U.S. 81st Armored Brigade
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| 81st Armored Brigade | |
|---|---|
 81st Armored Brigade Insignia |
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| Active | January 1, 1968 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army National Guard |
| Type | Armor Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Seattle, Washington |
| Nickname | Washington Rifles |
| Battles/wars | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
The U.S. 81st Brigade Combat Team (Heavy) is primarily composed of units from the Washington National Guard. It also includes units from California, and has at times incorporated personnel from Minnesota. It contains approximately 3,600 soldiers.
[edit] Composition
The Brigade contains 6 battalions and a Headquarters and Headquarters Company. It assumed its current organizational structure in late 2005, after its return from Iraq.
- 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry consists of a Headquarters Company, two Infantry Companies, two Armor Companies, and an Engineer Company. These companies are based in Spokane, Kent, Moses Lake, Bremerton, Pasco, and Bellingham, Washington, respectively.
- 1st Battalion, 185th Armor has an identical composition to the above, but, the companies are based in San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Porterville, Palmdale, Madera, and San Diego, California.
- 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry is composed of 1 Headquarters Troop and 3 Cavalry troops, based in Kent, Puyallup, Kent, and Port Orchard, Washington, respectively.
- 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery is composed of one Headquarters Battery and two cannon batteries, located in Olympia, Montesano, and Longview, Washington.
- 181st Support Battalion is composed of 1 Headquarters Company, 1 Supply and Transportation Company, and 1 Medical Company, all based in Seattle, Washington. It also contains a Maintenance Company in Yakima, Washington, and four Forward Support Companies, based in Kent, Spokane, and Centralia, Washington, and in Barstow, California.
- 81st Brigade Troops Battalion contains a Headquarters Company, a Military Intelligence Company, and a Signal Company, located in Everett, Kent, and Everett, Washington, respectively.
- Headquarters Company, 81st Brigade - Seattle, Washington.
[edit] History
The unit that would one day become the 81st Brigade began as a Brigade of the 41st Infantry Division in 1917. As a part of this division, it deployed to France for World War I, but was used for replacements and did not see action as a coherent unit.
Between the World Wars, the Brigade operated in Washington with the 161st Infantry Regiment and the 163rd Infantry Regiment out of Montana. Just after America's entry into World War II, the 161st was attached to the 25th Infantry Division where it saw a great deal of action in the Pacific, and the Brigade structure was abolished.
On 1 January 1968, the 41st Division was disbanded and the Brigade structure restored. At first, the Brigade contained 3 battalions of the 161st Infantry Regiment and various supporting elements. In 1971, 2nd Battalion, 161st Infantry was disbanded and replaced with 1st Battalion, 303rd Armor.
In the mid-1990s, a reduction in the size of the Washington National Guard disbanded the 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry, and replaced it with the 1st Battalion, 185th Armor from California. This also made armored formations prevalent in the Brigade and necessitated its redesignation as an armored, rather than infantry, brigade.
Like most National Guard units, the Brigade has periodically been called upon to respond to various natural disasters and public disorder, notably the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, and the anti-globalization protests during the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle.
The largest overseas mission of the 81st Brigade was its deployment to the Middle East to combat the Iraqi Insurgency from March 2004 to March 2005. The Brigade was broken up, and its components extensively reorganized to meet the mission requirements. Only one Armored company, B/1-185 AR, retained its tanks. The Brigade joined this company, B Co, 160th Infantry, A Co, 579th Engineers from the California National Guard, and small organic elements to form "Task Force Tacoma."
The Brigade primarily guarded various U.S. and coalition facilities throughout Iraq and Kuwait. Two battalions were attached to the 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad, the California battalion was initially scattered along supply routes in southern Iraq, Tacoma provided security around LSA Anaconda near Balad, the support battalion defended the LSA itself, and the artillery battalion provided security at varied sites throughout Kuwait. The Brigade Headquarters did not exert operational control on any unit other than the support battalion. In Fall 2004, A/1-185AR joined the Brigade at LSA Anaconda. On New Year's Day 2005, TF Tacoma was moved to join 1st Bde 25th ID in Mosul, where it remained for the remainder of the tour.
A total of ten Brigade soldiers died from enemy action over the course of the deployment, mainly from the units that conducted active patrolling outside base perimeters.
Upon its return from overseas in March 2005, the Brigade began to reorganize in accordance with the Army's new "Unit of Action" Brigade design. The armored and infantry battalions became evenly filled with armor and infantry companies, the engineer battalion reduced to a company, and the small companies collected into a Troops Battalion.
