2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment

The 2nd Battalion of the 8th Field Artillery Regiment is a U.S. Field Artillery unit under the 25th Infantry Division currently at Fort Waingright, Alaska.

History
Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as Battery B, 8th Field Artillery. Organized 7 July 1916 at Fort Bliss, Texas. Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1941 as Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 25th Infantry Division. Inactivated 1 February 1957 in Hawaii and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division

Redesignated 1 July 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2d Howitzer Battalion, 8th Artillery, assigned to the 7th Infantry Division, and activated in Korea. Redesignated 1 July 1963 as the 2d Battalion, 8th Artillery. Inactivated 2 April 1971 at Fort Lewis, Washington

Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 2d Battalion, 8th Field Artillery. Activated 21 April 1975 at Fort Ord, California. Relieved 16 August 1995 from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division

In December 1989, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery turned in their M102 howitzers and became the first unit in the US Army to field the M119. That same month, fire support elements from the battalion deployed to Panama during Operation JUST CAUSE with the 1st Brigade Task Force (DRB-2). The brigade served as part of Task Force ATLANTIC until it re-deployed in February 1991. In April 1993, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery moved from Fort Ord, California to Fort Lewis, Washington and subsequently was relieved from assignment with the 7th Infantry Division and assigned to the 9th Regimental Combat Team. On 21 January 1995, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to support humanitarian operations. During deployment the battalion was separated into two teams. Team Alpha, consisting of HHS and A Battery, operated Migrant Camp G. Team Bravo, consisting of B and C Batteries, operated Migrant Camp E. The 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery re-deployed to Fort Lewis on 7 June 1995. On 24 August 1995, the 9th RCT re-flagged as the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division while concurrently, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery was relieved from assignment with the 9th RCT and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division as the direct support artillery unit to the 1st Brigade (Lancers).

In 2002, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery began its transformation with the 1st Brigade while they transitioned from a "Light" BCT to a "Stryker" BCT and became only the second BCT to complete the transformation at the time. In doing so, they became the Army's newest Stryker Brigade Combat Team as the Army was in the midst of a major force restructuring and transformation.

On October 15, 2004, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery was again called to duty, this time to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom III. As a part of the Army's newest Stryker BCT, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery relieved the 1st Battalion, 37th FA assuming all security and support duties of the area surrounding Quaryyah in the Multi-National Division North's Area of Operation. The battalion officially unfurled its colors at Forward Operating Base Endurance, in northern Iraq on November 2, 2004. During their year in Iraq, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery partnered with the 3rd Battalion, Iraqi Army, and successfully began an intense and much lauded Iraqi Army training Program. After a year of stability and security operations, the battalion cased its colors once more and returned to Fort Lewis, Washington. Almost immediately upon the 1st Brigade's return from combat, it was given orders to re-flag and subsequently did so from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, to the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment on 6 June 2006. The 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery colors were then cased and shipped to the nation's last frontier.

On 14 December 2006, the Battalion's colors were once again unfurled in frigid Fort Wainwright, Alaska, as the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team and 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery re-flagged and assumed the colors of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery. After the reset period, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery was again called to duty along with the 1st Stryker Brigade and was sent to the Iraqi Province of Diyala as a part of the Multi-National Division North and unfurled its colors in October 2008 at Forward Operating Base Warhorse. After a year long deployment to Iraq, conducting counterinsurgency and stability and support operations the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery redeployed to Alaska and unfurled its colors at home in October 2009.

In March 2011, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery was once again called to duty, but was directed this time to conducting operations for Operation Enduring Freedom. In May 2011, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery officially unfurled its colors at Forward Operating Base Lindsey, southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, in Regional Command – South. Throughout its year in RC-South the battalion was tasked to conduct direct support artillery for 1st Brigade's counter-insurgency operations. Throughout the battalion, most all battery and platoon positions were in two gun firebase positions spread all over RC-South. After a tough year of austere combat conditions, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery redeployed to Alaska and unfurled its colors at Fort Wainwright in May 2012.

Why they call it the "Automatic" Battalion:

The 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment is known as the “Automatic Battalion” or the “Automatic Eighth.”

“Of the eight battalions that were part of the regiment when I first joined 2-8 FA in August 1993, we are the lone battalion left (in the Department of the Army),” said 2-8th Commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Anderson. Of the 2-8th “Automatic” nickname, Anderson said, “The moniker goes back to the Korean War when basically everyone in the battalion manned the howitzers to fire artillery rounds to defend against a North Korean attack. So at the end of the day, the U.S. line held, and as all the North Korean prisoners of war were being moved back to the U.S. rear, they wanted to see the automatic artillery, because the rounds were being fired just that quickly,” he said.

Awards

 * Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for TAEGU
 * Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGNYONG-NI
 * Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) for WONJU-HWACHON
 * Navy Unit Commendation for PANMUNJOM
 * Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
 * Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for MASAN-CHINJU
 * Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for MUNSAN-NI
 * Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA, 1957-1971
 * Army Superior Unit Award (for 1996-1997)
 * Valorous Unit Award (Army) for Iraqi Governance, 2005
 * Meritorious Unit Citation (Army) for Iraqi Surge, 2008 th and 6th Field Artillery Regiments.