The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Louisiana Brigade") is a modular infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is headquartered in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234 ...

. Currently the brigade is part of the

36th Infantry Division (United States) The 36th Infantry Division ("Arrowhead"), also known as the "Panther Division", "Lone Star Division",Texas Army National Guard.

History

The brigade was established in 1967, as part of an initiative by Secretary of Defense McNamara to reduce the number of National Guard divisions while increasing the number of brigades. The 256th replaced a brigade from the 39th Infantry Division in the Louisiana Army National Guard. The brigade was part of the Selected Reserve Force from 1967–1969, but the Selected Reserve Force was eliminated in an attempt to eliminate readiness differences between reserve component units. The brigade initially consisted of three infantry battalions and a "brigade base": a headquarters company; a reconnaissance troop; light tank and engineer companies; a 105mm howitzer battalion; and a support battalionWilson, John B. (1997). "Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades". Army Lineage Series. CMH Pub 60-14. United States Army Center of Military History. p303,338,341 In 1975, the 256th was assigned as the 'round-out' brigade for the 5th Infantry Division as part of the expansion to a 24 division force. The brigade was mechanized in 1977, when the 1st Battalion, 156th Infantry was converted to the 1st Battalion, 156th ArmorPope, Major Jeffrey L., and Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Kondratiuk. "Armor-Cavalry Regiments". Army National Guard Lineage Series. National Guard Bureau, Historical Serviced Division: Washington, DC. April 1995. p49. The 256th Brigade was activated from November 1990 through May 1991, and conducted training at Fort Hood, TX, but never deployed. Some controversy arose over this activation of three round out brigades (the 256th; the 48th Infantry Brigade, Georgia Army National Guard; and the 155th Armor Brigade, Mississippi Army National Guard). None of the three brigades deployed before the end of combat in Operations Desert Storm. After the 5th Infantry Division was inactivated in 1992, the 256th Brigade served as the round out brigade for the 2nd Armored Division, until the end of the round out program in 1996.McGrath, ''The Brigade'', 103. With the end of the round out program, the 256th was selected as one of 15 Enhanced Brigades in the ARNG. The enhanced brigade program increased resources and training to allow the brigades to mobilize and deploy within 120 days.

Iraq War, 2004–05

During train up for operations in the spring, summer and fall of 2004, the 256th Infantry Brigade was stationed at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquar ...

, Texas. The Brigade then completed a NTC rotation at

Fort Irwin Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast ...

, California. The brigade spent another month training in the desert of

Camp Buehring Camp Buehring (formerly Camp Udairi) is a staging post for US troops in the northwestern region of Kuwait. From its founding in January 2003 to present date, the base was used for military troops heading north into Iraq, as well as the primary lo ...

, Kuwait prior to moving into Iraq. In 2004–2005, the 256th Brigade was sent to Iraq as part of OIF III (Operation Iraqi Freedom III, the third U.S. military rotation of forces into the area of operations). It served under the 1st Cavalry Division for its first five months and its last several months under the 3rd Infantry Division. During the first half of its combat tour in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

some of the brigade's subordinate units also served under the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in t ...

. The brigade served in and around

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

in a FOB known originally as FOB Victory until 15 June 2004. At this date FOB Victory's name was changed to FOB Liberty because on this date the Iraqi government officially "stood up". Upon the 256th's arrival at North Liberty it became Camp Tigerland. During operations in theater the brigade operated under the configuration of one-third heavy and two-thirds light. Each battalion in the brigade had one company of heavy forces with

M1A1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ...

main battle tanks,

M2A2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which was formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed for ...

infantry fighting vehicles, or a mixture of the two. The other two-thirds operated primarily from HMMWV Gun Trucks that mounted either machine guns or automatic grenade launchers. The field artillery battalion was cannibalized to bring the infantry battalions up to full strength. The remainder of the

Washington Artillery Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division base defense operations center (BDOC) under the command of the 103rd Field Artillery Brigade and the XVIII Airborne Corps. One howitzer platoon from the Washington Artillery was used to provide indirect fires in support of FOB Liberty. Additionally, Task Force Bengal was "stood up" as a liaison/training team to equip, train and assist the 40th Iraqi National Guard (ING) Brigade. TF Bengal consisted of soldiers and officers of the infantry, field artillery, and engineer units from the 256th Brigade as well as the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry (

The Fighting 69th ''The Fighting 69th'' is a 1940 American war film starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and George Brent. The plot is based upon the actual exploits of New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The regiment was given that nicknam ...

) from New York City which had been attached for the deployment. Attached to the 69th Infantry was Delta 101, a company of tankers and scouts turned infantrymen from New York's 101st Cavalry Regiment. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, the 69th engaged the ancestral units of the 256th many times, so their attachment to each other for OIF provided a symbolic reconciliation 140 years after they fought each other to the death repeatedly from 1861 to 1865. On 21 February 2005, the 40th ING Brigade assumed authority for approximately 16 square kilometers in and around Al Akadhimian and began patrolling with approximately 2800 soldiers. The 256th lost 32 soldiers in the Iraq War.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the

gulf coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

of Louisiana and Mississippi while most members of the 256th Infantry Brigade were still serving their final weeks of deployment in Iraq. Following the return of the brigade to Louisiana, a detachment immediately mobilized to New Orleans to aid law enforcement with rescue efforts. With the help of the Louisiana State Police, those efforts transitioned into a support mission for the New Orleans Police Department. Joint Task Force Gator was created to help combat the rise of looting and other crimes resulting from the loss of law enforcement officers in the New Orleans area. After three-and-a-half years of assisting local police and patrolling the city, the task force was released from duty on 28 February 2009.

Conversion to a Modular Infantry Brigade Combat Team

On 1 September 2006, the 256th converted from a separate mechanized infantry brigade into a modular Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The 1st Battalion, 156th Armor inactivated and its personnel were used to form the 2d Squadron, 108th Cavalry. The 2d and 3rd Battalions, 156th Infantry converted from three mechanized infantry to infantry, and the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery traded its 155mm self-propelled howitzers for 105mm towed howitzers. The brigade also formed a new battalion, the Special Troops Battalion (STB), 256th BCT, which provided a battalion headquarters for companies of engineers, signal and military intelligence.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, 2008

Louisiana Guardsman Preparing for Hurricane Gustav

Deployment to Iraq, 2010

On Monday 19 May 2008, Louisiana's 256th BCT was alerted by the Defense Department that they might begin a second tour in Iraq starting in spring 2010. Brigades from the Texas, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee National Guards were also notified in the same press release. The press release specifically stated tours of duty in

and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

, and not

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. The notice of this deployment came within three years of the unit's return from their first tour of

in 2004–05. In February and March 2009, the 256th prepared for deployment to Iraq. On 5 January 2010, the 256th BCT left for mobilization at

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

where soldiers trained for a variety of missions, such as PSD, FOB security, gate guard, convoy security, and more. In early March, they flew out of Gulf Coast Airport in Mississippi. The brigade was divided into many different sections, being controlled by sustainment brigades and commands. The brigade commander, Col. Ball, did not command the entire brigade as subordinate units fell under other brigades. While select units returned home in August, the majority of brigade unit deployed back to home station in Louisiana in December 2010.

Order of battle

Task Force Warclub and Task Force Rock TOA

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (256th IBCT)

2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), in

Abbeville, Louisiana Abbeville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, west of New Orleans and southwest of Baton Rouge. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, the populat ...

with a detachment in

Jeanerette, Louisiana Jeanerette () is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as "Sugar City", it had a population of 5,530 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 467 from the 2000 tabulation of 5,997. It is two thirds African American, many of them Creo ...

* Company A, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana with a detachment in

Plaquemine, Louisiana Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, the population was 7,119; the 2020 census determined i ...

* Company B, in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Lafa ...

with a detachment in

Franklin, Louisiana Franklin is a small city in and the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,660 at the 2010 census. The city is located on Bayou Teche, southeast of the cities of Lafayette, () and New Iberia () and ) ...

* Company C, in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane– Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's governme ...

* Company D, in

Thibodaux, Louisiana Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal c ...

* Company G, 199th BSB (attached), in

3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasi ...

with a detachment in

DeQuincy, Louisiana DeQuincy is the northernmost city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,235 at the 2010 census. DeQuincy is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area. History DeQuincy was founded in 1897 as a railroa ...

* Company A, in Fort Polk, Louisiana with a detachment in DeRidder, Louisiana * Company B, in

Pineville, Louisiana Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria. Pineville is hence part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 cen ...

(

Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their mai ...

) with a detachment in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of count ...

* Company C, in

Crowley, Louisiana Crowley (Local pronunciation: ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710. Crowley is the principal city of the Crowley micropolitan ...

with a detachment in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Opelousas, Louisiana :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 ...

* Company H, 199th BSB (attached), in Dequincy, Louisiana

1st Battalion, 173rd Infantry
Alabama Army National Guard The Alabama Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. Alabama Army National ...

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) located in

Enterprise, Alabama Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 census. Enterprise is the primary city of the Enterprise micro ...

* Company A, in

Geneva, Alabama Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Geneva County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1875. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. Since 1940, it has been the largest city of Geneva County, and had a ...

* Company B, in Valley, Alabama * Company C, in Foley, Alabama * Company D, in Florala, Alabama * Company I, 199th BSB (attached), in

1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery "Washington Artillery"

* Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) located in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

* Company F, 199th BSB (attached), in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Shreveport, Louisiana * Troop A, in

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; french: link=no, Les Natchitoches) is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was n ...

* Troop B, in Shreveport, Louisiana * Troop C, in Coushatta, Louisiana. * Company D, 199th BSB (attached), in Shreveport, Louisiana

199th Brigade Support Battalion (199th BSB)

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) located in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River in almost the ex ...

( Rapides Parish) * Company A (Supply & Transportation), in Colfax, Louisiana * Company B (Maintenance) * Company C (Medical), in

St. Martinville, Louisiana St. Martinville (french: Saint-Martin)Jack A. Reynolds. "St. Martinville" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 480. is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana ...

769th Brigade Engineer Battalion (769th BEB)

* Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company (HSC) located in

( East Baton Rouge Parish). * Company A (

Combat Engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...

), in New Roads, Louisiana * Company B (Combat Engineer), in

Napoleonville, Louisiana Napoleonville is a village and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 660 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village is best known as the loc ...

* Company C (

Signal In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The '' IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing' ...

), in

* Company D (

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...

), in

with a

TUAS Tuas is a planning area located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bounded by the Western Water Catchment to its north, Pioneer to its east and the Straits of Johor to its west. Tuas also shares a maritime boundary with the Western Isla ...

detachment in Fort Polk, Louisiana * Company E, 199th BSB (attached) located in

Equipment

Training sites

Weapons

Vehicles

References

External links

Louisiana National Guard Official Homepage

{{Louisiana Infantry 999 256 Infantry 999 256 Infantry 999 256 Lafayette, Louisiana Military units and formations in Louisiana Military units and formations established in 1967

History

Iraq War, 2004–05

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005

Conversion to a Modular Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, 2008

Deployment to Iraq, 2010

Order of battle

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (256th IBCT)

2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry

3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry

1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery "Washington Artillery"

199th Brigade Support Battalion (199th BSB)

769th Brigade Engineer Battalion (769th BEB)

Equipment

Training sites

Weapons

Vehicles

See also

References

External links