V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

at Fort Knox.U.S. Army (11 February 2020) Army announces activation of additional corps headquarters
/ref> It was previously active 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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Cold War, the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...

, and the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

ism.

Shoulder sleeve insignia

The corps's shoulder patch, a pentagon whose points lie on an imaginary circle 2 1/8 inches (5.40 cm) in diameter whose edges are white lines 3/16-inch (.48 cm) in width and whose radial lines are white 1/8-inch (.32 cm) in width, was approved on 3 December 1918. The triangles thus outlined in white are flag blue. The pentagon represents the number of the Corps, while blue and white are the colors associated with Corps flags.

History

World War I

V Corps was organized 7–12 July 1918 in the

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

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, as part of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

. By the end of World War I, the Corps had fought in three named campaigns. Headquarters Company, V Corps was withdrawn from the

Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

on 1 October 1933 and allotted to the Regular Army. At the same time, the Corps HQ was partially activated at

Fort Hayes Fort Hayes is a military post in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Created by an act of the United States Congress on July 11, 1862, the site was also known as the Columbus Arsenal until 1922, when the site was renamed after former Ohio Governor ...

, OH, with Regular personnel from HQ, Fifth Corps Area, and Reserve personnel from the corps area at large. Though an Regular Army, Inactive, unit from 1927 to 1940, the Corps HQ was organized provisionally for short periods using its assigned Reserve officers and staff officers from HQ, Fifth Corps Area. These periods of provisional Active Duty were generally for command post exercises and major maneuvers. HQ, V Corps was fully activated on 20 October 1940, less Reserve personnel, at Camp Beauregard, LA.

World War II

After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, the corps deployed (January 1942) the first American soldiers to the

European Theater of Operations, United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Fo ...

. That initial deployment was known as the U.S. Army Northern Ireland Force or MAGNET. On 6 June 1944, V Corps assaulted Omaha Beach,

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. Corps soldiers then broke out from the beachhead, liberated

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Sedan, Ardennes Sedan () is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. It is also the chef-lieu (administrative centre) of the arrondissement of the same name. Location The town is situated about 200 km from Pari ...

, and raced to the German border. After liberating

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, V Corps fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, captured

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, made first contact with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

, and, south in Czechoslovakia, liberated Plzeň by May 1945.

Cold War

In March 1947,

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russi ...

directed that its combat forces were to convert to "

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

duties." On 1 December 1950, due to concern of a Soviet threat to Western Europe during the Korean War, Seventh Army was activated as a field army in Europe. Seventh Army absorbed the two main Occupation Duty forces then in Germany, namely the 1st Infantry Division and the

United States Constabulary The United States Constabulary was a United States Army military gendarmerie force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S. Occupation Zone of West Germany and Austria. Reaso ...

. By middle 1948 limited combat training had been restored within the European Command. In December, 1950 President Truman declared a National Emergency due to the Korean War, and four divisions were dispatched to reinforce U.S. forces in Europe, including the National Guard's 28th and 43rd Infantry Divisions. In May 1951 the 4th Infantry Division arrived in

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) in Germany, and on 3 August 1951, V Corps was reactivated and assigned to the Seventh Army in USAREUR. In July the

2d Armored Division The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgiu ...

arrived in Germany, and on 25 August 1951 the 4th Infantry Division (HQ: Frankfurt) and 2d Armored Division (HQ: Bad Kreuznach) were assigned as V Corps divisions. The Constabulary was inactivated upon the arrival of the four U.S. division augmentation forces to Germany. V Corps was assigned to the northern area of the U.S. Occupation Zone of Germany (which included the

Fulda Gap The Fulda Gap (german: Fulda-Lücke), an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border (the former Inner German border) and Frankfurt am Main, contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have driven in a surprise attack by the Sovi ...

), and the VII Corps was assigned to the southern area of the U.S. Zone (one of the National Guard divisions (the 43rd) was stationed in the Munich area, and the other (the

28th 28 (twenty-eight) is the natural number following 27 and preceding 29. In mathematics It is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14. Twenty-eight is the second perfect number - it is the sum of its proper diviso ...

) was between Munich and Stuttgart). Several years later the newly forming West German Army displaced the GDP positions of some of the U.S. units stationed in the far southern area of West Germany. As a consequence, the U.S. units' GDP positions were moved further north, as was the U.S. VII Corps' wartime southern boundary line (even though the U.S. units remained in their original kasernes). This shifting action likely coincided with the same time frame as the Summer and Fall conversion of all Seventh Army units to the ROAD organization. Although, as referenced above, in 1951 the 1st Infantry Division was assigned to the newly activated VII Corps, the significance of the V Corps assigned

and Meiningen Gap (AKA Grabfeld Gap) defense influenced not only the reassignment of the Wuerzburg-headquartered 1st Infantry Division to V Corps on 2 February 1952, but also the 1 October 1953 assignment of the newly formed 19th Armor Group, headquartered at Frankfurt, to V Corps. As of June 1954, the main unit assignments to V Corps were 1st Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 2d Armored Division, and 19th Armor Group (19th AG was the size of a large brigade, with 3 tank battalions and one mech. infantry battalion stationed from Mannheim to Wildflecken). The first U.S. armored division to be stationed east of the Rhine River in the Cold War, namely V Corps' 3d Armored Division, arrived in May/June 1956. (The 3d Armored Div. replaced the 4th Infantry Div.; later, the 2d Armored Div. was replaced by the Bad Kreuznach arriving 8th Infantry Div.) The 19th Armor Group (HQ Frankfurt) was replaced by the

4th Armor Group Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

on 1 July 1955 (the 4th AG was approximately the size of the replaced 19th AG); the 4th Armor Group was deactivated in the 1963 ROAD conversion. In 1955 the 1st Infantry Division gyroscoped to CONUS, and was replaced in V Corps by the 10th Infantry Division from CONUS. In 1958 the 3rd Infantry Division gyroscoped from CONUS and the 10th Infantry Division gyroscoped to CONUS. Due to the 1963 ROAD reorganization in USAREUR, V Corps ultimately lost two assigned units: (1) the 4th Armor Group was inactivated; (2) the 3rd Infantry Division, with its headquarters at Wuerzburg, was reassigned to VII Corps. After the Cold War collapse of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

, V Corps soldiers deployed both units and individuals to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

for the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

; and to other operations in

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 nort ...

, northern

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

, Rwanda, and

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

Organization 1989

At the end of the Cold War in 1989 V Corps consisted of the following units: * V Corps

V Corps,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

3rd Armored Division, Frankfurt ** 4th Infantry Division SSI

4th Infantry Division (Mechanized),

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs ...

, Colorado ( Operation Reforger unit) ** 8th Infantry Division patch

8th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Bad Kreuznach ** V Corps

V Corps Artillery, Frankfurt *** 41st Field Artillery Brigade SSI

41st Field Artillery Brigade The 41st Field Artillery Brigade ("Rail Gunners)" is a Field Artillery Brigade of the United States Army. Initially only operating from October to December of 1918, it has since operated as a Brigade level staff from 1921 to 1931, 1942–1944, 1 ...

, Babenhausen *** 42FABdeSSI

42nd Field Artillery Brigade,

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fulda ** 194th Armored Brigade CSIB

194th Armored Brigade The 194th Armored Brigade is a separate brigade of the US Army. All armor, cavalry, and armor and cavalry mechanic soldiers, and Marines in equivalent specialties, are trained by the 194th under the armor component of the Maneuver Center of Excell ...

, Fort Knox, Kentucky (Operation Reforger unit) ** 197thInfantryBrigade

197th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), Fort Benning, Georgia (Operation Reforger unit) ** 12AvnBdeSSI

12th Aviation Brigade The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade is a Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army. It was first organized as the 12th Aviation Group at Fort Benning, Georgia, on 18 June 1965. Vietnam The unit deployed to Vietnam in August 1965 to comm ...

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

130th Engineer Brigade, Hanau ** 18th Military Police Brigade SSI

18th Military Police Brigade, Frankfurt ** US Army - 22nd Signal Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia

22nd Signal Brigade (Corps), Frankfurt ** US Army - 205th Military Intelligence Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia

205th Military Intelligence Brigade The United States Army's 205th Military Intelligence Brigade (205th MI BDE) and its three battalions have a history dating back to World War II. The brigade has been in a continuous active service since 1944. The brigade was constituted on 12 July ...

