| 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery | |
|---|---|
Duty Not Reward |
|
| Active | first constituted 1 July 1916 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Type | MLRS |
| Role | Fire Support |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | 41st Fires Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Hood, Texas |
| Nickname | Deep Strike |
| Motto | Duty Not Reward |
| Colors | gold and red |
| Engagements | World War I
|
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered PLEIKU PROVINCE Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered TAM QUAN Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered FISH HOOD Belgian Fourragere 1940 Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1965–1969 Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer Embroidered VIETNAM 1970–1971 Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1969–1970 |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
LTC Timothy W. Bush |
| Notable commanders |
LTC Allen West |
The 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment nicknamed "Deep Strike", is a United States Army Field Artillery Battalion, currently assigned to Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, and equipped with the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.
Contents |
The Deep Strike Battalion was first constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as Battery B, 20th Field Artillery and participated in World War one at St. Mihiel and Lorraine before deactivation on 5 September 1921 at Camp Bragg, North Carolina. The Battalion was reactivated in June 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as an element of the 4th Division, later re-designated as the 4th Infantry Division. During World War II, the unit participated in the Normandy Campaign, and subsequent campaigns in Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.ad In 1957 the Battalion was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division and activated in Korea. In 1960 the Battalion was re-designated the 2nd Rocket Howitzer Battalion, 20th Field Artillery until taking its present moniker of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery in a 1971 redesignation.[1]
During the Vietnam War the 2/20th was an Aerial Rocket Artillery battalion, equipped with UH-1 B and C model and AH-1G model helicopters.[2] It was known as "Blue Max." In 1972, the Battalion was relieved from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division, assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado.
In 1976 the battalion was attached to 8th Infantry Division in Wiesbaden, Germany, where it would remain until it was deactivated in 1984, subsequently reactivated in 1987 and again deactivated in 1992. In September 1998, 9–1 Field Artillery was reflagged as the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Battalion. In 2001 the battalion supported the Army’s testing and fielding of the M270A1 launcher and became the first M270A1 MLRS unit in the Army. Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, held a launching ceremony 17 April to present the new MLRS to the 4th Infantry Division. The ceremony consisted of a live-fire exercise attended by key members of the 4th Infantry Division and the 49th Armored Division, Texas National Guard.
In March 2003 the Battalion deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where they performed not only their traditional field artillery tasks, to include firing the Division’s first deep missile fires in combat, but performed armed reconnaissance missions, joint security patrols, cordon and searches, raids, and a wide variety of civil military operations. The Battalion redeployed in March 2004. Returning to FT Hood the unit underwent training equipment maintenance until it was once again called into action in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in December 2005. Upon the Battalions return from deployment in December 2006 it was increased in size by the addition of a 3rd Firing Battery (Charlie), and adding a radar unit (A/26)and making the 67th FSC which was ad-hoced at the beginning of deployment a permanent part of the Battalion thus increasing the power and potency of the unit.
The 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery Regiment of Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division deployed in December 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where it conducted operations and continued to field new MLRS technology. In January 2006 the Task Force fired the division’s first M31 GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) in support of operations across Iraq.
The Texas National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment and Delta Battery, 2/20th Field Artillery would round out the 2/20th Field Artillery Battalion in a contingency.
Stanton, Shelby L.; Westmoreland, William C. (2003). Vietnam Order of Battle. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0 8117 0071 2.