122-491: The 2nd Chemical Battalion is a United States Army chemical unit stationed at Fort Cavazos , Texas , United States , and is part of the 48th Chemical Brigade . The battalion can trace its lineage from the 30th Engineer Regiment (Gas and Flame) and has served in World War I , World War II , Korean War , Operation Desert Storm , and Operation Iraqi Freedom . The 2nd Chemical Battalion currently (June 2019) consists of
244-614: A status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and siege of Fort St. Philip with an army dominated by militia and volunteers, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane , Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to
366-435: A 25-pound shell a company of mortars had the firepower (although not the range) of a full battalion of 105 mm howitzers. After Pearl Harbor the battalion spent several months performing guard duty at aircraft manufacturing plants, public water supplies and other potentially sensitive points. Then it was transferred to Fort Bragg , NC under a new commander, Major Robert W. Breaks. On 1 April 1942 Companies B, C, and D and
488-580: A Medical Detachment were activated. For 14 months Breaks carried out a training program that involved working with paratroopers and engineers, extensive mountain training, and four amphibious invasion exercises. Most important, they trained with the 45th Infantry Division, with which they invaded Sicily in Operation HUSKY , and which they supported on many occasions during the war. During the Sicilian campaign, 10 July – 18 August 1943, operating under
610-402: A collection of 500-pound phosgene bombs abandoned from a World War II storage facility. This mission was accomplished with no incidents or injuries of any sort. The Distinctive Unit Insignia consists of a red dragon on gold background. The dragon clasps a blue lightning bolt symbolizing the unit's role as a combat unit from 1918 to 1958. The dragon's foot rests on a stylized wheel, representing
732-462: A crest or coronet was added to the battalion colors, bearing four flames between five steel spikes. The four flames symbolize the four wars in which the battalion fought (Operation Iraqi Freedom had not yet occurred), and the five spikes represent five unit commendations that the unit has received. The 30th Engineer Battalion was popularly known as “The Hellfire Boys.” In recognition of this, 2d Chemical Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company has
854-487: A decade. The men maintained the grounds, polished their equipment, and drilled. They conducted demonstrations with Stokes mortars and Livens projectors and taught the Chemical Warfare Course for all Army officers. Being trained with tear gas , their responsibilities included crowd control and periodic field exercises were conducted to practice this mission as well as combat operations. On 5 February 1929
976-532: A decontamination company, a chemical reconnaissance company, and at times a BIDS (Biological Integrated Detection System.) The 13th Chemical Company was activated with 2nd Chemical in 2001 as the Army's first BIDS unit. It operated at first using a Humvee platform and later a specialized vehicle based on the M-113 personnel carrier. The deactivation of the 13th in 2011 ended the battalion's BIDS mission. Decontamination in
1098-651: A few months. The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South . Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations . They set up many forts, and engaged in
1220-483: A functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces , operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officers, warrant officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel. Before 1933,
1342-726: A month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code , while the National Guard is organized under Title 32 . While the Army National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it
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#17327799299921464-487: A new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018. The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs. AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM. AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of
1586-480: A predominantly combat support role. The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy , the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of
1708-618: A role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 ( Operation Urgent Fury ) and Panama in 1989 ( Operation Just Cause ). By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000. A number of incentives such as early retirement were used. In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait , and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure
1830-738: A strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off
1952-533: Is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor , even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes. The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army , who has
2074-670: Is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are: In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades . Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve
2196-630: Is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . The Army is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence. It has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during
2318-820: The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775. The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of
2440-949: The Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division -level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare . The Army's current reorganization plan is due to be completed by 2028. The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations ), special operations forces , to set and sustain
