3rd Brigade sets schedule to inactivate five of six battalions at Fort Benning

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning will hold a ceremony Wednesday to activate the new Task Force 1-28 as part of the brigade’s reorganization, according to a  news release.

   The 2:15 p.m. ceremony on Sledgehammer Field will mark the official activation of the task force as the 3rd Brigade continues to consolidate and reorganize the new unit of 1,050 soldiers. The ceremony takes place a day  after the last inactivation ceremony is held for the fifth of six battalions that make up the brigade.

   The ceremonies are part of the Army’s plans to shrink the force from 570,000 soldiers to 450,000. Reducing the combat brigades to 30 from 45 will save money at Fort Benning and other posts across the country.

  Soldiers who are not part of the new task force have been leaving Kelley Hill since September, two months after military cuts were announced in July.

  The first ceremony to inactivate one of five battalions starts at 12:45 p.m. Friday. They include 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment; 3rd Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry; 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment; and the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion.

  The first inactivation ceremony is at 12:45 p.m. Friday for the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment and the last is at 1:45 p.m. Dec. 15 for the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment.

  The sixth battalion is the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, which includes brigade headquarters and headquarters troops is expected to be on the post until April when the last soldiers leave.

  Fort Benning was expected to lose 3,402 military positions in the second round of cuts, but that number was reduced to about 2,200 due to normal attrition and the Army not staffing a planned battalion.

   Established in November 1917 during World War I, the brigade traces it roots to the 3rd Division. The brigade has served in World War II, Korea and several deployments after Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

   After returning from Operation Desert Storm, the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade was reflagged as the 3rd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division.

  Most of the 3rd Infantry Division was in Germany at the time and departed for Fort Stewart, Ga., in 1996. The colors of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were uncased at Fort Benning on April 24, 1996, at Kelley Hill.

  In 2003, the brigade was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the Iraq war, the 3rd Brigade was one of the most deployed units in the Army as it took part in the surge force in May 2007.

  For the “Sledgehammer” Brigade, its last overseas deployment was to Kuwait in 2012. The brigade conducted joint exercises with Kuwait and other regional partners in the Persian Gulf before returning to Kelley Hill in March 2013.

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division has set times and dates to inactivate five of six battalions that make up the “Sledgehammer Brigade” at Fort Benning. Here is a schedule of the events:

• 12:45 p.m. Friday: 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment

• 9:45 a.m. Monday: 203rd Brigade Support Battalion

• 1:45 p.m. Monday: 3rd Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry

• 9:45 a.m. Tuesday: 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment

• 1:45 p.m. Tuesday: 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 4:17 PM with the headline "3rd Brigade sets schedule to inactivate five of six battalions at Fort Benning ."