1-184th Infantry (Air Assault)

The 1-184 Infantry (AASLT) is one of three maneuver battalions that make-up the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade (enhanced). The 29th SIB, which is headquartered in Hawaii, and a member of Hawaiian National Guard and is one of the 15 elite enhanced readiness Brigades. The 1-184 infantry is also a member of the California Army National Guard. For federal missions 1-184 falls under the 29th SIB, and for state missions trhe 1-184 falls under 3rd Brigade, 40th Infantry Division.

The AASLT in the unit title, stands for Air Assault. The 1-184 infantry's wartime mission is to serve as air assualt infantry. As an enhanced readiness unit, the 1-184 infantry conducts very strenuous and fast paced training and must be ready to deploy wihin 90 days of a federal call-up. In fact, the 1-184 infantry is currently the top ranked Air Assault battalion of the 32 air assault battalions in the reserve component.

During air assualt operations, our unit is capable of attacking the enemy deep, fast, and often over extended distances and terrain obstacles. The airmobile division of the Vietnam era provided the US Army the operational foundation, experience, and tactics for today's air assault operations. Air assault operations have evolved into combat, combat support, and combat service support elements deliberately task-organized for tactical operations. Helicopters are completely integrated into ground force operations. Air assault operations generally involve insertions and extractions under hostile conditions, opposed to mere air movement of troops to and from secure locations about the battlefield. Once deployed on the ground, air assault battalions fight like battalions in other infantry divisions; however, task organization of aviation results in greater combat power and permits rapid aerial redeployment. The rapid tempo of operations over extended ranges enables the commander to rapidly seize and maintain the tactical initiative.

In WWI the 1-184 Infantry Battalion was an infantry battalion of the 184th Infantry Regiment in the 49th Division. The 49th ID served as an occupation force, as it got there close to the signing of the armistice.

In WWII, the 184th was mobilized and assigned to the 7th infantry division and participated in the Aleution Island campaign. It was then redeployed and participated in the Eastern Mandates, Leyte and Ryukyus campaigns. It performed assault landings on the Kwajalien Atoll on 31 Jan 1944, Leyte in the Phillipines on 20 Oct 1944 and was in the invasion force of Okinawa in April of 1945.

For many years it was with the 49th Infantry Division, then when they moved the 49th out of California, the 1-184 was assigned to the 40th Infantry Division and converted to a Mechanized Unit. The unit has partipated in mobilization excercises in South Korea and was deployed to Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots (they were also sent to L.A. in 1968 for the Watts riots I believe). Most recently it was reassigned again as part of the 29th Infantry Brigade and converted this time into a light air assault infantry battalion (AASLT).

As of late 2001, the Battalion was scheduled to be sending two companies to Kuwait the following fall, for a 6 month deployment to secure Anti-Aircraft sites.