Summer 2010 - STATES - The National Guard

Oldest FA Battalion
Takes Charge at
Camp Phoenix
By Army 2nd Lt. Jordan A. Breau, 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment
CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan – The nation’s two oldest field artillery
regiments took part in a historic meeting during a transfer of authority
ceremony here, March 16, 2010.
The oldest – the 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment, Massachusetts
National Guard, commanded by Lt. Col. James M. Hally – is replacing the
second oldest, the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, from
Savannah, Ga., commanded by Lt. Col. Reginald G. Neal.
The 101st, from Brockton, was first founded in Salem Dec. 13, 1636.
Nicknamed “the South Regiment,” the 101st is the oldest Field Artillery
Regiment still active in the U. S. Army.
The South Regiment has fought in a total of 47 separate campaigns, ranging
from the Revolutionary War to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The legacy of
the South Regiment spans more than 373 years. The 101st Field Artillery
Regiment once again answers the call and takes its streamer-laden colors
into yet another theater, Operation Enduring Freedom, Kabul, Afghanistan.
The 118th Field Artillery, “Old Hickory,” saw its beginning as a colonial
militia April 18, 1751.
The Camp Phoenix meeting is not the first time these units have met one
another. Quite the opposite – the history between these great regiments
spans hundreds of years. They fought alongside each other in the
Revolutionary War.
Years later they were war-torn rivals as they conducted counter battery
fires against each other in the Civil War – on the blood soaked grounds
of Gettysburg, South Carolina, and Florida. In World War I and II, the
howitzers of the 101st and 118th became unified across the European
battlefields.
These two old regiments have met once again in a new century and
during yet another operation. As the sun sets on the 118th’s tenure in
Afghanistan, the responsibility to continue to build the Afghan National
Army and the Afghan National Security Force has now been passed to
the 101st. ✯
Lt. Col. James M. Hally, commander, 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment,
Massachusetts National Guard, assists Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ramos-Rivera
in uncasing the regimental colors during a transfer of authority ceremony at
Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan, March 16, 2010 (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Jordan
A. Breau).
Lt. Col. James M. Hally , commander, 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment,
Massachusetts National Guard, gives his first order as commander of Task Force
Kabul after completing a transfer of authority ceremony at Camp Phoenix,
Afghanistan, March 16, 2010 (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Jordan A. Breau).
Lt. Col. James M. Hally, commander, 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment,
Massachusetts National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ramos-Rivera
unfurl the colors of the 101st March 16, 2010, to signify the nation’s oldest field
artillery regiment is taking the responsibility, mission and duties of Task Force
Kabul at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Jordan A. Breau).
The Nation’s First 21