196th Infantry Brigade
"Charger"
The 196th Infantry Brigade is a training support brigade [TSB] for the Pacific region. Reserve Component soldiers from throughout the USARPAC AOR give the brigade the largest area of responsibility of any of the Army's 18 TSB's.
The 196th Infantry Brigade provides dedicated training support, coordination, advice, and assistance to the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade (Hawaii Army National Guard) and theater high priority units; conduct Training Assessment Model (TAM) evaluations on all USARPAC RC units; and provide general training support, advice, and assistance to RC leaders throughout the Area of Operations (AOR) - to attain the highest state of readiness in matters relating to training, organization, administration/ logistics, operational capability, and unit strength reporting. On order, it provides the pre-designated Defense Coordination Officer and Element (DCO/DCE) for Military Assistance to Civil Authorites (MACA) operations in Hawaii and American Samoa, and provides Mobilization/Demobilization Assistance Team (MAT/DMAT) support for RC mobilization operations throughout the AOR.
The 196th Infantry Brigade was first organized in 1921 as an element of the Army Reserve's 98th Division. Its mission then was to train soldiers. During World War II, the 98th Division arrived in Hawaii in April 1944, and was given the mission of defending Kauai and Maui initially; later it was made responsible for the defense of Oahu. In May 1945, the division began intensive training in preparation for its role in the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before the unit could leave Hawaii. It went to Japan for occupation duty, where it was inactivated in February 1946.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade was raised again at Fort Devens, MA in September 1965 and originally scheduled to be sent to the Dominican Republic in mid-1966, but was rushed to Vietnam instead and posted in the western portion of the III Corps Tactical Zone. It initiated Operation Attleboro into War Zone C of Tay Ninh Province, which developed into a major action after a large enemy base camp was uncovered, 19 October 1966. In April 1967 the brigade was selected, along with the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, to form a provisional division-sized unit called Task Force OREGON and moved to the I Corps Tactical Zone. The brigade stayed with this command, which was converted into the 23d Infantry Division (AMERICAL) 25 September 1967. The 196th Light Infantry Brigade officially joined this division, 15 February 1969. It operated throughout northern Vietnam, and after the division closed out of Vietnam, 29 November 1971, the 196th Light Infantry Brigade was reconstituted as a separate (provisional) brigade-sized element to safeguard the same area of operations. In April 1971 the brigade was relocated to Da Nang for major port security duties.
By 1969 many of the U.S. troops had turned against the war for many different reasons. And by 1971 the morale, discipline and battleworthiness of the US Armed Forces were lower and worse than at any time in the 20th century. By every indicator, the US Army in Vietnam was approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non-commissioned officers, drug-ridden and dispirited where not near-mutinous. The latter stages of the Vietnam War produced no fewer than ten major incidents of mutiny, and for each of these major refusals there were dozens of minor ones or situations in which combat orders were effectively thwarted. As early as mid-1969, however, an entire company of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade publicly sat down on the battlfield. And in April 1972 members of the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate), the last US combat brigade in Vietnam, refused to go out in support of ARVN operations. On 29 June 1972 the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate) finally departed Vietnam as the last U.S. Army combat brigade to leave in Increment XII of the U.S. Army withdrawal.
The 196th was reactivated 26 May 1998 during a ceremony at Ft. Shafter, Hawaii. The new 196th works with Reserve Component units in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, American Samoa, and Japan, to assist these units in staying trained and ready at all times.
The Brigade has stood up 4 battalions, 1st located in Oahu, 2nd in Alaska, and 3rd in Guam. The Support Battalion stood up in 2000 and is stationed out of Oahu.
The 196th Infantry Brigade spent the year 2000 conducting numerous training events for Reserve Component Forces throughout the United States Army Pacific, (USARPAC). The highlight of the year was the Brigade's support to the 29th Enhanced Separate Brigade, Hawaii Army National Guard. The Brigade also participated in training exercises in Alaska, with the 207th Scout Group, and in Guam with the 1-294th Infantry Battalion. The 196th Brigade Engineers have been on the road throughout the summer and fall with deployments to Korea, Alaska, Guam, California, and Japan. The brigade has supported various exercises throughout the USARPAC area of responsibility and continues to provide quality training to various units within USARPAC.
The Brigade continues to provide professional and responsive training support to Reserve Component units throughout the Pacific. During the summer of 2001 it conducted numerous annual training exercises and evaluations for reserve component units across the Pacific. Highlights included annual training support for the 100th Bn, 442nd Infantry and the 2nd Bn, 299th Infantry in Hawaii and 1st Bn, 184th Infantry in California. We also provided training support to the 1st Bn, 294th Infantry, Guam Army National Guard, as they deployed from Guam to Hawaii for their annual training. The Brigade assisted in the mobilization of A Company, 1-184 IN, which deployed for a mission to Southwest Asia in October 2001.
Since September 11th the Brigade has assisted supported reserve component units in preparing for possible mobilization and assisted National Guard units in Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii in training for their airport security mission as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
