32nd Armor Regiment (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 32nd Armor Regiment was an armored regiment of the United States Army
until 2000 at which time it was deactivated. It was redesignated and reactivated as the 32nd Cavalry Regiment serving in the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
in 2005.
.) All other armor units were constituted and deployed at the battalion level.
The 32nd Armor Regiment then moved to Fort Polk
, Louisiana on 14 June 1941. When the unit arrived Fort Polk was still not completed but nonetheless it was designated as the training base for the 3rd Armored Division. The Battalion received the bulk of its men who underwent basic training, began field training and learned to operate their tanks.
in mid June 1944. On 29 June 1944, the Battalion entered combat as part of Combat Command A at Villiers-Fossard. The Battalion fought on until 24 April 1945. During their time in action the unit assisted in the liberation of France and Belgium and breaking through the Siegfried Line. The unit earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and twice received the Meritorious Service Plaque for their service.
Post Korea – Pre Vietnam
1st Battalion was in Germany. 2nd Battalion was in Hawaii. 3rd Battalion was in Fort Stewart
, Georgia before being sent to Germany in the early 60s.
As Cold War tensions grew, the regiment was reactivated on 15 July 1947. The unit was stationed in Germany and was tasked with deterring any Soviet advance through the Fulda Gap.
Locations varied with divisional attachments. Examples in the 1960s: 1st Battalion with the 3rd Armored Division, in Friedberg
; 5th Battalion with the 24th Infantry Division in Munich.
The 32nd Armor Regiment also played an important role in Operation Desert Storm as part of the 3rd Armored Division. Following the end of hostilities in the Persian Gulf, the 32nd Armor Regiment stood down along with the rest of the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox
, KY, on 17 October 1992 with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment.
, Washington using personnel and equipment from the 5th Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment
, 1st Armored Division
, recently transferred from Mannheim
, Germany in 1994. The battalion then became a subordinate unit of the 2nd Infantry Division.
The 1st Battalion (the last active unit of the 32d Armor Regiment) was deactivated on September 15, 2000 at Fort Lewis, Washington with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment.
On 10 August, 2005 the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment was activated as part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Bastogne), 101st Airborne Division
(Air Assault) at Fort Campbell
, Kentucky. This new cavalry regiment inherited and continued the lineage and honors (including distinctive unit insignia) of the 32nd Armor Regiment.
operatives and conducted counter-insurgency operations against insurgent networks attempting to destabilize the new Iraqi government. Between 20 May 2006 and 20 July 2006, Task Force Bandit, consisting of 1–32 Cavalry, elements of C/1-68 Armor and A/3-29 Field Artillery and with aviation support from 3rd, 4th and 7th Battalions, 101st Aviation, conducted a series of operations against Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna safe areas within the isolated terrain along the Diyala River of the Muqdadiyah Qa’da
. These operations denied the enemy sanctuary, rescued over twenty kidnapped civilians, eliminated strategic caches, destroyed vehicle-borne improvised explosive factories and disrupted senior Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna leadership and planning. During this deployment, Troopers of the 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry Regiment earned 4 Bronze Star Medals for Valor and 29 Army Commendation Medals for Valor. On 24 August 2006, 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry transitioned authority to 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry and returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to prepare for their next deployment.
On 21 September 2007, the 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry once again departed Fort Campbell, again bound for eastern Diyala Province, Iraq, this time for a 15-month tour as a part of the Iraqi Surge. Once in Iraq, the squadron relieved 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry and continued operations in Diyala, all the while planning for a move to FOB Paliwoda
, located in southern Salah ad Din Province. While the majority of the squadron conducted their move to FOB Paliwoda and relieved 3rd Squadron, 8th Cavalry, C Troop remained in Diyala to turn over the area of operations to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. During the next twelve months in Salah ad Din Province, 1–32 Cavalry set up numerous Sons of Iraq groups to assist in securing the local population, trained members of the Iraqi Army
and National Police
and conducted numerous targeted air assault raids against high-value targets throughout their area of operations. In November of 2008, the squadron returned to Fort Campbell to once again train and prepare for another deployment, this time to Afghanistan.
