The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an

air defense artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patrio ...

regiment of the

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 ...

, first constituted in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

as the 7th Regiment of Artillery on 8 March 1898. The 6th and 7th U.S. Artillery Regiments were constituted on 8 March 1898, three weeks after the explosion of in Havana, Cuba on 15 February 1898, as the United States' declaration of war on Spain and commencement of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

seemed imminent.

History

Constituted 8 March 1898 in the Regular Army as the 7th Regiment of Artillery. Organized 29 March 1898 at

Fort Slocum Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comma ...

, New York. Order of battle information shows that batteries of the regiment deployed outside the U.S. in the

of 1898. However, no battle honors for this war are on the regiment's official lineage and honors certificate. Batteries C and M deployed to Puerto Rico. The regiment was broken up on 13 February 1901 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as separate numbered companies and batteries of the

Artillery Corps Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications dur ...

. The regiment was reconstituted in the Regular Army as the 7th Coast Artillery on 27 February 1924 and organized on 1 July 1924 by redesignating the 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 78th, 79th, & 81st companies of the

Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an Corps#Administrative corps, administrative corps responsible for coastal defence and fortification, coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft Seacoast defense in the United States, defense of the United S ...

(CAC) at Ft. Hancock. Batteries A, B, D, and F carried the lineage and designations of the corresponding batteries in the old 7th Artillery.Gaines, pp. 7-8 Initially, only the regimental headquarters and headquarters battery (HHB), HHBs for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, and Batteries A, B, D, & E active, HHB 3rd Battalion and Battery E being the caretaking battery for the

Harbor Defenses of the Delaware The Harbor Defenses of the Delaware was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Harbor Defense Command, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of the Delaware River estuary from 1897 to 19 ...

(HD Delaware) at

Fort DuPont Fort DuPont, named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, is located between the original Delaware City and the modern Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the original Reeden Point tract, which was granted to Henry Ward in 1675. Along wi ...

, Delaware. All other elements remained inactive. 1st Battalion inactivated 7 April 1930, 2nd Battalion inactivated 28 February 1930. HHB 3rd Battalion demobilized 1 September 1935 at Fort DuPont, personnel to Battery E. Regiment reduced to caretaking detachments in 1930; Batteries B & D inactivated. Battery A inactivated 31 March 1930. Sole remaining active elements, the regimental HHB and Battery E, provided caretaking detachments for HD Sandy Hook and HD Delaware, respectively. A 34-man band was authorized 1 July 1937. Batteries A & B reactivated at

Fort Hancock, New Jersey Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The ...

7 July 1939. Battery E inactivated 1 February 1940, personnel reassigned to the 21st Coast Artillery Regiment (Harbor Defense) (HD) and battery transferred to Fort Hancock, less personnel and equipment. Battery C activated at Fort Hancock 1 August 1940. HHB 1st and 2nd Battalions activated at Fort Hancock 11 January 1941. Batteries D, E, and F reactivated at Fort Hancock 13 January 1941. On 23 September 1942 the 1st Battalion transferred, less personnel and equipment, to

Fort Tilden Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation on the coast in the New York City borough of Queens. Fort Tilden now forms part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is administered ...

, New York to join the 2nd Battalion there. Personnel of the 1st Battalion were reassigned to the 3rd Battalion, 245th Coast Artillery Regiment (HD), and vice versa. This placed the 7th Coast Artillery at Fort Tilden and the 245th Coast Artillery at Fort Hancock. In May (or August) 1943, the 7th Coast Artillery (less Batteries D & G and an AA platoon at Fort Tilden, and Battery F detached to Fort Totten) returned to Fort Hancock until 23 February 1944. At that time most regimental assets were absorbed by HD New York and the HHB was reassigned to XXII Corps, further transferring to

Army Ground Forces The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the large ...

on 13 March 1944. HHB and 1st Battalion moved to

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...

, Missouri and 2nd Battalion to

Camp Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith. Established as Camp Chaffee in 1941, renamed to Fort Chaffee in 1956, Fort Chaffee has served as a Unite ...

, Arkansas, where these units were inactivated on 7 and 13 April 1944.Stanton, p. 456 Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 7th Coast Artillery, reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with HHB, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Group (see Annex 1), and consolidated unit designated as HHB, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Group. Activated 20 January 1952 at

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. ...

, Georgia. Inactivated 15 January 1953 at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Activated 1 May 1954 in Korea. Inactivated 20 January 1955 in Korea. Activated l July 1955 in Greenland. Redesignated 20 March 1958 as HHB, 7th Artillery Group. Inactivated 20 December 1965 at Fort Totten, New York. 1st Battalion, 7th Coast Artillery, reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with the 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion (see Annex 2) and consolidated unit redesignated as the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. Redesignated 13 December 1951 as the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. Activated 20 December 1951 at

Camp Edwards Camp Edwards is a United States military training installation which is located in western Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Originally the Massachusetts Military Reservation (which was another name for it until 2013) acquired in Se ...

, Massachusetts. Redesignated 30 June 1955 as the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. Inactivated 1 September 1958 in Germany. 2nd Battalion, 7th Coast Artillery, reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with the 26th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (active) (see Annex 3) and consolidated unit designated as the 26th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, an element of the 24th Infantry Division. Redesignated 1 January 1953 as the 26th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. Inactivated 15 October 1957 in Korea. Relieved 5 June 1958 from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 7th Artillery Group; 7th and 26th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions; and 7th Field Artillery Battalion (organized in 1916) consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated 20 December 1965 as the 7th Artillery, a parent regiment under the

Combat Arms Regimental System The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. ...

. 7th Artillery (less former 7th Field Artillery Battalion) reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 7th Air Defense Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (former 7th Field Artillery Battalion concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 7th Field Artillery – hereafter separate lineage). Withdrawn 16 December 1988 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the

United States Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...

with headquarters at Fort Bliss, Texas. 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery was activated on 13 September 1972 at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas and was inactivated there on 16 June 1987. The battalion was reactivated on 16 December 1988 in Germany. On 21 December 1998, Headquarters

United States Army Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...

(USAREUR) announced plans to realign its air defense artillery units to comply with the Army's Patriot Standardization Plan. As a result of the plan, USAREUR realigned its 3

Patriot missile The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar compon ...

battalions with their 12 missile batteries, 2 maintenance companies and one maintenance team into 2 battalions with 5 batteries and one maintenance company each. The 1-7th Air Defense Artillery, with its Headquarters and Headquarters Battery and B and C Batteries subsequently moved from Rhine Ordnance Barracks,

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

, Germany, to Fort Bliss, Texas. There it joined the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. A Battery, 1st Battalion, 7th ADA was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 7th ADA in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

, Germany and moved from the Rhine Ordnance Barracks near

to Babenhausen, Germany. F Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd ADA, located at

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

, was also assigned to the 5–7th ADA and moved to Babenhausen. These units were re-flagged as D Battery and E Battery, 5th Bn, 7th ADA. Now the battalion was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, subordinate to the 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command with five batteries and a maintenance company. In June 2006, the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 1-7th Air Defense Artillery moved to

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina. On 1 October 2015, the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery officially completed a unit move from Rhine Ordnance Barracks to

Baumholder Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verba ...

, Germany. The move started in March 2015 and relocated all six units within the battalion to Smith Barracks in Baumholder.

Annex 1 (7th AAA Group)

Constituted 5 August 1942 in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Group (or 7th Coast Artillery Group (AA)).Stanton, p. 436 Activated 1 September 1942 at Camp Haan, California. Redesignated 26 May 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Group. Departed the United States 21 October 1943, arrived in England 3 November 1943; landed in France 27 July 1944. Attached to 38th AAA Brigade and defended Nancy, France until 25 January 1945. Crossed into Luxembourg 19 March 1945 and entered Germany 29 March 1945. Located in Augsburg, Germany in August 1945. Returned to

New York port of embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

16 February 1946 and inactivated 17 February 1946 at

Camp Kilmer Located in Central New Jersey, Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service ...

, New Jersey.

Annex 2 (126th AAA Gun Battalion)

Constituted 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 126th Coast Artillery Battalion (AA-Gun). Activated 10 May 1943 at Camp Haan, California. Redesignated 28 June 1943 as the 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion.Stanton, p. 487 Departed

Boston Port of Embarkation The Boston Port of Embarkation (BPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. In World War I it was a sub-port of the New York Port of Embarkation. During ...

