4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment

The 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was first constituted on 8 May 1794 in the Regular Army as the 3rd Company, 4th Battalion, Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. The Company was organized on 7 August 1794 at West Point, New York, as Captain Michael Kalteisen's 3rd Company, 4th Battalion, Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. The Company was redesignated on 27 April 1798 as Captain Michael Kalteisen's Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers, on 1 April 1802 as Captain Michael Kalteisen's Company, Regiment of Artillerists, on 3 November 1807 as Captain George Peter's Company, Regiment of Artillerists, and in May 1808 as Captain Clarence Mulford's Company, Regiment of Artillerists.

In the lead up to the War of 1812, the Company was redesignated on 11 January 1812 as Captain Clarence Mulford's Company, 1st Regiment of Artillery (commanded by 2d Lieutenant Samuel Champlain) and in February 1812 as Captain William Wilson's Company, 1st Regiment of Artillery. Following the start of the War of 1812 the unit was dispatched for operations against British forces in Canada. This campaign lasted from 18 June 1812 until 17 February 1815, and the unit was awarded a campaign streamer to credit its participation. During this period it was also redesignated on 12 May 1814 as Captain William Wilson's Company, Corps of Artillery, on 17 May 1815 as Captain William Wilson's Company, Corps of Artillery, Southern Division, and on 21 August 1816 as Company B, 2d Battalion, Corps of Artillery Southern Division.

The unit was reorganized and redesignated on 1 June 1821 as Company B, 3rd Regiment of Artillery. From 1821 to 1831, the unit occupied various costal fortifications from Boston Harbor to Fort Munroe. In 1832, it was one of the units sent by President Jackson to South Carolina to put down the nullification movement.

In 1834, the unit moved to Florida, and for the next 12 years, it fought the Seminole Indians, for which it received a campaign streamer. When war was declared with Mexico the unit fought with General Winfield Scott's army from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. The unit was credited with participation in 11 campaigns during the Mexican War: Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Buena Vista, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and Puebla 1847.

In 1854, the unit was sent to California and for the 5 years, it campaigned against the Indians in Oregon and Washington. The 3rd Regiment of Artillery stationed one battery at Fort Kearny, Nebraska to defend the Nebraska Territory, including the Oregon and Mormon Trails, and the Oregon and Washington territories against the Apache, Cheyenne, and Ute Indians. The 3rd Regiment of Artillery would also deploy to the Southeastern United States to participate in the Indian Wars campaigns against the Seminole Indians. The Company remained on the West Coast until the outbreak of the Civil War. Returning to fight on the side of the Union, the Company subsequently participated in 13 campaigns: Peninsula, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Shenandoah, Mississippi 1863, Tennessee 1863, Tennessee 1864, and Virginia 1863. At Gettysburg, Company B, 3rd Regiment of Artillery distinguished themselves on 3 July 1863 by assisting in the pounding of General George Pickett and the infamous Pickett's Charge.

The Company was sent to the Philippines in 1898 during the War with Spain and participated in the Manila campaign. The unit was reorganized and redesignated on 13 February 1901 as the 26th Company, Coast Artillery, Artillery Corps. It was redesignated on 2 February 1907 as the 26th Company, Coast Artillery Corps.

The unit was redesignated on 16 July 1916 as the 1st Company, Fort Flagler (Washington), on 31 August 1917 as the 13th Company, Coast Defenses of Puget Sound, and on 1 June 1922 as the 26th Company, Coast Artillery Corps. The unit was reorganized and redesignated on 1 July 1924 as Battery B, 3rd Coast Artillery before being inactivated on 1 March 1930 at Fort MacArthur, California.

Battery B, 3rd Coast Artillery was reactivated on 1 July 1940 at Fort MacArthur, California. The unit was reorganized and redesignated on 18 October 1944 as Battery B, 520th Coast Artillery Battalion and was redesignated on 1 December 1944 as Battery B, 3rd Coast Artillery Battalion. The unit was reorganized and redesignated again on 15 September 1945 as Battery C, Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles and then inactivated on 30 June 1946 at Fort MacArthur, California.

