantry, then as a quartermaster company for eight years, and since February 1963 the Metropolitan Light Infantry has been a signal company.

References

  1. ↑ "Berm to berm: 2–124th leads the way". Florida Guard Online. Florida National Guard. 13 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Gaines, William C. Historical Sketches Coast Artillery Regiments 1917-1950, National Guard Army Regiments 197-265. Retrieved from: http://cdsg.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/FORTS/CACunits/CAregNG.pdf
  3. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NG-AROTO 1002-01-Florida, Reorganization Number 76-67, dated 14 DEC 1967.
  4. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NGB-ARO-O 207-02-FL, Reorganization Number 209-71, dated 10 DEC 1971.
  5. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NG-AROTO 325.4 - Fla, dated 17 OCT 1955.
  6. ↑ National Guard Reorganization Order No. 76-67, NG AROTO 1002-01 Florida, dated 14 DEC 67
  7. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NGB-ARO-O 207-02, Organizational Authority 153-77, dated 8 SEP 77.
  8. ↑ Report of the Adjutant General for the Years 1883-84. J. E. Young, Adjutant General.
  9. ↑ Lance, Mark W. Memorandum to Chief, National Guard Bureau, Lineage Florida National Guard, dated 23 JUL 1958.
  10. ↑ Lance, Mark W. Memorandum to Chief, National Guard Bureau, Lineage Florida National Guard, dated 23 JUL 1958.
  11. ↑ Lance, Mark W. Memorandum to Chief, National Guard Bureau, Lineage Florida National Guard, dated 23 JUL 1958.
  12. ↑ Lance, Mark W. Memorandum to Chief, National Guard Bureau, Lineage Florida National Guard, dated 23 JUL 1958.
  13. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NG-AROTO 325.4 - Fla, dated 17 OCT 1955.
  14. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NG-AROTO 325.4 - Florida, Reorganization Number 33-59, dated 23 MAR 1959.
  15. ↑ National Guard Organization Authority, NG-AROTO 1002-01-Florida, Reorganization Number 76-67, dated 14 DEC 1967.
  16. ↑ National Guard Organizational Authority No. 128-07, NGB-ARF-T, dated 31 MAR 07
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