434th Field Artillery Brigade
434th Field Artillery Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Country	United States Of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Field artillery
Role	Basic Combat Training
Size	Brigade
Part of	TRADOC
Garrison/HQ	Fort Sill, OK
Commanders
Brigade Commander	COL Michael Stewart
Brigade Command Sergeant Major	CSM Luis A. Arroyo-Avila

The 434th Field Artillery Brigade is a training/ artillery unit under the United States Army Fires Center of Excellence, a formation under TRADOC. The brigade conducts Basic Combat Training for new enlistees in the U.S. Army.

Organization

The 434th Field Artillery Brigade consists of four training battalions, a reception battalion, and a training support detachment:^[1]

• Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Detachment^[1]
• 1st Battalion, 19th Field Artillery Regiment- Inactive (Deactivation 3 Feb 2023)^[1]
• 1st Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment- Five basic combat training batteries^[1]
• 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery Regiment- Six basic combat training batteries^[1]
• 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery Regiment- five basic combat training batteries^[1]
• 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery Regiment- five basic combat training batteries^[1]
• 95th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception)^[1]

History

The unit was constituted on 21 November 1942 in the United States Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Tank Destroyer Brigade. It was activated on 24 November 1942 at Camp Hood, Texas. On 22 January 1944, the 1st Tank Destroyer Brigade sailed abroad RMS Queen Mary, from New York Port of Embarkation, arrived Greenock, Scotland 28 January 1944. On 11 July 1944 the Brigade landed on Utah Beach, France.

On 2 August 1944 Field Order #10, HQ, VIII Corps designated 1st TD Brigade as HQ for Task Force “A” commanded by Gen Herbert Ernst, consisting of the 15th Cav Group, the 705th TD Battalion, 6th TD Group,509th Engineer Co, and 159th Engineer BN. Their mission was to attack from Avranches to Morlaix, to assist in clearing the Brittany Peninsula and to assist in the capture of Brest. TF A captured 1,679 Enemy Prisoners of War and inflicted heavy damage to enemy personnel and equipment.

On 17 April 1947, the Brigade was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 434th Field Artillery Group and allotted to the organized reserves. On 1 June 1978, it was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 434th Field Artillery Brigade. Two active reserve firing battalions reported to the Brigade: the 4/75th Field Artillery and the 7/1st Field Artillery. Each battalion comprised three firing batteries equipped with 8" M110 self-propelled howitzer, which were capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons.

The Brigade was inactivated on 31 December 1990 in Chicago, Illinois. There remains an informal, unincorporated fraternal organization consisting of some of the officers and men who served with the firing battalions of the 434th Field Artillery Brigade. On 17 April 2007, the 434th Field Artillery Brigade was re-activated at Fort Sill, OK as an Army Training Center responsible for the training of the Army's newest volunteers. More information about the current status of 434th Field Artillery Brigade may be found here.

Lineage and honors

References