1st Battalion 21st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)

The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment (United States) is a field artillery battalion of the United States Army based in Fort Hood, Texas. It is a subordinate unit of the 41st Fires Brigade (United States).

History
The 21st Field Artillery was constituted in the Regular Army on 1 July 1916 and organized at Camp Wilson, Texas on 1 June 1917. It was assigned to the 5th Division in 1917 and saw action in France during World War I, participating in the St. Mihiel and Lorraine (1918) Campaigns.

The 21st Field Artillery was inactivated 23 September 1921 at Camp Bragg, North Carolina. On 24 March 1923 it was assigned to the 9th Division and relieved 1 January 1930 from assignment to the 9th Division. It was then assigned to the 5th Division and later redesignated as the 5th Infantry Division.

Following World War I, the 21st Field Artillery was retired until 6 October 1939 when it was reactivated as part of the 5th Division. The 21st Field Artillery fought in the World War II campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.

The 21st Field Artillery was inactivated on 20 September 1946 at Ladd Field, Alaska. Then activated 3 June 1948 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, inactivated 30 April 1950 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, activated 1 March 1951 at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania, inactivated 1 September 1953 at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania, activated 25 May 1954 in Germany, inactivated 1 June 1957 at Fort Ord, California, and relieved from assignment to the 5th Infantry Division; concurrently, redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery. It was then redesignated 1 July 1960 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 21st Artillery, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, and activated in Korea (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated). It was the redesignated 1 September 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery.

The heroic tradition which started in World War II continued in Vietnam as the newly formed 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery began its association with the 1st Cavalry Division. During the Vietnam War, the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery participated in 15 different campaigns including the Tet Counteroffensive and Counteroffensives I-VII, earning the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Pleiku Province, the Valorous Unit Award for the Fish Hook Campaign, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations in Vietnam (1967). Additionally, Alpha and Bravo Batteries were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Binh Thaun Province.

The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery was relieved 13 September 1972 from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. It was inactivated 19 December 1973 at Fort Carson, Colorado and relieved 21 April 1975 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, and activated at Fort Hood, Texas.

The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery was inactivated 2 July 1986, except for Alpha Battery, which continued to serve in the 1st Cavalry Division as Alpha Battery, 21st Field Artillery. In August 1990, the 1st Cavalry Division was alerted for deployment to Southwest Asia as part of the joint forces participating in Operation Desert Shield. 1st Cavalry Division MLRS fires from Alpha Battery, 21st Field Artillery illuminated the night skies and crippled Iraqi targets deep within enemy territory.

Upon activation on 16 September 1997, with the addition of Bravo (MLRS) and Charlie (Target Acquisition) Batteries, the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery became the first Divisional MLRS Command and Attack Battalion in the U.S. Army. In September 1998, Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide 24-hour radar support to Task Force Eagle.

On 28 July 2000, 68th Chemical Company, the Division’s smoke, reconnaissance, and decontamination forces, became part of the battalion. The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery completed the Army’s first deployment of a Divisional Command and Attack battalion, Operation Desert Strike 01-07, an external evaluation at Fort Bliss, New Mexico, in April 2001. In support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, the 68th Chemical Company and the 1–227 FSE out of HHS/1-21, deployed from February 2003 through June 2003. The FSE planned and executed SEAD missions in support of APACHE DEEP ATTACKS. 68th Chemical Company’s Smoke Platoon, while attached to 3rd Infantry Division, led the way as they crossed the border into Iraq and were among the first U.S. Soldiers to enter Baghdad.

In March 2004, Task Force 1–21 deployed to Iraq for combat operations under the task organization of the 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Task Force Rocket was responsible for a portion of the Al-Rasheed district in southern Baghdad from March 2004 – March 2005. During that time the task force conducted daily patrols, ambushes, raids, convoy escorts, target acquisition, and counter-battery cannon fires. The battalion contributed greatly to the first ever free elections held in Iraq in January 2005. Following redeployment, Charlie Battery, 1–21 FA and 68th Chemical Company were inactivated in July 2005.

The 1st Cavalry Division's first Silver Star Medal for valor in combat during this deployment was presented to a 5th Brigade Combat Team Soldier 13 August 2004. Pfc. Christopher Fernandez, of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, stood proudly in front of his entire brigade as the division's commanding general pinned on the small medal with red, white and blue ribbon. Fernandez said his family was proud, that they had even told members of his church back home about his award, but he didn't know if they understood that the Silver Star was a big deal. "It's a great honor," said Fernandez a Multiple Launch Rocket System crewman in Battery A, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment. Fernandez was awarded the Silver Star for actions he had taken on the night of 5 May, when his unit came under attack. Fernandez, a Tucson, Ariz. native, was on a patrol through the city's Saidiyah neighborhood when insurgents ambushed his unit. An improvised explosive device hit the patrol's rear vehicle. Immediately following the explosion, the patrol was barraged with small-arms fire. The patrol's crew-served weapons, a M-240B machine gun and a .50 caliber machine gun, immediately returned fire. Two U.S. Soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in the IED explosion and their vehicle was inoperable. Fernandez returned fire with his weapon, an M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon. He reloaded his weapon at least once during the short engagement, said Capt. Thomas Pugsley, Battery A's commander. "There was a tremendous volume of fire coming at them," Pugsley said. In all the chaos, Fernandez saw the stricken vehicle's M-240B machine gun was unused. Acting on instinct, Fernandez knew that another weapon would suppress the enemy's fire long enough to evacuate the wounded and leave the area. He left his vehicle, ran to the disabled humvee and recovered the weapon and its ammunition. Fernandez then opened fire on the enemy. What made all of that spectacular was the recovered weapon's condition, said Pugsley. The hand guards covering the machine-gun's barrel, so the gunner's hands won't burn, were blown off in the explosion. That didn't matter to Fernandez though; he kept firing even though his hands were burning. Pugsley said two other Soldiers were recommended for Bronze Stars with Valor devices for their actions that night. One received it; the other received an Army Commendation with V device.

On 19 August 2005, the 1st Battalion 21st Field Artillery folded its flag under DIVARTY, 1st Cavalry Division and reflagged as part of the newly formed Fires Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division. The 1st Battalion 21st Field Artillery made its transition as part of the Army’s new modular transformation concept. Falling under the newly formed Fires Brigade model, in 2006 the battalion fielded and manned the 575th Forward Support Company and Charlie (MLRS) Battery, 1–21 FA. On 16 April 2007, the Fires Brigade, formerly 4th Infantry Division’s DIVARTY, reflagged as the 41st Fires Brigade, where the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery remains to date.

On April 2008, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 08-10. During their most recent deployment, the battalion conducted an In-Lieu of Mission, responsible for conducting Detainee Operations, and Security Operations at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Charlie Battery, 1–21 FA received a change of mission in July 2008, and conducted convoy security operations in support of International Police Advisors and Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Basra and Al Kut, Iraq. The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery redeployed to Fort Hood, Texas in July 2009.

The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery’s current mission is to be ready to deploy anywhere in the world to provide rocket and missile fires in support of the maneuver Commander.

Reactivation
On 16 April 2007, the 4th Fires Brigade, (formerly 4th Infantry Division's DIVARTY) reflagged as the 41st Fires Brigade, where the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery remains to date. The 41st Fires Brigade is currently composed of:


 * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery
 * Alpha Battery (M270 MLRS)
 * Bravo Battery (M270 MLRS)
 * Charlie Battery (M270 MLRS)
 * 575th Forward Support Company

And now falls under the 1st Cavalry Division Fort Hood, TX

Honors & Decorations
World War I: -St. Mihiel; -Lorraine 1918 World War II: -Northern France; -Rhineland; -Ardennes-Alsace; -Central Europe Vietnam: -Defense; -Counteroffensive, Phase I; -Counteroffensive, Phase II; -Counteroffensive, Phase III; -Tet -Counteroffensive; -Counteroffensive, Phase IV; -Counteroffensive, Phase V; -Counteroffensive, Phase IV; -Tet 69/Counteroffensive; -Summer-Fall 1969; -Winter-Spring 1970; -Sanctuary Counteroffensive; -Counteroffensive; Phase VII; Consolidation I; -Consolidation II; -Cease-Fire Southwest Asia: -Defense of Saudi Arabia; -Liberation and Defense of Kuwait; -Cease-Fire War on Terrorism: Campaigns to be determined
 * Campaign Participation Credit

Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for PLEIKU PROVINCE Valorous Unit Award for FISH HOOK Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1967 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991 Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1965–1969 Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1969–1970 Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1970–1971 Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1971–1972 Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for VIETNAM 1969–1970 Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for BINH THUAN PROVINCE Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for BINH THUAN PROVINCE Valorous Unit Award for QUANG NAM
 * Decorations
 * Battery A additionally entitled to:
 * Battery B additionally entitled to: