The 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, also known as the Iron

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. B ...

, is based out of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. It was formerly known as the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, at which time its subordinate organizations included the 1st

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

, 126th Field Artillery Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment from the

Wisconsin Army National Guard The Wisconsin Army National Guard ("Guard") has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergenc ...

, plus the 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment of the Michigan Army National Guard. Not to be confused with the famous "

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

" of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, its nickname was traditionally given to crack artillery units in the Civil War. It was during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

that the 57th Field Artillery Brigade earned its nickname as it spent many hours at the front and fired more

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

rounds than any brigade in the American Army.

History

20th century

World War I era

Part of the 32nd Infantry Division, the unit was organized under

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

orders of 18 July 1917, from

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troops from Wisconsin and

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. Brigadier General William G. Haan, while acting as Division Commander, was also in command of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. The 119th Field Artillery, composed largely of Michigan artillery and cavalry troops, was commanded by Major Chester B. McCormick, later promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. The 120th Field Artillery was made up almost entirely from troops of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, and the commanding officer of the latter organization. Colonel Carl Penner, continued in command. The 1st Wisconsin Field Artillery Regiment became the 121st Field Artillery, the heavy artillery regiment of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. The Commanding Officer of the Wisconsin Artillery, Colonel Philip C. Westfahl, became Commander of the new regiment.

World War II service

In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt established the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range, a military reservation of approximately in the area of the present

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 o ...

. In 1942, the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range was renamed Camp Irwin, in honor of Maj. Gen. George LeRoy Irwin, commander of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade during World War I. Two years later, Camp Irwin was deactivated and placed on surplus status.

Kosovo service

Starting in November 2011, 157th MEB deployed to Kosovo as the headquarters of Multi-National Battle Group-East in support of the NATO KFOR (Kosovo Forces) mission. The 157 returned successfully.

21st century

Iraq service

On 22 April 2006 the 1-121st FA left for Camp Shelby in Mississippi for two months for pre-mobilization training. After their training concluded the 1-121st FA was then deployed to Kuwait and portions of Iraq. During their deployment two battalion soldiers were killed in action. Cpl. Steven Castner died 24 July 2006 after a roadside bomb attack hit his convoy near Tallil, Iraq.

Afghanistan service

The 951st Engineer Company of the 724th Engineer Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in February 2009 as part of the 276th Engineer Battalion,

Virginia Army National Guard The Virginia Army National Guard is composed of approximately 7000 soldiers and maintains 46 armories in communities throughout Virginia. The Governor may call individuals or units of the Virginia National Guard into state service during emerg ...

, to provide route clearance operations for Coalition forces. During this deployment the 276th completed 1090 missions and received the

Valorous Unit Award The Valorous Unit Award (VUA) is the second highest United States Army unit decoration which may be bestowed upon an Army unit after the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). The VUA is awarded by the United States Army to units of the United State ...

while sustaining the loss of only one soldier to enemy fire. Sgt. Ryan C. Adams of 3rd Platoon, 951st Engineer Company, died on 2 October from wounds sustained from an RPG attack on his vehicle. The 229th Engineer Company of the 724th Engineer Battalion deployed to Southern Afghanistan in September 2012, and expanded mobility for American and Afghan forces through numerous route improvement projects and base expansions. On 16 January 2013, Bravo Battery of the 121st FA deployed to Afghanistan. On 17 May 2014, Alpha Battery of the 1-121 FA deployed overseas to Afghanistan in support of coalition forces.

Modern era redesignation

During the early 1960s, the unit was assigned the

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, al ...

. On 30 December 1967, the 32nd Infantry Division was deactivated and

units realigned. Along with the 32nd Infantry Division, the 32nd Infantry Division Artillery was redesignated as the 257th Field Artillery Group. On 30 September 1978, the 257th Field Artillery Group was redesignated as the 57th Field Artillery Brigade; a designation which had previously existed until the 32nd Division was reorganized into the then-standard triangular (three regiment) division in 1942 and the 32nd Division Artillery created. As a part of the strategic transformation, the 57th Field Artillery Brigade was transformed from a Field Artillery Brigade to the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB). The previous HHB, 57th Field Artillery Brigade transformed into HHC, 157th MEB. This unit almost doubled in size while the headquarters remained in

. This is a newly designed, multifunctional command and control organization.

Unit Mission: The Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB) enables, enhances, and protects the operational and tactical freedom of action of the support force. It received and integrates mission tailored forces to Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) and support brigades. It commands and controls forces necessary to conduct security and functional operations in a designated area of operations (AO) in order to enable force application, focused logistics, battle space awareness, and protection.

A new unit, 357th Network Support Company (NSC), is headquartered in

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's adver ...

. The primary mission for the NSC is to provide communication support to all units within the CSB. This unit mainly comprised the previous Detachment 1 HHB 57th FA Brigade. The 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery Regiment (Paladin) will transform into the 257th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) and will be headquartered in Oak Creek, WI. The primary mission for the BSB is to provide service support to all assigned units within the CSB. The BSB has a Distribution Company in

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

and a Maintenance Company in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

. A new unit, the 457th Chemical Company, is headquartered in

Burlington, Wisconsin Burlington is a city in Racine and Walworth counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with the majority of the city located in Racine County. The population of the city was 11,047 as of the 2020 census. History Prior to the arrival of Europea ...

. Their mission is to provide chemical detection and decontamination for the CSB. The 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment, which maintains Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, (MLRS) will convert to High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), with their headquarters located in Milwaukee, WI, and their firing batteries located in Racine (Battery A), Plymouth (Battery B), and Sussex (Battery C). A new unit, 108th Forward Support Company (FSC), to be headquartered in Sussex, WI, was formed by the direct support MLRS maintenance team (Detachment 2, 107th Maintenance Company) and the service support of the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment. Their primary mission is to provide service support to a HIMARS battalion. On 3 February 2008, 0930 hours Change of Command of this Brigade was passed from Col. Dominic A. Cariello to Col. Mark Michie. Colonel Michie was assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters in Madison. He graduated from the US Army War College graduate course in Carlisle, PA, in June 2007, having spent 11 months at the Army's Senior Service College. In March 2008, the 264th Engineer Group ( Chippewa Falls, WI) cased its flag and de-activated. The 724th Engineer Battalion, along with 9 modular units, will fall under the command and control of the 157th MEB. In 2012, 1-121 FA BN A Btry (Racine, WI) was combined with C Btry (Sussex, WI) resulting from a MTOE change changing the Battalion from 3 × 6 (six guns per Battery) to 2 × 8 (eight guns per Battery). The combining left the Racine armory vacant and kept the A Btry designation now based out of Sussex, WI.

Current units

*Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC): Milwaukee * 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment (HIMARS) High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (1-121st FAR) **Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB): Oak Creek **Battery A: Hartford **Battery B: Plymouth **108th Forward Support Company (108th FSC) (HIMARS) High Mobility Artillery Rocket System: Sussex *257th Brigade Support Battalion (257th BSB) All units under the 257th Brigade Support Battalion except for the 32nd Military Police Company and the 357th Brigade Signal Company were disbanded effective August 2019. **Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD): Oak Creek (disbanded) **Company A (Distribution): Whitewater (disbanded) **Company B (Support Maintenance): Kenosha (disbanded) *32nd Military Police Company (32nd MPC)(-): Kenosha (formerly Milwaukee) **Detachment 1, 32nd Military Police Company (1-32nd MPC): Oconomowoc *357th Brigade Signal Company (357th BSC): Milwaukee (formerly Two Rivers) *724th Engineer Battalion **Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC): Chippewa Falls **Company A, Forward Support Company (A-FSC): Hayward **106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry Team): Tomah **229th Engineer Company (-) (Horizontal): Prairie du Chien ***Detachment 1, 229th Engineer Company: New Richmond **824th Engineer Detachment (Concrete): Richland Center **829th Engineer Company (-) (Vertical): Chippewa Falls ***Detachment 1, 829th Engineer Company: Richland Center ***Detachment 2, 829th Engineer Company: Ashland **924th Engineer Detachment (Facilities): Chippewa Falls **949th Engineer Detachment (Survey and Design Team): Chippewa Falls **950th Engineer Company (-) (Clearance): Superior ***Detachment 1, 950th Engineer Company: Spooner **951st Engineer Company (-) (Wheeled Sapper): Tomahawk ***Detachment 1, 951st Engineer Company: Rhinelander

References

{{Reflist Maneuver 157

157 Year 157 ( CLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Civica and Aquillus (or, less frequently, year 910 ''Ab urbe condit ...

Military units and formations established in 1917 Wisconsin National Guard units