108th Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 108th Division


caption= 108th Division shoulder sleeve insignia
dates= 1946 - present
country= United States of America
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Reserve
type= Division
role= training
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=Charlotte, NC
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Golden Griffins"
patron=
motto="Princeps Excerendo"
colors=Red and Gold
march=
mascot=
battles= War in Southwest Asia
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=US Infantry
previous=106th Infantry Division
next=

The 108th Division (Initial Entry Training) was a formation of the United States Army Reserve following the conclusion of World War II. At its activation, the formation was designated the 108th Airborne Division, but in 1952 was redesignated the 108th Infantry Division. In 1956, the division was again reorganized, this time to its present designation as the 108th Division (Institutional Training). The division is currently one of the largest in the Army Reserve, commanding and coordinating 4,000 soldiers in nine reservist brigades from six separate states, Puerto Rico, and even an ROTC brigade.

History

Units (1946-1956)
*321st & 323rd Infantry Regiments - (3 battalions each) (1952 - )
*485th Glider Infantry Regiment - (3 battalions)
*518th Parachute Infantry Regiment - (3 battalions)
*4 Field Artillery Battalions
*Medical Battalion
*Engineer Combat Battalion
*Reconnaissance Troop
*Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
*Quartermaster Company
*Signal Company
*Military Police Platoon
*Headquarters Company
*Band

The 108th Division was activated in 1946 as the 108th Airborne Division of the United States Army Reserve and was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Manning during this period was relatively small and funding for Airborne training, equipment, and airlift support was minimal. In 1952, the division was reorganized into an infantry division and had its headquarters relocated to its present location in Charlotte, North Carolina, moving all of its subordinate units from Georgia to the Carolinas. Not long after, in 1956, the division was reorganized as training division, which would eventually result in the divisions resdesignation as an Institutional Training formation.

During the 1960s, the division established its own drill sergeant training school, modeled after the active-duty counterpart school. In 1968, the division was restructured to its present brigade concept. Later that decade, the division would conduct basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

In January 1991, more than 300 of the division's soldiers were called to active duty to participate in support roles during Operation Desert Storm. This was the first time in the division's history that its soldiers had been called to combat mobilization. Following Desert Storm, in 1993, the division began the concept of training called Future Army Schools Twenty-first Century. This move expanded the division into the states of Georgia and Florida, as well as absorbed ten U.S. Army Reserve Forces Schools; the ten schools would eventually be reorganized into brigade units. Later that same year, the division assumed command of training also National Guard forces in the southeastern United States, called Region C.

In 1996, the division was assigned responsibility of training cadets of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. In 1998, the 108th Division accepted command of the former 265th U.S. Army Forces School in Puerto Rico, which resulted in the creation of the division's 8th Brigade. In 2001, the ROTC units were officially reorganized into a brigade, bringing the division to a total force of nine brigades. In 2004, further reorganization of the Army Reserve resulted in the division assuming command of units in both Alabama and Mississippi. It is still unknown how this change will affect the division's force structure.

ubordinate Units

*1st Brigade
**1-378th Regiment
**2-321st Regiment
**2-485th Regiment
**3-485th Regiment
**4-518th Regiment
*2nd Brigade
**1-323rd Regiment
**1-485th Regiment
**2-321st Regiment
**2-323rd Regiment
**3-485th Regiment
*3rd Brigade
**1-108th Regiment (Engineers)
**2-108th Regiment (Military Police)
**3-108th Regiment (Signal)
**4-108th Regiment (Chemical)
**5-108th Regiment (Civil Affairs)
**6-108th Regiment (Military Intelligence)
*4th Brigade
**7th Battalion (PSS)
**8th Battalion (Transportation)
**9th Battalion (Quartermaster)
*5th Brigade
*6th Brigade
**11th Battalion (C&GS)
**12th Battalion (CAS3)
*7th Brigade
**3-321st Regiment
**2-518th Regiment
*8th Brigade (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
**1st Battalion
**2nd Battalion
**3rd Battalion
**4th Battalion
*9th Brigade (ROTC Brigade)

References

* [http://www.usarc.army.mil/108thdiv/History.htm 108th Division History]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/108d.htm GlobalSecurity: 108th Division]

External links

* [http://www.armyreserve.army.mil/USARC/TNG/0108TNGCMD(IET)/Overview.htm Official 108th Division homepage]