38th Infantry Division (United States)


The 38th Infantry Division is one of the eighteen divisions of the United States Army, and one of eight National Guard divisions. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and contains Army National Guard units from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Michigan, Tennessee and Other States.
Formed in 1917, the division earned the special designation "Cyclone Division" after the division's training camp at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, was damaged by a springtime tornado. Deployed to France in the closing days of the Great War, the 38th Division was broken up to provide fillers for combat formations. At the end of the war, the 38th Division demobilized and after a brief period of inactivity, was reconstituted and reorganized in the National Guard on 16 March 1923.
The 38th Division was inducted into federal service on 17 January 1941 as the United States prepared for entry into World War II. The Division returned to Camp Shelby to reorganize as a triangular infantry division and train for combat. The 38th Infantry Division deployed to the Pacific theater in January 1944, initially to New Guinea where the division saw limited combat after final training. In December, the division deployed into Leyte, Philippines to support clearing and security operations. On 29 January 1945, the 38th Infantry Division took part in the combat landing against the Japanese held Southern Zambales Province on the island of Luzon. Afterwards, the 38th Infantry Division took part in the operations to clear Zig Zag Pass and the Bataan peninsula, and to secure Corregidor and Manila Bay. In recognition of their contributions in clearing the Philippines, the 38th Infantry Division received the nickname "The Avengers of Bataan".
Quickly demobilized after World War II, the 38th Infantry Division was reorganized and federally recognized on 5 March 1947 at Indianapolis, Indiana. During the intervening years, the 38th Infantry Division underwent numerous reorganizations while still retaining the designation as an infantry division. The 38th Infantry Division headquarters mobilized in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations in 2005, exercising command and control over all National Guard elements deployed in the state of Mississippi. Since 11 September 2001, units of the division have participated in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, the 38th Infantry Division provided a headquarters element to command and control counterinsurgency operations in Regional Command East, Afghanistan from August 2009 through June 2010.
Most recently, the 38th Infantry Division headquarters had responsibility for the domestic all-hazards response team mission in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the event of a major incident in the eastern half of the United States.

Insignia

The division's shoulder sleeve insignia is a spade shaped shield, bordered in green, with the right half red, the left half blue. Superimposed on the shield is a white monogram "CY" which alludes to the divisional nickname "the Cyclone Division." The distinctive unit insignia is in the shape of a clover leaf in memory of the original badge for non-color bearing divisional units. The lightning flashes represent the unit's participation in three World War II campaigns, with the Luzon assault landing recognized by the arrowhead tip in the center flash. The cloud and lightning flashes are an allusion to the cyclone. The colors blue, white and red refer to the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the unit for their part in liberating the country.

