1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Battalion (Air Assault), 194th Field Artillery Regiment

The 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery is the brigade artillery battalion for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, a part of the 34th Infantry Division and an element of the Iowa Army National Guard.

The lineage and honors of the 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery come from elements of the 194th Field Artillery Battalion, which was first constituted on 19 June 1946 in the Iowa Army National Guard and assigned to the 34th Infantry Division. The Battalion was organized in northwest Iowa and federally recognized on 13 November 1947 with the Battalion's headquarters in Spencer, Iowa. The unit was ordered into active federal service on 11 September 1950 at Spencer, Iowa. In its place, a separate 194th Field Artillery Battalion (National Guard US) was organized and federally recognized on 9 March 1953 with its headquarters in Humboldt, Iowa. The 194th Field Artillery Battalion was released from active federal service and returned to state control on 17 January 1956. Concurrently, the Battalion's Headquarters was relocated to Humboldt, Iowa and federal recognition withdrawn from the 194th Field Artillery Battalion (NGUS), which the active unit replaced.

The 194th Field Artillery Battalion's lineage and honors were consolidated with that of the 194th Artillery, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System on 1 March 1959. The 194th Artillery was subsequently redesignated as the 194th Field Artillery (the term "regiment" was not formally appended to the title until 2005). As a result of the consolidation, the elements of 194th Field Artillery Battalion were subsequently activated as 1st Battalion, 194th Artillery (later 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery).

Until 1968, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery was a 155mm towed organization. In 1968, the unit was reorganized as an 105mm towed howitzer battalion using the M101A1 howitzer. 1-194th was assigned a direct support mission to the 34th Infantry Brigade "Red Bulls" of the 47th Infantry Division. This mission later changed when the 47th Infantry Division was reflagged as the 34th Infantry Division. The mission of the 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery subsequently became to provide direct support to the 2nd Brigade (Air Assault), 34th Infantry Division. In this capacity, the Battalion was organized under an L-series MTOE with the M102 105mm weapon system. Its federal mission was to assume posture readiness to mobilize combat ready units and equipment in support of the national military strategy acting as a deterrent to war, while its state mission was to effectively provide units and equipment to protect life and property, preserve peace, order and public safety of its citizens under the orders of the Governor of the State of Iowa.

The Battalion, which included a Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3 firing batteries, and a service battery under the MTOE, was based in various locations throughout the state of Iowa. Battery A had started out in Humboldt, Iowa and used an old hemp plant for its armory. In 1953 they moved to Spencer, Iowa, where they built and occupied an armory in 1957.

Battery B had its start in Mapleton, Iowa. Soon after arriving there it moved again to Algona, Iowa, taking up residence in an armory that was built in 1949. Battery B subsequently drilled in an armory on Highway 18 West that was constructed in 1992. They then moved into a new armory at the airport prior to the 5 June 1993 dedication.

Estherville, Iowa was the location Battery C, where it used the City Hall Auditorium for the drill floor. Office and supply rooms were in the basement and vehicles were stored at the fairgrounds. The unit subsequently moved to its own armory, which had been built in 1950 at the county fairgrounds.

The Battalion's Service Battery started out in a 12 foot by 16 foot room on the second floor of a Pepsi-Cola warehouse in Algona, Iowa. They moved to Mapletown, Iowa in 1955 and drilled at an American Legion Dance Hall with vehicles stored across town in a garage. The Storm Lake, Iowa armory was part of the 133rd Infantry Regiment. Storm Lake and Mapletown exchanged units in 1959. They were located in a metal building or garage until an armory was built in 1961. In 1968, a detachment of survey was assigned to Service Battery. On 1 October 1988 a detachment of FSS and FIST from 1st Battalion, 175th Field Artillery was attached to Service Battery at Storm Lake. On 2 September 1990, Detachment 3, Division Artillery, 34th Infantry Division was attached to Storm Lake. On 1 September 1996 Service Battery and Detachments were reorganized into Detachment 1, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, and Detachment 1, Division Artillery, 34th Infantry Division was formed.

The Battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Battery started out in Spencer, Iowa in 1947. They met in the basement of the Tangney hotel until they went to the fairgrounds to the entry building and then to the horticulture building with vehicles stored in a garage down town. In 1953, they moved to Humboldt, Iowa and used the weigh station out front for their Battalion's headquarters. The armory was remodeled and the Battalion's headquarters moved into the building in 1954. They relocated in 1980 to their present location at Fort Dodge, where they replaced that garrison's ordnance units.

As part of the transformation of the US Army to the modular force structure, the habitually attached direct support field artillery battalions in the division were made organic to their associated brigades. The Division Artillery, 34th Infantry Division was subsequently inactivated and the reorganized and redesignated 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery Regiment was assigned to the similarly reorganized and redesiganted 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.