261st Area Support Medical Battalion
The 261st Area Support Medical Battalion is located at Fort Bragg, NC, and falls under the 55th Medical Group. It is the Army's only Airborne Medical Battalion and one of only two ASMBs in CONUS.
The 261st Area Support Medical Battalion (ASMB) is organized to provide Echelon II Combat Health Support (CHS) within its assigned area of operation (AO). The 261st ASMB also provides unit-level (Echelon I) CHS on an area support basis for assigned and attached units operating within its assigned AO. The 261st ASMB is modular in design and consists of a battalion headquarters, a Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), and four Area Support Medical Companies(ASMCs). It is normally assigned to a medical brigade in the communications zone (COMMZ) and to a medical group in the corps.
The ASMB provides Echelon I and Echelon II CHS to units located in the battalion's AO. It provides command and control (C2) for assigned and attached units and medical staff advice and assistance as required. Its functions are centered around three basic principles: treat and return to duty (RTD); treat and hold (up to 72 hours); and treat and evacuate.
In a mature theater, ASMCs are employed primarily in the Combat Support Area (CSA) and support areas of the COMMZ. They are deployed to a geographical area to provide area CHS or may be deployed to provide CHS for designated nondivisional units/troops. The ASMCs also establish clearing stations and provide Echelon I and Echelon II CHS in a wide area (normally, an area or sector of the size established and supported by a corps support group [CSG] or a corps support battalion [CSB]). Medical treatment squads/teams of the ASMCs may be deployed to establish treatment stations and provide Echelon I support to given concentrations of nondivisional units that do not have organic CHS. The modular design of the ASMB and its ASMCs permits its employment across the operational continuum.
The 261st Amphibious Medical Battalion was activated 15 June 1942 at Camp Edwards, MA. The battalion was designated specifically to provide corps level medical support to assault forces as they stormed the beaches of Europe. The allied invasion on the Gela Beaches of Sicily in 1942 gave the battalion its debut under fire. Because of the heavy fighting on the shore for the first eight hours of the battle, the 261st was the only medical unit to reach the shores to provide health services to the struggling Allied invasion.
The 261st enjoyed a short but proud lineage during World War II, disbanding in January 1945. During the battalion's short life, it earned campaign credits for Sicily, Napels-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Normandy, and Northern France.
For its contribution to the Normandy Campaign, the 261st Area Support Medical Battalion received the French Croix-de-Guerre with Palm and streamer embroidered NORMANDY BEACHES. The unit also received the Presidential Unit citation for excellence in World War II.
The 261st reactivated on 18 June 1992 as the 261st Area Support Medical Battalion. Since 1992 the Battalion or elements of its command have participated in many operations and training exercises some of which are: Hurricane Andrew Relief, 1992; Somalia; Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti 1994-1995; Operation Fairwinds, Haiti 1996; Annual summer deployments to the United States Military Academy, West Point; annual deployments to the Boy Scout Jamboree; Joint Readiness Training Center exercises, Fort Polk, LA; National Training Center exercises, Fort Irwin, CA; Refugee relief at Guantamano Bay, Cuba; Honduras; Africa; Operation Joint Guard, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1997-1998; Peru; Operation Provide Comfort, Nicuragua 1998-1999; Kosovo refugee relief at McGuire AFB, NJ.
