Fifth battalion at Fort Benning inactivated

A standing room crowd of former soldiers watched the inactivation ceremony for 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Tuesday at Fort Benning.

The 2:15 p.m. ceremony on Sledgehammer Field was the fifth and final ceremony to case the colors of battalions at Fort Benning to reduce the Army force. The 1,056 soldiers of the "Can Do" battalion already have been selected as the new 1-28 Task Force at Kelley Hill, said Lt. Col. Fred W. Tanner, commander of the 15th Infantry Regiment and the new commander of the task force.

"The unit's name may change but the action of soldiers lives on," Tanner said. "The can-do attitude will continue to be reflected in this task force as we continue to move forward."

A new flag for the task force will be unfurled today during a 2:15 p.m. ceremony at Kelley Hill.

Tanner performed his final duty of the regiment when Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond M. Mabrey passed the colors to him to inactivate the regiment that dates back to May 1861 during the beginning of the American Civil War.

Through the years, the 15th Infantry assisted in occupation duty in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, served in Europe during World War II and Korea in 1951.

The 15th Infantry was assigned to Germany as part of the 3rd Infantry Division in 1957. The unit deployed to Iraq four times between 2003 to 2010 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Three years ago, the battalion also took part in a training exercise, Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait.

During World War II, Audie Murphy was a member of the battalion as the most decorated soldier in U.S. Army history with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Other leaders serving in the battalion include Gen. George C. Marshall Jr. and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"It is the most storied unit in the Army," Tanner said.

Col. Michael J. Simmering, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said a simple reflagging for the new unit could have been held but the separate ceremony pays tribute to soldiers at Kelley Hill.

"We chose to do it not for us, but for soldiers past and present of the 15th Infantry Regiment," he said. "We do consider these soldiers and the great battalion are part of the great family at Kelley Hill."

As forces decrease in size, the commander said every unit has a distinct lineage that can be traced in history. Only a few manage to carry their legacy beyond the unit.

"This unit represents something that everyone should seek to emulate as they develop their team and build their leaders," Simmering said. "This regiment and its 1st Battalion with a can-do attitude stands as a testament of what all your Army units should seek to become. It is what it is today because of what you see on the field today."

Brendan Murphy, a former combat medic who deployed twice to Iraq in 2003 and 2005 with the 15th Infantry Regiment, is not related to the decorated WWII soldier but said he couldn't miss the ceremony.

"I had to be here," he said. "I couldn't miss this. I see everyone I served with."

Now serving as a police officer in Massachusetts, Murphy said he'll remember soldiers from the unit.

"I'm going to remember the guys I served with," he said. "I mean the history aside, it is everybody I served with."

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Fifth battalion at Fort Benning inactivated ."