Air Defense Artillery Branch

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Air Defense Artillery branch
Branch plaque
Active	1968-present
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Type	Branch
Role	Air and Missile Defense
Nickname(s)	Emperor of Battle
Motto(s)	"First to Fire"
Colors	Red and Gold
March	ADA March
Mascot(s)	Oozlefinch
Anniversaries	17 November 1775- The Continental Congress elected Henry Knox "Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery"[1]
Insignia
Branch insignia
Branch Colors[2]

The Air Defense Artillery branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patriot Missile System, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and the Avenger Air Defense system which fires the FIM-92 Stinger missile.

The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from Anti-Aircraft Artillery (part of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps until 1950, then part of the Artillery Branch) into a separate branch on 20 June 1968. On 1 December 1968, the ADA branch was authorized to wear modified Artillery insignia, crossed field guns with missile. The Branch Motto, "First To Fire", was adopted in 1986 by the attendees of the ADA Commanders' Conference at Fort Bliss. The motto refers to a speech given by General Jonathan Wainwright to veterans of the 200th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) stating they were the 'First to Fire' in World War II against the Empire of Japan.^[3]

Mission

According to the Army's Field Manual 3-01, the mission of Air Defense Artillery is "to protect the force and selected geopolitical assets from aerial attack, missile attack, and surveillance."^[4]

History

On 10 October 1917 an Antiaircraft Service in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was created at Arnouville-Les-Gonesse where an antiaircraft school was established. The antiaircraft units were organized as serially numbered battalions during the war, as follows:

• 1st Antiaircraft Battalion through the 10th Antiaircraft Battalion (redesignated as numbered antiaircraft sectors in November 1918, all demobilized by January 1919)^[5]
• 1st AA Machine Gun Battalion through the 6th AA Machine Gun Battalion. These units were organized by Col. James A. Shipton^[6] and were demobilized January–May 1919.^[7]

Coast Artillery role

The National Defense Act of 1920 formally assigned the air defense mission to the Coast Artillery Corps, and 4 battalions were organized in 1921. In 1924, under a major reorganization of the Coast Artillery, the battalions were reorganized as regiments. There were also 42 Organized Reserve antiaircraft regiments in 8 brigades; however, many of the Reserve units only had a small number of personnel assigned, and many were demobilized without activation during World War II.^{[8][9][10][11]}

• (6) Regular Army anti-aircraft regiments
  • 60th Coast Artillery (AA)
  • 61st Coast Artillery (AA)
  • 62nd Coast Artillery (AA)
  • 63rd Coast Artillery (AA)
  • 64th Coast Artillery (AA)
  • 65th Coast Artillery (AA)
• (13) National Guard AA regiments
  • 197th Coast Artillery (AA) N.H.
  • 198th Coast Artillery (AA) DE.
  • 200th Coast Artillery (AA) N.M.
  • 202nd Coast Artillery (AA) IL.
  • 203rd Coast Artillery (AA) MO.
  • 206th Coast Artillery (AA) AR.
  • 207th Coast Artillery (AA) N.Y.
  • 211th Coast Artillery (AA) MA.
  • 212th Coast Artillery (AA) N.Y.
  • 213th Coast Artillery (AA) PA.
  • 214th Coast Artillery (AA) GA.
  • 251st Coast Artillery (AA) CA.^[12]
  • 369th Coast Artillery (AA) N.Y.

Expansion

In 1938 there were only six Regular Army and thirteen National Guard regiments, but by 1941 this had been expanded to 37 total regiments. In November 1942, 781 battalions were authorized. However, this number was pared down to 331 battalions by the end of the war. By late 1944 the regiments had been broken up into battalions and 144 "Antiaircraft Artillery Groups" had been activated; some of these existed only briefly.^[13]

The serially-numbered battalions in late World War II included the following types:

• Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
• Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion
• Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion
• Antiaircraft Artillery Searchlight Battalion
• Barrage Balloon Battalion

and in the 1950s:

• Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion.

On 9 March 1942 Antiaircraft Command was established in Washington D.C. and 1944 the AAA school was moved to Fort Bliss.

In 1991 the Patriot missile was heavily utilized during the Gulf War. After this short skirmish ended Air Defense has not been involved in any significant combat actions due to lack of enemy air assets and/or missile technology.

In 2010 the United States Army Air Defense Artillery School was moved from Fort Bliss to Fort Sill.

Air Defense Artillery Units

The following lists all units that make up the Army's Air Defense Artillery Branch.^[14]

Army Air and Missile Defense Commands

Command	SSI	Subordinate to	Garrison or Headquarters
10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC)		United States Army Europe	Kaiserslautern, Germany
32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32nd AAMDC)		United States Army Forces Command	Fort Bliss, Texas
94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (94th AAMDC)		United States Army Pacific	Fort Shafter, Hawaii
263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (263rd AAMDC)		South Carolina Army National Guard	Anderson, South Carolina

Air Defense Artillery Brigades

A soldier assigned to the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade's 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment conducting maintenance on a Patriot missile launcher in 2006

Brigade	SSI	Subordinate to	Garrison
11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)		32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32nd AAMDC)	Fort Bliss, Texas
30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (30th ADAB)		Army Air Defense Artillery School (ADAS)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma
31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade (31st ADAB)		32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32nd AAMDC)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma
35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (35th ADAB)		Eighth United States Army / 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (94th AAMDC)[15]	Osan Air Base, South Korea
69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)		32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32nd AAMDC)	Fort Hood, Texas
100th Missile Defense Brigade (100th MDB)		Army Space and Missile Defense Command (ASMDC) / Colorado Army National Guard[16]	Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (108th ADAB)		32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32nd AAMDC)	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (164th ADAB)		Florida Army National Guard	Orlando, Florida
174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (174th ADAB)		Ohio Army National Guard	Columbus, Ohio
678th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (678th ADAB)		263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (263rd AAMDC)	Eastover, South Carolina

