CREST
188th Infantry Brigade
First Army - Division East Webpage
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1-306 Manuever, S-1
1-346 Air Defense Artillery S-1
2-349 Logistical Support S-1
3-395 Armor Regiment S-1
4-306 Brigade Engineer S-1
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HISTORY
"Ready for Battle"
Mission: The 188th Infantry Brigade advises, assists and trains Reserve and National Guard Component units in First Army's southeastern area of responsibility (AL, KY, TN, VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL) to conduct unified land operations during pre-mobilization training in order to provide trained and ready forces to Geographic Combatant Commanders. On order, 188th conducts post-mobilization operations and training at designated Mobilization Force Generation Installations.
188th Infantry Brigade is a training brigade that falls under the First Army Division East, Fort Knox, Kentucky footprint. First Army Division East is one of two divisions, the other being First Army Division West, that falls under First Army.
The brigade has eleven battalions – six active duty, all located at Fort Stewart; and five reserve, located in Georgia and South Carolina, providing observer-coach/training support to reserve and national guard units across eight southeastern states. It also has a Headquarters and Headquarters Company that provides support and oversight to the battalions.
The unit was first constituted on June 24, 1921, in the organized reserve at Boston, Massachussetts. It was organized with two infantry regiments, the 376th Infantry Regiment and the 419th Infantry Regiment. It was assigned to the 94th Infantry Division.
From 1921 to 1942, the division remained on the Massachussetts organized reserve rolls, though the unit did not assemble except for regular weekend training. In 1925, the brigade relocated to Worcester, Massachussetts and in 1940, moved to Springfield.
In February 1949, the unit was re-0rganized and re-designated as the 94th Reconnaissance Company and its location changed to Cohasset, Massachussetts in 1953. In May 1959, the unit was inactivated.
In November 1962, the headquarters company was relieved of its assignment to the 94th Infantry Division and redesignated as 188th Infantry Brigade. Years later, in October 1997, the 188th was withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army, and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
On 24 October 1997, the 188th Infantry Brigade was reactivated again in the Active duty force at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It was a redesignation of the 4th Brigade, 87th Division. The brigade was reactivated to provide training support to Reserve Component units in the region.
As of 1998, there were 248 soldiers assigned to the Brigade in five training support battalions and the Brigade Headquarters. At that time, the 188th Infantry Brigade supported the training of over 5,000 National Guard and Reserve Component soldiers in infantry, armor, cavalry, aviation, artillery, communications, medical, maintenance, and supply units. It was inactivated in 1999.
The brigade was reactivated on 1 October 2006 as part of another consolidation of US Army training commands, again at Fort Stewart. The division fell under the command of First Army Division East. During the consolidation, the brigade was given a larger area of responsibility, supporting the training of over 18,000 National Guard and Reserve Component soldiers in infantry, armor, cavalry, aviation, artillery, communications, medical, maintenance, and supply units both at and around the Fort Stewart area.
At the time of reactivation, the 188th Infantry Brigade grew to over 600 soldiers and consisted of five battalions, two active; 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 306th Field Artillery Regiment, and three reserve; 1st Battalion, 347th Combat Service Support, 3rd Battalion, 345th Combat Service Support, and 2nd Battalion, 349th Logistics Support Battalion, in addition to a Headquarters company.
In 2016, the unit underwent Operation Bold Shift, which further expanded its training capabilities and support to reserve and nationalguard partner units across the southeast. The brigade grew from five battalions, to eleven. In addition to the initial elements, the brigade added: 4-306th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 5-306th Brigade Support Battalion, 3-395th Armor Regiment, 1-346th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 2-347th Combat Service Support Battalion (Fort Gordon, Georgia), and 2-345th Combat Service Support Battalion (Fort Jackson, South Carolina).