2562-537: The Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance. After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy, but in 2004, USAF Air War College scholars concluded
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#17327799299922684-575: The Chemical Corps . Initially the battalion consisted only of Headquarters and the 181st Chemical Detachment. The 181st was later expanded to a company and has remained part of the Red Dragons to the present day. There is not a record of which companies were in the battalion at any point in time, until Desert Storm. With various numbered companies, the battalion continued to function through the next twenty years with at least one smoke company,
2806-617: The Maginot line , liberation of the Dachau concentration camp , and the capture of a town named Traunstein. This was the only occasion in the entire war in which a chemical mortar battalion was credited with such a capture. In Traunstein HQ Company captured a young Luftwaffe deserter named Joseph Ratzinger, who later would become Pope Benedict XVI . After the German surrender, the battalion
2928-707: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom , until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack. During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam . The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent
3050-572: The fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across
3172-562: The guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA) . During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve . In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in
3294-527: The "Gas and Flame Battalion of the Thirtieth Regiment Engineers." Throughout the Army they are known as the "Hell Fire Boys." In reality training consisted mostly of close order drill, marching, inspections and guard duty. The U.S. Army had no men with chemical warfare experience, no weapons or agents to train for offensive chemical warfare, and no gas masks or other protection to train for defensive chemical warfare. On 24 December 1917,
3416-631: The 1970s was carried out with the M12 skid-mounted decontamination system that was standardized in 1961. This was replaced beginning in 1987 by the M17, lighter but with higher capacity. During the 1980s the battalion discontinued the M3 stationary smoke generators that had been in use since 1952. M3 generators were mounted on Humvee platforms under the name M56 Coyote, and on M-1059 vehicles based on M-113 personnel carriers and known as Lynx. The Red Dragons tested and deployed
3538-399: The 1st Gas Regiment was redesignated the 1st Chemical Regiment. The men in ranks hardly noticed, as the idyllic environment at Edgewood continued unchanged. The daily schedule of events was standard, with weekends free after Saturday morning inspections. Change was more noticeable after 15 April 1935 when the 1st Chemical Regiment was disbanded. The next day the 2nd Separate Chemical Battalion
3660-425: The 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment. The Red Dragons provided all chemical support to this formation, other than organic chemical units. When the ground war began on 24 February 1991 the battalion's operating chemical companies were the 46th and 84th, both smoke companies, the 181st, equipped for decontamination, the 323rd, a reserve unit, and the 12th Chemical Maintenance Company. The smoke companies lived in their tracks in
3782-403: The 2nd Chemical Battalion, Motorized being one of the few Army units with enough organic transport to move itself unassisted. Under this name the battalion participated in the invasion of Italy at Salerno ( Operation AVALANCHE .) The 45th, 34th and 3rd Infantry Divisions went into the line and were rotated out, but the Red Dragons remained in action to support each in turn. The unit participated in
2nd Chemical Battalion (United States) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-458: The 2nd Chemical Weapons Battalion. Personnel were transferred from the 3rd Chemical Weapons Battalion which was deactivated. The battalion trained with 5.5-inch chemical rockets at Dugway Proving grounds until 16 January 1955 when it was deactivated. On 7 January 1958 Headquarters and Headquarters Company was reactivated at Fort McClellan, Alabama as the 2nd Chemical Battalion (Smoke Generator.) Companies A, B, and C, still at Dugway were inactivated at
4026-662: The 30th Engineer Regiment (Gas and Flame.) Shortly thereafter, General Order 31 from the General Headquarters of the AEF officially activated the Gas Service Section with Colonel Amos Fries in command. Because its lineage traces directly back to the 30th Engineers, this timeline means that not only is the 2D Chemical Battalion the first and oldest unit in the Chemical Corps, but it is also older than
4148-613: The 30th Engineer Regiment became known as the "Hell Fire Battalion", and its soldiers as the "Hell Fire Boys". A 15 November 1917 story in the Baltimore Evening Star stated: If His Satanic Majesty happened to drop around at the American University training camp to-day, he would see the "Hell Fire Battalion" at work and might blush with envy. On the War Department records the battalion is known as
4270-408: The 4.2-inch mortar was standardized by Ordnance and was the primary heavy support weapon for fifty years. These decisions rested heavily on the mortar's performance in the hands of the 2nd Separate Chemical Battalion. The battalion was cited specifically for its actions on 6 August 1943 at San Fratello Ridge, known as “Hill 715.” Two battalions of the 15th Infantry became trapped while attacking across
