194th Armored Brigade (United States)

In 1957, the 194th Armored Brigade was formed by the US Army's Combat Developments Command to test new materiel at Fort Ord, California. It assumed the mission of the tank battalion of the 5th Infantry Division previously there. [ [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/Lineage/M-F/chapter11.htm Chapter XI: A New Direction - Flexible Response ] ] The next change occurred in the mid 1960s amid Army-wide reductions to make resources available for the Vietnam War. In a personnel-saving action, the Combat Developments Command's 194th Armored Brigade at Fort Ord was replaced by a battalion-size combat team and reorganized at Fort Knox to support the Armor School in place of the 16th Armor Group. Under the new configuration the brigade included one mechanized infantry and two armored battalions. [ [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/Lineage/M-F/chapter12.htm Chapter XII: Flexible Response ] ]

David Isby & Charles Kamps, Jr., record the composition of the 194th Armored Brigade (Separate) in 1984 in "Armies of NATO’s Central Front" as including 4-15 Infantry, 1-69 Armor, 5-73 Armor, and 5-41 Field Artillery, plus Troop D, 10th Cavalry, and the 522nd Engineer Company.

The brigade was reduced to an independent battalion task force in 1993, 2nd Battalion, 33rd Armor [Task Force] , of which at least three companies were tank, one mechanized infantry, with sources also mentioning artillery and Bradley M-3 scout companies. [Blog posting by former 194th Bde (2-33 AR) crews]

2-33 AR Task Force was finally disbanded in mid-late 1994.

The 194th Armored Brigade designation has been restored to active duty. It assumed command of the 1st Armored Training Brigade at Fort Knox Kentucky and is now charged with the responsibility of One Station Unit Training (OSUT), which trains tankers and cavalry scouts. It also consists of two Infantry Battalions which train 9-week basic training.

References

*David Isby & Charles Kamps, Jr., "Armies of NATO’s Central Front", Jane's Publishing Company, 1984There were the following units assigned to the 194th Armored Brigade (Separate) in 1990They were: 1Bn 10th Cav, 2 Bn 10th Cav, D 10 Cav, 4th Bn 15th INF, 19th Eng Bn, 75th Support Bn, 1st Bn 77th Field Artillery, an MP Company and HHC 194th Armored Brigade. The brigade downsized to basically 19th Eng Bn and Task Force 1 Bn 10th Cav. The task force consisted of a headquarters company, 2 armored (M-1 Abrams) companies, 2 infantry companies (mechanized) and 1 artillery battery (M109 SP 155mm A btry 77th FA Regt.)