4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
"Ivy Division" / "Iron Horse"
The 4th Infantry Division was deployed for its second rotation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in November of 2005. Most of the units spent a few weeks in transit at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, training and preparing for operations before arriving in Iraq. The majority of the 4th Infantry Division reached central and southern Iraq by January of 2006 while a detachment of 350 4th ID support brigade troops were deployed earlier, in September of 2005, to coordinate the transfer of the division’s equipment.
The 4th Infantry Division is the Army's First Digitized Division. Today, the 4th Infantry Division is the most lethal, modern, and deployable heavy division in the world; it is prepared to conduct full-spectrum combat operations. It is organized with seven Brigade-sized elements: four maneuver brigades, a combat aviation brigade, division artillery, and division support command. The 4th Inf. Div. is one of the units benefiting from this expansion as it welcomes the formation of the 4th Brigade Combat Team and an additional 5,000 Soldiers to its combat forces.
The 4th Infantry Division is the decisive element of III Corps, the nation's Counteroffensive Force, which forms the nucleus of the Army's capability to fight and win decisively over the next 15 to 20 years. The continued modernization and recapitalization of the Counter Offensive Force is a critical requirement - this force provides America's war winning capability for the nation while the Army transforms to the Objective Force.
The 4th Infantry Division nickname, the "Ivy Division," comes from the design of its shoulder patch: four green ivy leaves joined at the stem and opening at the four corners. The word "Ivy" is a play on the roman numeral four, IV. Ivy leaves are symbolic of tenacity and fidelity, the basis of the Division's motto, "Steadfast and Loyal".
The 4th Infantry Division is leading the United States Army into the 21st century under the banner of Force XXI. They are busy developing and testing state of the art digital communications equipment, night fighting gear, advanced weaponry, and doctrine to prepare the Army for wars in the next century. Recently, the division has adopted the nickname "Iron Horse" to better reflect the power they posses.
History
The 4th Infantry Division has a long and distinguished history that includes combat in four wars and 21 campaign streamers adorn its colors. The Division was formed on 10 December 1917 and was commanded by Major General George H. Cameron. Over the following 87 years, more than 540,000 soldiers wore the distinctive patch of the Ivy Division on their uniforms. They established a legacy of dedicated service to the nation that has spanned almost nine decades since its inception to fight in the "Great War" of World War I. Among the 540,000 soldiers, the division has seen 16 Medal of Honor recipients, including Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt.
The 4th Infantry Division went into action in the Aisne-Marne campaign in July 1918, at which time its units were piecemealed and attached to several French infantry divisions. Almost a month later, the Division was reunited for the final days of the campaign.
During the next four months, the 4th Infantry Division saw action on the front lines and as reserves. Suffering over 11,500 casualties in the final drive for the Allied victory, the 4th Infantry Division was the only division to serve in both the French and British sectors of the front.
The American people once again called upon the 4th Infantry Division to serve in World War II. From staging areas in England, the Division trained for its major role in Operation Overlord (D-Day), the amphibious invasion of Europe on June 6th, 1944.
The Division's 8th Infantry Regiment was the first Allied unit to assault German forces on the Normandy Coast. It went ashore on Utah Beach and, for 26 days, pushed forward until reaching its objective and being relieved by the 101st Airborne Division. During this month long operation, the 4th Infantry Division sustained over 5000 casualties.
Breaking out of the beachhead and expanding operations well into France, the Division was given the honor of being the first American unit to participate in the liberation of Paris. The Division quickly moved into the Hurtgen Forest and fought what was to be its fiercest battle. The 4th Infantry Division held its ground during the Battle of the Bulge; crossed the Rhine, then the Danube, and finally ceased its advance at the Isar River in southern Germany.
Two decades passed before the Division would again see combat. When the 4th Infantry Division arrived in Vietnam in September 1966, its brigades were deployed to different locations. With the 1st Brigade near the South China Sea, 2nd Brigade in the central highlands, and the 3rd Brigade in the Mekong Delta, the 4th Infantry Division took part in 11 major campaigns during its five years in Vietnam.
The 4th Infantry Division returned from Vietnam in December of 1970 and settled at Fort Carson, Colorado, where it reorganized as a mechanized unit and remained for 25 years. It was during the Division's time at Fort Carson that its nickname transitioned from the "Ivy" Division to the "Ironhorse" Division. The nickname, "Ironhorse," remains today in recognition of the Division's readiness for contingency deployment worldwide.
EXFOR / Force XXI
Under the 10 division redesign from the Secretary of the Army, the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood cased its division colors and was reflagged as the 4th Infantry Division in December 1995. A few months prior to that ceremony, the 2nd Armored Division was tagged as the Army's EXFOR, so at the reflagging event, the new EXFOR flag was added to the division color guard. The 4th Infantry Division is leading the Army as the "Digitization Division" in the Advanced Warfighting Experiment (AWE). The division is constantly testing new equipment and ways of fighting.
The 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) moved its colors to Fort Hood, Texas, in December 1995 to become the Army's first Force XXI division. When the 4th ID participated in the EXFOR Army Warfighting Experiment in March 1997, the digital communications packages were installed as appliques on the 1st Brigade's M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Now the division has M1A2 SEP (system enhancement program) tanks and M2A3 SEP Bradleys. The vehicles have the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below, or FBCB2, digital command and control systems built in. FBCB2 is the empowering device in these platforms that allows you to see where you are, see where the enemy is, see where your buddies are. The Apache Long Bows are also equipped with FBCB2. FBCB2 is a software program that drives the information gathering and communications systems. While it is generations ahead of the applique versions, it is constantly evolving. Later versions will only increase the decision-making abilities of warfighters.
Division teaming began in 1998 as a pilot program, pairing the 49th with the 1st Cavalry Division headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas, and California's 40th Mechanized Division with the Army's 4th Mechanized Division, also headquartered at Fort Hood. This original division teaming was announced at the 1998 National Guard Association conference by then Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis J. Reimer. It was part of a program to integrate the active and reserve components, or AC/RC integration. Under division teaming, one division would have the lead in certain areas, and the divisions would share resources. When one division deployed, the other would mobilize to provide replacement operations, Reimer said during his conference speech. The Army's 1st Cavalry Division required additional personnel in order to mobilize to Bosnia in 1998. Had the Army already begun a pilot program matching active-duty divisions to Guard divisions, additional personnel could have come from the Guard.
The Division was thoroughly involved in the training, testing, and evaluation of 72 initiatives to include the Division Capstone Exercise (DCX) I held at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California in April 2001, and culminating in the DCX II held at Fort Hood in October 2001.
The April 2001 Division Capstone Exercise highlighted the Army's newest battlefield technology in brigade-sized maneuvers against the National Training Center's opposing force. The 4th had days of force-on-force maneuvers followed by live-fire exercises. The Army's first digitized division will demonstrate what combat forces linked by the internet can bring to the battlefield at the Division Capstone Exercise 1-14 April 2001 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA. A mechanized brigade from the 4th ID brought new M1A2 Abrams tanks and other heavy equipment to the training event. The 4th ID aviation brigade and its Apache Long Bow helicopters also participated. About 7,000 division soldiers were involved in the exercise. The exercise removed the 4th ID from Army's experimentation program.
As of mid-November 2001, the aviation brigade had returned from a rotation at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, CA. This rotation was unique because the 4th Brigade served as the primary maneuver headquarters for an armor-heavy task force, an artillery task force, an engineer task force, and its own division cavalry squadron and attack helicopter heavy aviation task force. Overall the rotation was successful and many useful lessons were learned. This will lead to important improvements in tactics and aviation's role as a maneuver force.
Trained and ready, on 1 November 2001 the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) entered a new era of service to the nation and assumed the Army's mission of Division Ready Brigade.
The 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) is the Army's first digitized division. The new division is smaller, on paper - going from an authorization of nearly 16,700 to slightly over 15,000. Also, there are 24% fewer combat platforms in the division, most of those reductions occurring in the armor and infantry battalions. Although smaller in number of personnel and vehicles, increased combat lethality, survivability and speed are achieved through information age technologies and logistic efficiencies.
The essence of FORCE XXI is the redesign of the Army at all echelons organized around information and information technologies. One of the main facets of FORCE XXI is the "digital" battlefield. In this digital battlefield, warfighters and commanders will have greatly enhanced situational awareness and will be empowered to react to the dynamic nature of the non-linear battlespace. This development is evolutionary in that it utilizes many of the existing military concepts, systems and lessons-learned. It is revolutionary in the sense that it will provide new capabilities that increase the lethality and effective range of weapons systems and even more, the ability of commander to be in the right place at the right time to use these weapons and information systems to their maximum potential.
- The maneuver brigades have their own scouts - the Brigade Reconnaissance Team (BRT.)
- The maneuver battalions were reduced to three companies with a total of 45 combat vehicles. Company organizations will remain the same.
- The mortar platoon was standardized at four 120mm mortars each.
- The dismounts was standardized at three squads of nine men in each mechanized infantry platoon.
- The Division Artillery's Multiple Launch Rocket System battalion had three MLRS battery's of nine launchers each.
- The Engineer Brigade HHC was replaced by a planning section at the division level. An Engineer battalion was habitually associated with each of the three maneuver brigades.