served with. Elvis was a member of Company D, 1–32 Armor, 3rd Armored Division in Friedburg, Germany from October 1958 through March 1960. The lead singer of Guns N' Roses
, Axl Rose
has a tattoo of the regimental crest on his left arm although he's never served in the US Army. In the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off
, the regimental crest can be seen on Ferris Bueller's black beret.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
until 2000 at which time it was deactivated. It was redesignated and reactivated as the 32nd Cavalry Regiment serving in the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
in 2005.
History
The 32nd Armor Regiment was activated 15 April 1941 at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana as the 2nd Armored Regiment and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. This title designation did not last for long as the unit was quickly redesignated less than a month later on 8 May 1941 as the 32nd Armor Regiment. The 32nd Armor along with the 33rd Armor were the only two armor regiments to have ever been deployed in full regimental formation (during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.) All other armor units were constituted and deployed at the battalion level.
The 32nd Armor Regiment then moved to Fort Polk
Fort Polk
Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, approximately 7 miles east of Leesville, Louisiana and 20 miles north of DeRidder, Louisiana....
, Louisiana on 14 June 1941. When the unit arrived Fort Polk was still not completed but nonetheless it was designated as the training base for the 3rd Armored Division. The Battalion received the bulk of its men who underwent basic training, began field training and learned to operate their tanks.
World War II
The unit moved to NormandyOperation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
in mid June 1944. On 29 June 1944, the Battalion entered combat as part of Combat Command A at Villiers-Fossard. The Battalion fought on until 24 April 1945. During their time in action the unit assisted in the liberation of France and Belgium and breaking through the Siegfried Line. The unit earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and twice received the Meritorious Service Plaque for their service.
Post Korea – Pre Vietnam
1st Battalion was in Germany. 2nd Battalion was in Hawaii. 3rd Battalion was in Fort Stewart
Fort Stewart
Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County and Bryan County, but also extending into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties in Georgia, USA. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census...
, Georgia before being sent to Germany in the early 60s.
Cold War
Following the end of the Second World War, the 32nd Armor Regiment stood down along with the rest of the 3rd Armored Division on 10 November 1945.As Cold War tensions grew, the regiment was reactivated on 15 July 1947. The unit was stationed in Germany and was tasked with deterring any Soviet advance through the Fulda Gap.
Locations varied with divisional attachments. Examples in the 1960s: 1st Battalion with the 3rd Armored Division, in Friedberg
Friedberg, Hesse
Friedberg is a town and the capital of the Wetteraukreis district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 26 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main.-Division of the town:The town consists of 7 districts:* Bruchenbrücken...
; 5th Battalion with the 24th Infantry Division in Munich.
The 32nd Armor Regiment also played an important role in Operation Desert Storm as part of the 3rd Armored Division. Following the end of hostilities in the Persian Gulf, the 32nd Armor Regiment stood down along with the rest of the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
, KY, on 17 October 1992 with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment.
Post Cold War & Reactivation as 32nd Cavalry
The 1st Battalion was reactivated 16 April, 1995 at Fort LewisFort Lewis
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
, Washington using personnel and equipment from the 5th Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment
77th Armor Regiment (United States)
The 77th Armor is an armored regiment of the United States Army. The 77th Armor Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Regimental System with only a single battalion, the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, and is therefore classified as both a single battalion, and the remainder of the Regiment itself...
, 1st Armored Division
1st Armored Division (United States)
The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
, recently transferred from Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Germany in 1994. The battalion then became a subordinate unit of the 2nd Infantry Division.
The 1st Battalion (the last active unit of the 32d Armor Regiment) was deactivated on September 15, 2000 at Fort Lewis, Washington with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment.
On 10 August, 2005 the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment was activated as part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Bastogne), 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
(Air Assault) at Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
, Kentucky. This new cavalry regiment inherited and continued the lineage and honors (including distinctive unit insignia) of the 32nd Armor Regiment.
Global War on Terror
On 23 September 2005, the 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry deployed to Iraq for a tour in support of Operation Iraq Freedom. The unit conducted a relief in place with four battalions of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment and assumed responsibility for over 18,000 square kilometers of eastern Diyala Province along the Iranian border. There, the Bandits partnered with and validated two Iraqi Brigades, fought Al-Qaeda in IraqAl-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a popular name for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is recognized as a part of the greater Iraqi insurgency....
operatives and conducted counter-insurgency operations against insurgent networks attempting to destabilize the new Iraqi government. Between 20 May 2006 and 20 July 2006, Task Force Bandit, consisting of 1–32 Cavalry, elements of C/1-68 Armor and A/3-29 Field Artillery and with aviation support from 3rd, 4th and 7th Battalions, 101st Aviation, conducted a series of operations against Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna safe areas within the isolated terrain along the Diyala River of the Muqdadiyah Qa’da
Al-Muqdadiya District
Al-Muqdadiya District is one of the districts of Diyala Governorate, Iraq....
. These operations denied the enemy sanctuary, rescued over twenty kidnapped civilians, eliminated strategic caches, destroyed vehicle-borne improvised explosive factories and disrupted senior Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna leadership and planning. During this deployment, Troopers of the 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry Regiment earned 4 Bronze Star Medals for Valor and 29 Army Commendation Medals for Valor. On 24 August 2006, 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry transitioned authority to 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry and returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to prepare for their next deployment.
On 21 September 2007, the 1st Squadron, 32d Cavalry once again departed Fort Campbell, again bound for eastern Diyala Province, Iraq, this time for a 15-month tour as a part of the Iraqi Surge. Once in Iraq, the squadron relieved 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry and continued operations in Diyala, all the while planning for a move to FOB Paliwoda
FOB Paliwoda
FOB Paliwoda or Camp Paliwoda was a US forward operating base in Balad, Iraq. The base was named for Captain Eric Paliwoda, an Engineer Officer and West Point Graduate from Farmington, Connecticut serving with the 4th infantry division, 3rd brigade combat team who was killed in an enemy mortar...
, located in southern Salah ad Din Province. While the majority of the squadron conducted their move to FOB Paliwoda and relieved 3rd Squadron, 8th Cavalry, C Troop remained in Diyala to turn over the area of operations to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. During the next twelve months in Salah ad Din Province, 1–32 Cavalry set up numerous Sons of Iraq groups to assist in securing the local population, trained members of the Iraqi Army
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
and National Police
Iraqi Police
The Iraqi Police Service are the uniformed Territorial police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law within Iraq.The current organisation, structure and recruitment practice was guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq...
and conducted numerous targeted air assault raids against high-value targets throughout their area of operations. In November of 2008, the squadron returned to Fort Campbell to once again train and prepare for another deployment, this time to Afghanistan.
Popular Culture
The 32nd Armor Regiment is best known as the unit that Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
served with. Elvis was a member of Company D, 1–32 Armor, 3rd Armored Division in Friedburg, Germany from October 1958 through March 1960. The lead singer of Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
has a tattoo of the regimental crest on his left arm although he's never served in the US Army. In the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
, the regimental crest can be seen on Ferris Bueller's black beret.
See also
- Coats of arms of U.S. Armor and Cavalry RegimentsCoats of arms of U.S. Armor and Cavalry RegimentsThis page has been split as follows:* Coats of arms of U.S. Armor Regiments* Coats of arms of U.S. Cavalry Regiments-See also:* commons:Field Army insignia of the United States Army* Corps insignia of the United States Army...
- U.S. Army Regimental SystemU.S. Army Regimental SystemThe United States Army Regimental System was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System, to provide each Soldier with continuous identification with a single regiment, and to support that concept with a personnel system that would increase a soldier’s probability of serving...