82nd Sustainment Brigade

Organization

The 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade is composed of a special troops battalion, a financial management support unit, and a combat sustainment support battalion:

• [[File:US Army 82nd Sustainment Brigade Flash.png|25px]] [[File:82SustainBdeDUI.jpg|25px]] Headquarters and Headquarters Company
• [[File:US Army 82nd Sustainment Brigade Flash.png|25px]] [[File:STB82AirborneDivDUI.jpg|25px]] 82nd Special Troops Battalion
• [[File:US Army 82nd Sustainment Brigade Flash.png|25px]] [[File:189 Support DUI.png|25px]] 189th Division Sustainment Support Battalion
• [[File:US Army 82nd Sustainment Brigade Flash.png|25px]] [[File:82nd Finance Battalion DUI.png|25px]] 82nd Finance Battalion
• [[File:US Army 82nd Bde Support BN Flash.png|25px]] [[File:82 Spt Bn DUI.png|25px]] 82nd Brigade Support Battalion
• [[File:US Army 307th Bde Support BN Flash.svg|23px]] [[File:US Army 307th Brigade Support Battalion DUI.png|25px]] 307th Brigade Support Battalion
• [[File:US Army 407th Bde Support BN Flash.svg|25px]] [[File:407 Spt Bn DUI Left.jpg|25px]] 407th Brigade Support Battalion

History

Origins

The 82nd Sustainment Brigade traces its lineage to the 82nd Support Group, which was constituted 1 September 1957 at Fort Bragg. It was composed of units with long histories with the 82nd Airborne Division, dating back to World War I and World War II.

On 25 May 1964 the unit reorganized as the 82nd Division Support Command, or DISCOM. It was merged with the 82nd Airborne Division's band. A year later, the unit deployed to the Dominican Republic with the 82nd Airborne Division in support of Operation Power Pack. The Division was charged with the mission of quelling civil unrest and restoring order to the country, and the DISCOM provided logistical support during this mission. In 1972, the band was removed from the Division Support Command.

In 1983, the unit again deployed to combat, this time to Grenada in support of Operation Urgent Fury. It provided logistical support to the 82nd Airborne Division as the division deployed in the island, supporting US Special Forces operating within. Then in 1989, the unit supported the first combat jump since World War II while supporting Operation Just Cause in Panama. It provided logistical efforts to the division once again in the region.

In August 1990, during Operation Desert Shield, paratroopers from the unit protected the XVIII Airborne Corps' left flank during the subsequent Operation Desert Storm. It then advanced on the western flank of the invasion force along with the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and other units of the XVIII Airborne Corps, striking some of the deepest incursions into Iraq of the war. The Division eventually advanced to Tallil while the majority of the attacking force moved into Kuwait. The formation earned its first campaign streamers for this action.

The unit returned to combat again in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom I. The 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Infantry Divisions made the main attacks into Iraq, while elements of the 82nd Airborne Division supported them. The initial push was a rapid success, but the insurgency that followed saw convoys become a primary target for Iraqi insurgents. For the first time, these service and support paratroopers found themselves on the front lines, as supply convoys became the central target of resistance fighters.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 provided a unique and unexpected mission for the paratroopers of the unit, as they were deployed to provide assistance to the citizens of Louisiana. The supporting units were deployed to New Orleans International Airport along with the division's 3rd Brigade and division Artillery units, a force of some 5,000 soldiers. They conducted security operations and search and rescue missions throughout New Orleans, Louisiana.

Activation

On 16 February 2006 the unit reorganized as the 82d Sustainment Brigade under the Army's modular transformation redesign. As a part of this redesign, the brigade was removed from the command of the 82d Airborne Division and made a separate, independent unit. It would continue to support the 82d Airborne Division, but it would be able to take on different missions when deployed. Instead, its mission is to support all US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) units stationed at Fort Bragg while generating sustainment capabilities to meet rotational demand and respond to future contingencies.

In August 2006, the newly reorganized unit deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom VI. On 26 September 2006, it uncased its colors at Tallil Airbase in Iraq, to provide support services for coalition forces and Iraqi security forces in southern Iraq. They took this responsibility from the 16th Sustainment Brigade, which was rotating out of the theater. Throughout the deployment and into 2007, the brigade's medical staff was rotated into hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq for thirty day tours for each unit. The medical staff, including many of the brigade's field medics, treated American forces injured in fighting around Baghdad. In August 2007, the brigade participated in a large coalition athletic competition hosted by the US Air Force's 407th Air Expeditionary Group at Ali Air Base, Iraq. The brigade took second place in the competition, in which it competed in various sports against other US military units as well as Australian and Romanian forces.

