3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
"Skystrikers"
The 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment was the only airborne Air Defense Artillery Battalion (Short Range Air Defense) in the US Army and played a unique and vital role to the success of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The mission of the 3-4th Air Defense Artillery was to protect the force and selected geopolitical assets form aerial attack, missile attack, and surveillance.
The unit was first Constituted on 11 January 1812 in the Regular Army as a company in the 2nd Regiment of Artillery. It was organized in May 1812 as Captain James N. Barker's Company, 2nd Regiment of Artillery. This unit was consolidated in late 1813 with Captain Spotswood Henry's Company, 2nd Regiment of Artillery (also organized in 1812), and the consolidated unit designated as Captain James N. Barker's Company, 2nd Regiment of Artillery.
Between 1813 and 1816 it went through a number of redesignations. It was redesignated in December 1813 as Captain Samuel B. Archer's Company, 2nd Regiment of Artillery, on 12 May 1814 as Captain Samuel B. Archer's Company, Corps of Artillery, on 17 May 1815 as Captain Samuel B. Archer's Company, Corps of Artillery, Southern Division, and on 21 August 1816 as Company D, 4th Battalion, Corps of Artillery, Southern Division.
This unit was reorganized and redesignated on 1 June 1821 as Company C, 4th Regiment of Artillery, and again on 13 February 1901 as the 38th Company, Coast Artillery, Artillery Corps. This unit was redesignated on 2 February 1907 as the 38th Company, Coast Artillery Corps.
It went through another series of redesignations between 1916 and 1917. It was redesignated on 24 July 1916 as the 4th Company, Fort Winfield Scott (California), on 29 March 1917 as the 1st Company, Fort MacArthur (California) and on 31 August 1917 as the 1st Company, Coast Defenses of Los Angeles. This unit was reorganized and redesignated in October 1917 as the 3rd Separate Antiaircraft Battery and demobilized on 22 January 1919 at Fort Totten, New York.
The unit was reconstituted on 1 June 1922 in the Regular Army and consolidated with the 2nd Company, Coast Defenses of Los Angeles (active) (this unit was organized on 1 February 1918 at Los Angeles; consolidated in 1922 with the 1st Company, Coast Defenses of Los Angeles, which had been organized in January 1921 at Los Angeles). The consolidated unit was concurrently redesignated as the 38th Company, Coast Artillery Corps, and inactivated at Los Angeles, California.
The unit was subsequently redesignated on 1 July 1924 as Battery C, 4th Coast Artillery and activated on 18 August 1924 at Fort Amador, Canal Zone. It was inactivated on 31 July 1926 at Fort Amador, Canal Zone. It was activated again 15 April 1932 at Fort Amador, Canal Zone. This unit was disbanded on 1 November 1944 at Fort Kobbe, Canal Zone. It was concurrently reconstituted in the Regular Army, consolidated with Battery C, 4th Coast Artillery Battalion (constituted on 3 October 1944 in the Army of the United States), with the consolidated unit designated as Battery C, 4th Coast Artillery Battalion, and activated in the Galapagos Islands. This unit was disbanded on 1 February 1946 at Fort Amador, Canal Zone.
It was reconstituted for a third time on 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army. It was concurrently consolidated with Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (active), and the consolidated unit was designated as Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery was first constituted on 16 December 1940 in the Regular Army as Battery L, 95th Coast Artillery and activated on 17 April 1941 at Camp Davis, North Carolina. It was reorganized and redesignated on 12 December 1943 as Battery C, 866th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion and inactivated on 30 September 1946 in the Philippine Islands. It was redesignated on 13 October 1948 as Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion.
The consolidated Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion was activated on 15 January 1949 at Fort Bliss, Texas. It was redesignated on 31 July 1950 as Battery C, 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion and inactivated on 17 June 1957 in England.
It was consolidated on 25 June 1958 with Battery C, 4th Field Artillery Battalion (active) (organized in 1901), and the consolidated unit reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Howitzer Battalion, 4th Artillery (its organic elements were constituted 2 June 1958 and activated 25 June 1958). The Battalion inactivated on 25 September 1958 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
The unit was assigned on 15 March 1960 to the 2nd Infantry Brigade and was activated on 1 April 1960 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. It was inactivated again on 20 April 1962 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and relieved from assignment to the 2nd Infantry Brigade.
It was redesignated (less former Battery C, 4th Field Artillery Battalion) on 1 September 1971 as the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery (former Battery C, 4th Field Artillery Battalion, concurrently redesignated as the 3d Battalion, 4th Field Artillery, which thereafter had a separate lineage). 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery was assigned on 13 September 1972 to the 82nd Airborne Division and activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
3-4th Air Defense Artillery deployed to the middle east during the build-up and subsequent invasion of Iraq in 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It remained in support of other elements of the 82nd Airborne Division into early 2004 before returning to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The unit was relieved on 17 September 2005 from assignment to the 82d Airborne Division and redesignated on 1 October 2005 as the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.
Despite being relieved from assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3-4th Air Defense Artillery deployed in support of US and coalition forces to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.
In 2008, 3-4th Air Defense Artillery was attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division for training maneauvers at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana. 3rd BCT was scheduled to deploy for a tour of duty in Iraq in the fall of 2008.