4392-549: The 461st Infantry Battalion, continued in action until the Armistice, completing their ninth campaign, the tenth and last campaign of the war. The 461st was over run twice in June and July 1953. Ironically, those who served in the 461st were eligible for the Combat Infantryman's Badge after their transfer to the new unit. The 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion was transferred at zero strength to the U.S. and re-designated
4514-559: The American front, supporting eight infantry divisions. Confounding the view that gas weapons were static, members of the regiment began carrying their Stokes mortars along with the advancing infantry to assist by taking out enemy machine gun positions and other strong points. At times their heavy 4-inch gas mortars were in action ahead of the infantry's own 3-inch mortars, firing combinations of gas, smoke, and thermite. The 1st Gas Regiment won battle streamers for Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and
4636-460: The Army (HQDA): See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history , components , administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army. The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once
4758-472: The Army National Guard members were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically at the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 , all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under
4880-411: The Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and
5002-681: The Army's first M-1059s in the mid-1980s. The M58 Wolf , also based on the M113, was introduced in 1998 but never fully replaced the M1059.The Red Dragons used M-1059s in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom until the last ones were retired in 2005. After this the battalion mission set no longer included smoke. In August 1990, Iraq attacked Kuwait and seized the oil fields and the capital, Kuwait City . The 2d Chemical Battalion received deployment orders from Fort Hood, Texas, and by 27 October 1990
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5124-570: The British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton , but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, the Continental Army
5246-461: The Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington , which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore , prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of
5368-459: The Chemical Corps itself. On 30 August 1917 Captain Earl J. Atkisson was assigned the task of raising and training the fledgling gas regiment which was stationed at Camp American University , Washington, D.C. Atkisson set out acquiring officers, enlisted men, equipment and information. Beginning on 19 October 1917, the influx of enlisted personnel into the regiment was "near continuous". Early on
5490-555: The DCRF mission rotated to another chemical unit, and the battalion returned to it historical makeup of HHC and four operating companies. As of this writing, July 2019, the Red Dragons continue to train to a high state of readiness for diverse missions. In 2018 Red Dragons provided humanitarian relief to the Houston area in the wake of Hurricane Harvey . In September of that year 42 soldiers deployed to San Jose Island Panama to demilitarize
5612-596: The Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, formerly Edgewood Arsenal. In 2012 the 2d Chemical Battalion took on the national Defense Chemical Response Force (DCRF) mission. Under this concept the battalion, in addition to readiness for overseas deployment, was tasked to respond to major CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) incidents in the US, whether of foreign or domestic origin. The battalion grew as large as 12 companies at four locations. Two years later
5734-697: The First French Army. At this point they had completed the Southern France campaign. On 31 December 1944 the designation changed to 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. Continuing on to cross the Rhine and enter Germany, the battalion completed the Rhineland, Ardennes Alsace, and Germany campaigns. Significant events included defending the flank of 3rd Army during the Battle of the Bulge , assault on
5856-472: The Furiano River. The Red Dragons laid an eight-hour smoke screen on a 3500-yard front to protect the infantry which was under direct observation and fire from the ridge. Two chemical mortar companies were shelled out of their positions but set up elsewhere and continued firing. That night the two infantry battalions returned safely under cover of darkness. On 7 September 1943 the unit was re-designated
5978-526: The Headquarters and Headquarters Company (Hellfire), 68th Chemical Company (Responders) and 181st Chemical Company (Double Dragons) at Fort Cavazos, Texas, the 172nd Chemical Company (Gladiators) at Fort Riley , Kansas and the 63rd Chemical Company (Dragon Masters) at Fort Campbell , Kentucky / Tennessee . The unit is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "2D CBRN Battalion" where CBRN stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear. However
6100-527: The Korean peninsula in four days, from Pusan South Korea to YongByon, North Korea. They were assigned the code name NATIVE and kept it for the rest of the war. A week later the battalion was over run at Unsan when the Chinese made their first significant entry into the war. Many guns and vehicles were lost and 19 men were killed, some by capture and execution. On 26 November the Chinese made a major assault against
6222-514: The Meuse-Argonne. During six campaigns seventy-five members of the regiment made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting the AEF. After the Armistice, the regiment redeployed to Camp Kendrick, Lakehurst, New Jersey where it was demobilized on 28 February 1919. On 24 February 1920 the 1st Gas Regiment was reconstituted at Edgewood Arsenal , Maryland which remained its home station until 1953. Duties at Edgewood were mostly routine for more than
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#17327799299926344-783: The Naples-Foggia and Rome-Arno campaigns, then prepared for the invasion of southern France in operation ANVIL-DRAGOON , Company A joined the First Airborne Task in a glider assault 15 miles inland from the beaches. The battalion continued with the ABTF defending against any German penetration of the French-Italian border in the Maritime Alps. They then proceeded to the Vosges Mountains, attached to
6466-545: The National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias . State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service. The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas . Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into
6588-399: The ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve . The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft . Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army , the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard . Some states further maintain state defense forces , as a type of reserve to
6710-411: The Red dragons, still with the 27th Commonwealth Brigade, played a critical role in saving the US 23rd Infantry which was surrounded at Chipyong-ni by 90,000 Chinese troops. When the United Nations advanced again in the spring of 1951 the battalion was moved literally from coast to coast. Their presidential citation for this period reads in part, “…the men of this Battalion moved along the entire width of
6832-458: The Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene , it hit where
6954-441: The Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas . The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within
7076-400: The Special Brigade on 2 March, only 93 days after formal organization. During this period the 30th Engineers participated in the largest gas attack of the war, consisting of 4,000 Livens projectors. On 22 May 1918, the regiment began combat operations as an independent American unit. The 30th Engineers won three campaign streamers – Flanders 1918, Lys, and Lorraine 1918 which are still carried on
7198-421: The US 9th Infantry, which the Red Dragons were supporting. The Chinese over ran most of the battalion's gun positions, and men continued to fire missions for the infantry while under small arms fire. Six men were killed; two were awarded posthumous Silver Stars. As the entire Eighth Army retreated, 2nd Chemical was attached to the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade . Working together smoothly these two units formed
7320-401: The US Army. Fifty-eight men were killed in action. The 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion was reactivated at Edgewood Arsenal on 1 February 1949. Personnel and equipment came from the 91st Chemical Mortar Battalion. For the next year and a half, the Red Dragons trained to a high state of readiness under the command of Lieutenant Colonel V. H. Bell. The battalion taught the Chemical Warfare School for
7442-420: The United States and is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of the Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch, and in
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#17327799299927564-482: The United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army , consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina . For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states. The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued
7686-405: The United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into
7808-423: The acquisition process for the future. In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $ 30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years. The $ 30 billion came from $ 8 billion in cost avoidance and $ 22 billion in terminations. The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775. In the first one hundred years of its existence,
7930-491: The agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star . The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played
8052-474: The army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft . In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution , the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa , a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico , prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on
8174-452: The authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States. Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War , peacekeeping in Kosovo , Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [REDACTED] Headquarters, United States Department of
8296-449: The battalion colors today. On 13 July 1918 the regiment was re-designated as the 1st Gas Regiment. In its first campaign (Aisne-Marne) the front was very fluid. Gas weapons were considered static and of little use when positions were changing frequently. Therefore, the regiment was assigned to road repairs and the men performed this task with such excellence that they were praised by the I Corps Commanding General for “maintaining practically
8418-457: The battalion had closed into Saudi Arabia and was attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps for the Defense of Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield . On 10 January 1991 the battalion was attached to the Army VII Corps (designated the main force for the attack into Iraq), The VII Corps would eventually total approximately 145,000 Soldiers, and consist of four Armor divisions (one being the UK 1st Armor Division), one Mechanized Infantry Division and
8540-404: The battalion participated heavily in development of the M93 Fox NBCRS (Nuclear Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance System) based on the German TPz Fuchs . The battalion was the first to deploy with Foxes, for chemical reconnaissance missions in Desert Storm. Beginning in 1998 it also tested the upgraded M93A1 Variant proving as viable new automated systems for sampling, analysis and reporting and
