The unit's primary mission in case of conflict with the Warsaw Pact was to either secure airfields and staging areas for the deployment of III Corps from the United States, or to deploy directly to the Inter-German Border (IGB) and establish a blocking position as part of a NATO combat force.[21]. To build and maintain combat skills, the division's maneuver brigades deployed almost annually to the National Training Center to face an opposing force modeling Soviet military weapons and tactics. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]. Dwight D. Eisenhower was an instructor. The six-month rotations continued until 1978, immediately prior to the move to permanent facilities in northern Germany. At that time the Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, revered by the German people for his role as the American military commander following World War II. The division formed a key component of the U.S. military's plan to move 'ten divisions in ten days" to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO. The division participated in numerous major NATO training exercises, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and the "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987). The unit was inactivated on 16 September 1991 and the regimental flag transferred to sister unit 3rd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment based in Germany. Unofficially nicknamed the "Third Herd," the division was first activated in 1941, and was active in the European Theater of World War II. Thank you for your patience. The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. This contingency was practised during REFORGER exercises in 1980 and 1987. The 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions: (the 14th, 78th, and 92nd). Looking for the ideal 2Nd Armored Division Flag Gifts? Hang this flag in your office, gym, garage, bay, or somewhere you want others to see what you're passionate about. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the "eyes and ears" of the 2nd Armored Division. Inside layer consists of soft & cozy ultra breathable nylon spandex. The 67th Armored Regiment is an armored regiment in the United States Army first formed in 1929 in the Regular Army as the 67th Infantry Regiment. An active duty separate brigade, it was part of V Corps and was one of five active-duty, separate, brigade combat teams in the U.S. Army before its most recent inactivation on 31 May 2013. However, with the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military began to draw down its combat units. In 1993, the unit moved to Fort Hood. After turning the camps over to the Saudi Arabian government, the unit redeployed to Germany. The division's 2nd Brigade could not be deployed as a whole; it was in the middle of inactivating. They were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. The unit returned to Fort Hood, Texas, in April 1991 and continued the inactivation that was interrupted when Iraq invaded Kuwait. 4–3rd Field Artillery had the M109 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. In July the division entered Berlin—the first American unit to enter the German capital city. The 8th Infantry Regiment of the United States, also known as the "Fighting Eagles," is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. Two rotating infantry battalions were based at Hohenfels and Vilseck. The fighting in Sicily came to an end on 17 August, with the 2nd Armored Division having sustained relatively light casualties in the brief campaign, where it had gained its first Medal of Honor of World War II, belonging to Sergeant Gerry H. Kisters. The 8th Infantry participated in the Mexican War, American Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, Moro Rebellion, World War I, World War II, Vietnam War, and Iraq Campaign. [24]. The division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war.[6]. Division relief workers processed over 22,000 Iraqi refugees between 15 April and 10 May. The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in August 1990 caught the division in the midst of the post-Cold War drawdown of the U.S. military. [8] Afterwards, the division next went into action in the second landing at Licata, Sicily on 21 July following the 3rd Infantry Division's better-known earlier landing on 10 July. In Stock. New York, New York: Galahad Books World War II Order of Battle p49. The 103rd Armor Regiment is an armored regiment in the Pennsylvania National Guard first formed in 1941. Though it was inactivated, the division was identified as the fifth highest priority inactive division in the United States Army Center of Military History's lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history.