1st Battalion - 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment
1-1 ADA (PATRIOT) strategically deploys to a contingency theater to conduct air and missile defense operations for III (US) Corps critical assets.
Deployed to Kuwait as of March 2001, Battery C, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery soldiers arm Patriot missiles during "ready for action" drills at Ali Al Salem Air Base. The drills are performed every day to maintain the ADA soldier's focus, readiness and reaction time to any airborne threats. With Iraq's ability to attack Kuwait, being ready at all times is crucial to the success of the Patriot missiles. During every drill, all steps are performed as if it was a real-world situation. The launcher must be thoroughly checked for power, proper grounding and operational status. All commands, equipment checks and communication must be done over the thundering noise of a launcher's generator. Keeping the Patriot missiles poised for action is a continuing mission. All ADA soldiers work long shifts on a rotating schedule. This assures that within two minutes of a scud warning, there will be soldiers ready to fire the first Patriot missile in response. The daily drills, real-world environment and live missiles have given Battery C soldiers the experience they couldn't get anywhere else.
The 1st Battalion (PATRIOT), 1st Air Defense Artillery was originally constituted in the Regular Army on 27 April 1798 as a company in the 2nd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. It was organized in May 1798 as Captain Lemuel Gate's Company, 2nd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. The Battalion has been reorganized several times throughout history. The Battalion first saw action in the War of 1812 as Captain John Walbach's Company, 1st Regiment of Artillery, receiving campaign credits in Canada. Later, the Battalion saw action during the Indian Wars as Company I, 1st Regiment of Artillery.
The Battalion saw action during the Mexican War, receiving campaign credits from, among other campaigns, Palo Alto, Monterey, Vera Cruz, and Chapultepec. During the Civil War, the Battalion received campaign credits for participation at Sumter, Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness Campaign, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Shenandoah, and Appomattox.
During World War II, the Battalion received campaign credits in the American Theater for defense of the Panama Canal Zone as Battery A, 1st Coast Artillery. It also received campaign credits for the participation of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Group in Tunisia, Sicily, Rome-Arno, and the Rhineland.
The Battalion was re-flagged at Fort Hood, Texas on 4 May 1996 as the 1st Battalion (PATRIOT), 1st Air Defense Artillery. Shortly thereafter, the Battalion re-stationed at Fort Bliss, TX. Originally organized with four firing batteries and a headquarters battery, the Battalion was rounded out in July 1996 with the addition of its Echo Battery.