8662-422: The battle-line, emplacing where the fighting was heaviest, inflicting tremendous casualties among attackers, and redeploying as soon as a relative lull occurred to yet another sector where the savage battle flared anew.” This was one of four citations that the battalion earned during the war. The Red Dragons were the only chemical mortar battalion to serve in the war, and routinely outperformed heavy mortar units of
8784-662: The building, as part of the September 11 attacks . In response to the 11 September attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror , U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In
8906-482: The code name SAPPHIRE, the Red Dragons were the only Allied unit to serve the entire 38-day campaign without relief. Their performance in supporting infantry attacks was so remarkable that shortly after the invasion of Italy, Fifth Army ordered that no infantry division would ever go into combat without a chemical mortar battalion attached, and no infantry regiment without a chemical mortar company attached. Eventually 32 chemical mortar battalions were activated and in 1947
9028-466: The combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense. By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD): The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades . Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan
9150-504: The correct designation for the unit is "2D Chemical Battalion (CBRN)." Shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, the general staff of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) decided to establish a Gas Service, part of which would be an offensive gas regiment. Born out of this decision was War Department General Order 108, dated 15 August 1917, which authorized and established an offensive gas unit designated as
9272-520: The desert for five months. The total strength and equipment was 590 soldiers, 154 wheeled vehicles, 53 M-1059 tracked smoke generator vehicles , and 111 trailers. Headquarters and the 46th Chemical Company (Smoke Dawgs) were part of the VII Corps race across the desert in the “100-Hour War,” travelling 375 kilometers (233 miles.) Initially the Red Dragons were attached to the 1st Infantry which had
9394-631: The end of FY2017. From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters, while retaining its Apache gunships. The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $ 32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $ 21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014. By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization, which triggered shifts of units: CCDC , and ARCIC , from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), respectively, to
9516-439: The end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968. The Total Force Policy
9638-448: The entire Army. They trained Army and National Guard troops on use of the 4.2-inch mortar. They conducted PORTEX, a practice invasion of Puerto Rico, and trained on airborne operations with the mortar. The Korean War broke out on July 25, 1950. The battalion received movement orders on 7 September 1950 and moved so quickly that 47 days later, on 24 October, they fired their first combat mission. The journey. included travelling 700 miles up
9760-586: The entire line of communication upon which the advancing Divisions were dependent” which was “of first importance” to the success of the campaign. Meanwhile, officers and picked weapon squads demonstrated to American combat commanders the effectiveness of their gas weaponry. This began a tradition still demonstrated by the Red Dragons today: gaining trust and confidence by excelling at onerous, off-mission work, and using persuasion and education to ensure their chemical capabilities are used most effectively. For their second campaign (St. Mihiel) they were assigned all along
9882-695: The first remote chemical sensing system, the Remote Sensing Chemical Agent Alarm (RSCAAL) A number of chemical companies rotated in and out of the battalion including the 21st, 44th, 46th 59th, 84th, 101st, and 172nd. The 181st Chemical Company did not rotate, but remained with the battalion. There is no known written history of the Red Dragons’ participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom . Some facts are known by direct observation. The battalion deployed for
10004-658: The first two companies of the regiment deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), still with no equipment or training for chemical warfare. Once in France, companies A and B reported to the British Special (Chemical) Brigade and received training in offensive chemical warfare with Livens projectors and Stokes mortars . Five platoons completed a five-week training course and began offensive operations under supervision of
10126-580: The following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency , resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more. 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II, was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and
10248-587: The forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy . In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany , millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In 1947, the number of soldiers in the US Army had decreased from eight million in 1945 to 684,000 soldiers and
10370-420: The full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders ". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States of America. The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces . Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as: In 2018,
