79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

Unit history

Elements of the brigade can trace back their lineage to October 1881 when the San Diego City Guard was established, which later became the 251st Coast Artillery Regiment. The 79th Infantry Brigade was originally made up of the 157th and 158th Infantry Regiments (CO, AZ Army National Guard) and served as part of the 40th Division from Aug 1917-Apr 1919. From 1921-1942, it was exclusively made up of California Army National Guard personnel, the 159th and 184th Infantry Regiments. Its insignia reflected the three states that originally made up the 40th Division.{{cite web

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In February 1942, the 40th Infantry Division was reorganized from a 'square', two-brigade, four-regiment division to a three-regiment division without any intermediate brigade headquarters. Thus the 79th and 80th Infantry Brigades were deactivated. On 2 February 2010 the United States Army Institute of Heraldry approved a new shoulder patch and distinctive unit insignia for the 79th IBCT.

2013 Afghanistan

In January 2013, the brigade headquarters was activated for deployment to the Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces in Afghanistan where they trained Afghan police and other forces. Twenty percent of the brigade have been previously deployed to Afghanistan before. In April 2013, approximately 75 Soldiers traveled to Camp Shelby, Mississippi to receive training for their Afghanistan mission. The group was reduced from the originally planned size of approximately 600 soldiers. Of the 75 Soldiers, 18 deployed as a security force assistance team serving as advisers to the Afghan police, and the rest staffed an Australian-led task force, all within Uruzgan province.

2025 Los Angeles

In 2025, the unit's soldiers were deployed to Los Angeles after the federal government used Title 10 authority to activate the Guard in response to protests against heightened Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area.

On July 15, 2000 of the National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were withdrawn from Los Angeles by the Pentagon. This comes almost a week after the U.S. Northern Command General Gregory Guillot, requested to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth if 200 national guards could be withdrawn and redeployed as California was entering into peak wildfire season.

Structure

The 40th IBCT was originally activated in 2007 as part of the reorganization of the California Army National Guard, which in turn was part of the restructuring of the total US Army. The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was reformed from the previous 40th IBCT in September 2008.

The Army restructured and moved from the division to the brigade as the primary building block of combat power. The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is organized under the Army's new modular brigade structure. The role of the brigade combat team is to act as the Army's basic tactical maneuver unit and the smallest combined-arms unit that can be committed independently. The brigade combat team is designed to conduct offensive, defensive, and stability operations. The core mission is to close with the enemy by means of fire and maneuver; to destroy or capture enemy forces; or to repel their attacks by fire, close combat, and counterattack. The brigade combat team can fight without augmentation, but it also can be tailored to meet the precise needs of its missions.

The 79th IBCT also has a state mission. In times of emergency, the Governor may call in the National Guard to assist civil authorities. The self-contained and modular structure of the 79th IBCT make it well suited to provide this support.

Order of battle

• [[File:18th CAV.gif|25x25px]] 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry Regiment, in Azusa, California
• [[File:Distinctive unit insignia of the 65th Infantry Regiment.png|25x25px]] 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, in Cayey, Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Army National Guard)
• [[File:160 Inf Rgt DUI.jpg|31x31px]] 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, in Fullerton, California
• [[File:1-184th Infantry Battalion Crest.png|26x26px]] 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, in Modesto, California
• [[File:143rd Field Artillery Regiment DUI.jpg|27x27px]] 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, in Richmond, California
• 578th Brigade Engineer Battalion, in Manhattan Beach, California
• 40th Brigade Support Battalion, in Bell, California

References

References

1. Gretel C. Kovach. (18 January 2013). "S.D. National Guard Unit Preps for a Final Afghan Deployment". San Diego Union Tribune.
2. (17 February 2012). "Lineage and Honors Information". [[United States Army]].
3. "79th IBCT Spans Three Centuries: Since 1881, the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has protected the state and the nation". [[California National Guard]].
4. John J. McGrath, The Brigade: A History-Its Organization and Employment in the U.S. Army, Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2004, 170.
5. "California's Own: The History of the 40th Infantry Division".
6. (2 February 2010). "Institute of Heraldry". Institute of Heraldry.
7. (2 April 2013). "San Diego Soldiers Head to Afghanistan". San Diego Union-Tribune.
8. (8 June 2025). "National Guard Arrives in L.A. on Trump's Orders After Protests". [[Wall Street Journal]].
9. (July 15, 2025). "Pentagon ends deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles". The Associated Press.
10. Copp, Tara. (June 30, 2025). "Military requesting to pull 200 troops back from California protest duty". The Associated Press.
11. Copp, Tara. (June 30, 2025). "Military requests pulling 200 troops back from California protest duty". The Military Times.
12. (18 May 2010). "Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team". [[California Military Department.
13. "79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT)". State of California.