3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

The heritage of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 3rd Infantry Division (ID) at Kelley Hill, Fort Benning, Georgia, is a unique blend of two proud lineages. The unit traces its roots to the foundation of the 3rd Infantry Division in November 1917, during World War I, but also has a long-term affiliation with Fort Benning – the home of the Army Infantry.

The unit presently known as 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division was originally constituted on 12 November 1917, in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 6th Infantry Brigade. The brigade was then organized on 1 December 1917, at Camp Greene, North Carolina. From there, the brigade deployed to the European battlefields of the First World War, and received battle streamers for participation in the Aisne, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Champagne campaigns. Sixth Infantry Brigade disbanded on 12 October 1939, at Fort Douglas, Utah.

During World War II, each regiment represented in modern 3rd Brigade fought as part of the 3rd Infantry Division, where they were known as the Blue and White Devils. Serving in the Second World War, the “Dog Face Soldiers,” as members of 3rd Infantry Division came to be known, fiercely fought the Axis Powers in north Africa and in the Mediterranean well before the Operation Overlord D-Day Invasion in Normandy on 6 June 1944. Third Infantry Division continued to fight in mainland Europe until victory was secured in 1945.

The brigade's special association with Fort Benning began when the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade was organized in September 1962, as a distinct brigade to support the Infantry School (now part of the Maneuver Center of Excellence). The brigade was later assigned a worldwide rapid deployment mission as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. However, the bulk of what is now 3 ABCT reflagged on April 18, 1963, as 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany. The brigade continued to serve in Germany until after the conclusion of the Cold War, and subsequently relocating to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1996.

In October 1990, the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade deployed to Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm as part of the 24th Infantry Division (deactivated 15 February 1996; reflagged as 3rd Infantry Division). The 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division was attached to the 1st Armored Division. Serving alongside the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade, they jointly spearheaded the Coalition ground attack to the Euphrates River.

In June 1991, upon return from Operation Desert Storm, the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade reflagged as the 3rd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division. In 1996, the 3rd Infantry Division colors departed Germany for Fort Stewart, Georgia. On 24 April 1996, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division unfurled its colors on Fort Benning, continuing the lineage of the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade at Kelley Hill.

In January 2003, 3rd Brigade deployed to Kuwait in support of the Global War On Terror, and postured for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). On March 20, 2003, the “Sledgehammer Brigade” spearheaded the Coalition ground attack into Iraq, leading the 3rd Infantry Division's attack during three major battles. Over a period of 21 days and 600 kilometers of continuous offensive combat operations, 3rd Brigade's drive culminated in the isolation and seizure of northwest Baghdad, setting the conditions for the removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's oppressive regime. Having successfully completed its mission, the Sledgehammer Brigade redeployed to Fort Benning in June 2003, and soon began to reorganize under Army’s new Brigade Combat Team construct.

The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team (previously known as “Heavy” Brigade Combat Team) deployed to Diyala Province in Iraq during January 2005, in support of the 42nd Infantry Division. During this deployment, the Sledgehammer Brigade contributed to the success of the constitutional referendum and Iraq's first free national elections in December of 2005.

After redeploying to home station in January 2006, the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team again prepared to deploy for the third time in support of the Global War On Terror. Having begun Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training in November 2006, 3 ABCT conducted a National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, California in February 2007, and immediately began preparations for its third deployment to Iraq. Deploying approximately two months sooner than originally scheduled, 3 ABCT arrived in Kuwait for training in early March 2007, prior to joining the 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters in Iraq by the end of that month. The brigade joined other 3rd ID units, and other American and Coalition Forces to compose “Task Force Marne,” or Multi-National Division – Central, in April 2007.

Quite different from other recent combat operations, this deployment to OIF V, spanning some 15 months, was part of the “Surge” force, which proved critical to the reversal of insurgent momentum and the stabilization of Iraq amid an asymmetric conflict. In late March 2007, the Sledgehammer Brigade occupied an area of operations where no other American or Coalition units had yet been based, and established Forward Operating Base Hammer and seven combat outposts or patrol bases and four joint security centers in the Mada'in Qada - an area comparable in size to the Washington, D.C. metro area, and populated by an estimated 1.2 million Iraqi citizens (composed of a mix of both Sunni and Shia Muslims). The brigade began conducting full spectrum combat operations by the beginning of May 2007. Over the course of the following year, 3 ABCT denied insurgents freedom of movement and simultaneously conducted various Civil-Military Operations to aid the people of Iraq. This marked the transition from focusing on simply providing security to establishing lasting security and prepared Iraq for self-governance. In May of 2008, 3 ABCT conducted a Transition of Authority to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and redeployed home to Fort Benning, Georgia.

In October 2009, the 3 ABCT was temporarily designated as the 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade and deployed to Iraq for OIF VII. The Brigade occupied five provinces in the mid-Euphrates region, covering area of operations roughly the size of the State of Kentucky. Sledgehammer Soldiers conducted advise and assist operations supporting the Iraqi military, the Iraqi police, and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. The Brigade worked tirelessly to provide intelligence, training, and logistic support in order to enable the development of a sovereign and stable Iraq. The brigade conducted a transfer of authority with 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in September 2010, and returned to Fort Benning, as Operation Iraqi Freedom transitioned to Operation New Dawn in Iraq.

In March 2012, preparing for its next overseas deployment, the Sledgehammer Brigade conducted another training rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California. In June 2012, the 3 ABCT deployed to Kuwait and assumed the Central Command’s Theater Reserve mission. Approximately 2,000 troops from 1-15th Infantry Regiment, 1-10th Field Artillery Regiment, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, and 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, including the Brigade Headquarters, deployed to Kuwait. After relieving 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, the Sledgehammer Brigade conducted training and joint exercises with its Kuwaiti counterparts and continued military cooperation with Kuwait and other regional partners in the Persian Gulf. Having preserved the security of Kuwait and maintained a formidable American ground presence in the region, 3 ABCT was relieved in this capacity by 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Troops who were deployed to Kuwait returned to Kelley Hill in February 2013.

Today, 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s mission is to generate combat power and deploy on order to conduct Full Spectrum Operations to defeat enemy forces, control land areas, and secure populations and resources in support of U.S. national interests.

Whatever the brigade’s next mission may be, the Soldiers of 3 ABCT will be ready to answer their nation’s call, and serve proudly in a manner honoring their rich heritage.

The Sledgehammer Brigade is configured as follows:

1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment
2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment
3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment
1st Battalion, 10th Artillery Regiment
11th Brigade Engineer Battalion
203rd Brigade Support Battalion