10492-685: The geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict. The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles . It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there
10614-471: The guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force". On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of
10736-468: The infantry, although operating with much lower manpower. The unit remained in combat for 1007 days, never relieved or placed in reserve. It participated in eight of the ten United Nations campaigns of the war. Sixty-one members of the battalion were killed or missing in action. On 23 January 1953 all personnel and equipment of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion were transferred to the 461st Infantry Battalion (Heavy Mortar). The Red Dragon personnel, serving as
10858-490: The initial invasion which began on 19 March 2003. The 44th and 46th Chemical companies advanced with the 4th Infantry Division for provide smoke for river crossings. Several platoons deployed with Foxes. The first vehicle to enter Baghdad Airport was a Red Dragon Fox, to detect and identify chemical agents. A few isolated chemical munitions were identified, but the primary effort involved industrial chemical inventories. Large quantities of nitric acid posed particular problems. After
10980-616: The invasion, Red Dragon platoons were deployed to a variety of locations as far north as Tikrit. They were tasked for guard duty, infantry patrols, convoy escort, and other non-chemical duties. One platoon guarded a Tikrit bridge within a mile of Saddam Hussein 's "Spider hole". Another platoon remained in Kuwait providing escort for visiting VIPs. From 2004 to 2010 companies were almost constantly rotated on deployments. Further, individual soldiers were pulled from undeployed companies and inserted into both chemical and non-chemical units. The demand
11102-771: The last of the American Indian Wars . U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen . The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers , the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War . Starting in 1910,
11224-429: The main attack, then the main attack was transferred to the 3rd Armored. At night the Red Dragons detached from the 1st ID which was in motion and in contact with the enemy, traveled 70 miles (113 kilometers) across unmarked desert to attach to the 3rd AD which was also in motion and in contact. On the way they went through acres of unexploded sub-munitions from American field artillery missions. This feat of land navigation
11346-507: The nickname “Hellfire.” When the unit was a smoke generator battalion LTC Jack Stenger, a battalion commander who was a former mortar company commander was concerned that the men would forget their heritage. He procured a barrel from an M2A1 4.2-inch mortar and a custom was instituted in which four men would hold the barrel while another drank a suitable beverage from the muzzle. At the Red Dragon Centennial in 2017 this custom
11468-545: The protection of Saudi Arabia . In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces . The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army . Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge , Battle of Norfolk and
11590-414: The rear guard as all of Eighth Army retreated more than 400 miles. They were the only units in contact with the enemy, constantly setting ambushes and falling back. The association of these two units continued for almost six months, and after the war the 27th gave the Red Dragons a set of ceremonial drums like the one they used on parade, which rest today in battalion HQ at Fort Cavazos. On 14 February 1951,
11712-698: The remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program . By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC. In response to Budget sequestration in 2013 , Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels, although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by
11834-455: The same time. For the first time in its 40-year history, the Red Dragons became a service unit rather than a combat unit. Smoke operations continued until the unit was deactivated 19 December 1973 at Fort McClellan Alabama. It was reactivated on 1 September 1981 as the 2d Chemical Battalion, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At this point the companies were no longer lettered, but had their own numbers and could be moved from battalion to battalion in
11956-605: The service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States , the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of
12078-489: The service of the army. By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the " National Army " was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers. It was demobilized at the end of World War I and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps, and
12200-456: The services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders , who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to
12322-533: The side of Britain , France , Russia , Italy and the other Allies . U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces. In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength ranged between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal 's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in
12444-443: The state militias. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the " Regular Army " with the "Enlisted Reserve Corps" and "Officer Reserve Corps" augmented to fill vacancies when needed. In 1941, the " Army of the United States " was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II,
12566-545: The states of California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , Wyoming and New Mexico . The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states , located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States , the Confederate States Army , led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of