World War I

The division was activated in August 1917 as a National Guard Division composed of units drawn from Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. In keeping with new naming conventions issued by the War Department, Guard regiments were given three digit numbers, while Guard divisions were numbered from 26 through 42. Guard units began movement to Camp Shelby Mississippi starting in late September 1917. Once there the Guard units redesignated and reorganized into a "square" division of two brigades, three field artillery regiments, with separate signal, engineer, and medical battalions.
After hastily building up a base camp at Camp Shelby, the soldiers of the 38th Division began training in October 1917. Equipment for training was chronically short, forcing leaders to fabricate dummy artillery pieces from wood and iron scrap, while the soldiers drilled with pieces of wood simulating rifles and machine guns. In April 1918, a springtime tornado struck Camp Shelby with enough force to damage the tent city and kill one soldier. On his assumption of command of the 38th Division on 30 August 1918, Major General Robert L. Howze commemorated the tornado by announcing the division would be known in the future as the "Cyclone Division".
The division deployed overseas to Europe in October 1918, where it landed in France at the height of the German "Peace Offensives". Because the division was not combat ready, it was largely stripped of officers and men, who served as replacements for units already in combat. However, several of the regiments remained intact and were involved in collective training when the Armistice took effect on 11 November 1918. The only Divisional unit to see significant action in the World War was the 150th Field Artillery, which was organized from the prewar First Regiment Field Artillery. The 150th Field Artillery was attached to the 42nd Infantry Division, and gave good service during the six major phases of the autumn 1918 offensives.
Of the officers and men from the 38th Division cross-leveled to other units, 301 died during the Great War: 105 died in combat; 47 died from wounds; 68 from non-combat accidents or incidents; and 81 from complications arising from influenza or pneumonia.
After the end of the World War, the National Guard divisions briefly remained inactive while the United States rapidly demobilized and returned to a peacetime footing. The experiences of the war convinced the War Department and Congress to retain a reserve structure in the event of a future war. A series of amendments to the National Defense Act of 1916 codified the structure of the Army of the United States to include the National Guard when in federal service. Within the text of the final amendment of August 1921 was the provision to "preserve the names, numbers and other designations, flags and records of the divisions...that served in the World War".
At the company level, the first units were organized by spring 1921; by November 1921 the Indiana National Guard had approximately 4,000 soldiers in an active drilling status. Higher-level actions took longer, with the 38th Division headquarters not organized and federally recognized until March 1923, with Major General Robert H. Tyndall as the division commander. Tyndall well embodied the citizen-soldier concept. During the World War, Tyndall earned the Distinguished Service Medal and Croix de Guerre for his successful combat leadership of the 150th Field Artillery. In peacetime, he served as a bank vice-president and was deeply engaged in the organization of the American Legion. The majority of the divisional structure was allotted to Indiana, with the divisional headquarters established in Indianapolis. Besides the headquarters, the 76th Infantry Brigade, 139th and 150th Field Artillery Regiments, and the 113th Engineer Regiment were allotted solely to Indiana. Kentucky organized the 75th Infantry Brigade and the 138th Field Artillery Regiment. The medical, quartermaster, and division special troops elements were divided among Indiana and Kentucky.

World War II

The 38th Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii on 17 January 1944. It received further training and the duty of the defense of Oahu. The division embarked from Hawaii to New Guinea, where the combat elements conducted final combat rehearsals from July to November 1944. Once rehearsals were complete, the 38th Infantry Division sailed for Leyte, landing in December 1944. Enemy paratroops attempted to capture the Buri, Bayug, and San Pablo airstrips on 6 December. The 149th Infantry Regiment destroyed organized resistance, 11 December, and defended the strips until relieved, 4 January 1945. The division landed in the San Narciso area in Southern Zambales Province, Luzon, 29 January 1945, without opposition. The San Marcelino airstrip was secured on the same day and the port facilities at Olongapo were captured on the 30th as well as Grande Island in Subic Bay after an amphibious landing. Driving west of Olongapo the 38th destroyed an intricate maze of enemy fortifications in Zig-Zag Pass. While elements landed at Mariveles on the southern tip of the peninsula, 15 February, other units pushed down the east coast road to Pilar and across the neck of land to Bagac along the route of the March of Death. The Bataan Peninsula was secured on 21 February, although mopping-up activities remained. The 38th Infantry Division's rapid drive across the peninsula was critical to MacArthur's campaign plan by preventing a Japanese withdrawal into Bataan - thereby avoiding a costly siege operation.
2nd Battation of the 151st Infantry, along with elements from the Cannon and anti-tank companies, moved to Corregidor, 24 February, to clear the remaining Japanese defenders from the Rock. The same battalion assaulted and captured Caballo Island, 27 March, and Fort Drum on El Fraile Island, 13 April. 1st Battalion 151st Infantry captured Carabao Island on 16 April. Supporting operations in March included a major push against dug-in Japanese defenders in the mountainous terrain between Fort Stotsenburg and Mount Pinatubo by the 38th Division Advance. Once the enemy was broken, combat elements of the 152nd Infantry pushed north from San Felipe to Palauig Bay and east from Botolan along the Capas Trail cutting the enemy's withdrawal route.
The Division moved to the area east of Manila, 1 May, and attacked enemy forces behind the Shimbu Line. By 30 June effective enemy opposition had been broken, although the division remained engaged in active combat operations until 14 August 1945 when President Harry S. Truman announced Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and unconditional surrender. As of 14 August 1945, the 38th Infantry Division had completed an unbroken stretch of 198 consecutive days in combat, officially killing 26,469 enemy combatants, and taking 1411 Japanese prisoners. Although officially not "engaged in major combat" after 14 August, elements of the division continued to mop up Japanese stragglers in the Luzon area, until the signing of the VJ Day surrender documents on 2 September 1945. Even after VJ Day, the division's combat outposts continued to net prisoners until the division was officially relieved on 5 October 1945. In the final tally, the 38th Infantry Division fought against more than 80,000 Japanese, killing 26,732 and ultimately taking more than 13,000 prisoners. For its swift clearing of the Bataan peninsula in 19 days of bloody combat, division commander Major General William C. Chase, ordered that the division would be known as the "Avengers of Bataan", a tribute often attributed to General Douglas MacArthur.

Casualties

After the end of World War II, the 38th Infantry Division briefly remained in the Philippines pending a decision as to whether or not the division would remain on occupation duty. Instead, the division was alerted on 15 September 1945 that it was to return to the United States and demobilize. Major General Irving and key staffers flew from Manila, while the bulk of the division elements sailed from the Philippines beginning in October. The 38th Infantry Division was directed to Camp Anza, California, for final demobilization and deactivation, which was completed on 9 November 1945.
For a time, the 38th Infantry Division remained inactivated while debate raged within the federal government as to the size, scope and even the necessity for a separate Army National Guard. In October 1945, the War Department issued directives to reconstitute the Army National Guard as an integral part of the Reserve Component which still retained the unique dual nature of the pre-war Guard. First priority under the new plan was the organization and reactivation of eighteen division headquarters, one of which was the 38th Infantry Division.
Within Indiana, organizational actions were already in the works led by Indiana Adjutant General Ben H. Watt. By March 1946, Watt submitted a proposed recruitment quota to the National Guard Bureau, and designated commanders in anticipation of receiving approval for the reorganizing units. Receiving approval from NGB in October 1946, Indiana began organizing and reconstituting the subordinate elements of the 38th Infantry Division. Unit strength grew quickly, swelled by large numbers of World War II veterans. The influx of tested combat leaders facilitated the activation of the Headquarters and Special Troops unit of the 38th Infantry Division, which officially organized in Indianapolis on 6 October 1946, and received federal recognition on 5 March 1947.
Unlike the pre-war 38th Division, the post-war 38th Infantry Division force structure was allotted entirely to Indiana, and consisted of a triangular structure with a total authorization of 16,241 officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Despite an aggressive recruiting campaign, the Division's subordinate units were not sufficiently organized to permit Annual Training at until 1948.
In 1959, the 38th Infantry Division underwent the first major reorganization since the War, with the regiments converted into Pentomic battle groups by the inclusion of fire support and logistics elements as organic parts of the combat formation. In 1968, the division was the first reserve organization to reorganize under the Army's Reorganization Objective of the Army Division concept, which included three brigade headquarters tailored by the attachment of combat and support battalions. Accompanying the ROAD reorganization was the return to multi-state aspect of the pre-war division, with the division headquarters, divisional artillery, and the 76th Infantry Brigade stationed in Indiana, with the remaining two infantry brigades organized in Ohio and Michigan. In 1994, the division headquarters reorganized as a mechanized infantry division headquarters, a designation which it retained until 2008.
During the Cold War, the 38th Infantry Division formed part of the Strategic Reserve to support the Active Army in the event of a full-scale war with the Soviet Union and her satellites. In 1965, the Division was designated part of the Selected Reserve Force, higher priority Reserve Component units that received better equipment and greater funding in order to maintain higher levels of readiness.
In 1981, elements of the 38th Infantry Division took part in Exercise REFORGER as a way of testing the United States' ability to strategically deploy reserves into West Germany in response to a Warsaw Pact invasion. Other elements of the 38th Infantry Division, both company sized units as well as individual Soldiers, have participated in missions in Germany, the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, Japan, and in Central America.
With the exception of Company D, 151st Infantry, elements of the 38th Infantry Division were not activated for federal service in combat operations from 1945 until Operation Desert Storm in 1990. However, elements of the Division were frequently called up for State Active Duty to support civil authorities in mitigating the effects of natural disasters and civil unrest. Two of the largest callups were for the Perfect Circle strike of 1955 and the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of April 1965.
Company D, 151st Infantry was the sole divisional element mobilized for service in the Republic of Vietnam and was one of the most highly decorated units to serve in that conflict.
In 1996, over 7,000 soldiers from the 38th Infantry Division supported the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1998, Echo Battery 139th Field Artillery deployed to Bosnia as part of peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia.
Also in 1998 the 76th Infantry Brigade was selected to participate in a training deployment in the summer of 2000 to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, LA. The 38th Division Support Command supported the JRTC rotation by operating the logistics support area, while many units within the division provided equipment and manpower to support the 76th Brigade. The equipment deployment from Indiana to JRTC was via river barge, among the largest moves of equipment for Indiana units since World War II.