, Frankfurt ** 3rd Sustainment Command CSIB

3rd Corps Support Command, Wiesbaden

1990s

In December 1994, as part of the realignment of

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

, V Corps moved from the

IG Farben Building The IG Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the West ...

to Campbell Barracks in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, severing a forty-three-year tie with

. The corps reached out to the armed forces of eastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

with numerous initiatives to foster closer ties and better understanding. Maintaining the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

commitment, V Corps in 1994 created two bi-national corps with Germany. For Command Component Land Heidelberg missions, the corps commanded the 13th (German) Armored Infantry Division, while II (German) Corps commanded the 1st Armored Division. In December 1995, V Corps deployed 1st Armored Division and elements of six separate brigades for the Implementation Force (IFOR). The corps headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 3d Support Command, and the separate brigades helped form the National Support Element headquartered in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

for United States Armed Forces in Bosnia. Brigades of the two divisions rotated in the peace enforcement mission for a number of years in Bosnia. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, V Corps, was decorated with the

Army Superior Unit Award The Superior Unit Award is a decoration of the United States Army which is awarded in peacetime to any unit of the Army which displays outstanding meritorious performance of a difficult and challenging mission carried out under extraordinary circum ...

in 1998 in recognition of the unit's performance in Implementation Force (IFOR). In April 1999, V Corps deployed the headquarters and subordinate units to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

as Task Force Hawk, a force involved in the ongoing crisis in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The 1st Infantry Division served in Kosovo twice and the 1st Armored Division served once, in addition to V Corps separate brigades.

War on Terrorism

At the end of 2002, V Corps deployed to Kuwait under

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

for the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

. The United States-led coalition brought about a regime change in Iraq and satisfied international concerns about

Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Iraq actively researched and later employed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from 1962 to 1991, when it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile and halted its biological and nuclear weapon programs as required by the United Nations Security Coun ...

. The corps and its maneuver brigades crossed into Iraq on 21 March 2003 as the main effort. In sixteen days of fighting, V Corps advanced more than 540 miles straight-line distance from Kuwait to

Baghdad 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 ...

, decisively defeated the

Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة العراقية romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallahah Al-Iraqiyyah'') ( Kurdish: هێزە چەکدارەکانی عێراق) are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist ...

, and toppled the regime of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

. On 15 June 2003, the corps formed

Combined Joint Task Force 7 Combined Joint Task Force 7 was the interim military formation that directed the U.S. effort in Iraq between June 2003 and May 2004. It replaced the Coalition Forces Land Component Command on 14 June 2003. CFLCC was the land forces component of ...

, based in Baghdad, and continued military operations to pacify the remainder of Iraq, rebuild the country, and create democratic institutions. As part of Combined Joint Task Force 7 mission, V Corps soldiers sought out and arrested or killed the major figures in the previous Iraqi regime, culminating in the arrest of Saddam Hussein himself. On 1 February 2004, V Corps was succeeded in Combined Joint Task Force 7 by III Corps and redeployed to its home station in Heidelberg, Germany. In recognition of its combat achievements in Iraq, the Department of the Army, in 2004, awarded the Headquarters and Headquarters Company the Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army). In January 2006, the corps, deployed to Iraq and replaced

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

as the command and control element for Multi-National Corps–Iraq. During its second year-long deployment, which ended on 14 December 2006, V Corps continued to lead coalition forces and made great strides battling a widespread insurgency, and conducting a massive rebuilding effort. From 2012 to 2013, V Corps served in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, providing command and control of all

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

ground forces stationed there. On 16 February 2012, it was announced that Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, V Corps would inactivate upon redeployment from Afghanistan per guidance issued by the Department of the Army earlier that same year. On 12 June 2013, V Corps was awarded an

, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, then ceremonially inactivated at Biebrich Palace,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Reactivation

On 11 February 2020, the

United States Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is or ...

announced the activation of corps headquarters (V Corps). V Corps Headquarters will have approximately 635 soldiers, with approximately 200 who will support an operational command post in Europe. The Corps Headquarters is projected to be operational by autumn 2020. On 12 February 2020, the Army announced that V Corps' new headquarters would be located at Fort Knox,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

United States Army Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

, General

James McConville James Charles McConville (born March 16, 1959) is a United States Army general who serves as the 40th and current chief of staff of the Army. He previously served as the 36th vice chief of staff of the Army from June 16, 2017 to July 26, 2019. ...

stated:

"The activation of an additional Corps headquarters provides the needed level of command and control focused on synchronizing U.S. Army, allied, and partner nation tactical formations operating in Europe. It will enhance U.S. Army Europe and U.S. European Command as they work alongside allies and partners to promote regional stability and security."