The unit was consolidated on 27 February 1950 with Battery B, 3rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (then active), which had been first constituted on 6 July 1942 in the Army of the United States as Battery B, 534th Coast Artillery Battalion and activated on 15 July 1942 at Fort Bliss, Texas. The unit was redesignated on 12 December 1943 as Battery B, 534th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. Deployed to North Africa in preparation for the invasion of Italy, the Battery B, 534th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion would go on to fight in France and Central Europe. After returning from its service in Europe, Battery B was inactivated on 19 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. Battery B, 534th Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion was redesignated on 9 December 1948 as Battery B, 3rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, and allotted to the Regular Army. It was activated on 15 January 1949 at Fort Bliss, Texas and assigned on 22 November 1949 to the 3d Infantry Division, before being consolidated with the lineage and honors of Battery C, Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles. The consolidated unit was designated as Battery B, 3rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, an element of the 3d Infantry Division, and the consolidated unit retained the participation credit for 8 campaigns during the Second World War: Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead indicating participation in the initial assault landings), Anzio (with arrowhead), Rome-Arno, Southern France (with arrowhead), North Apennines, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and Po Valley.

The unit deployed with the rest of the 3rd Infantry Division to Korea. There it participated in 8 campaigns: CCF Intervention, First UN Counteroffensive, CCF Spring Offensive, UN Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean Winter, Korea Summer-Fall 1952, Third Korean Winter, and Korea Summer 1953. During this period it was also redesignated on 15 April 1953 as Battery B, 3rd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. The Battery remained active following its return from Korea for a period before being inactivated on 1 July 1957 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division.

The unit was redesignated on 12 August 1958 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Missile Battalion, 3d Artillery, with its organic elements concurrently constituted. The Battalion was formally activated on 1 September 1958 at Detroit, Michigan. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Missile Battalion, 3rd Artillery was consolidated on 1 January 1960 with Battery B, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion (which had been organized in 1898), and the consolidated unit was designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Missile Battalion, 3rd Artillery. The Battalion was inactivated on 23 December 1960 at Detroit, Michigan.

The unit was redesignated on 22 January 1962 as the 4th Battalion, 3d Artillery, and assigned to the 1st Armored Division and activated on 3 February 1962 at Fort Hood, Texas. It was inactivated there on 5 May 1971. The unit was redesignated (less former Battery B, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion) on 1 September 1971 as the 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery, and relieved from assignment to the 1st Armored Division. Former Battery B, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion was concurrently redesignated as the 4th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery, which thereafter had a separate lineage. 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was activated on 1 July 1983 at Fort Bliss, Texas and inactivated on 16 March 1989 in Germany.

The 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was assigned on 16 July 1989 to the 3rd Infantry Division and activated at Larson Barracks, Kitzingen, West Germany. The Battalion eventually made the move to Leighton Barracks, Wuerzburg, Germany. The Battalion was relieved on 15 February 1996 from assignment to the 3rd Infantry Division and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division with the decision to return the 3rd Infantry Division to the United States and replace it with the 1st Infantry Division. 2nd Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was subsequently inactivated and its personnel reflagged as the 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery. 4-3rd Air Defense Artillery became the first air defense artillery battalion to be equipped with the Bradley Stinger Fighting Vehicle.

The 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment's mission was to stand poised for deployment to designated contingency areas to provide Air Defense and Early Warning in support of combat operations as part of the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) or other designated force headquarters. Additionally, on order, the Battalion was to conduct military operations in support of regional stability requirements and peacekeeping operations.

In 2004 the Department of the Army approved an initiative to rebalance forces between its active and reserve components. As a part of this Army initiative, air defense artillery battalions in all 10 active-duty Army divisions were to be removed from the division structure. The plan called for the 4-3rd Air Defense Artillery, part of the 1st Infantry Division, at Kitzingen, Germany, to be be either inactivated or realigned sometime after its redeployment to Germany from Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. In September 2005 the unit was again inactivated.

At the time of its inactivation the Battalion was the oldest air defense battalion in the active Army and subsequently the colors of the Air and Missile Defense Detachment were presented to the 1st Infantry Division command. The Air and Missile Defense Detachment was created in order to serve as the 1st Infantry Division's commanding general's advisor on all matters related to air and missile defense, as well as provide early warning and perform airspace management functions for the division. Plans called for the detachment to serve as an interim organization until the 1st Infantry Division transformed into a modular Unit of Action.

While inactivate, the 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was redesignated as the 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. On 27 July 2010, the 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment was officially reactivated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to support the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade.