The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division is an Iowa Army National Guard unit headquartered in

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone ...

History

The history of the 2nd Brigade Headquarters began in June 1924 with the activation in Boone of Headquarters Battery and Combat

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

, 2nd

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

, 185th

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

, a unit of the 34th Infantry Division.John B. Wilson, Center of Military History
Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades
1999, page 339 In July 1940 the unit was reorganized as Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 185th Field Artillery. In December 1940 the unit was again reorganized, this time as Battery F, 185th Field Artillery. In February 1941 Battery F was federalized for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, this time as Battery C, 185th Field Artillery. The 185th Field Artillery served in the

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and Italian campaigns as part of the 34th Infantry Division. Battery C returned from World War II service in November 1945. In January 1947 it was reorganized as Headquarters Battery, 185th Field Artillery. In 1959 Headquarters Battery was reconfigured as Headquarters Battery, 4th

(Rocket

Howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

), 185th Field Artillery. In 1963 another reorganization resulted in the unit's designation as Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion (Howitzer), 185th Field Artillery. Headquarters Battery went through consolidation and reorganization in 1968 and became Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 34th Brigade, 47th Infantry Division. In February 1991 the 47th Division was inactivated, and 34th Brigade was re-designated as 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry Division.

Recent events

Prior to 2005, 2nd Brigade was organized as an

Air Assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, such as helicopters, to seize and hold key terrain that has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind enemy l ...

Brigade. In that configuration it consisted of three infantry battalions including 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In addition, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, the 334th Forward Support Battalion and an Engineer company were part of 2nd Brigade's direct support. After the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, individuals and units from the 2nd Brigade were deployed as part of the War on Terror, including Operations

Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

, and New Dawn. When 2nd Brigade was reorganized as a modular infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) in 2005, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery and the reorganized 334th Brigade Support Battalion became part of the brigade's task organization. The change to an IBCT also included removing 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry from the task organization and adding 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry. 2nd Brigade has continued its Air Assault tradition. In 2010 and 2011 the 2nd Brigade served in Afghanistan. During this deployment the organization conducted "Operation Bull Whip," a successful Air Assault mission in

Laghman Province Laghman (Persian language, Persian/Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It has a population of about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. Laghman hosts a large numbe ...

Honors

Algeria-

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the ...

(World War II)

Structure

As of 2016, 2nd BCT's task organization includes: * Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th ID (

Iowa National Guard The Iowa National Guard consists of the: * Iowa Army National Guard and the * Iowa Air National Guard The Iowa National Guard headquarters is at Camp Dodge in Johnston, several miles north of the state capital Des Moines. The facility serves ...

(IA ARNG)) **Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team ** 113th Regiment Cavalry unit insignia

1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment Reconnaissance Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) ( IA NG) ** 133 Inf Rgt DUI

1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment ( IA NG) ** 135 Inf Rgt DUI

2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment ** 168 Inf Rgt DUI

1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment ( IA NG) ** 194 FA Rgt DUI

1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery Regiment (1-194th FAR) ** US 224th BEB insignia

224th Brigade Engineer Battalion (224th BEB) ** US 334th bsb insignia

334th Brigade Support Battalion (334th BSB)

References

{{reflist Infantry 034 02 Infantry 034 02 2