48th Chemical Brigade History

48TH CBRNE, THE SPARTANS!

     The 48th Chemical Brigade has a vast and extensive history starting with its inception in the United States Army on 12 March 1942 as Headquarters and headquarters Company, 81st Chemical Battalion and later activated on 25 April, 1942 at Fort D.A. Russell, Texas. The Brigade later reorganized and redesignated on 14 February 1944 as headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 81st Chemical Battalion, Motorized followed by its redesignation on 22 February 1945 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 81st Chemical Mortar Battalion. The Brigade was inactivated on 7 November 1945 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Later, the Brigade was activated on 8 May, 1951 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was reorganized and redesignated on 12 February 1952 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company 81st Chemical Group. The Brigade reorganized and redesignated 1 December 1953 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 81st Chemical Group. The Brigade inactivated 12 September 1962 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

     Finally, the Brigade was redesignated on 14 January 2000 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 48th Chemical Brigade and was activated on 16 September 2007 at Fort Cavazos, formerly known as Fort Hood, where they continue to partner with Combatant Commanders or other Governmental Agencies to counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosive threats.

     The Brigade received campaign participation credit for Normandy (with arrowhead), Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. The Brigade also has received decorations for the Presidential Unit Citation (Army), and the Streamer embroidered NORMANDY.

INSIGNIAS ORIGIN & MEANING

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia: Consists of a benzene ring (the hexagon shape) with a cobalt blue border containing an upright sword, red flames, and red droplets on a yellow background. Cobalt blue and yellow are branch colors of the Chemical Corps, with cobalt blue’s precedence as first-named color indicate by its use as the border. The Corps’ branch insignia also uses a benzene ring, a reference to chemical formulation, while the flames at the bottom suggest the Brigade’s mission. Red droplets are a visual representation of the Brigade’s method of distributing some chemical elements; the four red droplets and the eight tongues of flame are an allusion to the Brigade’s numerical designation. The upright sword is an emblem of military readiness.

The 48th Chemical Brigade unit patch was authorized for wear on 16 September 2007, the same the unit was activated; it had been given the designation more than six-and-a-half years earlier on 14 January 2000.

Distinctive Unit Insignia: Approved for wear on 16 September 2007, more than six years after the Brigade was given its current designation and roughly sixty-five years after the formation of its forebear, the 81st Chemical Battalion, in 1942. In 1944, the unit was redesignated the 81st Chemical Battalion, Motorized, and the next year it became the 81st Chemical Mortar Battalion. The Battalion took part in five campaigns in the European theater during World War II, earning an Arrowhead for taking part in the landings at Normandy to go with a Presidential Unit Citation (also embroidered “NORMANDY”).

A benzene ring (hexagon) forms the basis of the 48th Chemical Brigade unit crest; the shape is also used on its unit patch as well as on the Chemical Corps branch insignia. The green dragon holding a sword is a reference to the chemical operations that make up the Brigade’s mission, as well as its responsibility to combat biological and chemical warfare. Five stars in the border are a reference to the five Chemical battalions that fall under the command and control of the Brigade’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, all tasked with the ultimate command that serves as the unit motto: "Protect The Nation."