Post 9/11

Mobilizations

Since 11 September 2001, the 38th Infantry Division has provided headquarters and forces for a variety of operational rotations including Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Joint Forge, Operation Joint Guardian, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, Multinational Force and Observers, United States Air Forces Europe Force Protection, Operation Noble Eagle Rotations I through IV, Operation Desert Watch and Operation Desert Spring.

Hurricane Katrina relief efforts

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made final landfall in Mississippi, causing tremendous damage which quickly overwhelmed state agencies. The governor of Mississippi appealed to other states for National Guard units to assist in the response. The rapid influx of Guard units from various states, although sorely needed, overwhelmed the Mississippi National Guard's ability to coordinate the military efforts. Accordingly, National Guard Bureau activated the headquarters of the 38th Infantry Division on 30 August to deploy to Mississippi and assist the Mississippi Adjutant General with command and control efforts. Commanded by Major General Gregory Vadnais, the advanced party of the division deployed on 31 August 2005, while the main body departed Indianapolis by convoy on Saturday, 3 September 2005. Organized as Task Force Cyclone, the Division established command post operations in Gulfport Mississippi, focused on providing local security, road clearance, and delivery of essential humanitarian assistance. By the time TF Cyclone fully assumed mission on 4 September, roughly 7500 Guardsmen were on duty inside Mississippi. Final strength of TF Cyclone peaked at 15,500 on 7 September, with elements of the division engaged in missions until transfer of authority back to Mississippi began on 15 September 2005.