During its deployment to Iraq, the brigade undertook many responsibilities, including providing logistics for airdrops and major combat operations including Operation Marne Torch. The brigade also created a Combat Logistics Patrol academy, training for combat situations during convoy operations, including improvised explosive device detection and removal, and first aid. The brigade also dispatched optometry teams to soldiers in the region to ensure they had all the eyesight testing they needed. The brigade returned to the continental United States in early 2008 along with the rest of the 82d Airborne Division, and was recognized by President George W. Bush in a welcome home speech.

The brigade received its shoulder sleeve insignia on 19 March 2007 and its distinctive unit insignia on 8 November 2007. The insignia alludes heavily to the unit's history with the 82d Airborne Division. In 2015 the brigade ceased being a separate unit and became part of the 82d Airborne Division. As a division unit, its personnel adopted the division's shoulder sleeve insignia and the maroon beret with a brigade-specific flash; however, most of the brigade's personnel are not on jump status and only wear the maroon beret and shoulder sleeve insignia because these are unit uniform items.

On 29 February 2008 the 82d Sustainment Brigade added the 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion as a subordinate unit. The 264th has a long history of supporting the United States Army in a myriad of campaigns dating back to World War II. On 16 December 2007 the brigade was detached from the 82d Airborne Division and attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps as a separate brigade. One month later, the 507th Support Group (Corps), XVIII Airborne Corps, was inactivated and three of its battalions were reassigned to the 82d Sustainment Brigade. This addition gave the brigade a total of five battalions, making it the largest brigade on Fort Bragg, and one of the largest in the United States Army.

New building facilities for the 82d Sustainment Brigade have been completed. Two new barracks built specifically for the unit are now occupied by the Soldier who spent the past 12 months at Bagram Army Airfield.

Honors

Unit decorations

Campaign streamers

References

References

1. [http://www.fayobserver.com/nd-airborne-s-division-run-at-fort-bragg-kicks-off/article_33d025d0-66a5-5f8e-be50-4caeac2fddf8.html] {{dead link. (October 2021)
2. (26 May 2015). "82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade, Past, Present, and Future". United States Army.
3. "82nd Sustainment Brigade".
4. "TIOH – Heraldry – 189 Support Battalion".
5. [https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7797805/82nd-finance-battalion-change-command 82nd Finance Battalion Change of Command [Image 12 of 58]], [[Defense Visual Information Distribution Service]], by SPC Vincent Levelev, 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade, dated 15 May 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024
6. [http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/spt/0082sstbde.htm Lineage and Honors Information: 82nd Sustainment Brigade] {{Webarchive. link. (20 June 2008 , [[United States Army Center of Military History]]. Retrieved 5 December 2008.)
7. [http://www.bragg.army.mil/82sb/82nd%20SB%20History.htm 82nd Sustainment Brigade Homepage: History] {{Webarchive. link. (31 December 2008 , 82nd Sustainment Brigade Staff. Retrieved 5 December 2008.)
8. [http://www.bragg.army.mil/82sb/default.htm 82d Sustainment Brigade Homepage] {{Webarchive. link. (29 December 2008 , 82d Sustainment Brigade. Retrieved 6 December 2008.)
9. Baumgartner, Robert. [http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sept2006/a092606dg1.html Troopers Have New Mission in Southern Iraq] {{webarchive. link. (12 September 2007 , 82d Sustainment Brigade, Task Force Hammer Public Affairs. Retrieved 6 December 2008.)
10. [http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jun2007/a061807ej2.html The 'Busiest Emergency Room in the World'] {{webarchive. link. (5 January 2014 , DefendAmerica.mil. Retrieved 6 December 2008.)
11. Gordon, Dwayne. [https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123066488/ Coalition forces compete at Ali Base], [[407th Air Expeditionary Group]] Public Affairs. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
12. Baumgartner, Robert. {{usurped
13. Baumgartner, Robert. {{usurped
14. [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019826/posts President Bush Attends Division Review Ceremony (82d Airborne Division)], FreeRepublic.com. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
15. link. (22 September 2012 , [[The Institute of Heraldry]]. Retrieved 6 December 2008.)
16. Willis, Todd. [http://www.bragg.army.mil/82sb/Patch%20Ceremony.htm Patch Ceremony] {{Webarchive. link. (1 January 2009 82d Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs. Retrieved 6 December 2008.)
17. Tatum, Stephanie "507th Inactivates, joins 82nd Sustainment Brigade," ''Paraglide'', 15 January 2009 pp. A01, A05
18. [http://www.mnci.centcom.mil/News%20Stories%20for%20Default%20Page%202008/bks.doc] {{dead link. (June 2017)