The establishment of V Corps supports

's request for increased command and control capability. In May 2020, MG John Kolasheski, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division was nominated to command the newly reactivated V Corps. Once confirmed by the Senate he would receive a third star. Kolasheski was confirmed to the rank of lieutenant general on 21 May 2020. He was promoted by Army Chief of Staff James C. McConville on 4 August 2020 in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. McConville announced that V Corps forward headquarters would be established in Poland after the next fiscal year starts on 1 October 2020. 200 of the expected 630 headquarters staff members would be stationed in Poznan on a rotational basis. U.S. Army V Corps Headquarters (9 September 2020) V Corps Headquarters (Forward) in Poland to be located in Poznan
/ref> DcgAdamJoksVcorps

The forward headquarters will "conduct operational planning, mission command and oversight of the rotational forces in Europe", and work alongside allies and partners to build readiness and enhance interoperability. On 21 July 2021 MG Jeffery Broadwater was announced as DCG, V Corps.''Army Times'' (21 Jul 2021) Two-star moving to a new assignment
(In May of 2021, MG Matthew Van Wagenen was appointed as DCG-Manoeuvre to be based in Poznan, Poland,msn but who presently serves as a DCG for the Army component of

SHAPE A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie ...

.) On 7 March 2022 a V Corps headquarters element deployed to Germany, joining the forward element already in Europe, to "provide additional command and control of U.S. Army forces in Europe." The headquarters is also tasked to "provide a more robust presence in Europe and enable the Corps to synchronize current contingency operations, support the ongoing mission to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and coordinate multinational exercises across the continent." This deployment is in response to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. At the 29 June 2022 NATO summit in Madrid US President Joe Biden announced that a permanent military base would be established in

that would serve as the new headquarters of V Corps and "strengthen the US-NATO interoperability across the entire eastern flank," in further response to the Russian campaign in Ukraine. thefirstnews On 30 July 2022 the headquarters of V Corps (Forward) in Poznan was renamed

Camp Kosciuszko Camp Kosciuszko is the US V Corps' Forward Operating Station Poznan (FOS Poznan), PolandJohn Vandiver(28 Jul 2022) Polish patriot who aided American Revolution honored in renaming of US post in Poznan/ref> also denoted V Corps Headquarters (Forwar ...

.John Vandiver
(28 Jul 2022) Polish patriot who aided American Revolution honored in renaming of US post in Poznan
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Burger, Eric H. Staff Sgt. "V Corps Song–March "Victory!"." Print. * * Condon, Edward J., Jr., and Raymond A. Mathews ''Historical Report of the V Corps-1949''. n.p., 1950. * Hill, John G. ''V Corps Operations in ETO, 6 Jan 1942 – 9 May 1945''. Paris: Paul Viviers, 1945. * ''History V Corps June 6, '44''. 668th Engineer Topographic Company, 1945. * Huebner, C.R. "V Corps From Belgium to Czechoslovakia". ''Army and Navy Journal'' 83 (4 December 1945):55ff. * Tucker, Spencer, ed. ''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Volume V: 1861–1918.'' Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010. * United States. Dept. of Army. Center of Military History. ''Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades''. Wilson, John B., Comp. Washington: GPO, 1999. * United States. Dept. of Army. Center of Military History. ''"Ruck it up!" The post-Cold War transformation of V Corps, 1990–2001''. By Charles E. Kirkpatrick. Washington: GPO, 2006. * United States. Dept. of Army. Combined Arms Center. ''V Corps in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1995–1996: an oral history''. Harold E. Raugh, Jr., Ed. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010. * United States. Dept. of Army. Headquarters, V Corps. ''"It Will Be Done!" U.S. Army V Corps, 1918–2009: a pictorial history''. Harold E. Raugh, Jr., Ed. Grafenwoehr, Germany: Druckerei Hutzler, 2009. * United States. Dept. of Army. Headquarters, V Corps. ''The History of V Corps''. By Charles E. Kirkpatrick. n.p., 2001.

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