Operation Enduring Freedom

In 2009, the 38th Infantry Division headquarters was alerted to deploy a command and control element to Afghanistan to replace an outgoing maneuver enhancement brigade 1-star headquarters conducting full-spectrum counterinsurgency operations within Bamyan, Parwan, Panjshir and Kapisa provinces. In addition to the decisive COIN mission, the 38th Infantry Division would assume responsibility for operating the mayor cells at and five other forward operating bases. After a period of pre-mobilization training, the divisional element deployed via Manis Airbase in Kyrgyzstan to Bagram airfield and completed Transfer of Authority on 31 August 2009. TF Cyclone assumed control of a diverse task force in Regional Command East of 4100 US military members, including Army signal, civil affairs, psychological operations, Military Police, Embedded Training Teams, Agribusiness Development Teams ; Air Force Facility/Base Engineering and Security. The task force contained units from five coalition partners: France, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Singapore, and Mongolia. Lastly, TF Cyclone had attached representatives from the US Department of State, Agriculture, and US Agency for International Development.
While engaged in COIN operations in the Bamyan, Parwan, Panjshir and Kapisa provinces, TF Cyclone worked closely with subordinate Provincial Reconstruction Teams, village elders, district and provincial governors to support reconstruction efforts. By the time TF Cyclone transitioned from the COIN mission, over $5 billion in reconstruction projects had taken place with minimal interference from insurgents.
In January 2010, TF Cyclone was alerted to a change of mission to establish an area support group over the Kabul base cluster. On 1 April 2010, TF Cyclone conducted a transfer of authority with Task Force Wolverine and assumed control over seven bases in the Kabul area.
During the time period in control of the Kabul base cluster, TF Cyclone oversaw the construction of four new base camps, refurbishing of the seven existing camps, and the streamlining of logistics and contracting processes in Kabul. In June 2010, TF Cyclone conducted relief in place operations with the 196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and executed Transfer of Authority on 30 June 2010. After transiting Kyrgyzstan, TF Cyclone returned to Indianapolis, Indiana, on . The unit proceeded to Camp Atterbury, Indiana and finished demobilization on the morning of 4 July 2010. Among some of TF Cyclone's major accomplishments: conduct of more than 7000 combat patrols, including 107 enemy contacts and 73 tactical vehicle recoveries, oversight of more than $3 billion in new construction, support to the Afghan National Government in conducting national elections, the saving of more than 300 Afghan civilians following a major avalanche in Parwan province, the capturing or killing of numerous insurgents, and significant improvements in local and provincial governance. The Headquarters of the 38th Infantry Division was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation in recognition Task Force Cyclone's accomplishments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Two teams from the 38th Infantry Division also mobilized in 2016–2017 in support of operations at Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of contingency operations of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Al Anbar Province during Operation Iraqi Freedom

From October 2006 to September 2007, a company from the 38th Infantry Division saw extensive combat in Ramadi and Fallujah, Iraq. This company and its parent battalion were administratively assigned to the 38th Infantry Division, but operationally assigned to the 76th Infantry Brigade just prior to the mobilization and deployment of 2006–07. Originally known as Company A, 2nd Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, the unit became an expeditionary force with members from all companies in the battalion, and was renamed Headquarters, and Headquarters Company, and would come to be known as "Team Gator". Upon arrival in Al Anbar Province, the unit was operationally assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division's "Ready First Combat Team" and conducted extensive joint patrols and enemy clearing operations in both the Ramadi and Fallujah AOs during some of the most intense fighting of the 2006–07 campaign. One platoon would be assigned under the tactical control of USMC Regimental Combat Teams in the Fallujah AO, with the rest of the company being assigned to the Ready First Brigade in Ramadi. The company would also have a platoon from the Minnesota National Guard under its operational control.
When the Ready First Brigade departed Ramadi, the company would be assigned to a new brigade, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, and it would participate in major clearing operations during the Surge of 2007.
The company had many soldiers who committed numerous acts of heroism that have not been truly known to this day. The unit is second only to Company D Rangers for being the most decorated and combat experienced company sized element in the Indiana Army National Guard since World War II.

Headquarters structure

The 38th Infantry Division headquarters is organized as the division headquarters battalion with the following units: a headquarters and support company, an operations company, an intelligence and sustainment company, and a signal company.
38th Infantry Division exercises command and control of four Army National Guard brigades—two infantry brigade combat teams, an armored cavalry regiment, and a combat aviation brigade—and maintains an alignment for training with six Army National Guard brigades outside of Indiana, specifically, a field artillery brigade, a maneuver enhancement brigade, a theater aviation brigade, two sustainment brigades, and elements of the newly formed Company C, 2nd Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment. There are units from Tennessee, Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and other states.