193rd Infantry Brigade (United States)
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The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd
Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...
and assigned to the 97th Division. The brigade was converted and redesignated in February 1942 as the 97th
Reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...
, 97th Division. In February 1943, the Troop was ordered into active military service and organized at Camp Swift, Texas. It was reorganized and redesignated in October 1945 as the 97th Mechanized
Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
Reconnaissance Troop.


World War II

The 97th Reconnaissance Troop landed at
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, France, 2 March 1945 as part of the 97th Infantry Division. The Division crossed the German border west of
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
and took up a defensive position along the west bank of the
Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...
opposite
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, engaging in patrolling. The division then entered the battle of the
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
pocket, crossing the Rhine near
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
and taking up a position on the southern bank of the Siege River. It crossed that river against light resistance and fought a street-to-street engagement in
Siegburg Siegburg (i.e. ''fort on the Sieg river''; Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg and Agger, 10 kilometres from the former seat of ...
. Pushing on toward Düsseldorf through difficult terrain and heavy resistance in densely wooded areas, the Division captured
Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...
. Düsseldorf fell on the next day and the Ruhr pocket was eliminated. 97th Reconnaissance Troop played a vital role in the Ruhr campaign. Besides its customary reconnaissance and patrolling duties, the unit once was charged with protecting the entire left flank of the division. Moving to protect the left flank of the Third Army on its southern drive, the 97th Division took
Cheb Cheb (; german: Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. Before the 1945 Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of the German-speaking population ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and attacked the Czechoslovak pocket near Weiden, Germany. It had advanced to Konstantinovy Lázně, Czechoslovakia, when it received the cease-fire order on 7 May 1945. The Division left for Le Havre, 16 June 1945, for redeployment to the Pacific, arriving at
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, 16 September, and then sailed to Japan for occupation duty, arriving at Yokohama 23 September. 97th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop inactivated March 1946 in Japan. (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve.) Converted and redesignated July 1962 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and relieved from assignment to the 97th Infantry Division.


Panama

In 1961, after the abortive
Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fina ...
and rumors of Soviet assistance to
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, Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the Lis ...
decided to bolster available U.S. Army forces in the
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area. The Army replaced the battle group in the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
with the 193d Infantry Brigade, which was activated on 8 August 1962. Through most of the period of its assignment to the Canal Zone, the 193d included the following units: * 3d Battalion, 5th Infantry (Instead of the regiment's common nickname, the "Bobcats," 3rd Battalion retained the name and motto, "Red Devils," when reflagged from 3d Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry,
Fort Kobbe Fort Kobbe was an Army fort renamed from Fort Bruja on 15 April 1932 to honor Major General William A. Kobbe. At the time it was located adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. In the 1930s it was primarily a United States Army ...
) * 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry ("Apaches," Fort Davis) * 4th Battalion, 20th Infantry ("Sykes Regulars," Fort Clayton) *Battery B, 22d Field Artillery (Fort Kobbe; later reflagged as Battery D, 320th FA) * 518th Engineer Company (Fort Kobbe, later reflagged as the 59th Engineer Company) * 534th MP Company (Fort Clayton) *549th Military Police Company (
Fort Gulick Fort Gulick was a United States Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone located on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near Fort Davis, on Gatun Lake. History The post was constructed and opened in 1941, and named for John W. Gulick, a U.S. ...
) *210th Aviation Battalion (Albrook Army Air Field; moved during the 1970s to Fort Kobbe as part of the Canal reorganization treaties) *1097th Transportation Company (Medium Boat) (Fort Davis) Additionally, there were other units, such as the
School of the Americas The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defens ...
(Fort Gulick), 3d Battalion, 7th Special Forces (Fort Gulick), and Jungle Operations Training Center (Fort Sherman) that were not assigned to the 193d but had an habitual relationship and rating scheme for their commanders and/or senior officers tantamount to assignment. There were other units assigned at different times. For example, the brigade had, for most of the 1960s a mixed HAWK missile and M42 Duster battalion, 4th Battalion, 517th Artillery (Battery A at Fort Davis, Dusters; Battery B, Fort Clayton, Dusters; Battery C, HAWKs, Flamenco Island; and Battery D, HAWK, Fort Sherman). The brigade was also staffed heavily enough as to permit it to command the 92d and 53d Infantry Brigades (Separate) from the Puerto Rico and
Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and st ...
, respectively. In 1977, in order to improve command and control over the numerous combat support and combat service support units, the 193d Combat Support Battalion (CSB) was activated within the brigade. The 193d CSB commanded a wide variety of units, to include the 193d Military Intelligence Company (Combat Electronic Warfare and Intelligence - CEWI), the 1097th Transportation Company (Medium Boat), and even a field artillery unit (Battery D, 320th FA). In October 1983, the 1st and 2d Battalions, 187th Infantry were assigned to the 193d Infantry Brigade in Panama as a result of reflagging the 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry and the 3d Battalion, 5th Infantry, respectively. Company A(Moatengators), 2d Battalion, 187th Infantry was on jump status and later this was expanded to the entire battalion. During a realignment of the United States Army's combat forces in 1987 the colors of the 1st and 2d Battalions were inactivated in Panama and reactivated at
Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...
, KY. This resulted in 2-187th being reflagged as the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry while 1-187th was reflagged as the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry. Beginning in early 1988, after the first coup attempt against Noriega failed, life for the soldiers and families of the Brigade became increasingly difficult due to civil unrest in Panama City and harassment by the
Panama Defense Force The Panamanian Public Forces ( es, Fuerza Pública de la República de Panamá) are the national security forces of Panama. Panama is the second country in Latin America (the other being Costa Rica) to permanently abolish standing armies, with Pa ...
. Movements off post were often restricted, armed confrontations occurred frequently and quality of life declined. Panamanian provocations, intended to deny freedom of movement rights that were guaranteed by treaty, steadily escalated. Americans were increasingly detained without charges and held without communication. At one point, several school buses full of dependent children on the way to school were commandeered by the PDF and held for hours. This harassment culminated after the abortive Panamanian elections during the summer of 1989, when all off-post personnel were moved on-post, resulting in families having to double or triple up in on-post quarters. As part of the fall-out from the aborted Panamanian elections, the Army sent a package of augmentation forces to Panama (Operation NIMROD DANCER)- which included a mechanized battalion from the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), based at
Fort Polk, Louisiana Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder, Louisiana, DeRidder in ...
; this battalion was attached to the Brigade, forming Task Force Bayonet. Later in the fall of 1989, the Brigade instituted an intensive training program to prepare for combat operations, which seemed increasingly likely after the failure of the second coup, in October. In December 1989, two years of diplomatic tension between Panama and the United States came to a head. In a speech to a gathering of his supporters, General
Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...
– the head of the PDF and de facto dictator of Panama – declared that a state of war existed between the United States and Panama. This might well have been dismissed as simply more of his defiant, anti-U.S. rhetoric, were it not for two events that followed within a matter of hours. A U.S. Marine officer was shot and killed at a PDF checkpoint, and then a U.S. Navy officer and his wife in the following car were arrested, taken to the Commandancia and beaten and abused for several hours. In light of this series of events, President
George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...
ordered the invasion of Panama, codenamed
Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, to protect U.S. lives and property, and to permit the inauguration of the winners of the previous summer's elections.


