Division Artillery (DIVARTY), 1st Cavalry Division
"Red Team"
On 30 June 2005, the Division Artillery (DIVARTY), 1st Cavalry Division was inactivated in ceremonies at Cooper Field on Fort Hood, Texas. This inactivation was part of the transformation of the 1st Cavalry Division to the US Army's modular force structure. As a part of the transformation, assets previously held at division level, but habitually assigned to brigades were made organic to those brigades.
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Division Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division, "Red Team," was first constituted on 1 November 1940 in the Regular Army. It was then activated on 3 January 1941 at Fort Bliss, Texas and immediately sent for extensive field training. At that time, the 82nd Field Artillery Regiment was the only artillery unit assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Throughout 1942, the 1st Cavalry Division Artillery underwent intensive training by honing its readiness to a fine edge.
Next, the DIVARTY wrote the first chapter of its history during operations in the Admiralty Islands Campaign. This was followed by participation in the Leyte and Luzon Campaigns beginning on 6 September 1945. After the end of the Second World War, the DIVARTY performed occupation duty in Japan and girded itself for its next call to combat.
On 18 July 1950, the DIVARTY once again entered combat, this time in Korea. During the first few weeks, the 1st Cavalry Division's artillerymen found themselves fighting with small arms alongside their artillery pieces. The cannoneers of the DIVARTY continued to do their share in the fighting in Korea during 1950-1951. The 1st Cavalry Division remained in Korea after the armistice.
In July 1965, the DIVARTY colors were transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, as part of the reflagging of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). In Korea, the 1st Cavalry Division reflagged as the 2nd Infantry Division. The DIVARTY deployed to Vietnam in September 1965. Across all 4 Corps areas, as well as the incursion into Cambodia, the airmobile "Redlegs" checkmated the enemy at every turn. In May 1971, the colors of the DIVARTY arrived at Fort Hood, Texas along with the bulk of the 1st Cavalry Division.
In 1991, the Red Team helped pave the way for the 1st Cavalry Division's charge into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, showering the enemy with over 9,00 cannon round and MLRS rockets. The artillery's lethal effects directly contributed to the success of the theater's deception plan. DIVARTY units were the first United States Army artillery units to fire cannon and copperhead rounds, as well as MLRS rockets in combat during Desert Storm.
The 1st Cavalry Division Artillery deployed in support of the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Forge.
In 2004, the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Division Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II as the headquarters element of the 5th Brigade (Provisional), 1st Cavalry Division. The provisional brigade combat team incorporated units from the 1st Armored Division, 1st Cavalry Division, and 82nd Airborne Division.
On 30 June 2005, the Division Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division was inactivated in ceremonies at Cooper Field, Fort Hood, Texas. The DIVARTY had been part of the 1st Cavalry Division for the past 65 years. The inactivation was part of the transformation of the 1st Cavalry Division to the US Army's modular force structure. As a part of the transformation, assets previously held at division level, but habitually assigned to brigades were made organic to those brigades.
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