1 July 1944; arrived in England 8 July 1944. Moved to France and the European Theater of Operations 28 September 1944. Returned to

Hampton Roads port of embarkation Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation was the Army command structure and distributed port infrastructure in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia supporting movement of personnel and cargo overseas. It had been activated as the Newport News Port of Emb ...

3 January 1946; inactivated same day at

Camp Patrick Henry Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

, Virginia.

Annex 3 (784th AAA Auto-Wpns Bn, 26th AAA-AW Bn)

Constituted 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 784th Coast Artillery Battalion (AA-Auto Wpns). Activated 10 April 1943 at Fort Bliss, Texas. Redesignated 30 April 1943 as the 784th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion.Stanton, p. 507 Departed Boston port of embarkation 7 April 1944; arrived in England 10 April 1944. Moved to France and the European Theater of Operations 14 July 1944. Located in Handorf, Germany in August 1945. Inactivated 31 December 1945 in Germany. Redesignated 13 October 1948 as the 26th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion and allotted to the Regular Army. Assigned 20 March 1949 to the 24th Infantry Division and activated in Japan.

Current units

* 1st Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (1-7th ADAR) * 5th Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (5-7th ADAR)

Honors

Campaign participation credit

World War II: Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; England 1944 Korea: UN Defensive; UN Offensive; CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer-Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; and Korea, Summer 1953 Vietnam: Defense; Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase II; Counteroffensive, Phase III; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase IV; Counteroffensive, Phase V; Counteroffensive, Phase VI; Tet 69/Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970

Decorations

*Presidential Unit Citation (Army), streamer embroidered Defense of Korea (24th Infantry Division, 1950). *Meritorious Unit Commendation, streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966–1967 (1st Battalion, 7th Artillery, 1968). *Meritorious Unit Commendation, streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967–1968 (1st Battalion, 7th Artillery, 1969).

Coat of arms

Blazon

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

Gules, a pile voided Or crusilly fitchy of the like over all a Railway Gun in the act of firing Argent, flame Proper. *Crest On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules a panther passant guardant, incensed Or, flames Proper. Motto NULLIS PAVET OCCURSUM (He Fears No Encounter).

Symbolism

*Shield The shield is scarlet for Artillery. The cross crosslets fitchy, from the arms of the Lords of Commercy, refer to the baptism of fire of a battery of the regiment at Royanmoix, near Commercy, World War I. The pile is from the coat of arms of the 53rd Artillery C.A.C., elements of which were later amalgamated into the 7th Coast Artillery. The railway gun commemorates the unique distinctive of Battery "E", 42nd Artillery C.A.C. (later Headquarters Battery, 7th Coast Artillery) of firing the first shot in World War I by a Coast Artillery organization. *Crest The panther is taken from the coat of arms of the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook, where the regiment was organized on 1 July 1924.

Background

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment on 28 July 1924. It was redesignated for the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 June 1952. The insignia was cancelled on 20 April 1960. It was restored and authorized effective 1 September 1971, for the 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A gold metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height consisting of a panther in a walking position facing forward, with fire issuing horizontally from its mouth and ears, all gold; all within and surmounting a continuous red scroll inscribed "NULLIUS PAVET" above and "OCCURSUM" below in gold letters. The insignia is worn in pairs. * Symbolism The panther is taken from the coat of arms of the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook, where the regiment was organized on 1 July 1924. The motto translates to "He Fears No Encounter". *Background The

distinctive unit insignia A distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is a metallic Heraldry, heraldic badge or device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit. DUIs may also be called "distinctive insignia" (D ...

was originally approved for the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment on 31 July 1924. It was redesignated for the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 June 1952. The insignia was cancelled on 20 April 1960. It was restored and authorized effective 1 September 1971, for the 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

References

*
Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, ''Coast Defense Journal'', vol. 23, issue 2
* *

External links

*
Coast Artillery Corps history at the Coast Defense Study Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:007 007 Military units and formations in New York (state) Military units and formations in New Jersey Military units and formations established in 1971 Military units and formations established in 1898 1898 establishments in New York (state)