187th Infantry Brigade (United States)

187th Infantry Brigade

Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active 1921-1942
1963–1994
2007
Country United States
Branch United States Army
Type Infantry
Role Training
Size Brigade
Part of 1st Army

The 187th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the United States Army.

It was first organized in November 1921 as one of the two brigades under the United States Army Reserve's 94th Division (forerunner of the 94th Army Reserve Command).[1]

The brigade was disbanded in February 1942 when the 94th Division was converted from a two brigade, four regiment "square" division to a three regiment "triangular" division.

Cold War

The 94th Division was disbanded in the early 1960s, as part of continuing Army Reserve force reductions.

Thus to add flexibility to the force, and to preserve a general officer billet, the 187th Infantry Brigade was reactivated in the Army Reserve as a separate brigade on 7 January 1963 with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.[2] From that year to 1994 it was one of only four (later three) combat Infantry brigades in the Army Reserve. As a separate brigade, the 187th wore its own shoulder patch rather than the 94th Division patch its members had previously worn.

Cold War plans called for the brigade to deploy to Iceland as part of the Iceland Defense Force if a confrontation between NATO and the Soviet Union occurred.[3]

The brigade's headquarters was relocated on 25 October 1971 to Wollaston, Massachusetts and on 13 July 1976 to Fort Devens, Massachusetts.[1]

Order of Battle

On 14 April 1994 the 187th Infantry brigade was inactivated as part of the Army-wide post-Cold War reductions.[1]

Reactivation

The 187th Infantry Brigade was reactivated as an active duty training unit at Fort Leonard Wood, MO on 23 January 2007 and inactivated on 17 May 2007.[4]

Its subordinate battalions were as follows:

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Headquarters 187th Infantry Brigade". History.army.mil. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/187infbde.htm and Wilson, http://www.history.army.mil/books/Lineage/M-F/chapter11.htm, citing "Reorganization of Army Reserve," Army Reservist, p, 7; "157th Infantry Brigade," Army Reserve Magazine, 12 (Jul-Aug 66): 4-5; Historical Data Card, 187th Inf Bde, GO 1, Sixth U.S. Army, 1962, 191st Inf Bde file, GO 1, XIV U.S. Army Corps, 1963, 205th Inf Bde file, all DAMHHSO.
  3. Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, 1984
  4. "Fort Leonard Wood Guidon | News, community, sports, entertainment, yellow pages. Serving Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. - 187th Infantry Brigade rolls up flag". Myguidon.com. 2007-05-24. Retrieved 2014-04-01.