115th Brigade Support Battalion
Organizational Legacy
"Prepared in Peace and War"
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Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia
Introduction
The 1st Cavalry Division, a major subordinate command of the US Third Mobile
Armored Corps, is a 19,000 soldier, heavy armored division stationed at Ft.
Hood, TX. As one of the two "on-call" heavy contingency force divisions of the
Army, the First Team has an on-order mission to deploy by sea, air or land to
any part of the world on a short notice. The following narratives, divided in
timeline eras of major operational missions, describes the threat environment,
tactical conditions, evolution of equipment technology and the strategic
methodology employed by one of its command units, the 1st Brigade Combat Team
and its Subordinate Units, to contribute to the successful missions
enhancement of the warring organization of the 1st Cavalry Division and the
honors they achieved are summarized in the chapters that follow.
Mission:
The mission of the 115th Brigade Support Battalion, "Muleskinners," is to
provide logistical support to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
The 115th Brigade Support Battalion is organized with a Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, a Supply and Distribution Company, a Medical Company, a
Maintenance Company, and 4 deparate forward support companies.
Organizational Summary:
The 115th Brigade Support Battalion carries the history, lineage, and colors
of the 15th Supply Transport Battalion, which predates the 1st Cavalry
Division itself. Organized at Camp Henry Knox, Kentucky in 1919 as the 657th
Motor Transport Company, it was redesignated as the 84th Motor Transport
Company on 01 December 1919. Many redesignations subsequently occurred in
order to keep pace with the constant change of the United States Army.
With the post World War I demobilization, the 84th Motor Transport Company was
inactivated only to reappear on the active Army rolls in 1936. Its new
designation was "D" Troop, 16th Quartermaster Squadron, which was listed as an
element of the 1st Cavalry Division. The Troop traveled with the Division
throughout its World War II campaigns in the Pacific theater.
"D" Troop was moving with the Division when it earned its initial first
designation, "First in Manila" during the campaign to retake the Philippine
Islands. As the Japanese will to fight evaporated on the clouds of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, "D" Troop marched into Japan when the Division achieved its
second motto, "First in Tokyo." During the occupation, the Troop became the
quartermaster support unit for the 1st Cavalry Division.
In 1949, the Troop become the 15th Quartermaster Company and moved to Korea
in 1950 to participate in combat supplying of the 5th, 7th, and 8thCavalry
Regiments, Division Artillery, and Special Troops. The 15th Quartermaster
Company fought with the Division moving north across the 38th Parallel to
receive the the First Team's third accolade, "First in Pyongyang"was added to
the battle honors of the Division and its Quartermaster Company.
The 15th Quartermaster Company remained in Korea after the war. With the
transformation of the US Army to the ROAD force structure (Reorganization of
Army Divisions) in 1963, the Company was combined with the 23rd Transportation
Battalion and redesignated as the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion.
In 1965, the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion returned to Fort Benning,
Georgia with the 1st Cavalry Division and was organized as a part of the
Army's first airmobile division. From 01 July 1971 until the end of the year,
the unit served in the Republic of Vietnam.
Upon its return to the United States in 1971, the 15th Supply and Transport
Battalion and the 1st Cavalry Division as a whole moved to Fort Hood, Texas
under the TRICAP (Triple Capability) concept. In January 1975, the 1st Cavalry
Division was reorganized, becoming the Army's newest armored division. The
15th Supply and Transport Battalion adapted itself quickly to meet the
ever-changing logistical needs of the Division.
In 1984, the entire structure of the Division Support Command (DISCOM)
underwent a dynamic change. Support battalions were activated, incorporating
previous elements of the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion, the 15th
Medical Battalion, and the 27th Maintenance Battalion. These units had
previously provided brigade-level combat service support as forward area
support teams. Thus was born the 1st Forward Support Battalion on 01 October
1984. The 1st Forward Support Battalion took on the mission of supporting 1st
Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
Under the initial support battalion concept, the newly formed battalions had
no history and lineage and only generic colors. This problem was corrected in
1987 when the Department of the Army and the Institute of Heraldry
redesignated all support battalions including the 1st Forward Support
Battalion that was redesignated as the 115th Support Battalion (Forward) on 15
May 1987 and given the full lineage, honors and colors of 15th Supply and
Transport Battalion.
