72nd Field Artillery Brigade (United States)
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| 72nd Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|
 72nd FA Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia |
|
| Active | 1917-1919 1936-1946 1947-1984 1993-2006 2006-Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Role | Training |
| Size | Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | FT Meade |
| Battle honours | World War 1: Meuse-Argonnne St. Mihiel Lorraine World War 2: Rhineland Ardennes-Alsace Central Europe |
| Insignia | |
| Subdued Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |  |
The 72nd Field Artillery Brigade is an AC/RC unit based at Fort Meade, Maryland. The unit is responsible for training selected United States Army Reserve & National Guard units along the Eastern Seaboard. The unit was formerly designated as 5th Brigade, 78th Division. The brigade is a subordinate unit of 1st Army
The 5th Brigade, 78th Division was constituted August 5, 1917, in the National Army as the 303rd Supply Train and assigned to the 78th Division. The Division organized December 1917-May 1918 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. It consisted of three regiments - the 309th, 311th, and 312th.
In France, during the summer and fall of 1918, the 78th Division was the "point of the wedge" for the final offensive, which knocked out Germany. The 5th Brigade was in three major campaigns during World War I - Meuse-Argonne, Saint-Mihiel and Lorraine. The unit was demobilized June 5, 1919, at Camp Dix, New Jersey. The Brigade was reconstituted July 3, 1936, in the Organized Reserves; concurrently consolidated with the 78th Division Quartermaster Train.
The brigade was reorganized and redesignated on July 1, 1936 as the 403rd Quartermaster Regiment, an element of the 78th Division (later redesignated as the 78th Infantry Division). On February 20, 1942, the unit was redesignated as the 403rd Quartermaster Battalion.
In World War II, the 5th Brigade, was ordered into active military service August 15, 1942, and reorganized at Camp Butner, North Carolina. After two years as part of the 78th Training Division, the 5th Brigade embarked for the European theatre. The Brigade participated in three campaigns - Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. Again, the Brigade was inactivated on May 22, 1946, in Germany. On February 21, 1947, the Brigade activated at Newark, New Jersey. (Organized Reserves redesignated March 25, 1948, as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated July 9, 1952, as the Army Reserve). The Brigade reorganized and redesignated October 16, 1978, as Headquarters, 78th Training Command, an element of the 78th Division (Training). On October 17, 1984, the Brigade was inactivated at Edison, New Jersey. The Brigade was redesignated October 1, 1993, as Headquarters, 5th Brigade, 78th Division (Exercise), and activated at Baltimore, Maryland.
In 2006, as part of the Army's Transformation Plan, the 5/78th was redesignated as the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade. The 72nd FA Brigade was for much of the Cold War period part of U.S. Army Europe, and for much of that time part of VII Corps Artillery, but had been disbanded earlier.
[edit] Organization
The unit is composed of:
- Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, 72nd Field Artillery Brigade
- 1st Battalion, 307th Regiment (Stryker)(Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania)
- 2d Battalion, 309th Regiment (Fort Dix, New Jersey)
- 3rd Battalion, 311th Regiment (Fort Lee, Virginia)
- 2d Battalion, 312th Regiment (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- 3rd Battalion, 312th Regiment (Fort Meade, Maryland)
- 2d Battalion, 315th Regiment (Field Artillery) (New Cumberland, Pennsylvania)
- 3rd Battalion, 315th Regiment (Engineer)(New Cumberland, Pennsylvania)
- 1st Battalion, 322nd Regiment (Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia)
For further information see The Brigade, A History by John J. McGrath from the Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