- Combat Service Support is centralized. They return to maneuver formations in the form of Forward Support Companies (FSC) associated with maneuver battalions and Forward Support Battalions (FSB) associated with the maneuver brigades. Logistic resupply was distribution based instead of supply based.
- There are organic Reserve Component positions and organizations in the Division. They wear the same patch, train to the same level and be accountable for the same mission requirements. They are included in Command and Control/Staff augmentation, signal, aviation, and medical positions/units. The total number is around 500.
- Some units, such as the Chemical Company and water purification units, were "passed back" or moved to Corps.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
On January 20, 2003 press reports began to surface indicating that the entire 4th ID had been ordered to deploy to Southwest Asia in preperation for an attack on Iraq. This deployment would include the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Brigades and would total some 17,000 troops.
In March 2003, 4th Inf. Div. deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Division headquarters was established in Tikrit and the division's brigades were located over a large Area of Operations in the "Sunni Triangle." 4th Inf. Div. Soldiers conducted numerous raids and patrols seeking the remainder of Saddam Hussein loyalists and terrorist operatives in the area. On Dec. 13, 2003, the division was responsible for finding and capturing Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president.
4th Infantry Division Goes 'Modular'
On 16 December 2004 the 4th Infantry Division formally moved into a new era of organization and effectiveness when it officially became the Army's newest "modular" division. The transformation of the 4th Infantry Division from a "legacy" division to a "modular" configuration is in tune with the dramatic changes being felt throughout the Army as it carries through and adopts its strategic vision for the future.
"We will tailor our units under modularity to transition and transform the force from a divisional-based army to a brigade-based Army. We are literally pushing down assets to make brigades more autonomous," said Maj. Gen. J. D. Thurman, commanding general, 4th Infantry Division.
The Army designed the traditional legacy divisions as the basic building blocks for a Cold-War Army. The 4th Infantry Division. now contains four self-sustaining brigade combat teams, otherwise known as units of action, which are the basic building blocks for modular units. The legacy divisions were each unique in their designs and capabilities. That uniqueness is changing so that units will now mirror one another in their designs and capabilities. The new organization means that the 4th Infantry Division is at the forefront of the Army's changes.
The transformation to modular organizations affects nearly every aspect of the way the 4th Infantry Division is organized and the way the division trains, lives and deploys. Eighty-eight percent of the division has moved offices or barracks and nearly 5,000 new soldiers will be assigned to the division before the transformation is complete.
Major additions to the division include the 4th Brigade Combat Team, with about 3,700 soldiers, and nearly doubling the Aviation Brigade, which includes a new attack helicopter battalion, a new assault helicopter battalion and a new company of CH-47 Chinook helicopters. It had been 30 years since Chinooks were assigned to the division.
In addition to the new helicopters, the division completes the fielding of M1A2 Abrams System Enhancement Package tanks. It also adds M2A2 Bradley Fire Support vehicles. The division additionally has upgraded its M109 A6 Paladin howitzers, M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicles and numerous command and control systems.
Two of the division's four brigades have been designated as lifecycle-managed units. This means that soldiers will be assigned to the same brigade for three years. The units will form together, train together, and deploy together as an effective fighting formation backed up by a strong support group at home.
The modular division now consists of a more robust division headquarters, which is capable of functioning as a joint task force headquarters. It has changed and added the ability to function as a division or joint headquarters. The headquarters has greater command and control abilities with increases in critical staff functions.
The division now consists of four brigade units of action, a fires brigade, an aviation brigade and a support brigade. The design of the different types of modular brigades is consistent across the Army: a heavy brigade in 4th Infantry Division will be the same as a heavy brigade at 3rd Infantry Division
Each of the units of action, otherwise known as brigade combat teams, consist of two combined arms battalions, a reconnaissance squadron, an artillery battalion, and attached special troops and support battalions.
The combined arms battalions each have two armor companies, two infantry companies, an engineer company and a headquarters and headquarters company.
The multifunctional aviation brigade increased from 16 AH-64D Apache helicopters in one attack battalion to 48 Apaches in two battalions and added a general support battalion that includes Ch-47D Chinook helicopters and more UH-60 Black Hawks. The aviation support battalion moved from the division support command and now falls under the aviation brigade.
As a result of the transformation, two battalions and a company case their colors and no longer serve as active units in the division - the 124th Signal Battalion, the 104th Military Intelligence Battalion and the 4th Military Police Company. Other units throughout the division absorbed Soldiers from those battalions.
The division also bids farewell to the 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery as it leaves Fort Hood and transforms into the 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Missile Artillery at Fort Bliss.
The 1st, 2nd and 4th brigade combat teams are stationed on Fort Hood while the 3rd brigade combat team transforms to modular design at Fort Carson. Some battalion- and company-level units have assumed new unit designations as determined by the Center for Military History.