Army Battalions

Unit	SSI	Subordinate to	Garrison	Equipment
1-1st ADAR		94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (94th AAMDC)	Kadena Air Base, Japan	MIM-104 Patriot
2-1st ADAR		35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (35th ADAB)	Camp Carroll, South Korea	MIM-104 Patriot
3-2nd ADAR		31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade (31st ADAB)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma	MIM-104 Patriot
4-3rd ADAR		31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade (31st ADAB)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma	MIM-104 Patriot
3-4th ADAR		108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (108th ADAB)	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	MIM-104 Patriot, AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
4-5th ADAR		69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)	Fort Hood, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
5-5th ADAR		31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade (31st ADAB)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, C-RAM Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar
2-6th ADAR		30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (30th ADAB)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, C-RAM Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar
3-6th ADAR		30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (30th ADAB)	Fort Sill, Oklahoma	MIM-104 Patriot, THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
1-7th ADAR		108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (108th ADAB)	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	MIM-104 Patriot
5-7th ADAR		10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC)	Kaiserslautern, Germany	MIM-104 Patriot
1-43rd ADAR		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
2-43rd ADAR		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
3-43rd ADAR		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
1-44th ADAR		69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)	Fort Hood, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
2-44th ADAR		108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (108th ADAB)	Fort Campbell, Kentucky	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, C-RAM Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar
5-52nd ADAR		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot
6-52nd ADAR		35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (35th ADAB)	Suwon Air Base, South Korea	MIM-104 Patriot, AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
1-62nd ADAR		69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)	Fort Hood, Texas	MIM-104 Patriot

Army Batteries

Unit	SSI	Subordinate to	Garrison	Equipment
A Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (A-2nd ADAR)		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
B Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (B-2nd ADAR)		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
D Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (D-2nd ADAR)		35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (35th ADAB)	Osan Air Base, South Korea	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
E Battery, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (E-3rd ADAR)		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Andersen Air Force Base, Guam	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
A Battery, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (A-4th ADAR)		11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (11th ADAB)	Fort Bliss, Texas	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
E Battery, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (E-62nd ADAR)		69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)	Fort Hood, Texas	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
B Battery, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (B-62nd ADAR)		69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (69th ADAB)	Fort Hood, Texas	THAAD Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
I Battery, 1st Squadron (I-1st Squadron)		11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11th ACR)	Fort Irwin, California	FIM-92 Stinger

National Guard Battalions

Unit	SSI	Subordinate to	Garrison	Part of	Equipment
49th GMD Battalion		100th Missile Defense Brigade	Fort Greely, Alaska	Alaska Army National Guard	Ground-Based Interceptor
1-174 ADA		174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade	Cincinnati, Ohio	Ohio Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
2-174 ADA		174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade	McConnelsville, Ohio	Ohio Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
1–188 ADA		Separate Battalion	Grand Forks, North Dakota	North Dakota Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
1–204 ADA		Separate Battalion	Newton, Mississippi	Mississippi Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
2-263 ADA		678th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Brigade	Anderson, South Carolina	South Carolina Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
1–265 ADA		164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Brigade	Palm Coast, Florida	Florida Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
3–265 ADA		164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade	Sarasota, Florida	Florida Army National Guard	AN/TWQ-1 Avenger

Shipton award

The Shipton Award is named for Brigadier General James A. Shipton, who is acknowledged as the Air Defense Artillery Branch's founding father.^[17] Shipton felt that the mission of antiaircraft defense was not too down enemy aircraft, but instead to protect maneuver forces on the ground: "The purpose of anti-aviation defense is to protect our forces and establishments from hostile attack and observation from the air by keeping enemy airplanes [sic] at a distance." The Shipton Award recognizes an Air Defense Artillery professionals for outstanding performance individual thought, innovation, and contributions that result in significant contributions or enhances Air Defense Artillery's warfighting capabilities, morale, readiness, and maintenance.

See also

• Oozlefinch

References

• Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions of the U.S. Army (Volumes 1,2) 1991 by James A. Sawicki ISBN 0-9602404-7-0
• History of the 1st AA Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps in World War I
• Berhow, Mark A., Ed. (2004). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide, Second Edition. CDSG Press. ISBN 0-9748167-0-1.
• Lieutenant Colonel Roy S. Barnard (The History of ARADCOM Volume I, The Gun Era:1950-1955)
• LTC Barnard and Berle K. Hufford, ARADCOM Annual Reports from 1966-1973.
• Morgan, Mark L.; Berhow, Mark A. (2010). Rings of Supersonic Steel: Air Defenses of the United States Army 1950-1979, 3rd Edition. Hole in the Head Press. ISBN 978-09761494-0-8.
• Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Osato, Militia Missilemen: The Army National Guard in Air Defense - 1951 - 1967 (1968)
• Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle. General Data LLC. ISBN 0-9720296-4-8.
• Osato and Mrs. Sherryl Straup, ARADCOM's Florida Defenses in the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis: 1963-1968 (1968)
• Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-775-9.

External links

• U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery lineage website
• ADA museum at Fort Sill
• http://www.ftmac.org/Lanike2.htm - 47th Brigade at Fort McArthur, Calif.
• some details on U.S. Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM)