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4th Unit of Action activated at Stewart

Army News Service

Release Date: 5/27/2004

FORT STEWART, Ga. (Army News Service, May 27, 2004) - The 3rd Infantry Division activated its 4th Unit of Action in a ceremony May 26 at Fort Stewart.

Col. Edward C. Cardon assumed command of the 4th UA, "Vanguard," adding a fourth brigade unit of action to the 3rd ID, the first division to reorganize under the Army's new modularity concept.

Realizing the vision of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, officials said the 4th UA is organized to combine combat and combat-service-support Soldiers under the same command -- typically the way the division deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Army will grow from 33 combat brigades to between 43 and 48, senior officials said, adding up to 15 units of action under the modularity process.

The 4th UA is composed of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment; 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment; 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry; 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment; 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, and the 4th Special Troops Battalion. The STB combines military intelligence, signal, and military police units under a single battalion.

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., 3rd ID commander, said, "The chief of staff of the Army gave us the mission to reorganize the Marne Division back in September."

"Nine months later, you are the living example of his vision and what will become 15 new self-sustaining brigade combat team-sized units in our Army," he added.

"Today is a historic day, one of profound change," said Cardon. "This ceremony is a straightforward example of the tremendous change now underway in our Army," he said.

"We have inactivated the best Engineer Brigade in the Army and activated a new combat brigade to meet new challenges that face our Army," he added.

Webster told the Soldiers on the field to "work hard, play hard, and take care of each other."

"Ensure that you are the master of your individual soldier and team skills, but remember," he added, "no matter what your specialty is -- clerk, tanker, or infantryman -- that everyone is a rifleman first."

The Army is currently transforming into a more brigade-focused organization in order to be more responsive to regional combatant commanders' needs, and facilitate force packaging and rapid deployment, officials said.

Modularity provides rapid identification of UAs and packaging for short-notice missions to meet the combatant commanders' needs, officials said. They said modularity also provides greater readiness within the UAs, as the infantry, armor, cavalry, field artillery, and support units train together at all times.

(Editor's note: Information provided by the 3rd ID Public Affairs Office.)