41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

|Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team


caption=41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team shoulder sleeve insignia
dates= 1965 - Present
country= USA
branch= Infantry
type= Brigade
role= Brigade Combat Team
command_structure=
garrison=Oregon
nickname=
battles= Iraq Campaign
Afghanistan Campaign
notable_commanders=

The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an element in the Oregon Army National Guard. Headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, it was part of the 7th Infantry Division based at Ft. Carson in Colorado (inactivated in 2006). The Brigade traces its lineage back to the 41st Infantry Division.

History

The history of the 41st Brigade can be traced back to 1917 when the 41st Infantry Division was created for service in World War I primarily from National Guard units from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. For more information see the 41st Division history.

In 1965, the Division was reorganized as a separate brigade, located primarily within the Oregon Army National Guard. During the 1980s the Brigade was the "roundout brigade" of the 7th Infantry Division, serving this capacity until August 2006, when the division was deactivated.

In 1999, 136 members of C Company, 1-162 INF, were called up to active duty to protect Patriot Missile batteries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This was the first activation of Oregonian National Guardsmen to federal service since 1941.Fact|date=December 2007

Following the second Gulf War, 2-162 INF deployed as part of the 39th Infantry Brigade (Enhanced) (Arkansas National Guard) to Iraq. The Battalion served in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, suffering a number of casualties while conducting stabilization security missions. During the same time, a handful of personnel were sent to train foreign soldiers in Afghanistan.

In September, 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Brigadier General Douglas Pritt commanded the majority of the brigade as part of Task Force Oregon in relief and security efforts near the French Quarter in New Orleans. By the end of the month, when Hurricane Rita wreaked havoc again on the Gulf Coast, the 41st was put in charge of the newly designated Joint Task Force Rita to assist in all disaster-related needs in Texas and Louisiana.

In the spring of 2006, BG Pritt and the brigade joined the personnel already in Afghanistan making the total force approximately 950 soldiers marking the first major deployment of the brigade to a combat zone since World War II.

Organization

There are six major commands of the 41st Brigade:

**2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment
**Headquartered in Cottage Grove
**Alpha Company, Eugene
**Bravo Company, Corvallis
**Charlie Company, Gresham
**Delta Company, Hillsboro

*1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment
**Headquartered in Ashland
**Alpha Company, Medford
**Bravo Company, Klamath Falls
**Charlie Company, Roseburg
**Delta Company, Grants Pass
**Strike Company, St. Helens

*2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artillery Regiment
**With a headquarters and Alpha and Bravo Batteries in Portland and McMinnville

*141st Support Battalion
**Headquartered in Portland
**Alpha Company, Salem
**Bravo Company (Ordnance)
**Charlie Company (Medical)
**Delta Company, Bend
**Echo Company, Eugene

*41st Provisional Battalion
**Brigade Headquarters, Tigard
**241st Military Intelligence Company, Tigard
**162nd Engineering Company, Clackamas

*1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry
**HHT (HQ Troop/Squadron Staff), Bend
**A Troop (Motorized), Lebanon
**B Troop (Motorized), Woodburn
**C Troop (Dismounted Reconnaissance Troop), Klamath Falls
**D Troop (Forward Support Company) (Attached from 141 BSB), Bend
**Detachment 1/D/141 (Maintenance), Burns

References

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/41in-bde.htm 41st Brigade Combat Team Homepage]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org GlobalSecurity.org]
* [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Inf/41st%20Infantry%20Brigade.htm The Institute of heraldry: 41st Brigade Combat Team]