7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States)

The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1898 as the 7th Regiment of Artillery.

History
The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment traces its antecedants to 8 March 1898 in the Regular Army as Battery A, 7th Regiment of Artillery. It was organized on 29 March 1898 at Fort Slocum, New York.

The Battery was reorganized and redesignated on 13 February 1901 as the 72nd Company, Coast Artillery, Artillery Corps. It was redesignated on 2 February 1907 as the 72nd Company, Coast Artillery Corps. The company was reorganized and redesignated in July 1916 as the 1st Company, Fort Screven, Georgia) and on 31 August 1917 as the 1st Company, Coast Defenses of Savannah.

The company was reorganized and redesignated on 1 June 1922 as the 72nd Company, Coast Artillery Corps and on 1 July 1924 as Battery A, 7th Coast Artillery. It was inactivated on 7 April 1930 at Fort Hancock, New Jersey.

The company was reactivated on 1 July 1939 at Fort Hancock, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 7 April 1944 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before being disbanded entirely on 14 June 1944.

The company was reconstituted on 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army and concurrently consolidated with the lineage and honors of Battery A, 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion. Battery A, 126th Antiaircraft Gun Battalion had been first constituted on 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as Battery A, 126th Coast Artillery Battalion and activated on 10 May 1943 at Camp Haan, California. It was reorganized and redesignated on 28 June 1943 as Battery A, 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion and inactivated on 3 January 1946 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. The consolidated unit was redesignated as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. The consolidated unit carried honors for participation in 6 campaigns during the Second World War: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and England 1944.

The unit was redesignated on 13 December 1951 as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion and activated on 20 December 1951 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts. The unit deployed to Korea and participated in 8 campaigns of the Korean War: UN Defensive, UN Offensive, CCF Intervention, First UN Counteroffensive, CCF Spring Offensive, UN Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean Winter, and Korea, Summer 1953.

The unit was redesignated on 30 June 1955 as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. It was inactivated on 1 September 1958 in Germany. The unit was concurrently consolidated with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery (active), which had been first organized in 1916. The consolidated unit designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery, an element of the 1st Infantry Division. The Battalion's organic elements were constituted on 8 February 1957 and activated on 15 February 1957.

The battalion subsequently deployed to Vietnam and participated in 11 campaigns of the conflict there: Defense, Counteroffensive, Counteroffensive Phase II, Counteroffensive Phase III, Tet Counteroffensive, Counteroffensive Phase IV, Counteroffensive Phase V, Counteroffensive Phase VI, Tet 69/Counteroffensive, Summer-Fall 1969, and Winter-Spring 1970.

The battalion was redesignated, less former Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery on 1 September 1971 as the 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, and inactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas. The former Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery was concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery, which thereafter had a separate lineage.

1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery was activated on 13 September 1972 at Fort Bliss, Texas and was inactivated there on 16 June 1987. The Battalion was reactivated on 16 December 1988 in Germany.

On 21 December 1998, Headquarters US Army Europe (USAREUR) announced plans to realign its air defense artillery units to comply with the Army's Patriot Standardization Plan. As a result of the plan, USAREUR realigned its 3 Patriot missile battalions with their 12 missile batteries, 2 maintenance companies and one maintenance team into 2 battalions with 5 batteries and one maintenance company each. The 1-7th Air Defense Artillery, with its Headquarters and Headquarters Battery and B and C Batteries subsequently moved from Rhine Ordnance Barracks, Kaiserslautern, Germany, to Fort Bliss, Texas. There it joined the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.

In June 2006, the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 1-7th Air Defense Artillery moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Distinctive unit insignia
A gold metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height consisting of a panther in a walking position facing forward, with fire issuing horizontally from its mouth and ears, all gold; all within and surmounting a continuous red scroll inscribed “NULLIUS PAVET” above and “OCCURSUM” below in gold letters. The insignia is worn in pairs. The panther is taken from the coat of arms of the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook where the Regiment was organized on 1 July 1924. The motto translates to “He Fears No Encounter.” The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment on 31 July 1924. It was redesignated for the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 June 1952. The insignia was cancelled on 20 April 1960. It was restored and authorized effective 1 September 1971, for the 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.
 * Description
 * Symbolism
 * Background

Blazon
Gules, a pile voided Or crusilly fitchy of the like over all a Railway Gun in the act of firing Argent, flame Proper. On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules a panther passant guardant, incensed Or, flames Proper. Motto NULLIS PAVET OCCURSUM (He Fears No Encounter).
 * Shield
 * Crest

Symbolism
The shield is scarlet for Artillery. The cross crosslets fitchy, from the arms of the Lords of Commercy, refer to the baptism of fire of a battery of the regiment at Royanmoix, near Commercy, World War I. The pile is from the coat of arms of the 53d Artillery C.A.C., elements of which were later amalgamated into the 7th Coast Artillery. The Railway Gun commemorates the unique distinctive of Battery “E”, 42d Artillery C.A.C. (later Headquarters Battery, 7th Coast Artillery) of firing the first shot in World War I by a Coast Artillery organization. The panther is taken from the coat of arms of the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook where the Regiment was organized on 1 July 1924.
 * Shield
 * Crest

Background
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment on 28 July 1924. It was redesignated for the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 June 1952. The insignia was cancelled on 20 April 1960. It was restored and authorized effective 1 September 1971, for the 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Current configuration

 * 1st Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
 * 3rd Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
 * 4th Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
 * 5th Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment