41st Brigade Combat Team

The Sunset shoulder patch of the 41st Brigade Combat Team

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

Organization

There are six major commands of the 41st Brigade:

2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry

*Headquartered in Cottage Grove, OR
*Alpha Company, Eugene, OR
*Bravo Company, Corvallis, OR
*Charlie Company, Eugene, OR
*Delta Company, Newport, OR

1st Battalion, 186th Infantry

*Headquartered in Ashland, OR
*Alpha Company, Medford, OR
*Bravo Company, Klamath Falls, OR
*Charlie Company, Roseburg, OR
*Delta Company, Grants Pass, OR

2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artilliary

With a headquarters and Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Batteries in Portland, OR

141st Support Battalion

*Headquartered in Portland, OR
*Alpha Company, Salem, OR
*Bravo Company (Ordinance)
*Charlie Company (Medical)

41st Provisional Battalion

*Brigade Headquarters, Tigard, OR
*241 Military Intelligence Company, Tigard, OR
*162nd Engineering Company, Clackamas, OR
Smaller detachments augment the 41st Brigade including Echo Troop of the 82nd Cavalry in Woodburn, OR.

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.

Missions

In 1999, 136 members of C Company, 1/162 INF, were called up to active duty to protect Patriot Missile batteries in Saudi Arabia. This was the first activation of Oregonian National Guardsmen to federal service since 1941.

Following the second Gulf War, 2/162 INF deployed as part of the 39th Enhanced Infantry Brigade (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, Brig. Gen. Doug 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, LA. By the end of the month, when Hurricane Rita wreaked havok again on the Gulf Coast, the 41st was put in charge of the newly designated Joint Task Force Rita to assist in all distaster-related needs in Texas and Louisiana.

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

External links

The 41st Brigade Combat Team page at GlobalSecurity.org