2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment
"The Regulars"
On order, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment rapidly deploys within the EUCOM, CENTCOM, or other directed areas of vital interest to conduct combat or stability operations.
2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry was constituted 11 January 1812 in the Regular Army as a company of the 11th Infantry. The Sixth United States Infantry was born during a stormy period of American History, nourished on the Ideals set forth In the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and reached maturity on the battlefields of Innumerable campaigns and nine separate wars.
The Battalion Motto is "Remember the Regiment" -- the last words spoken by the commander, COL Thompson, Christmas Day, 1837 at Okee-Cho-Bee Swamp during the Seminole War. The commander was fatally wounded. Having fallen below the swamp waters, a private from the regiment pulled his fallen commander's head above the water so he could utter his last words; his final order to the men of the 6th Regiment: "Keep steady men, Charge the Hummock, and Remember the Regiment!"
The first Presidential Citation was awarded to the 6th Regiment for the heroic actions of the 3rd Battalion during the beach assault at Oran, Algeria on November 8, 1942. Of the 417 soldiers who attacked the beachhead that day, only 9 remained uninjured. The second Presidential Citation was awarded to the 6th Regiment for actions by the Regiment during the assault on Mount Porchia, Italy, December 31, 1944.
There was only one Medal of Honor awarded to a soldier within the 1st Armored Division during World War II. This soldier was from the 6th Regiment. PVT Nicholas Minue was awarded the Medal of Honor for brave and heroic actions, above and beyond the call of duty on April 28, 1943. In a firefight near Madjez-el-Bob, Tunisia. Citation reads as follows: " When the advance of the assault elements of Company A was held up by flanking fire from an enemy machine gun nest, PVT Minue voluntarily, alone, and unhesitatingly, with complete disregard for his own welfare, charged the enemy entrenched position with fixed bayonet. PVT Minue assaulted the enemy under a withering machine gun and rifle fire, killing approximately 10 enemy machine gunners and riflemen. After completely destroying this position, PVT Minue continued forward, routing enemy riflemen from dug-out positions until he was fatally wounded..."
The 6th Infantry's ceremonial punch bowl is described as follows: The Sixth Infantry bowl is a hollow, half-sphere with a capacity of about six gallon. The bowl incorporates the crests of the 6th Infantry Regiment and the former Battle Group as the basic design. The top of the bowl is scalloped to signify the crossing of the Meuse River in World War I. Two alligators serve as handles for the bowl. Arthur Hoffman of Suizaerstrasse completed his work in sculpturing the bowl in July 1959 and it went on to the bronze firm of Paul Krass, located at 10 Bergfried Strasse, where it was completed in August 1959.
The 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment Gators from Baumholder deployed to Grafenwoehr in July 2000 to accomplish what has not been done in USAREUR for some time: a combined arms, battalion sized live fire. The Gators deployed on July 7 to begin the trek to their culminating live fire exercise.
As with any military exercise, 2-6 Infantry started with the basics. They executed several small arms ranges and began their Operation Desert Storm Bradley qualification gunnery. Table VIII, the qualification table, was a success for the battalion as they qualified all crews including seven distinguished crews and six superior crews. The battalion Top Gun award went to the crew of Alpha 13 from Alpha 2-6 Infantry: Sgt. 1st Class Richard Morin, Pfc. Ronald Hughes, and Sgt. John Mullen. The crew shot a perfect 10 out of 10 engagements.
The top company for the battalion was Bravo 2-6 Infantry Death Dealers who earned four of the seven distinguished and two of the six superiors. The culminating exercise for the train-up was Bradley Table XII. On table XII, all four Bradleys from a platoon move, shoot, and communicate together as they fire live ammunition at simulated enemy trucks, tanks, and personnel carriers. Crews shot their TOW missiles and also called for and adjusted live mortar fire. The dismounted soldiers also got a chance to shoot live Dragon missiles at tank targets while the Scouts and Mortars executed similar exercises to become qualified in their skill area.
After completing the Bradley qualification tables, the Gators shifted to Air Assault training. As a mechanized infantry battalion, air assault training is rarely, if ever, executed. 2-6 Infantry has been designated as the Air Assault battalion for the 1st Armored Division in preparation for possible Kosovo applications. The Gators combined forces with the 501st Aviation Regiment to execute a live air assault into the Oberdachstetten MOUT Training Area. Once on the ground, each company executed an assault on a simulated Kosovo village where there were opposing forces and simulated civilians on the battlefield. The soldiers flew in on UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters while AH-64 Apache gunships provided support.
Finally, the Gators were ready for their culminating exercise, the company team live fire. This exercise was a battalion defense in which all three companies, Alpha 2-6, Bravo 1-35, Charlie 2-6, and the Scouts and Mortars were defending against a simulated enemy motorized rifle regiment. Supporting the Infantry were 4-27 Field Artillery, Bravo 40th Engineers, Air Force close air support, 1-4 ADA, and 47th FSB.
The exercise started with enemy patrols entering the battalion sector on the first night. Simulated by wooden targets shaped like personnel carriers, the targets appeared closer and closer until destroyed by the counter-recon company, Alpha 2-6.
The following morning, a full-scale enemy motorized rifle regiment entered the battalion sector. The main defensive company, Charlie 2-6, fought off waves of approaching enemy tanks, personnel carriers, BMPs, and dismounted troops. During the main battle, all weapons systems were firing simultaneously as steel rain poured upon the advancing enemy. M1 Abrams tanks fired 120mm sabot rounds alongside Bradleys firing their 25mm high explosive rounds, while live artillery from 4-27 FA pounded the ground only 750 meters to the front. As the dismounts fired their small arms at simulated approaching dismount troops, two Air Force A-10 Tank Killers appeared overhead to strafe the enemy and then drop 500 pound bombs on the enemy's main body.
After the enemy was severely beaten, the Gators launched a counter attack with their attached tank company, Bravo 1-35. Fighting alongside the tanks were Bravo 40th Engineers. The enemy had thrown in a last minute obstacle that had to be breached for a successful counter attack. The engineers brought up their live MICLIC mine destroying charge, and ripped the live mine-wire obstacle to pieces, allowing the tanks to pass and continue to defeat the remnants of the enemy's main forces. Overall, the combined arms live fire was an extreme success for the soldiers of 2-6 Infantry, both in terms of safety and motivated training. Many soldiers could be overheard saying this was... "The coolest thing they have done in the Army."