In October 1990, the 115th Forward Support Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia
for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and provided critical logistical
support to the soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (not to be confused
with the modular brigade combat team). During Operation Desert Storm,
traversing 260 kilometers into the heart of Iraq, the 115th Forward Support
Battalion met the challenge of providing continuous logistical support.
The new 115th Forward Support Battalion, with "centralized" combat service
support, provided all logistical support, and tied together the entire
spectrum of supplies and services for the maneuver battalions within the 1st
Brigade Combat Team. It consisted of 3 forward support companies (FSCs), a
brigade support company, a medical company, and a headquarters and
distribution company.
The Headquarters and "A" Company consisted of all battalion-level command and
staff personnel, all battalion food service personnel, and a support operation
section. Additionally, it was the supply and service company in the battalion
and provides petroleum supply, ration support and general supply support to
the 1st Brigade Combat Team. "B" Company was a maintenance company that
conducted direct support repairs and services on equipment in the 1st Brigade
Combat Team. The company had the capability of repairing tracked and wheeled
equipment, engineer equipment, fire control equipment, and tank turrets.
Additionally, the service and recovery section provided metal working support
and vehicle recovery support. The company also maintained a repair parts
warehouse. "C" Company was a medical company that had the mission of treating,
holding and evacuating patients from the 1st Brigade Combat Team.
In March 2004, the 115th Forward Support Battalion deployed to the Persian
Gulf for Operation Iraqi Freedom II. The Battalion mastered a myriad of new
tasks and challenges as it adapted to the rapidly changing environment in and
around Baghdad during their year-long deployment. Continuing their lineage of
excellence, the 115th Forward Support Battalion provided first-class
logistical support to the 1st Brigade Combat Team during periods of intense
combat in Sadr City, and during the landmark first free Iraqi election.
In 2005, the Army was moving from a division-based force structure to a
brigade-based force structure generally referred to as the modular force
structure. The 1st Brigade Combat Team restructured as Interim Brigade Combat
Team, incorporating elements of 312th Military Intelligence Battalion, 20th
Engineer Battalion, 13th Signal Battalion, 1/82 Field Artillery Battalion, and
115th Forward Support Battalion.
On 12 July 2005, the 115th Forward Support Battalion was inactivated,
reorganized and redesignated as the 115th Brigade Support Battalion. It was
relieved from assignment to the Division Support Command (DISCOM), 1st Cavalry
Division and reactivated on 15 July 2005 as the organic support battalion for
the reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division. As part of the modular transformation, units previously held at
division level, but habitually assigned to brigades during operations were
made organic to those brigades. The 115th Brigade Support Battalion provided
distribution-based, centrally-managed combat service support to thr 1st
Brigade Combat Team to sustain its operational employment in small scale
contingencies.
Functions performed by the subordinate elements of the Battalion are:
| UNIT | SERVICE SPECIALITY |
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| HHC | Headquarters & Headquarters Company |
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| "A" Company | Transport & Supply |
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| "B" Company | Maintenance |
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| "C" Company | Medical |
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| "D" Company | Supports 1st Sqdn, 9th Cavalry |
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| "E" Company | Supports 2nd Bn, 12th Cavalry |
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| "F" Company | Supports 2nd Bn, 7th Cavalry |
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| "G" Company | Supports 5th Bn, 82nd Field Artillery |
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This folio of material highlights of the many subsequent historical critical
missions performed by members of the 115th Brigade Support Battalion, whose
actions, operations and the many critical issues resolved over its 92+ years
history to meet the changing threat and the honors they achieved are
summarized in the following sections:
Table of Contents
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