1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment

The 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment traces its history to the formation of the 41st Field Artillery Battalion at Camp Custer, Michigan, in August of 1918 as part of the 14th Infantry Division. The unit was reconstituted in the regular Army in October 1933. On 1 October 1940, the Battalion was activated and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington. During World War II, the Battalion fired the first American Artillery rounds in the European Theater of Operations, participated in 9 campaigns and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and French Fourragere. The unit was deactivated after the war at Camp Campbell, Kentucky.

The unit was reconstituted in March of 1948 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as the 41st Field Artillery Battalion, as an element of the 3rd Infantry Division. The Battalion was deactivated on July 1957 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and relieved of assignment to the 3rd Infantry Division. It was redesignated in August 1957 as the 1st Missile Battalion, 41st Field Artillery (Honest John). This unit was inactivated in 1963 in Germany. It was then redesignated on 1 September 1971 as the 1st Missile Battalion, 41st Field Artillery (Pershing) and again on 13 September 1972 as the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery. This unit was concurrently activated in Germany and subsequently deactivated on 17 January 1986 in Germany. On 16 August 1988 the Battalion was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division and activated on 26 August at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

The Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia in August 1990 in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. In October 1993 the Battalion supplied the only artillery battery deployed to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. The M109A2 howitzer was replaced by the M109A6 Paladin in July 1994, and by 20 September 1994, 1-41st Field Artillery became the first Direct Support battalion to be Paladin certified in the US Army. One week later, Glory's Guns deployed to Kuwait to deter Iraqi aggression in support of Operation Vigilant Warrior.

The Battalion was relieved from assignment from the 24th Infantry Division and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division on 15 February 1996. The Battalion deployed again in 1998 to Kuwait to deter Iraqi aggression and confirm Iraqi compliance with United Nations sanctions as part of Operation Desert Thunder. The Battalion deployed to Kosovo as part of KFOR3A in May 2001, providing Bright Sky missions throughout the rotation for the prevention and interdiction of weapons and arms smuggling across the Kosovar/Macedonian border, earning the Army Superior Unit Award.

On 24 December 2002, the Battalion received a deployment order and began deploying in January 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On 20 March 2003, the Battalion fired the first rounds in support of ground forces of Operation Iraqi Freedom destroying 3 observation posts and one command post along the Kuwait/Iraq border. Over the next 23 days the Battalion was in continuous enemy contact fighting gallantly, firing 5196 rounds in direct support of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in the Battles of An Najaf escarpment, Al Kifl, and the decisive battle for Saddam International Airport. The Battalion earned the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during OIF I.

In July 2004, the 3rd Infantry Division began transformation as a whole to the US Army's new modular force structure. One aspect of the transformation included the changing relationships between habitually attached Division level elements and the Division's line brigades. As a result the 1-41st Field Artillery was inactivated and relieved of assignment to the Division Artillery (DIVARTY) and reactivated asssigned to the redesignated and reorganized 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

In January 2005, 1-41st Field Artillery deployed with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division to the Salah ad Din Province in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom III. The Battalion fired 5869 rounds while located on 4 different Forward Operating Bases (FOB) in support of the Brigade's 7 maneuver Battalions. Additionally the Battalion led the Brigade's Provincial Police Partnership Program, provided the command and control for the security of FOB Remagen, and provided the nucleus of the Brigade's Tactical Command Post at Logistics Supply Area Anaconda.