108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (United States)
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| 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|
 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |
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| Active | Oct, 1923 - Dec, 1945 Sept, 1956 - April, 1960 May, 1967 - Nov, 1971 1974-08-26 - Present |
| Country | U.S. |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Part of | XVIII Airborne Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Bragg |
| Motto | Deeds Above Words |
| Engagements | World War II Vietnam War |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
The mission of the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is to train and maintain a strategic crisis response air defense artillery brigade capable of deploying worldwide, on short notice, to provide air defense force protection (air breathing threat/tactical ballistic missile) and allow freedom of maneuver for XVIII Airborne Corps operations.
Contents |
[edit] Subordinate Units
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
- 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (Fort Campbell)
- 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (Air and Missile Defense)(Fort Bragg).
[edit] Former subordinate units
- 1st Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery (fate unknown)
- 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (now part of 11th ADA Bde)
- 555th Maintenance Company (Part of 2nd Battalion, 43rd ADA), now called MSB (Maintenance Support Battery)
[edit] History
[edit] World War II
- The 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade traces its lineage to the 514th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft), which was formed in Schenectady, New York in October, 1923 and assigned to the US Army Reserve.
- The Regiment was Activated on 1942-03-01 at Camp Davis, North Carolina.
The Regiment was reorganized and redesignated as follows:
- HHB, 514th CAR (AA) became HHB, 108th Coast Artillery Group (AA) on 1943-01-20, with the Organic Battalions becoming Seperate Battalions attached.
- The 108th was moved to Camp Stewart, Georgia on 1943-10-14.
- The 108th Staged at Camp Shanks, New York on 1943-12-22 and remained there until they deployed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 1943-12-28, and arrived in England on 1944-01-07.
- The 108th moved forward to France on 1944-06-28, and provided antiaircraft defense for the city and port of Cherbourg, for eleven months, and then moved forward to the cities of Rheims and Rouen, and stayed there until they moved forward to Germany on 1945-05-02.
- The 108th was located at Kaufhueren, Germany on 1945-08-20, and was deactivated and returned to the US Army Reserve on 1945-12-14, with the personnel and equipment further deployed to Occupation units.
- 1/514th CAR (AA) became 217th Coast Artillery Battalion on 1943-01-20, and was again redesignated as 217th AntiAircraft Artillery Battalion on 1943-06-28.
- The 217th deployed from the Boston Port of Embarkation on 1944-04-07, and arrived in England on 1944-04-17.
- The 217th moved forward to France on 1944-06-25, where they remained until they moved forward to participate in the Ardennes-Alsace Offensive..
- The 217th returned to the Continental US via the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 1946-02-02, and was deactivated and returned to the US Army Reserve the same day.
- 2/514th CAR (AA) became 639th Coast Artillery Battalion (Auto Weapons) on 1943-01-20, And was again redesignated as the 639th AntiAircraft Artillery Battalion (Auto Weapons) on 1943-05-15.
- The 639th Deployed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 1944-09-29, and landed in France on 1944-10-10.
- The 639th returned to the Continental US via the New York Port of Embarkation on 1946-02-02, and was deactivated at Camp Kilmer, and returned to the US Army Reserve on the same day.
- 3/514th CAR (AA) became 363rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Search Light) on 1943-01-20, and was redesignated as the 363rd AntiAircraft Artillery Battalion (Searchlight) on 1943-03-03. The 363rd did not deploy, but remained at Fort Gordon, Georgia until 1944-10-31, whereupon the unit was deactivated and returned to the US Army Reserve, with the personnel and equipment transferred elsewhere as required.
[edit] Campaign Participation Credit
- Normandy 1944-06-06 — 1944-07-24 108th and 217th only.
- Northern France 1944-07-25 — 1944-09-14 108th and 217th only.
- Rhineland 1944-09-15 — 1945-03-21 108th, 217th, and 639th.
- Ardennes-Alsace 1944-12-16 — 1945-01-25 108th and 639th only.
- Central Europe 1945-03-22 — 1945-05-11 108th, 217th, and 639th.
[edit] Post-War
In September, 1956, the 108th AA Group was reactivated in Los Angeles, California. It was again redesignated as the 108th Artillery Group (Air Defense). The 108th was deactivated in April of 1960, in Fort MacArthur, California.
[edit] Vietnam War
In May 1967, the group was reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas as the 108th Artillery Group and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam in October 1967. The Group participated in every major operation conducted in I Corps area of operations and credited with participation in eleven different campaigns while in Vietnam. For its service it was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. The 108th departed from Vietnam on 22 November 1971 for Fort Lewis, Washington, where the unit was again inactivated.
[edit] Post-Vietnam
On 26 August 1974, the group was again reactivated at Kapun Barracks, Kaiserslautern, West Germany, as the 108th Air Defense Artillery Group, the only Chaparral/Vulcan Group in the US Army. In September 1975 the group moved to Kleber Kaserne and on 1 October 1982 it was redesignated the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. On 15 April 1992 the Brigade was moved to Fort Polk, Louisiana, becoming a Patriot(2/43rd) and Avenger (1/2nd) unit, and on 15 August 1996 the brigade moved to Fort Bliss, Texas.
At Fort Bliss the brigade was aligned under the Fort Bragg-based XVIII Airborne Corps and, because of this alignment, added a blue Airborne tab above its patch. The unit is in fact, an Airborne unit, with the 3rd Bn, 4th ADA remaining on jump status as it has been since it came to Fort Bragg almost 40 years ago. In 2007, the unit was to be moved to Fort Bragg as part of the 2005 BRAC realignment. The 108th saw its 1st Bn, 7th ADA temporarily move to South Korea and gained the 3rd Bn, 4th ADA, previously an Avenger battalion. The 3rd Bn, 4th ADA is now organized as an "Air and Missile Defense" battalion. Additionally, the brigade lost the 2nd Bn, 43rd ADA to the 11th ADA Bde.
