1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense

BATTALION HISTORY

The 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment was originally constituted on 2 March 1899 in the Regular Army as Battery O, 1st Regiment of Artillery, and organized at New Orleans, LA. Reorganized 26 March 1918 in the Regular Army from existing units in France as the Howitzer Regiment, 30th Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps, initially without weapons. The regiment was one of several US Coast Artillery regiments created to operate heavy field artillery and railway artillery on the Western Front.

Redesignated 13 January 1941 as the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment (155 mm gun), a mobile coast defense unit. References indicate this was the only African American coast artillery regiment in World War II that was not an antiaircraft unit.

Recently, 1-44 ADA has the first U.S. air defense engagements in approximately 19 years. Houthi Rebels from Yemen fired Tactical Ballistic Missiles at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, on January 24^th and 31^st of 2022. Alpha Battery engaged on the 24^th and Charlie engaged on the 31^st. These engagements resulted in successful destruction of the targets.

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BATTALION COMMAND

LTC JESE L. SNYDER	CSM MICHAEL MILLER
BATTALION COMMANDER	BATTALION COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR