1st Battalion - 18th Infantry Regiment
"Vanguards"
The 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, is a mechanized infantry battalion assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. The 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, home duty station is located with the 2nd Brigade at Conn Barracks near Schweinfurt, Germany.
The 1st Infantry Division is a mechanized infantry, or "Heavy" division, and is converting to the new Force XXI design. The new design makes several important changes. At the battalion level, it decreases the number of companies, but increases the size of the remaining companies. This process is commonly known as LCD XXI. 18th Infantry LCD XXI conversion began on 07 May 1999, when Company D was deactivated and cased it's Guidon. 1-18 IN now consists of HHC, A, B, and C companies. This change added an additional 9 Man squad to each Platoon. Now each Platoon has four M2 Bradley's, one 9 man Weapons Squad, and two 9 man Maneuver Squads.
A mechanized infantry battalion is composed of an Headquarters & Headquarters Company and three line maneuver Companies (A, B, & C), utilizing forty-four Bradley Fighting Vehicles and a number of Humvees and other vehicles. A line maneuver Company consists of five Officers and one-hundred-thirty Enlisted Men, with three Platoons utilizing fourteen Bradleys. Each Platoon has four Bradley crews and three nine-man Infantry Squads (two rifle squads and one heavy weapons squad). HHC contains the command group and staff, the Scout Platoon, Mortar Platoon (120 mm), Medical Platoon, Sniper Section, and other support personnel. The 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, is authorized 36 Officers, 1 Warrant Officer and 666 Enlisted, for a total of 703 soldiers.