12688-472: The statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction, and control of the secretary of defense . The chief of staff of the Army , who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a body composed of
12810-594: The takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army 's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953. The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel ,
12932-603: The theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land. The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain , with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As
13054-718: The total number of active divisions had dropped from 89 to 12. The leaders of the Army saw this demobilization as a success. In the Pacific War , U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy
13176-1205: The two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman . The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII , were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium ,
13298-469: The unit's 1940 status as a Motorized unit, rare in those days. A motorized unit had sufficient organic transport that it could move itself without vehicles from Quartermasters or other support units. The phrase “Flammis Vincimus” is Latin for “We conquer with Fire,” referring to the units use of dedicated offensive chemical weapons in World War I. It is the only unit in the US Army to have done so. In 2002
13420-620: The unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter
13542-583: The world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war. The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations. On the European front , U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of
13664-590: Was accomplished without GPS, because the XVIII Airborne had taken them. When hostilities ceased on 28 February, the battalion took up position in Kuwait for maintenance/recovery operations and supporting VII Corps in humanitarian assistance. On 7 May the battalion departed from Dhahran Airbase to return to Fort Hood, TX. Throughout the 1990s the 2d Chemical Battalion remained stationed at Fort Hood, ready on order to deploy and take command and control of chemical units in any theater of operations. During this period
13786-470: Was activated, receiving all personnel and equipment from the disbanded regiment. With supplies and equipment in short supply, soldiers began to refer to the new unit as the “2nd Desperate Chemical Battalion.” The battalion began training with the new 4.2-inch chemical mortar, developed from the 4-inch Stokes mortar. The new weapon had a rifled barrel that give it unprecedented accuracy, and a firm base structure that allowed firing up to 20 rounds per minute. With
13908-583: Was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army , the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force. General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in
14030-530: Was assigned guard duty over numerous sites where the Germans had stored chemical munitions, including Zyklon B , the nerve gas used for mass executions in the concentration camps. On 26 July 1946 the battalion was deactivated in Germany, with remaining personnel going to the 9th Infantry Division. During the war the battalion was in combat for 511 days, the same as the 45th Division, and more than any other unit in
14152-876: Was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed, the Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States , established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796. In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons . In March 1799, Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry . Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses
14274-604: Was high; soldiers meeting the criteria for deployment could be almost certain of individual deployment. During this period beginning in 1990 the M1135 Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (Stryker) system was deployed to replace the Fox. Some deployments in this period involved identification and assessment of “sensitive sites” which might contain chemical or valuable intelligence. The last company to deploy to Iraq
14396-498: Was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century. The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries. The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of
14518-590: Was procured and stored. The War of 1812 , the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and stopped two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh , which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in
14640-505: Was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became the new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans , it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army
14762-475: Was revived as “The Fireshot Ceremony.” The name recalls that in a mortar position the platoon leader would order “Fire!” and as soon as the round was on its way, would say into the phone “Shot!” so that the Fire Direction Center could mark the exact time until impact. The motto of the 2D Chemical Battalion (CBRN) is “Second to None.” United States Army The United States Army ( USA )
14884-549: Was the 44th Chemical Company in 2010, which upon return went immediately into training with the M1135. In 2014 Red Dragons of the 181st Chemical Company retired the Army's last active Foxes at the National Training Center. In 2007 the battalion became part of the 48th Chemical Brigade, an operational chemical brigade made up of four chemical battalions. The 48th in turn was subordinate to the 20th CBRNE command at
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