Operation JUST CAUSE

The mission of the 193d, tactically organized as Task Force Bayonet, was twofold. The defensive component required the protection of an extensive complex of US military bases, family housing tracts and Panama Canal Commission facilities that stretched over an area of 20 kilometers. This included protection of the vital Miraflores and Pedro Miguel lock complexes. Simultaneously, the Brigade was responsible for an offensive area of operations that encompassed half of Panama City and its 1.1 million inhabitants. Within this area, the Brigade's initial offensive task was to isolate and eliminate all PDF units (police, military and para-military) in the areas Fort Amador, Ancon Hill, Balboa, and Chorrillo. Of primary importance was the Commandancia, which was to be taken in a
coup de main A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...
. Other objectives within this area included: the PDF's Engineer Battalion compound, that part of
Fort Amador Fort Amador ( es, Fuerte Amador) and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases built to protect the Pacific (southern) end of the Panama Canal at Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant ...
occupied by the PDF 5th Company and the Panamanian Army headquarters; the Balboa and Ancon DENI (Panama's National Defense of Investigations) and Balboa Department of Transportation (DNTT) stations. Although the 193d Infantry Brigade (Light) was, by TO&E, only a small brigade, as a result of various augmentations leading up to JUST CAUSE, in its role as TF Bayonet it ended up being the largest brigade-sized task force in JUST CAUSE. The various units that comprised TF Bayonet on D-Day were: * 193rd Infantry Brigade (Light) ** Headquarters & Headquarters Company ** 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry (
Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
) (previously designated 3-5th, respectively 2-187th) ** 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry ** 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation,
Fort Kobbe Fort Kobbe was an Army fort renamed from Fort Bruja on 15 April 1932 to honor Major General William A. Kobbe. At the time it was located adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. In the 1930s it was primarily a United States Army ...
** Battery D, 320th Field Artillery ** 59th Engineer Company (Sapper) * Augmentation as a result of NIMROD DANCER ** 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry, from the 5th Infantry Division ( Mechanized) ** One
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platoon from the 3rd Battalion, 73rd Armor, arrived 18 November 1989 from the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
* Augmentation effective on execution of JUST CAUSE ** 519th MP Battalion, deployed to Panama the week before JUST CAUSE from Fort Meade, Maryland. *** 209th MP Company *** 401st MP Company *** 511th MP Company *** 555th MP Company *** 988th MP Company - arrived on 14 December 1989 and was the 1st MP company to receive combat orders since Vietnam *** 108th MP Company (arrived D+1 as part of the reinforcing airflow) ** One company, 75th Ranger Regiment, on D-Day for the purpose of clearing the Commandancia. ** One Marine platoon (LAV-25s) from Task Force Semper Fi Note that TF Bayonet had neither an organic forward support battalion nor normal combat service support units, as was doctrine at the time. Limited support was provided by the 41st Area Support Group (which had theater-wide responsibilities), but lacking a dedicated Forward Support Battalion, the Brigade's logistical support operations were significantly strained. A fifth maneuver battalion had originally been slated for TF Bayonet, for the purpose of having a two-battalion attack at the Commandancia – which was to be the main attack of JUST CAUSE. However, JTF-SOUTH reallocated this battalion to the other side of the Isthmus. Ironically, as JTF-SOUTH was doing this, Noriega was beefing up defenses at the Commandancia. Half of the PDF 6th Company, most of the PDF 7th Company and elements of the PDF Bn 2000 were moved to the Commandancia in the two months leading up to JUST CAUSE, replacing the unit that had led the second coup attempt. At 1800 hours, 19 December 1989, TF Bayonet received from JTF-SOUTH the order to execute Operation JUST CAUSE, with an H-Hour of 0100 hours, 20 December. Because the JUST CAUSE OPLAN had been classified at the top secret level, only a small number of the Brigade's leaders were familiar with its contents. After combat operation ceased, a political decision to rapidly drawdown US forces to their pre-invasion levels had an unexpected impact on the 193d; in order to reach that level, USSOUTHCOM directed that the Brigade's field artillery battery be inactivated and its personnel – and their families – be immediately shipped out of country. During this period TF Bayonet became what is believed to be the largest combat brigade-sized unit in post-WWII history, controlling at one period seven infantry battalions – just two shy of what a full division commanded at the time. It managed this task – over the extreme distances noted above – without the benefit of a dedicated support battalion, and the logistical improvisation required was little short of genius. Within several more months, the rest of the augmentation forces were withdrawn. The 193d Infantry Brigade however, remained in Panama and continued to provide a military presence. On 14 October 1994 after more than 32 years of providing ground defense for Panama, 193d Infantry Brigade was 'honored' as the first major unit to inactivate in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, treaty implementation plan, which mandated U.S. Forces withdrawal from Panama by December 1999.


Current mission

On 31 January 2007, the 193rd Infantry Brigade was reactivated at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
with the mission to conduct basic combat training for new entrants to the Army. It has replaced the 171st Infantry Brigade in this task; however, both the 193d and 171st (inactivated 10 June 2016) have a headquarters and personnel on post. * Headquarters & Headquarters Company * 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry * 2d Battalion, 13th Infantry * 3d Battalion, 13th Infantry * 2d Battalion, 60th Infantry * 3d Battalion, 60th Infantry * 120th Adjutant General Battalion


Campaign participation credit

*World War II **Central Europe **Combat Infantry Brigade – streamer *Operation Just Cause **Panama


Notes


References


"The history of the 193rd Infantry Brigade""The Brigade: A History, Its Organization and Employment in the US Army"


{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728084511/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/193infbde.htm , date=28 July 2014 *Summary – Operation JUST CAUSE – 193d Infantry Brigade (Light) (Task Force Bayonet), dtd 31 January 1990. *TF Bayonet S-3 (Operations) Staff Duty Journal, 190001 December 1989 – 152359 January 1990. 193 193 Military units and formations established in 1922