| 116th Brigade Combat Team 116th Infantry Regiment |
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Distinctive Unit Insignia |
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| Active | 1741 – 1975 (116th Infantry Regiment) 1975 – present (116th IBCT) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army National Guard |
| Role | Infantry |
| Part of | 29th Infantry Division |
| Brigade Headquarters | Staunton, VA |
| Nickname | Stonewall Brigade |
| Motto | Ever Forward {116th Infantry} |
| Engagements | American Revolutionary War War of 1812 Mexican-American War American Civil War World War I World War II Operation Joint Forge Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation New Dawn |
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The 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was formerly known as the 1st Brigade, 29th Infantry Division. It is currently assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard. The Brigade is headquartered in Staunton, Virginia, at the Thomas Howie Memorial Armory.
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The regiment was formed as part of the Virginia Militia. They were called into Federal Service during both World Wars, and for service in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars. The regiment traces its lineage back to the famed Confederate States of America Stonewall Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The regiment in its previous form as a Virginia unit was redesignated on 9 March 1922 as the 116th Infantry and assigned to the 29th Division (later redesignated as the 29th Infantry Division).[1] Its headquarters was federally recognized 3 April 1922 at Staunton. Later the Location of Headquarters was changed 26 June 1933 to Lynchburg.
During the Second World War, the 116th Infantry Regiment took part in the Invasion of Normandy. The regiment suffered 314 casualties, including soldiers from A Company, which lost 96% of their men within the first 10 minutes of landing on Omaha Beach. During a move from Les Moulins, the 2nd Battalion broke loose from the beach and fought their way to a farmhouse to become the first command post in France.
On March 1, 2004, the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment was mobilized for deployment to Afghanistan to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom. Members of the battalion reported to armories around Virginia and began arriving at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on July 15, 2004. They were quickly engaged in operations.[2] The battalion conducted combat operations in Ghazni and SECFOR operations at Bagram Airfield. Numerous slice elements were placed under the operational control of the battalion. The newly formed task force assumed the name of the beaches the regiment stormed more than 60 years prior – Normandy. During the deployment two 116th Infantry soldiers are killed by a roadside bomb, the first Virginia National Guard soldiers to die in combat since World War II. The battalion returned to the United States in July 2005.[3]
In August 2006, the 1st Battalion mobilized in support of KFOR as part of the 29th Infantry Division to provide stability operations in the Serbian province of Kosovo with NATO. They become known as Task Force Red Dragon for the duration of their deployment.
In 2007, the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 116th BCT of the Virginia Army National Guard replaced the 229th Engineer Battalion. The unit is headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia. "Troops Forward" is the unit's motto. The BSTB comprises an HHC with platoons of Infantry, Support (Medical, Food Service and Transportation), Chemical, Military Police, Supply, Mechanics, Cavalry, Logistics and Administration. There are 3 other Company's in the BSTB: an Engineering, Military Intelligence and Signal Company.
In May 2007, the Brigade Headquarters Company mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Headquarters Company was stationed on the International Zone and did not suffer any casualties.
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| 115th Infantry Regiment | 117th Infantry Regiment |
In June 2007, the 2d Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment; the 3d Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment; and Company F, 429th Brigade Support Battalion were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. Companies A, B, and C of the 3d Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment successfully conducted convoy security patrols throughout Iraq. HHC & Co D, 3–116th, 2–183rd CAV, and F/429th conducted security force missions in Kuwait and Southern Iraq for strategically vital assets; to include 2-183rd CAV Trops A and C, with HQ and Colorado Guard components completing several extended roadside and personal security, surveillance and mercy missions, and numerous combat patrols throughout Kuwait and Southern Iraq provinces and along oil pipelines outside Basrah. The Purple Heart was awarded during the deployment for taking shrapnel from sniper fire, and the Iraq Campaign Medal was issued for those members serving in the Iraq theater of operations.
In January 2010, the first battalion mobilized with the Louisiana National Guard's 256th IBCT to Iraq and conducted convoy security missions in southern Iraq. Known at TF Overlord, a tribute the unit's D-Day heritage, the unit includes the Headquarters Company from Lynchburg, VA; Company A from Bedford, VA; Company B from Lexington, VA; Company C from Christiansburg, VA; and Company D from Pulaski, VA. The battalion was commanded by LTC E. Scott Smith of Lynchburg, VA. The unit returned with no losses in September 2010.
In May 2011, the Brigade Headquarters Company plus the UAV Platoon (B/116 BSTB) were mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Approximately 185 Soldiers were mobilized for this deployment. They are currently serving as the control element for Combined Team Zabul in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. They are commanded by COL Blake Ortner.
In June 2011, Task Force 183 (TF183) mobilized to support Operation New Dawn. This is the largest mobilization of the Virginia Army National Guard since WWII, comprising some 825 soldiers. TF183 comprises most of the 2d Squadron, 183d Cavalry Regiment plus elements of the 116th BSTB, 116th BSB, 1-116 Infantry and D Co 3-116 Infantry.
116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team consists of the following elements:
The brigade had its own shoulder patch which was most recently worn in 2006–2008.[5] The shoulder sleeve insignia depicted Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson mounted on his horse, a reference to the 116th's lineage as the Stonewall Brigade. The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for the 116th Infantry Brigade on 26 May 1978. The patch's nickname is "Stony on a Pony." When the 29th Infantry Division was reactivated in 1985, the brigade was assigned to the division and began wearing the division shoulder patch. Following the Army's reorganization of combat divisions in 2005 into brigade-centric units, ARNG brigades within divisions began wearing brigade patches as Department of the Army policy. Reportedly the 116th BCT has returned to wearing the division shoulder patch.